Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Inventors and Inventions The 1950's

Zip It Shut With Velcro Inventors and Inventions

---

Zip It Shut With Velcro
Print Zip It Shut With Velcro Reading Comprehension with Third Grade Work

Print Zip It Shut With Velcro Reading Comprehension with Fourth Grade Work

Print Zip It Shut With Velcro Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print Zip It Shut With Velcro Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	4.7

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		burrs, crochet, fasteners, hair-like, leisurely, non-flexible, reality, velour, surprising, tearing, bond, entire, easily, microscope, finding, pressed
	content words:		De Mestral, Alfred Gonet, Velcro S. A.

---

Zip It Shut With Velcro By Jane Runyon

---

¹     It all started with a leisurely walk. George de Mestral lived in Switzerland in 1948. He loved to walk in the foothills of the Alps. He and his dog would hike there almost every day. He sat down after his walk one day to pull burrs from his dog's fur and from his wool jacket. It was a tough job. The burrs didn't want to come loose easily. He had to pull and tug. He began to wonder how such a little thing could get such a good hold. He decided to examine the burrs under a microscope.
 
²     George de Mestral had a very curious mind. He had always been interested in inventing. He designed a plane when he was only twelve years old. He applied for and received a patent for his invention. A patent is a promise from the government that no one else can make or sell the inventor's design unless he says it is all right. Inventing something at the age of twelve that earned a patent was very special.
 
³     When de Mestral looked at the Burdock burrs on his coat under a microscope, he was very surprised. He saw that the stickers on the burrs each had a tiny little hook at the end. When these little hooks came in contact with the fur on the dog or the tiny woolen loops of thread on his jacket, they hooked and held. This started his mind working. Why couldn't he invent his own set of hooks and loops?

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!

---

Feedback on Zip It Shut With Velcro

Leave your feedback on Zip It Shut With Velcro   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Inventors and Inventions

Inventors and Inventions

---

The 1950's

The 1950's

---

Social Studies

Social Studies

United States History and Theme Units         American Government         Ancient America         Ancient China         Ancient Egypt         Ancient Greece         Ancient India         Ancient Mesopotamia         Ancient Rome         Biographies         Canadian Theme Unit         Country Theme Units         Crime and Terrorism         Economics         European History: 1600s-1800s

Explorers         Famous Educators         Geography         Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series         History of Books and Writing         History of Mathematics         How Can I Help?         Inventors and Inventions         Middle Ages         Renaissance         World Religion         World War I         World War II         World Wonders

---

United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

---

United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

---

50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

---

Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

Copyright © 2025 edHelper