Speed Reading — Night Owls - Level 3 — 300 wpm 

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.

This is the text (if you need help).

The phrase, "The early bird catches the worm" may be true. It means people who wake up early get more done than people who don't. Another saying is from former U.S. President Benjamin Franklin. He said: "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Scientists have found that people who go to bed before 11pm may do better in life than people who sleep around 2:30am. The researchers are from Birmingham's Centre for Human Brain Health in the U.K. Their research showed that people who slept and rose early (early birds) had an advantage over people who slept and woke up late (night owls). There were differences in the brain function of early birds and night owls.

The scientists tested 38 people in their research. The people answered questionnaires about their sleeping pattern and when they felt tired during the day. They were then put into an early bird or night owl group based on their answers. All of the people had MRI scans on their brain and did different tests throughout the day. The early birds said they felt less sleepy and were able to do the tests quicker than the night owls. The researchers said there were big differences between the two groups. The researchers said: "Night owls during school have to get up earlier, then they go into work and they have to get up earlier, so they're constantly having to fight against their preferences and natural rhythms."

Comprehension questions
  1. What did the article say catches worms?
  2. What did a U.S. president say getting up early "makes a man"?
  3. What time did the article say early birds sleep before?
  4. Who did the scientists say had an advantage?
  5. In what part of the body did scientists find differences in people?
  6. How many people did scientists test in their research?
  7. What kind of medical test did the people have?
  8. How did the early birds feel after doing tests?
  9. Where did the researchers say night owls have to get up earlier?
  10. How often do night owls have to fight against their natural rhythms?

Back to the night owls lesson.

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