Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Warm and Cozy
Grandma's blanket was so warm. Natalie loved to sit under it and watch a movie with Grandma while they munched on popcorn. Natalie was so glad her turn had finally come!
Natalie had three brothers and one sister. Grandma and Grandpa lived about 90 minutes away. Once a month, Grandma and Grandpa had one grandchild over for the weekend. They had a special guest room just for their grandkids, and on that weekend, the lucky grandchild was treated like a prince or princess! Grandma made his or her favorite food. Grandpa played his or her favorite game. On Saturday night, they rented the child's favorite movie.
Grandma had a special blanket that she would pull out to use on movie nights. It was always soft, clean, and fluffy. It had sweeping stripes of blue, yellow, and light green in it, like someone had simply taken a paint brush and in a carefree way, moved the brush back and forth across the blanket. But, there was something extra special about this blanket, too.
The blanket had a cord and a small control box. Grandma would plug it in, and she could set the blanket to warm up! It was an electric blanket! Natalie loved that, especially in the fall, winter, and early spring. Grandma and Grandpa kept their house a little cool, and Natalie enjoyed snuggling up and staying warm under the blanket.
Before starting the movie, Grandma turned to ask Natalie a question. "Do you know how electric blankets came about?"
"No, Grandma. I've never learned anything about them, although I really enjoy them!"
Grandma smiled and continued. "I recently learned that electric blankets have been around since 1912. They were used at first for people with a serious disease called tuberculosis."
"That sounds scary."
"Yes, it was a disease that would affect their breathing. The blankets were small at first and meant to be laid on the patient's chest to warm them and ease their breathing. They were kind of like a heating pad. Do you remember the time your tummy was bothering you, and I let you put a heating pad on it?"
