2nd grade [session1]

READING COMPREHENSION 

      What is a volcano?                 

Volcanoes are mountains, but they aren’t typical mountains. Volcanoes are formed when magma (hot, liquid rock) rises up from beneath and leaks into the Earth’s crust, or surface level. It forms a pool beneath the surface called a magma chamber. As this pool gets bigger, it swells the earth on top of it upwards and outwards.

The term volcano comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking. It was originally believed that smoke and fire from volcanoes was evidence that Vulcan was doing his metalwork inside of them. A small island was named Vulcano because of its many volcanoes.

Volcanoes erupt when the pressure of the magma beneath the surface becomes too great for the rock above it to contain. At this point, the magma breaks through the surface—sometimes in a great explosion—at which point it is called lava.

The temperature inside a volcano is very hot. Scientists say it can get as hot as 2,120 degrees Fahrenheit. Molten rock turns an orange-yellow color when it reaches 900 degrees. When it cools to 630 degrees, the color becomes dark to bright cherry red.

Story Questions

1. What does the word evidence mean as used in the passage?

a. argument                b. proof                      c. instruction               d. plan

2. What does a volcanic eruption depend on?

a. It depends on the amount of air pressure around the volcano.

b. It depends on the amount of past action from the volcano.

c. It depends on the pressure of the magma against the surface above it.

d. It depends on how many years it has been since it last erupted.

 3. Which paragraph helps answer the previous question?

a. first paragraph   b. fourth paragraph   c. second paragraph   d. third paragraph

4. Which of the following statements is a fact about volcanoes?

a. Volcanoes are made from erosion.            

b. Volcanoes are mountains.

c. Volcanoes have a vent which is connected to molten rock.

d. The temperature inside a volcano is warm.

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Read the passage and answer the questions.

Volcanoes are mountains that are formed when magma (molten rock) from inside the Earth erupts to the surface. It takes a long time for volcanoes to grow big. Most are 10,000 to 100,000 years old. Volcanoes can be explosive and spew out ash and gases, or they can produce lava. Most volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean are known as composite volcanoes; they are made of layers of ash and lava. Cinder cones are another type. These are circular or oval-shaped cones of small fragments of lava that came from one vent. Shield volcanoes are shaped like a bowl or shield in the middle with long gentle slopes made by lava flows. Lava dome volcanoes are formed when lava is too thick to flow and makes a steep sided mound as lava piles up near the vent. Volcanoes erupt when there is friction or movement in the tectonic plates.

1. What three different things can come out of a volcano?    

2. What kind of volcano is commonly found around the Pacific Ocean?   

3. How old are most volcanoes?    

4. What kind of volcano is shaped like a bowl in the middle?   

5. Describe a cinder cone volcano.    

6. What causes a volcano to erupt?