edHelper.com
Miscellaneous Health Topics

Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.68

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    caffeine, disrupt, outgrow, sleepwalk, sleepwalkers, sleepwalking, somnambulism, therefore, cases, stress, harmless, lasts, pajama, fell, lights, locked
     content words:    Probably Richie

Print Sleepwalking
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Sleepwalking  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

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

Sleepwalking
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Richie was having his buddy, Mark, sleep over at his house tonight. They played, had some snacks, and watched a few movies. Then it was lights out.
 
2     An hour or two after Richie and Mark fell asleep, Mark awoke to a rustling. He opened his eyes and realized it was Richie.
 
3     "What's the matter, Richie?" Mark asked. "Go back to bed." Richie did not respond. Instead, Richie sat up and got out of his sleeping bag. He was wandering around the room, looking dazed and confused. He kept rubbing his eyes. They were open, but it didn't appear that Richie knew what he was doing.
 
4     Richie's dad walked into the living room. "What's the matter boys?" Dad asked. Mark pointed in Richie's direction. "I don't know what's wrong, sir," Mark said. "He's not answering me."
 
5     As soon as Dad took a look at Richie, he knew what was happening. "Oh, he's sleepwalking again." Gently, Dad guided Richie back to his sleeping bag.
 
6     "I didn't know Richie was a sleepwalker," Mark said. "In fact, I've never known any sleepwalkers."
 
7     "Sleepwalking is common in kids. It runs in families. I was a sleepwalker. It usually only happens once in a while and most kids outgrow it by the time they are teenagers. I know I did," Dad said.
 
8     "What is sleepwalking?" Mark asked.
 
9     "Its big name is somnambulism," Dad said. "All people have five stages of sleep that make a sleep cycle. A sleep cycle lasts about an hour and a half. Sleepwalking usually occurs during the deeper stages when it's harder to wake someone up. Therefore, the person appears groggy or disoriented. During sleepwalking, some people walk around while still sleeping. Some sleep talk. Some just sit up in bed and do something over and over like playing with a pajama top. This usually occurs an hour or two after falling asleep."

Paragraphs 10 to 19:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper