WEEK 31
DAY
Name:________________________________ Date:___________________
Directions
1
Read the text and then answer the questions.
SCORE
No matter where on Earth you live, you have day and night. That happens because of
a movement of Earth called rotation. Earth rotates, or turns, on an imaginary line called
an axis. Imagine a line that starts at the North Pole and goes straight through Earth to the
South Pole. That is Earth’s axis. About every 24 hours, Earth rotates around that axis. To
get an idea of how the Earth rotates, try this. Spin a basketball around, and you will see
that it spins around in a circle. The basketball is rotating around its axis, just as Earth
rotates around its axis. You see daylight when your part of Earth is facing the sun. You see
darkness when Earth has turned so that your part of Earth faces away from the sun.
1. What is this text mostly about?
A the North Pole
B what it is like at night
C how Earth turns on its axis
D basketball
2.
According to the facts in this text,
when do people see daylight?
A
B
C
D
when part of Earth is facing the sun
when people see darkness
when part of Earth is facing away
from the sun
when people see the South Pole
4.
What verb is used to describe Earth’s
movement around its axis?
A
B
C
D
5.
Y N
2.
Y N
3.
Y N
4.
Y N
5.
Y N
the South Pole
an axis
rotation
darkness
What does the phrase to get an idea
mean in this text?
A
B
C
D
1.
___ / 5
Total
to visualize something
to speak something
to try something
to learn something
3. Which word is a synonym for rotate?
A imaginary
B the North Pole
C axis
D turn
© Shell Education
#50927—180 Days of Reading for Sixth Grade
195
WEEK 31
DAY
2
Name:________________________________ Date:___________________
Directions
Read the text and then answer the questions.
SCORE
1.
Y N
2.
Y N
3.
Y N
4.
Y N
5.
Y N
___ / 5
Total
Our Earth does not just rotate on its axis. It also revolves, or turns, around the sun.
Earth revolves around the sun because of the sun’s gravity. That gravity pulls Earth toward
the sun. But Earth is far away from the sun—it is about 93 million miles away. So Earth’s
revolutions do not happen quickly. Each revolution of Earth around the sun takes about
365 days, or one year. The path that Earth takes around the sun is called its orbit. You
might think of that path as a circle, but actually, it isn’t a perfect circle. Earth’s orbit is oval,
much like the shape of an egg. Earth rotates and revolves, but you do not feel that motion
because you rotate and revolve with the planet.
1. What is this text mostly about?
A how Earth was formed
B how Earth moves around the sun
C what an axis is
D where the planets are located
2. Why do we not feel Earth’s motion?
A because we are not moving
B because Earth does not move
C because Earth takes many years to
revolve around the sun
D
3.
Which verb means the same
as turns?
A
B
C
D
5.
revolves
axis
pulls
gravity
Which word means the force that
pulls Earth toward the sun?
A
B
C
D
gravity
axis
rotation
revolution
Which word is defined as Earth’s
path around the sun?
A
B
C
D
196
because we are moving at the same
speed as Earth
4.
axis
rotation
orbit
gravity
#50927—180 Days of Reading for Sixth Grade
© Shell Education
WEEK 31
DAY
Name:________________________________ Date:___________________
Directions
3
Read the text and then answer the questions.
SCORE
Our Earth has seasons because of the tilt of Earth’s axis. Remember that Earth rotates
on its axis, and that is why we have day and night. But that axis does not go straight up
and down; it is slightly tilted. So as Earth revolves around the sun, different parts of Earth
are tilted toward the sun and get more sunlight. For example, in June, July, and August, the
Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun. So people who live there have longer days
and warmer weather—it is summer there. But people in the Southern Hemisphere have
winter at that time. During December, January, and February, the opposite happens—the
Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun. So it gets longer days and warmer weather.
Those are summer months there. But people in the Northern Hemisphere have winter at
that time.
1.
According to this text, what
causes seasons?
A
B
C
D
2.
the Southern Hemisphere
Earth’s revolution
the Northern Hemisphere
B
C
D
Y N
2.
Y N
3.
Y N
4.
Y N
5.
Y N
the tilt of Earth’s axis
What is true about December,
January, and February?
A
3. What is the definition of tilted?
A straight
B slanted
C tiny
D important
1.
It is summer in the Southern
Hemisphere.
It is winter in the Southern
Hemisphere.
There is more sunlight in the
Northern Hemisphere.
There is no sunlight at all anywhere
on Earth.
© Shell Education
4.
Which of the following words is used
as a verb in the text?
A
B
C
D
5.
___ / 5
Total
sunlight
people
tilted
warmer
What meaning do both revolution
and rotation share?
A
B
C
D
warms
grows
turns
cools
#50927—180 Days of Reading for Sixth Grade
197
WEEK 31
DAYS
4–5
Name:________________________________ Date:___________________
The Planets Get Moving
Earth is not the only planet in the
solar system that moves. All of the
planets do that. The sun’s gravity
is very strong, so it pulls all of the
planets toward it. That is why all
of the planets revolve around the
sun. And each planet rotates on its
own axis, too. But there are many
differences in the way the planets
rotate and revolve.
Each planet takes a different
amount of time to travel around the
sun. The chart tells you how long it
takes each planet to do that. Look
at the amount of time each planet
the Solar System
needs to go around the sun. Do
you notice any pattern in those times? Here is a hint: Mercury is the closest planet to the sun,
and Neptune is the most distant planet. The closer a planet is to the sun, the less time it takes
to travel around the sun. Each planet also takes a different amount of time to rotate on its axis.
The chart shows you that information.
Here are a few interesting things about the planets. Uranus and Venus are the only two
planets that rotate backward. Every other planet, including Earth, rotates in the other direction.
Also, Uranus does not have a vertical axis the way Earth does. Its axis is horizontal. So it
rotates on its side! Venus has the slowest rotation. A rotation takes longer than a revolution
does. Why don’t Venus and Uranus move the way the other planets do? Many scientists have a
theory about that. They think that a large asteroid might have hit those planets millions of years
ago. A hit like that could change a planet’s rotation. Then, the planet might rotate in the other
direction. It could also make a planet rotate on its side.
198
Planet
Revolution in Earth Time
Rotation
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
88 days
225 days
365 days
687 days
12 years
29 years
84 years
164 years
59 days
243 days
24 hours
26 hours
10 hours
10 hours
18 hours
19 hours
#50927—180 Days of Reading for Sixth Grade
© Shell Education
WEEK 31
DAY
Name:________________________________ Date:___________________
Directions
1.
2.
Earth and Venus
Saturn and Mercury
Jupiter and Saturn
Jupiter
Venus
Mercury
Uranus
If there were a planet closer to the
sun than Mercury, it would likely
A
B
C
D
4.
Jupiter and Venus
Which of these planets has the
shortest rotation time?
A
B
C
D
3.
Read “The Planets Get Moving” and then answer the questions.
The chart shows which planets have
the same rotation time?
A
B
C
D
be much bigger than Mercury.
take more time to travel around the
sun than Mercury does.
be the same size as Mercury.
take less time to travel around the
sun than Mercury does.
Why do scientists think Venus and
Uranus move differently than the
other planets do?
A
B
C
D
They are the largest planets in our
solar system.
They are both very small planets.
They may have been hit by
an asteroid.
They are very close together.
© Shell Education
4
5.
SCORE
What is a reason for reading
this text?
A
B
C
D
6.
7.
8.
2.
Y N
3.
Y N
4.
Y N
5.
Y N
6.
Y N
7.
Y N
8.
Y N
to decide to become a scientist
to read a personal story
to learn how asteroids are formed
It is farther from the sun than Earth.
It is much larger than Earth.
It is closer to the sun than Earth.
It is much smaller than Earth.
How are all the planets in the solar
system alike?
A
B
C
D
Y N
to learn how the planets move
Why does Neptune take longer to go
around the sun than Earth does?
A
B
C
D
1.
They all revolve around the sun.
They rotate on a horizontal axis.
They all rotate at the same speed.
They all have a vertical axis.
What does it mean for a planet to be
farther from the sun?
A
B
C
D
It takes a planet longer to travel
around the sun.
___ / 8
Total
It takes a planet a shorter time to
travel around the sun.
It takes a planet the same time as
closer planets to travel around
the sun.
The planet is unable to travel around
the sun.
#50927—180 Days of Reading for Sixth Grade
199
WEEK 31
DAY
5
Name:________________________________ Date:___________________
Directions
Reread “The Planets Get Moving.” Then, read the prompt and
respond on the lines below.
SCORE
___ / 4
What do you think it would be like if Earth were as far away from the sun as Jupiter is?
What would happen to its revolution? Would its rotation change? Explain your answer.
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200
#50927—180 Days of Reading for Sixth Grade
© Shell Education