Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Matter
Crystals

Matter
Matter


Crystals
Print Crystals Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.86

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    amethyst, troubleshooting, undisturbed, phantom, solution, billion, obsidian, supply, interesting, quartz, spectacular, exhibit, research, dissolve, fact, geometric
     content words:    Hope Diamond, Smithsonian Institution, Natural History

Other Languages
     Spanish: Los cristales


Crystals
By Sharon Fabian
  

1     Salt crystals are cubes. Snowflakes have six sides. A diamond has many sides. Minerals like these that have flat smooth sides are all called crystals. Crystals are made of molecules that are all the same shape, and are arranged in a neat pattern. This pattern gives crystals their beautiful geometric shapes. Some crystals can be cut and polished into sparkling jewelry. These crystals are called gemstones. Diamonds, emeralds, amethyst, and rubies are crystals. Some gemstones have colorful names that match the gem. There are green phantom quartz, rainbow obsidian, and Oregon jelly opal.
 
2     Gemstones form in the Earth over a long period of time. It took about a billion years to form the Hope Diamond, which you can now see in the Smithsonian Institution at the Museum of Natural History.
 
3     Other crystals form much quicker. In fact, you can grow crystals yourself using just a few everyday ingredients. You can grow crystals from sugar, salt, Epsom salts, or other chemical salts that you can buy at a chemistry supply or drug store.
 
4     To start, you will need a saturated solution. Mix the Epsom salt, or whatever, in hot water until the water has dissolved all that it can dissolve. This is called a saturated solution.
 
5     Next, you will need a place where the crystals can grow undisturbed. A glass jar with a large opening at the top will work fine. The crystals will also need something to attach to, so you can put a rock in the jar, or hang a piece of string into the middle of the jar. You can hang the string from a pencil that you lay across the top of the jar. Once your saturated solution has cooled, pour it into the jar, and set the jar someplace where it will not be bumped for a long time.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable



Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!


Feedback on Crystals
Leave your feedback on Crystals   (use this link if you found an error in the story)



Matter
             Matter


Science
             Science


    Careers in Science  
 
    Caring for Earth  
 
    Clouds  
 
    Dinosaurs  
 
    Earth's Land  
 
    Earth  
 
    Earthquakes  
 
    Electricity  
 
    Energy  
 
    Erosion  
 
    Food Pyramid  
 
    Food Webs and Food Chain  
 
    Forces and Motion  
 
    Fossils  
 
    Health and Nutrition  
 
    How Things Work  
 
    Landforms  
 
    Life Science  
 
    Light  
 
    Magnets  
 
    Matter  
 
 
    Moon  
 
    Natural Disasters  
 
    Photosynthesis  
 
    Plant and Animal Cells  
 
    Plants  
 
    Rocks and Minerals  
 
    Science Process Skills  
 
    Scientific Notation  
 
    Seasons  
 
    Simple Machines  
 
    Soil  
 
    Solar System  
 
    Sound  
 
    Space and Stars  
 
    Sun  
 
    Tsunami  
 
    Volcanoes  
 
    Water Cycle  
 
    Water  
 
    Weather  
 



Copyright © 2018 edHelper