1st grade nonfiction passage about pickles: 95 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradenonfictionpickles95 words
A Pickle Used to Be a Cucumber
A pickle is a cucumber that has changed. A cucumber is green and mild. A pickle is green, too. But it tastes sour and salty.
Here is how it works. A cook puts a cucumber in a jar. The cook adds salty water or vinegar. Then the jar sits and waits for days.
The cucumber soaks up the sour, salty taste. Soon it is a pickle. A good pickle goes crunch when you bite it.
People put pickles on sandwiches and burgers. Some kids like to eat them just by themselves. Would you try one?
Questions
What was a pickle before it was a pickle? in the text
What does a pickle taste like? in the text
What does the cook put the cucumber in? in the text
What sound does a good pickle make? in the text
Why does the cucumber change in the jar? think about it
Words to know
cucumber
a long green vegetable with a cool, mild taste
mild
not strong in taste
vinegar
a sour liquid used in cooking
soak
to sit in a liquid and take it in
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Pickle Used to Be a Cucumber
1st grade reading passage
A pickle is a cucumber that has changed. A cucumber is green and mild. A pickle is green, too. But it tastes sour and salty.
Here is how it works. A cook puts a cucumber in a jar. The cook adds salty water or vinegar. Then the jar sits and waits for days.
The cucumber soaks up the sour, salty taste. Soon it is a pickle. A good pickle goes crunch when you bite it.
People put pickles on sandwiches and burgers. Some kids like to eat them just by themselves. Would you try one?
Questions
What was a pickle before it was a pickle?
What does a pickle taste like?
What does the cook put the cucumber in?
What sound does a good pickle make?
Why does the cucumber change in the jar?
Words to know
cucumber: a long green vegetable with a cool, mild taste
mild: not strong in taste
vinegar: a sour liquid used in cooking
soak: to sit in a liquid and take it in
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/a-pickle-used-to-be-a-cucumber
Share
One passage, three levels
The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.
● Easier · 61 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
A pickle is a cucumber that has changed. A cucumber is green and mild. A pickle is green, too. It is sour and salty.
A cook puts a cucumber in a jar. The cook adds salty water. Then the jar sits.
The cucumber soaks up the taste. Now it is a pickle. A good pickle goes crunch.
Pickles go on sandwiches.
▲ This passage · 95 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
A pickle is a cucumber that has changed. A cucumber is green and mild. A pickle is green, too. But it tastes sour and salty.
Here is how it works. A cook puts a cucumber in a jar. The cook adds salty water or vinegar. Then the jar sits and waits for days.
The cucumber soaks up the sour, salty taste. Soon it is a pickle. A good pickle goes crunch when you bite it.
People put pickles on sandwiches and burgers. Some kids like to eat them just by themselves. Would you try one?
■ Harder · 112 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5
A pickle is really a cucumber that has been changed. A fresh cucumber is green and has a mild, cool taste. A pickle is green as well, but it tastes sour and salty instead.
This is how it happens. A cook places a cucumber inside a jar and adds salty water or a sour liquid called vinegar. Then the jar sits quietly for a while.
Slowly, the cucumber soaks up the sour, salty flavor of the liquid. Before long, it has become a pickle, and a good pickle makes a loud crunch when you bite it.
People like to put pickles on sandwiches, and some people enjoy eating them all by themselves.
A pickle is a cucumber that has changed. A cucumber is green and mild. A pickle is green, too. It is sour and salty.
A cook puts a cucumber in a jar. The cook adds salty water. Then the jar sits.
The cucumber soaks up the taste. Now it is a pickle. A good pickle goes crunch.
Pickles go on sandwiches.
Questions
What was a pickle before it was a pickle?
What does a pickle taste like?
What does the cook put the cucumber in?
What sound does a good pickle make?
Why does the cucumber change in the jar?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Pickle Used to Be a Cucumber
A pickle is a cucumber that has changed. A cucumber is green and mild. A pickle is green, too. But it tastes sour and salty.
Here is how it works. A cook puts a cucumber in a jar. The cook adds salty water or vinegar. Then the jar sits and waits for days.
The cucumber soaks up the sour, salty taste. Soon it is a pickle. A good pickle goes crunch when you bite it.
People put pickles on sandwiches and burgers. Some kids like to eat them just by themselves. Would you try one?
Questions
What was a pickle before it was a pickle?
What does a pickle taste like?
What does the cook put the cucumber in?
What sound does a good pickle make?
Why does the cucumber change in the jar?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Pickle Used to Be a Cucumber
A pickle is really a cucumber that has been changed. A fresh cucumber is green and has a mild, cool taste. A pickle is green as well, but it tastes sour and salty instead.
This is how it happens. A cook places a cucumber inside a jar and adds salty water or a sour liquid called vinegar. Then the jar sits quietly for a while.
Slowly, the cucumber soaks up the sour, salty flavor of the liquid. Before long, it has become a pickle, and a good pickle makes a loud crunch when you bite it.
People like to put pickles on sandwiches, and some people enjoy eating them all by themselves.
Questions
What kind of food was a pickle before it was changed?
How does a pickle taste?
What does the cook place the cucumber inside?
What sound does a good pickle make when you bite it?
Why does the cucumber taste different after it sits in the jar?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Pickle Used to Be a Cucumber
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
A cucumber.
Sour and salty.
A jar.
Crunch.
It soaks up the sour, salty taste.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
A cucumber.
Sour and salty.
A jar.
Crunch.
It soaks up the sour, salty liquid and takes on its taste.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5)
A cucumber.
Sour and salty.
A jar.
A loud crunch.
It soaks up the sour, salty flavor of the liquid.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put cucumber, mild, vinegar and soak on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 1 minute to read aloud.
Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
What reading level is "A Pickle Used to Be a Cucumber"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 95 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.0. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.
What do the questions ask?
There are five. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.
How long does it take to read?
About 1 minute read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.
Can I print it?
Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.
Is this passage from a published book?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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