What is an Enzyme? Biology Reading Comprehension 2 Passage & Questions

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Enzymes are the tiny protein machines that make nearly every life process possible, from digesting food to copying DNA, so helping students understand what an enzyme is builds clear links to NGSS MS-LS1 and HS-LS1 ideas about structure and function. Teaching this topic through two leveled reading passages with questions lets all learners master the essentials at the right depth: the higher level passage supports learning about active sites, specificity, activation energy, and how pH and temperature affect reaction rates, while the more accessible passage explains the idea engaging images of enzymes with everyday examples like saliva breaking down starch. Each passage includes, clear vocabulary, and scaffolded questions that move from recall to cause and effect to interpreting a more complicated question, strengthening science literacy and quantitative reasoning. This flexible format makes planning easier, supports differentiation, and sparks curiosity by connecting molecular biology to real-world contexts such as nutrition, biotechnology, and medicine.

This tiered approach - offering two sets of guiding reading and questions tailored to each text - builds foundational skills in reading, critical thinking, and scientific inquiry, so you can use the right one for you. Through such structured resources, students develop a deeper appreciation for the processes that create and preserve this incredible natural phenomenon, and gain the scientific literacy necessary to make informed decisions.

This 2 article set of What is an enzyme? reading passages with questions provides the perfect grab and go, print and provide resource that can help your students learn all about What is an enzyme? For digital, you can provide a Google doc copy for ease of submission or a Microsoft word version as well. In this What is an enzyme? article with questions to check comprehension and inspire scientific thinking.

The accessible version is geared towards approximately 5th / 6th / 7th grade science students, while the more advanced version is geared towards approximately 8th / 9th / 10th grade science students. This range for both could be extended with prep work or additional materials.

THIS WHAT IS AN ENZYME? ARTICLE CAN BE USED SO MANY WAYS:

Useful for substitute (sub) teaching
To extend students
To increase scientific literacy in your class
A weekly reading task
Great as a lesson filler when class goes too fast
To inspire students on a particular topic
Give a selection of these articles for students to choose from

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS WHAT IS AN ENZYME? READING PASSAGE WITH QUESTIONS:

2 - 3 page Word doc image - textboxes teacher version with answers
2 - 2 page Word doc image - textboxes student version with room to fill in answers (text boxes)
2 - 3 page PDF teacher version with answers
2 - 2 page PDF student version without answers (but space left to do so)
2 - 3 page Google doc image - textboxes teacher version with answers
2 - 2 page Google doc image - textboxes student version with room to fill answers (text boxes)

Please note: That the Doc versions are images with editable text boxes overlayed on top and this is the most effective way to keep the article sleek and well-designed and also that students cannot change things significantly.

WANT MORE AMAZING ARTICLES LIKE THIS WHAT IS AN ENZYME ARTICLE? MANY ARE AVAILABLE!

I am very proud of this series of science articles and they are rich with information and wonder at the majesty of science. Each science article includes a fun fact(s) to add to the knowledge gained from this article. Formatted in an easy to read and digest manner, each paragraph is numbered to help with referencing and each question answer has a paragraph reference number to point to the specific information (where applicable).