2nd grade nonfiction passage about sod houses on the prairie: 116 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionsod houses on the prairie116 words
A House Made of Grass and Dirt
Some families moved to the wide, flat prairie long ago. The prairie had tall grass, but it had very few trees. There was no wood to build a house.
The families found a new way. The grass had thick roots that held the dirt together. A farmer cut the ground into big blocks. These blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod blocks like bricks to make walls. They put a roof of poles, grass, and more sod on top. The house was a sod house.
A sod house stayed cool in summer and warm in winter. But it was not perfect. Bits of dirt sometimes fell from the roof, and bugs sometimes got in.
Questions
What did the prairie have very few of? in the text
What held the dirt together? in the text
What were the big blocks of ground called? in the text
What was a sod house like in winter? in the text
Why did the families build with sod instead of wood? think about it
Words to know
prairie
a wide, flat land covered with grass
roots
the parts of a plant that grow under the ground
sod
a block of dirt held together by grass roots
stacked
put one on top of another in a pile
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A House Made of Grass and Dirt
2nd grade reading passage
Some families moved to the wide, flat prairie long ago. The prairie had tall grass, but it had very few trees. There was no wood to build a house.
The families found a new way. The grass had thick roots that held the dirt together. A farmer cut the ground into big blocks. These blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod blocks like bricks to make walls. They put a roof of poles, grass, and more sod on top. The house was a sod house.
A sod house stayed cool in summer and warm in winter. But it was not perfect. Bits of dirt sometimes fell from the roof, and bugs sometimes got in.
Questions
What did the prairie have very few of?
What held the dirt together?
What were the big blocks of ground called?
What was a sod house like in winter?
Why did the families build with sod instead of wood?
Words to know
prairie: a wide, flat land covered with grass
roots: the parts of a plant that grow under the ground
sod: a block of dirt held together by grass roots
stacked: put one on top of another in a pile
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/a-house-made-of-grass-and-dirt
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 · 94 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9
Some families moved to the flat prairie long ago. The prairie had tall grass. It had very few trees. There was no wood for a house.
The families found a new way. Grass has thick roots. The roots hold the dirt together. A farmer cut the ground into big blocks. The blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod like bricks. That made the walls. The roof was made of poles, grass, and sod.
A sod house was cool in summer. It was warm in winter. But dirt fell from the roof sometimes.
▲ This passage · 116 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8
Some families moved to the wide, flat prairie long ago. The prairie had tall grass, but it had very few trees. There was no wood to build a house.
The families found a new way. The grass had thick roots that held the dirt together. A farmer cut the ground into big blocks. These blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod blocks like bricks to make walls. They put a roof of poles, grass, and more sod on top. The house was a sod house.
A sod house stayed cool in summer and warm in winter. But it was not perfect. Bits of dirt sometimes fell from the roof, and bugs sometimes got in.
■ Harder · 133 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.8
Long ago, some families moved to the wide, flat prairie, where tall grass stretched in every direction but hardly any trees grew. Without wood, there was nothing to build a house with.
The families discovered a clever solution. Prairie grass has thick roots that hold the soil together very tightly, so a farmer could cut the ground into large, heavy blocks. These blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod blocks like bricks to build the walls, and they covered the top with a roof of poles, grass, and more sod. The finished home was known as a sod house.
A sod house stayed cool in the summer and warm in the winter. However, it was not perfect, because bits of dirt sometimes fell from the roof and bugs occasionally crawled inside.
Some families moved to the flat prairie long ago. The prairie had tall grass. It had very few trees. There was no wood for a house.
The families found a new way. Grass has thick roots. The roots hold the dirt together. A farmer cut the ground into big blocks. The blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod like bricks. That made the walls. The roof was made of poles, grass, and sod.
A sod house was cool in summer. It was warm in winter. But dirt fell from the roof sometimes.
Questions
What did the prairie have very few of?
What held the dirt together?
What were the big blocks called?
What was a sod house like in winter?
Why did families build with sod and not wood?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A House Made of Grass and Dirt
Some families moved to the wide, flat prairie long ago. The prairie had tall grass, but it had very few trees. There was no wood to build a house.
The families found a new way. The grass had thick roots that held the dirt together. A farmer cut the ground into big blocks. These blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod blocks like bricks to make walls. They put a roof of poles, grass, and more sod on top. The house was a sod house.
A sod house stayed cool in summer and warm in winter. But it was not perfect. Bits of dirt sometimes fell from the roof, and bugs sometimes got in.
Questions
What did the prairie have very few of?
What held the dirt together?
What were the big blocks of ground called?
What was a sod house like in winter?
Why did the families build with sod instead of wood?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A House Made of Grass and Dirt
Long ago, some families moved to the wide, flat prairie, where tall grass stretched in every direction but hardly any trees grew. Without wood, there was nothing to build a house with.
The families discovered a clever solution. Prairie grass has thick roots that hold the soil together very tightly, so a farmer could cut the ground into large, heavy blocks. These blocks were called sod.
The family stacked the sod blocks like bricks to build the walls, and they covered the top with a roof of poles, grass, and more sod. The finished home was known as a sod house.
A sod house stayed cool in the summer and warm in the winter. However, it was not perfect, because bits of dirt sometimes fell from the roof and bugs occasionally crawled inside.
Questions
What did the prairie have very few of?
What held the soil together so it could be cut into blocks?
What were the large blocks of ground called?
What was a sod house like in the winter?
Why did the families build with sod instead of wood?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A House Made of Grass and Dirt
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9)
Trees.
The thick roots of the grass.
Sod.
It was warm.
There were no trees, so there was no wood.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8)
Trees.
The thick roots of the grass.
Sod.
It stayed warm.
There were no trees, so there was no wood.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.8)
Trees.
The thick roots of the prairie grass.
Sod.
It stayed warm.
Hardly any trees grew, so there was no wood.
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 prairie, roots, sod and stacked 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 House Made of Grass and Dirt"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 116 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.8. 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?
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