2nd grade nonfiction passage about earning money with jobs: 130 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionearning money with jobs130 words
A Nickel for Every Bag of Leaves
Kids can earn money by doing jobs. Earning means getting paid for work you do. Raking leaves is one job.
Imagine a neighbor says, "I will pay you a nickel for each bag of leaves." A nickel is five cents.
You rake and fill one bag. You earn five cents. You fill a second bag, and now you have ten cents. A third bag makes fifteen cents. Skip counting by fives helps you keep track.
After six bags, you have thirty cents. That is the same as three dimes.
Earning takes effort, and you cannot always earn more by wishing. But when you work, you can count your pay, put it in a jar, and decide what to do with it. You may save it or you may spend some.
Questions
What does earning mean? in the text
How much does the neighbor pay for each bag of leaves? in the text
How much money do you have after three bags? in the text
How many cents do you have after six bags? in the text
Why does skip counting by fives help when you are paid in nickels? think about it
Words to know
earn
to get money for work that you do
neighbor
a person who lives close to you
effort
hard work that you put into something
rake
to pull leaves together with a tool
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Nickel for Every Bag of Leaves
2nd grade reading passage
Kids can earn money by doing jobs. Earning means getting paid for work you do. Raking leaves is one job.
Imagine a neighbor says, "I will pay you a nickel for each bag of leaves." A nickel is five cents.
You rake and fill one bag. You earn five cents. You fill a second bag, and now you have ten cents. A third bag makes fifteen cents. Skip counting by fives helps you keep track.
After six bags, you have thirty cents. That is the same as three dimes.
Earning takes effort, and you cannot always earn more by wishing. But when you work, you can count your pay, put it in a jar, and decide what to do with it. You may save it or you may spend some.
Questions
What does earning mean?
How much does the neighbor pay for each bag of leaves?
How much money do you have after three bags?
How many cents do you have after six bags?
Why does skip counting by fives help when you are paid in nickels?
Words to know
earn: to get money for work that you do
neighbor: a person who lives close to you
effort: hard work that you put into something
rake: to pull leaves together with a tool
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/a-nickel-for-every-bag-of-leaves
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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 · 89 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.2
Kids can earn money. Earning is getting paid for work. Raking leaves is a job.
A neighbor says, "I will pay a nickel for each bag of leaves." A nickel is five cents.
You rake. You fill one bag. You earn five cents. A second bag makes ten cents. A third bag makes fifteen cents. Count by fives.
After six bags, you have thirty cents. That is the same as three dimes.
Work takes effort. Then you can count your pay. You can save it. You can spend some.
▲ This passage · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4
Kids can earn money by doing jobs. Earning means getting paid for work you do. Raking leaves is one job.
Imagine a neighbor says, "I will pay you a nickel for each bag of leaves." A nickel is five cents.
You rake and fill one bag. You earn five cents. You fill a second bag, and now you have ten cents. A third bag makes fifteen cents. Skip counting by fives helps you keep track.
After six bags, you have thirty cents. That is the same as three dimes.
Earning takes effort, and you cannot always earn more by wishing. But when you work, you can count your pay, put it in a jar, and decide what to do with it. You may save it or you may spend some.
■ Harder · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9
Children can earn money by doing jobs around the neighborhood. Earning means getting paid for the work that you do, and raking leaves is one such job.
Suppose a neighbor tells you, "I will pay you a nickel for each bag of leaves that you fill." A nickel is worth five cents.
You rake and fill one bag, and you earn five cents. A second bag brings you to ten cents, and a third bag brings you to fifteen cents. Skip counting by fives helps you keep track of your pay.
After six bags, you have thirty cents, which is the same amount as three dimes.
Earning takes real effort, and wishing alone will not bring you more money. Once you have worked, you can count your pay, drop it into a jar, and decide whether to save it or spend some.
Kids can earn money. Earning is getting paid for work. Raking leaves is a job.
A neighbor says, "I will pay a nickel for each bag of leaves." A nickel is five cents.
You rake. You fill one bag. You earn five cents. A second bag makes ten cents. A third bag makes fifteen cents. Count by fives.
After six bags, you have thirty cents. That is the same as three dimes.
Work takes effort. Then you can count your pay. You can save it. You can spend some.
Questions
What does earning mean?
How much does the neighbor pay for each bag?
How much do you have after three bags?
How many cents do you have after six bags?
Why does counting by fives help?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Nickel for Every Bag of Leaves
Kids can earn money by doing jobs. Earning means getting paid for work you do. Raking leaves is one job.
Imagine a neighbor says, "I will pay you a nickel for each bag of leaves." A nickel is five cents.
You rake and fill one bag. You earn five cents. You fill a second bag, and now you have ten cents. A third bag makes fifteen cents. Skip counting by fives helps you keep track.
After six bags, you have thirty cents. That is the same as three dimes.
Earning takes effort, and you cannot always earn more by wishing. But when you work, you can count your pay, put it in a jar, and decide what to do with it. You may save it or you may spend some.
Questions
What does earning mean?
How much does the neighbor pay for each bag of leaves?
How much money do you have after three bags?
How many cents do you have after six bags?
Why does skip counting by fives help when you are paid in nickels?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Nickel for Every Bag of Leaves
Children can earn money by doing jobs around the neighborhood. Earning means getting paid for the work that you do, and raking leaves is one such job.
Suppose a neighbor tells you, "I will pay you a nickel for each bag of leaves that you fill." A nickel is worth five cents.
You rake and fill one bag, and you earn five cents. A second bag brings you to ten cents, and a third bag brings you to fifteen cents. Skip counting by fives helps you keep track of your pay.
After six bags, you have thirty cents, which is the same amount as three dimes.
Earning takes real effort, and wishing alone will not bring you more money. Once you have worked, you can count your pay, drop it into a jar, and decide whether to save it or spend some.
Questions
What does earning mean?
How much does the neighbor pay for each bag of leaves?
How much money do you have after three bags?
How many cents do you have after six bags?
Why does skip counting by fives help when you are paid in nickels?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Nickel for Every Bag of Leaves
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.2)
Getting paid for work you do.
A nickel, which is five cents.
Fifteen cents.
Thirty cents.
Each bag adds five cents.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4)
Getting paid for work you do.
A nickel, which is five cents.
Fifteen cents.
Thirty cents.
Each bag adds five cents, so you can count up by fives.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9)
Getting paid for the work that you do.
A nickel, which is five cents.
Fifteen cents.
Thirty cents.
Every bag adds five cents, so you can count up by fives.
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 earn, neighbor, effort and rake 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 Nickel for Every Bag of Leaves"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 130 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.4. 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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