Lucas on a skate park half-pipe is the subject of a passage of about 300 words for 4th grade readers. It follows him from the still moment at the top, when he has potential energy, to the flat bottom where his kinetic energy peaks, and up the far side. Friction turns some energy into heat and sound, so each pass is lower until he pushes off. Eight questions in three parts follow. It supports RI.4.1 and NGSS 4-PS3-2. The answer key is on page 4.
RI.4.1
“Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.”
Question 4 asks for a phrase copied from the text, and questions 7 and 8 ask students to prove or support a claim with evidence from it.
4-PS3-2
“Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.”
Questions 3 and 6 ask how friction turns some of Lucas's motion energy into heat and sound.
Four paragraphs with potential energy, kinetic energy and friction in bold, and a photo of a skateboarder on a ramp.
Four questions. Three are multiple choice on Lucas's energy at the top, where his kinetic energy is highest and what friction explains, and one asks students to copy a phrase from paragraph 3.
Question 5 is multiple choice on the energy going up the far side. Question 6 asks why Lucas rolls lower each pass, and question 7 is a true or false table with a column for how students know.
Question 8 asks how a ramp covered in rough sandpaper would change Lucas's ride, using evidence from the passage.
The correct option for each multiple-choice question, a quoted phrase for question 4, the true and false answers and a sample answer for question 8.
Highlight the energy words
Have students highlight potential, kinetic and friction on their copy. Each one is the key to a different question.
Sketch the half-pipe
Before part 1, students draw the half-pipe and label the top, bottom and far side with potential or kinetic. The sketch makes question 2 easy.
Question 8 debate
Ask half the class to argue that sandpaper would slow Lucas more and half to say the ride would stay the same. The passage settles it.
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