Where Do Dead Things Go? Biology Reading Comprehension 2 Passage & Questions

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Exploring where dead things go turns a big question into clear life science learning about decomposers, nutrient cycles, and soil formation for grades 5 to 10 (maybe even 11 & 12). A two level set of reading passages with questions lets every student access the ideas at the right depth: the higher level passage supports learning about how fungi, bacteria, and detritivores break complex molecules into carbon and nitrogen that plants can reuse, with simple data on temperature and moisture effects, while the accessible passage explains humus, composting, and food web roles in friendly language. Each passage includes an engaging image and scaffolded questions that move from recall to cause and effect to evidence based explanations. This flexible resource supports ecology units, sustainability projects, and everyday connections like garden soil and school compost bins, building science literacy and critical thinking while making the invisible work of decomposition visible and memorable.

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 Where do dead things go? reading passages with questions provides the perfect grab and go, print and provide resource that can help your students learn all about Where do dead things go? For digital, you can provide a Google doc copy for ease of submission or a Microsoft word version as well. In this Where do dead things go? 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 WHERE DO DEAD THINGS GO? 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 WHERE DO DEAD THINGS GO? 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.