3.10C Ocean Glow Assessment Worksheet
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TEKS 3.10(C) Score: / 10
Grade 3 Informational Science Reading
Deep-Sea Glow: Nature's Living Lights
Read the text and examine all graphic features.
Imagine traveling thousands of feet beneath the ocean waves where sunlight can never reach. The water is ice-cold and pitch-black. Yet, if you look into the dark, you will see blue, green, and gold lights sparkling like fireworks! This natural glow is called bioluminescence. A marine biologist is a scientist who studies ocean life and these amazing glowing creatures.
Journey to the Midnight Zone
Near the surface, plants and fish soak in warm sunshine. But as you travel deeper, sunlight fades away. Below 1,000 meters lies the Midnight Zone. In this dark realm, a deep-sea predator—an animal that hunts other animals for food—cannot rely on eyes alone. Instead, many animals make their own flashlights to survive.
Chemical Wonders
How do these animals glow? Inside their bodies, a special chemical called luciferin mixes with oxygen. Special light-producing organs called photophores release a cool, glowing beam. Creatures use this light to lure meals, send secret signals, or scare away hungry enemies.
Deep-Sea Fact File
- Cold Light: Unlike household light bulbs, bioluminescence produces almost zero heat.
- Glowing Ink: Deep-sea shrimp squirt luminous clouds to blind enemies while escaping.
- Helpful Bacteria: Anglerfish do not make light alone; glowing bacteria live inside their lures!
Anatomy of an Anglerfish Diagram
Glowing Lure (Esca) Needle Teeth Stretchy Stomach Sensory Barbel
Figure 1: The female deep-sea anglerfish uses a glowing lure (esca) filled with bacteria to attract curious prey in pitch-black water.
Ocean Depth & Light Zones Chart
| Zone |
Depth |
Sunlight |
Glow Level |
| Sunlight |
0–200 m |
Bright |
Rare |
| Twilight |
200–1,000 m |
Faint Blue |
Common |
| Midnight |
1,000+ m |
None (0%) |
Abundant |
Turn to the next page to answer Questions 1–10.
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TEKS 3.10(C) Assessment
Deep-Sea Glow • Comprehension Questions
Questions 1 – 5
Directions: Use the text, diagram, chart, and sidebar on Page 1 to choose the best answer for each question.
1. Why did the author include the subheading "Journey to the Midnight Zone" before paragraph 2?
A To explain how scientists build underwater submarines for deep ocean travel
B To introduce a section about how sunlight disappears as ocean water gets deeper
C To convince the reader that swimming in the ocean at night is dangerous
D To list the different types of colorful sea plants living on the ocean floor
2. Why is the word bioluminescence printed in bold font in paragraph 1?
A To alert the reader that this is an important scientific term defined in the passage
B To show that the word is dialogue spoken aloud by an ocean explorer
C To warn the reader that deep-sea creatures are poisonous to touch
D To show that the author disagrees with the meaning of the word
3. Look at the diagram labeled Figure 1. Which labeled part shows where light is produced to draw in prey?
A Sensory Barbel
B Stretchy Stomach
C Needle Teeth
D Glowing Lure (Esca)
4. What is the primary purpose of the caption placed underneath Figure 1?
A To explain what the diagram shows and describe how the fish uses its lure
B To inform the reader how much an adult anglerfish weighs
C To provide instructions for catching deep-sea creatures with a fishing rod
D To describe where scientists bought the underwater camera equipment
5. Based on the "Ocean Depth & Light Zones" chart, which ocean zone has zero natural sunlight?
A Sunlight Zone
B Twilight Zone
C Midnight Zone
D Surface Zone
Continue to Questions 6–10 on Page 3.
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TEKS 3.10(C) Assessment
Deep-Sea Glow • Comprehension Questions
Questions 6 – 10
6. How does the "Deep-Sea Fact File" sidebar contribute to the reader's understanding?
A It provides quick extra facts about how ocean animals produce and use cold light
B It gives step-by-step directions on how to raise anglerfish in a classroom fish tank
C It lists the names of famous explorers who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean
D It explains how sailors navigate ships using tall lighthouse signals
7. The author italicized the word luciferin in paragraph 3 most likely to —
A remind the reader to read that sentence in an excited whisper
B highlight a specific scientific chemical that causes animals to produce light
C show that the word is a spelling mistake in the passage
D indicate that the word is the title of a chapter in a book
8. Why did the author include both the diagram of the anglerfish and the depth chart?
A To help the reader visualize a glowing predator and understand its dark ocean habitat
B To prove that all ocean animals look identical regardless of water depth
C To show how much it costs to build an aquarium tank at a zoo
D To convince the reader that the ocean has more plants than land
9. If a student wants to find out how deep the Twilight Zone reaches, which feature should they check first?
A The title of the passage
B The "Ocean Depth" chart
C The caption under Figure 1
D First sentence of paragraph 1
10. Overall, how do the subheadings help the reader understand this text?
A They organize the passage into clear sections that make information easier to find
B They provide a glossary of every unfamiliar word used in the passage
C They tell the story of a girl who caught an anglerfish on vacation
D They show the exact calendar dates when deep-sea animals were first discovered
Check your work: Did you use the text features for each answer?
Initials:
End of Assessment
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Ocean Glow Answer Key
Teacher Resource • TEKS 3.10(C)
Ocean Glow Assessment • Answer Key
Grade 3 Reading
Master Key & Rationales
Quick Scoring Strip 1 point each • 10 total points
Q1 B
Q2 A
Q3 D
Q4 A
Q5 C
Q6 A
Q7 B
Q8 A
Q9 B
Q10 A
Question 1 Subheadings
Correct: B
Rationale: Subheadings forecast the main topic of upcoming paragraphs. Paragraph 2 explains how sunlight disappears below the surface down into the pitch-black Midnight Zone.
Misconception Alert: Students who pick A confuse general deep-sea exploration with the specific topic introduced in paragraph 2.
Question 2 Bold Print
Correct: A
Rationale: Authors use bold typography to draw the eye to critical domain-specific vocabulary terms that are defined in surrounding sentences.
Misconception Alert: Students picking B confuse bold font styling with dialogue quotation marks.
Question 3 Diagram & Labels
Correct: D
Rationale: Figure 1 includes leader lines; the glowing bulb at the end of the dorsal spine is clearly labeled "Glowing Lure (Esca)".
Misconception Alert: Students who pick C associate catching food with teeth rather than the lure that actually produces light to attract the prey.
Question 4 Captions
Correct: A
Rationale: Captions provide immediate context for images and illustrations. The caption explicitly explains that the female anglerfish uses its esca to attract prey.
Misconception Alert: Remind students that captions describe the graphic above/beside them, not unrelated procedural information (distractor C).
Question 5 Chart / Table
Correct: C
Rationale: In the "Ocean Depth & Light Zones" table, under the "Sunlight" column, the Midnight Zone (1,000+ m) is listed as "None (0%)".
Misconception Alert: Students may misread the Twilight Zone row (which still receives "Faint Blue" light) instead of navigating to the zero-light row.
Turn over for Questions 6–10 and Reteach Strategies.
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Teacher Resource • TEKS 3.10(C)
Rationales (Cont.) & Intervention Tips
Questions 6 – 10
Question 6 Sidebar / Fact File
Correct: A
Rationale: Sidebars supply supplemental, high-interest facts that expand on the topic without interrupting the main narrative flow.
Misconception Alert: Make sure students understand sidebars contain informative tidbits rather than how-to procedures (distractor B).
Question 7 Italics
Correct: B
Rationale: Italics emphasize scientific names or specialized chemical terms like luciferin to set them apart from standard body text.
Misconception Alert: Third graders often equate italicized text with fiction sound effects or whispering (distractor A).
Question 8 Feature Synthesis
Correct: A
Rationale: Pairing an anatomical diagram (the animal) with an environmental chart (the ocean zones) gives the reader a multi-dimensional understanding of survival in darkness.
Misconception Alert: Eliminate distractors B, C, and D because they make extreme or irrelevant claims unsupported by either graphic.
Question 9 Locating Information
Correct: B
Rationale: Tables and charts are organized for efficient retrieval of numerical ranges and specific zone data without rereading the whole passage.
Misconception Alert: Students often default to rereading paragraph 1 from top to bottom rather than scanning graphic features directly.
Question 10 Author's Purpose
Correct: A
Rationale: Subheadings serve as organizational signposts that break extensive text into manageable, thematic chunks.
Misconception Alert: Clarify that subheadings are section titles, distinct from a glossary (distractor B) or timeline (distractor D).
TEKS 3.10(C) Small Group Reteach Strategies
1. "Text Feature Scavenger Hunt" Before reading, have students highlight subheadings in yellow, bold words in blue, and circle the diagram caption. Ask: "What clues do these give us about the topic?"
2. "The Cover-Up Test" Cover the diagram's caption or the chart's column headers with sticky notes. Ask students what information is lost to illustrate why authors add each specific feature.
TEKS 3.10(C) Teacher Instructional Guide Complete
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