2nd grade nonfiction passage about butterfly life cycle: 118 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionbutterfly life cycle118 words
A Butterfly's Four Stages
A butterfly does not start out looking like a butterfly. It changes a lot as it grows. It has four stages.
First, a mother butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Next, a caterpillar hatches from the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves all day, and it grows bigger and bigger.
Then the caterpillar hangs from a twig and forms a hard shell. This stage is called the chrysalis. The caterpillar looks like it is resting, but inside the shell its body is changing.
After a while, the shell opens. A butterfly crawls out. Its wings are soft and wet at first. It waits for them to dry. Then it flies away to sip sweet nectar from flowers.
Questions
Where does a mother butterfly lay her egg? in the text
What does the caterpillar do all day? in the text
What is the hard shell stage called? in the text
What does the new butterfly do before it flies? in the text
Why does a caterpillar need to eat so many leaves? think about it
Words to know
caterpillar
the young, wormlike stage of a butterfly
chrysalis
the hard shell where a caterpillar changes
hatches
comes out of an egg
nectar
the sweet juice inside flowers
stage
one step in a long change
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Butterfly's Four Stages
2nd grade reading passage
A butterfly does not start out looking like a butterfly. It changes a lot as it grows. It has four stages.
First, a mother butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Next, a caterpillar hatches from the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves all day, and it grows bigger and bigger.
Then the caterpillar hangs from a twig and forms a hard shell. This stage is called the chrysalis. The caterpillar looks like it is resting, but inside the shell its body is changing.
After a while, the shell opens. A butterfly crawls out. Its wings are soft and wet at first. It waits for them to dry. Then it flies away to sip sweet nectar from flowers.
Questions
Where does a mother butterfly lay her egg?
What does the caterpillar do all day?
What is the hard shell stage called?
What does the new butterfly do before it flies?
Why does a caterpillar need to eat so many leaves?
Words to know
caterpillar: the young, wormlike stage of a butterfly
chrysalis: the hard shell where a caterpillar changes
hatches: comes out of an egg
nectar: the sweet juice inside flowers
stage: one step in a long change
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/a-butterflys-four-stages
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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 · 100 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3
A butterfly does not start as a butterfly. It changes as it grows. It has four stages.
First, a butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Next, a caterpillar comes out of the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves all day. It gets big.
Then the caterpillar hangs from a twig. It makes a hard shell. This is the chrysalis. The caterpillar seems to rest, but its body is changing inside.
Soon the shell opens. A butterfly crawls out. Its wings are wet and soft. It waits for them to dry. Then it flies off to sip nectar from flowers.
▲ This passage · 118 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5
A butterfly does not start out looking like a butterfly. It changes a lot as it grows. It has four stages.
First, a mother butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Next, a caterpillar hatches from the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves all day, and it grows bigger and bigger.
Then the caterpillar hangs from a twig and forms a hard shell. This stage is called the chrysalis. The caterpillar looks like it is resting, but inside the shell its body is changing.
After a while, the shell opens. A butterfly crawls out. Its wings are soft and wet at first. It waits for them to dry. Then it flies away to sip sweet nectar from flowers.
■ Harder · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7
A butterfly does not begin its life looking like a butterfly. Instead, it goes through remarkable changes as it grows, and there are four separate stages.
In the first stage, a mother butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Before long, a caterpillar hatches from the egg. For the next few weeks, the caterpillar munches leaves all day, and it grows bigger and bigger.
Then the caterpillar attaches itself to a twig and forms a hard shell, which is called the chrysalis. From the outside, the caterpillar seems to be resting, yet inside the shell its body is slowly changing into something new.
Eventually the shell splits open, and a butterfly crawls out. Its wings are soft and wet at first, so it must wait patiently while they dry. Only then does it fly away to sip sweet nectar from flowers.
A butterfly does not start as a butterfly. It changes as it grows. It has four stages.
First, a butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Next, a caterpillar comes out of the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves all day. It gets big.
Then the caterpillar hangs from a twig. It makes a hard shell. This is the chrysalis. The caterpillar seems to rest, but its body is changing inside.
Soon the shell opens. A butterfly crawls out. Its wings are wet and soft. It waits for them to dry. Then it flies off to sip nectar from flowers.
Questions
Where does a butterfly lay her egg?
What does the caterpillar do all day?
What is the hard shell called?
What does the new butterfly do before it flies?
Why does a caterpillar eat so many leaves?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Butterfly's Four Stages
A butterfly does not start out looking like a butterfly. It changes a lot as it grows. It has four stages.
First, a mother butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Next, a caterpillar hatches from the egg. The caterpillar eats leaves all day, and it grows bigger and bigger.
Then the caterpillar hangs from a twig and forms a hard shell. This stage is called the chrysalis. The caterpillar looks like it is resting, but inside the shell its body is changing.
After a while, the shell opens. A butterfly crawls out. Its wings are soft and wet at first. It waits for them to dry. Then it flies away to sip sweet nectar from flowers.
Questions
Where does a mother butterfly lay her egg?
What does the caterpillar do all day?
What is the hard shell stage called?
What does the new butterfly do before it flies?
Why does a caterpillar need to eat so many leaves?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Butterfly's Four Stages
A butterfly does not begin its life looking like a butterfly. Instead, it goes through remarkable changes as it grows, and there are four separate stages.
In the first stage, a mother butterfly lays a tiny egg on a leaf. Before long, a caterpillar hatches from the egg. For the next few weeks, the caterpillar munches leaves all day, and it grows bigger and bigger.
Then the caterpillar attaches itself to a twig and forms a hard shell, which is called the chrysalis. From the outside, the caterpillar seems to be resting, yet inside the shell its body is slowly changing into something new.
Eventually the shell splits open, and a butterfly crawls out. Its wings are soft and wet at first, so it must wait patiently while they dry. Only then does it fly away to sip sweet nectar from flowers.
Questions
Where does a mother butterfly lay her tiny egg?
What does the caterpillar spend its days doing?
What name is given to the hard shell stage?
Why must the new butterfly wait before flying?
Why does a caterpillar need to eat so many leaves before it forms a shell?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Butterfly's Four Stages
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3)
On a leaf.
It eats leaves and gets big.
The chrysalis.
It waits for its wet wings to dry.
It needs food to grow big before it changes.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5)
On a leaf.
It eats leaves and grows bigger.
The chrysalis.
It waits for its soft, wet wings to dry.
It needs food to grow bigger before it changes into a butterfly.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 7)
On a leaf.
Munching leaves and growing bigger.
The chrysalis.
Its wings are soft and wet and have to dry first.
It needs food to grow bigger and to get ready for the changes that come next.
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 caterpillar, chrysalis, hatches, nectar and stage 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 Butterfly's Four Stages"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 118 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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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