Marbles Reading Comprehension Passage - Cored Ed Encyclopedia

This marbles reading comprehension contains the following:

Visualize on the Cover (Teacher Read Aloud Script)

Start your lesson by taking a few moments to visualize the topic and share thoughts or feelings about it.

Pre-Reading Trivia

Students will write down one thing they already know about the subject and then read five more facts and discuss. These facts are fun, and the students will enjoy learning about the subject before reading more.

Reading Passage

The text is a high-interest reading passage with set paragraphs, roughly three to four paragraphs long. It contains a variety of themes about the topic, anywhere from history to technology. The passage is between 250 and 350 words in length.

Mixed Questions

The first question page contains four multiple-choice questions, each with a choice of four answers, and three written response questions that require a sentence or two from the student.

Vocabulary Questions

Practice seven key words from the text in this section across two activities. First section is scrambled words where students will unscramble three words given a clue for each. The second section is a word to meaning matching activity.

Creative Writing

In this question, the student will be required to write a five to eight sentence paragraph on a question related to the topic.

Extension Activities

This page is optional for fast finishers or to take home. There are several activities, each one requiring a different skill. Do some, do none, do all, completely optional - but you will feel reassured knowing every possibility is planned for. Includes summary writting question.

Answer Key

There are answers for the multiple-choice questions, written response questions have sample answers, vocabulary answers and if there is a summary question then a sample summary will be provided as well.

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Lesson Snapshot

• Title: Marbles

• Genre: Nonfiction

• Subject: Reading (Informational Text)

• Primary Topic: What marbles are, how they’re used, and history

• Estimated Guided Reading Level (A–Z): Q

What This Lesson Teaches Best

• Defines what marbles are and what they can be made from (glass, clay, plastic, steel, agate).

• Explains a classic marble game using clear, step-by-step details (ring on the ground, shooter, “for fair,” “for keeps,” “knuckling”).

• Builds background knowledge by tracing marbles across time and places (2500 BCE, Rome, medieval times, Britain, India).

• Uses headings to organize information into sections (game rules, history, and modern designs/collecting).

• Uses vivid descriptive language to help readers picture marbles (colors that “float inside,” “tiny galaxies,” “ribbons of color”).

Learning Goals

• Describe what a marble is and list materials marbles can be made from.

• Explain how the classic ring game works, including what a shooter does.

• Tell what “for fair” and “for keeps” mean in the game.

• Describe how marbles connect to history using details from the text (places and time periods).

• Use section headings to locate and share information about games, history, and marbles today.

• Describe how the author explains what marbles look like in sunlight and in clear glass.

Key Vocabulary From the Text

• Agate — a pretty kind of stone used for some marbles.

• Shooter — a bigger marble used to knock other marbles.

• Archaeologists — people who find and study things from long ago.

• Medieval — from a long-ago time in history.

• Galaxies — huge groups of stars; here, a way to describe patterns.

Cored Ed Encyclopedia Overview

The Cored Ed Encyclopedia is a weekly series of lessons that you can pick up and use right away. These short readings fit into whatever time you have available. Each one includes a warm-up, a reading, and a set of questions, but it’s flexible — you can do just the reading, the full lesson, or skip the writing section if you need to. Each lesson focuses on a single topic so students don’t get lost. The writing is clear but never childish, making it perfect for grades two through five. Topics range from animals and science to history, inventions, and everyday things. No matter the level of the student, everyone should take away at least one new idea or fact from each lesson. The materials are easy to print, easy to explain, and require no setup. They work well for whole-class teaching, partner work, or independent study.