Free printable · Grade 8
Free 8th grade reading passage with text-dependent questions: How Volcanoes Erupt
How Volcanoes Erupt is an original, fact-checked 8th grade earth science passage of about 650 words. It explains where magma forms, why gas makes it rise, and why some volcanoes erupt gently while others explode. Students answer six text-dependent questions (three found in the text, three that ask them to think with it), fill a main idea organizer, and the teacher gets an answer key.
Make your own in seconds
Ask for a reading passage on your own topic, at another grade, or with more support, and SCAFLI makes it with questions and a key.
Try asking for:
- “citing evidence passage for 8th grade”
- “8th grade close reading”
SCAFLI is in early access. The free PDF above needs no sign-up.
What it is
An informational reading for middle school science or ELA, with questions that can only be answered from the text, a main idea and details organizer, and a teacher key.
How to use it
- Read it once for the big idea, then again with a pencil to mark evidence.
- Answer the in-the-text questions first, then the thinking questions.
- Fill the main idea organizer with details students marked.
Three quick tips
- Go over the four Words to Know before reading.
- Ask students to point to the sentence that answers each question.
- Use the thinking questions for a partner talk before writing.
Questions
- Is the passage fact-checked?
- Yes. It was checked against geology sources before it was published.
- Is there an answer key?
- Yes. The key has every answer and a filled main idea organizer.
- Can I get other topics?
- Yes. Ask SCAFLI for a passage on another topic and grade, with text-dependent questions.
A starting point for your own professional judgment. Use initials only on any page about a student.