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Name: ____________________________
Date: _____________
Fluency Practice
Minerals
Do you remember the last time you picked up a pebble? 11
Maybe it was clear as glass. Minerals formed the colors and
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patterns in the pebble. A mineral is a solid, non-living substance 34
that occurs naturally in rocks or in the ground. Every mineral has 46
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unique properties. The earth’s surface is rock, a solid substance 56
made of many minerals or of one mineral with different-sized
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grains. 69
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There are more than 4,000 minerals. Many of them look 78
alike. Scientists use the minerals’ physical properties to tell 87
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them apart. For example, scientists can compare the hardness 96
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of two minerals by how easily they can be scratched.
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The way a mineral reflects light is its luster. Two minerals 117
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may be the same color, but one may have a shiny luster and the 131
other a dull luster. 135
When you rub a mineral across a surface, the mineral leaves a streak of 149
powder. The colored powder can help scientists identify two minerals that look 161
alike but have different colored streaks. 167
Minerals might look alike and may share some properties, but they do not share 181
all properties! 183
Please read this passage aloud for one minute and write down
the number of words you read. The goal of this type of reading
is to practice fluency and expression.
Happy Reading!