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📖 How Volcanoes Form

5th Grade reading comprehension · Science · Read the passage, then circle the best answer.

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Deep beneath Earth’s surface, temperatures are so high that some rock melts into a thick liquid called magma.

Earth’s outer layer is broken into giant pieces called tectonic plates. Where plates pull apart or one plate slides beneath another, magma can push up through cracks in the crust.

When magma reaches the surface, it is called lava. Each eruption adds layers of cooled lava and ash, and over thousands of years these layers can build a mountain.

Not all volcanoes are on land. The Hawaiian Islands formed from volcanoes that rose from the ocean floor until they broke through the surface of the Pacific.

Words to know: magma: melted rock beneath Earth’s surface · tectonic plates: huge pieces of Earth’s outer layer that slowly move

  1. What is magma called when it reaches the surface?
    1. Crust
    2. Ash
    3. Lava
  2. Where can magma rise?
    1. Inside clouds
    2. Only in deserts
    3. Where plates pull apart or slide under each other
  3. How do volcanoes grow into mountains?
    1. They are carved by people.
    2. Wind piles up sand.
    3. Layers of lava and ash build up over time.
  4. Why does the author mention Hawaii?
    1. To show volcanoes can form under the ocean
    2. To describe surfing
    3. To advertise vacations
✂ Answer key: fold or cut along the line

1. C (vocabulary)   2. C (detail)   3. C (sequence)   4. A (author’s purpose)

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