2nd grade nonfiction passage about light bending in water: 125 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionlight bending in water125 words
A Rainbow Made by a Glass of Water
Sunlight looks white or yellow. But it is really a mix of many colors. You can see the colors in a rainbow.
You can make colors yourself. Set a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light shines through the water, and the light bends. Each color bends by a different amount. So the colors spread apart. With luck, a band of colors shows up on the wall.
Raindrops do the same job. After a rain shower, the sun may shine through many drops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into colors. Together they make a rainbow in the sky.
A rainbow always has the same colors in the same order. Red is on the outside, and violet is on the inside.
Questions
What is sunlight really a mix of? in the text
What do you set on a sunny windowsill to make colors? in the text
What happens to the light as it goes through the water? in the text
What bends and splits sunlight to make a rainbow in the sky? in the text
Why does a rainbow often show up just after a rain shower? think about it
Words to know
sunlight
the light that comes from the sun
bends
changes direction a little
windowsill
the flat shelf at the bottom of a window
violet
a purple color
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Rainbow Made by a Glass of Water
2nd grade reading passage
Sunlight looks white or yellow. But it is really a mix of many colors. You can see the colors in a rainbow.
You can make colors yourself. Set a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light shines through the water, and the light bends. Each color bends by a different amount. So the colors spread apart. With luck, a band of colors shows up on the wall.
Raindrops do the same job. After a rain shower, the sun may shine through many drops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into colors. Together they make a rainbow in the sky.
A rainbow always has the same colors in the same order. Red is on the outside, and violet is on the inside.
Questions
What is sunlight really a mix of?
What do you set on a sunny windowsill to make colors?
What happens to the light as it goes through the water?
What bends and splits sunlight to make a rainbow in the sky?
Why does a rainbow often show up just after a rain shower?
Words to know
sunlight: the light that comes from the sun
bends: changes direction a little
windowsill: the flat shelf at the bottom of a window
violet: a purple color
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/a-rainbow-made-by-a-glass-of-water
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 · 97 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
Sunlight looks white. But it is a mix of many colors. You see the colors in a rainbow.
You can make colors too. Put a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light goes through the water. The light bends. Each color bends a different amount. The colors spread out. You may see a band of color on the wall.
Raindrops do this too. After rain, the sun shines through many drops. Each drop bends the light. It splits the light into colors. Together they make a rainbow.
The colors are always in the same order.
▲ This passage · 125 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
Sunlight looks white or yellow. But it is really a mix of many colors. You can see the colors in a rainbow.
You can make colors yourself. Set a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light shines through the water, and the light bends. Each color bends by a different amount. So the colors spread apart. With luck, a band of colors shows up on the wall.
Raindrops do the same job. After a rain shower, the sun may shine through many drops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into colors. Together they make a rainbow in the sky.
A rainbow always has the same colors in the same order. Red is on the outside, and violet is on the inside.
■ Harder · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4
Sunlight appears white or yellow, but it is really a blend of many different colors. You can see those colors spread out in a rainbow.
Sometimes you can create colors yourself. Set a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light shines through the water and bends, and each color bends by a slightly different amount, so the colors fan apart. With luck, a band of colors will appear on the wall or the floor.
Raindrops work in a similar way. After a rain shower, the sun may shine through millions of drops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into its colors, and together they form a rainbow across the sky.
A rainbow always shows the same colors in the same order. Red is on the outside, and violet is on the inside.
Sunlight looks white. But it is a mix of many colors. You see the colors in a rainbow.
You can make colors too. Put a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light goes through the water. The light bends. Each color bends a different amount. The colors spread out. You may see a band of color on the wall.
Raindrops do this too. After rain, the sun shines through many drops. Each drop bends the light. It splits the light into colors. Together they make a rainbow.
The colors are always in the same order.
Questions
What is sunlight a mix of?
What do you put on a sunny windowsill?
What happens to light in the water?
What makes a rainbow in the sky?
Why do rainbows show up after rain?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Rainbow Made by a Glass of Water
Sunlight looks white or yellow. But it is really a mix of many colors. You can see the colors in a rainbow.
You can make colors yourself. Set a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light shines through the water, and the light bends. Each color bends by a different amount. So the colors spread apart. With luck, a band of colors shows up on the wall.
Raindrops do the same job. After a rain shower, the sun may shine through many drops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into colors. Together they make a rainbow in the sky.
A rainbow always has the same colors in the same order. Red is on the outside, and violet is on the inside.
Questions
What is sunlight really a mix of?
What do you set on a sunny windowsill to make colors?
What happens to the light as it goes through the water?
What bends and splits sunlight to make a rainbow in the sky?
Why does a rainbow often show up just after a rain shower?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Rainbow Made by a Glass of Water
Sunlight appears white or yellow, but it is really a blend of many different colors. You can see those colors spread out in a rainbow.
Sometimes you can create colors yourself. Set a clear glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Light shines through the water and bends, and each color bends by a slightly different amount, so the colors fan apart. With luck, a band of colors will appear on the wall or the floor.
Raindrops work in a similar way. After a rain shower, the sun may shine through millions of drops. Each drop bends the light and splits it into its colors, and together they form a rainbow across the sky.
A rainbow always shows the same colors in the same order. Red is on the outside, and violet is on the inside.
Questions
What is sunlight really a blend of?
What should you set on a sunny windowsill to create colors?
What happens to light as it shines through the water?
What bends and splits the sunlight to form a rainbow in the sky?
Why does a rainbow often appear just after a rain shower?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Rainbow Made by a Glass of Water
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
Many colors.
A clear glass of water.
It bends, and each color bends a different amount.
Raindrops.
Many drops are still in the air for the sun to shine through.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1)
Many colors.
A clear glass of water.
It bends, and each color bends by a different amount.
Raindrops.
There are still many drops in the air for the sun to shine through.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4)
Many different colors.
A clear glass of water.
It bends, and each color bends by a different amount.
Raindrops.
Many drops are still in the air for the sun to shine through.
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 sunlight, bends, windowsill and violet 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 Rainbow Made by a Glass of Water"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 125 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.0. 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.