Why is Most of The Universe Dark? | Reading Comprehension 2 Passage & Questions

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Exploring why most of the universe is “dark” gives students a powerful bridge between astronomy and physics, showing how dark matter’s hidden gravity shapes galaxies and how dark energy drives cosmic expansion. A two level set of reading passages with questions lets every learner grasp the big ideas at the right depth: the higher level passage helps understanding about galaxy rotation curves, gravitational lensing, supernova distance data, and the cosmic microwave background, while the more accessible passage supports learning on the 5% ordinary matter versus 95% dark components with everyday analogies. Each passage includes labeled diagrams, a student friendly glossary, and scaffolded questions that move from recall to analysis and claim evidence reasoning, aligning with NGSS MS-ESS1 and HS-ESS1. This differentiated format streamlines planning, strengthens cross curricular literacy and numeracy, and sparks curiosity by connecting invisible forces to real observations, helping classes see how scientists infer what they cannot directly see.

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 Why is most of the universe dark? reading passages with questions provides the perfect grab and go, print and provide resource that can help your students learn all about Why is most of the universe dark? For digital, you can provide a Google doc copy for ease of submission or a Microsoft word version as well. In this Why is most of the universe dark? 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 WHY IS MOST OF THE UNIVERSE DARK? 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 WHY IS MOST OF THE UNIVERSE DARK? 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 WHY IS MOST OF THE UNIVERSE DARK? 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).