Worksheet

Volcano Words: From Magma to Mountains

Read an original science article about volcanoes and use context clues to work out the meanings of science and academic words.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.5.4

Play online Play as a game

PrintLetter-size worksheet Answer keyPrintable answers

Assign to classAssign to your classes, or get a join code

What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use context clues to work out the meanings of science words in a text.
Students determine the meanings of general academic words and phrases.
Students use new science words correctly in sentences.

How to use

Have students read the article and circle any word they do not know, then answer the questions by looking for clues near each word.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.5.4

Work out the meaning of general academic and subject-specific words and phrases in a text on a grade 5 topic.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Volcano Words: From Magma to Mountains

Use context clues to work out science words.

Read the article

How a Volcano Builds a Mountain

1In some places deep beneath Earth's surface, it is hot enough to melt rock. This melted, or molten, rock is called magma. Magma is lighter than the solid rock around it, so it slowly rises toward the surface, much like a bubble rising in a glass of water. Magma also holds gases. As the magma rises and gathers in underground pockets, the gases push outward, and pressure builds.

2A volcano is a place where magma can escape through an opening in Earth's surface. The opening is called a vent. When the pressure becomes too great, the volcano erupts, which means the magma bursts or flows out through the vent. Once magma reaches the surface, it has a new name: lava. Some eruptions are quiet, with lava oozing out slowly like thick syrup. Others are explosive and blast clouds of ash, tiny bits of broken rock and glass, high into the sky.

3After lava pours out, it cools and hardens into solid rock. Ash falls back to the ground and settles around the vent. Eruption after eruption, these layers of rock and ash accumulate, or pile up, one on top of another. Gradually, over many years, the layers can build a mountain. Many volcanoes are shaped like a cone. At the top of many volcanoes is a crater, a bowl-shaped hollow around the vent.

4Some volcanoes even rise from the ocean floor. Over a very long time, the layers can grow tall enough to break through the surface of the water and form islands. The Hawaiian Islands formed this way.

5Scientists sort volcanoes into three groups. An active volcano is erupting now or has erupted in recent times. A dormant volcano is quiet for now, but it could erupt again someday, like a bear sleeping through the winter. An extinct volcano is not expected to erupt ever again, because it no longer has a supply of magma.

6Scientists who study volcanoes are called volcanologists. They measure tiny shakes in the ground and changes in the gases that drift from a vent. These clues can warn people that magma is on the move and that an eruption may be coming.

Use context clues

Look for clues near each word in the article.

In paragraph 1, what does the word molten mean?

A. frozen solid by cold
B. pressed into layers
C. melted by great heat
D. hidden deep underground

In paragraph 2, the author describes lava "oozing out slowly like thick syrup." What does oozing mean?

A. flowing out slowly
B. shooting up quickly
C. cooling into rock
D. breaking into bits

Read paragraph 3 again. Underline the sentence that explains what the word accumulate means.

After lava pours out, it cools and hardens into solid rock.Ash falls back to the ground and settles around the vent.Eruption after eruption, these layers of rock and ash accumulate, or pile up, one on top of another.Gradually, over many years, the layers can build a mountain.Many volcanoes are shaped like a cone.At the top of many volcanoes is a crater, a bowl-shaped hollow around the vent.

In paragraph 3, what does the word gradually mean?

A. suddenly, all at once
B. loudly, with a crash
C. rarely, almost never
D. slowly, little by little

In paragraph 5, what does the word dormant mean?

A. erupting lava and ash right now
B. quiet now but able to erupt later
C. never able to erupt again
D. rising slowly from the ocean floor

Why does the author compare a dormant volcano to "a bear sleeping through the winter"?

A. Both are found only in cold, snowy places.
B. Both grow larger during the winter months.
C. Both are resting now but can wake up later.
D. Both make loud rumbling sounds while asleep.

Use the volcano words

Show what the science words mean.

Match each word from the article to its meaning.

magma
lava
vent
crater
ash

A. a bowl-shaped hollow around the vent
B. melted rock that has reached the surface
C. tiny bits of broken rock and glass
D. melted rock beneath Earth's surface
E. an opening where magma escapes

Use paragraph 5. Sort each description by the kind of volcano it describes.

It has been quiet for many years, but it could erupt again.Lava is oozing from its vent right now.It has no supply of magma left to feed an eruption.Scientists do not expect it to ever erupt again.Clouds of ash are blasting out of it today.Scientists think it may wake up and erupt someday.

Active	Dormant	Extinct

Use the word bank. Write the volcano word that best completes each sentence. One word is not used.

Word bank: volcanologist · lava · extinct · magma · crater

The hot glowed orange as it flowed down the side of the mountain.
From the airplane, we looked down into the bowl-shaped at the top of the volcano.
The measured tiny shakes in the ground near the volcano.
Deep underground, the slowly rose toward the surface.