edHelper.com

Pencils and More Pencils!

---

Pencils and More Pencils!
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.64

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		familiar, binder, ferrule, finely-ground, hardness, milling, pencil-making, penicillus, sheepskin, manufacturers, pigment, realistic, illustrate, spite, discouragement, slat
	content words:		Great Britain, United States, Nicolas Jacques Conte, Francis Scott Key, Star-Spangled Banner, Garth Williams, Laura Ingalls, Little House

---

Print Pencils and More Pencils!

Print Pencils and More Pencils!  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on Pencils and More Pencils!

Leave your feedback on Pencils and More Pencils!  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Pencils and More Pencils! By Colleen Messina

---

¹     Pencils are familiar tools. You use a number 2 pencil to write down answers on a test. You can nervously chew on the end of the pencil during the test, too. You probably use pencils every day. But pencils have a bright, creative side to them, too. Artists use many kinds of pencils for beautiful projects.
 
²     The invention of the pencil did not follow a straight line. The word "pencil" comes from a Latin word, penicillus, which means little tail or little brush. Pencils use a substance called graphite, but graphite was only discovered in the 16th century. A pit of graphite was first discovered in Great Britain. Later, graphite was also discovered in Siberia, Bavaria, and in the United States.
 
³     At first, British shepherds thought that graphite was an excellent way to mark their sheep. Graphite is soft, so they wrapped the sticks of graphite in sheepskin to protect their hands from black marks. However, graphite had to travel to Italy to get its familiar wooden holder. The Italians inserted the graphite inside a stick of juniper wood. Later, they carved two wooden halves. Then, they inserted the graphite inside and glued the halves together.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

More Lessons

Art Theme Unit: Reading Comprehensions

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2011 edHelper