2nd grade nonfiction passage about how long a planet's year is: 113 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionhow long a planet's year is113 words
A Year on Mercury Is Very Short
A year is the time it takes a planet to go all the way around the sun. On Earth, a year is about twelve months long.
Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. It has a short path to travel, and it moves fast. It zooms around the sun in less than three of our months. That means a year on Mercury is very short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would have a birthday every few months. You would get older very quickly.
Planets that are far from the sun have a long trip around it. They also move more slowly. A year on those planets lasts a very long time.
Questions
What is a year? in the text
Which planet is closest to the sun? in the text
About how long is a year on Earth? in the text
How would birthdays be different if you lived on Mercury? in the text
Would a planet far from the sun have a short year or a long year? think about it
Words to know
year
the time a planet needs to circle the sun once
path
the way something travels from place to place
zooms
moves very fast
closest
nearest to something
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Year on Mercury Is Very Short
2nd grade reading passage
A year is the time it takes a planet to go all the way around the sun. On Earth, a year is about twelve months long.
Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. It has a short path to travel, and it moves fast. It zooms around the sun in less than three of our months. That means a year on Mercury is very short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would have a birthday every few months. You would get older very quickly.
Planets that are far from the sun have a long trip around it. They also move more slowly. A year on those planets lasts a very long time.
Questions
What is a year?
Which planet is closest to the sun?
About how long is a year on Earth?
How would birthdays be different if you lived on Mercury?
Would a planet far from the sun have a short year or a long year?
Words to know
year: the time a planet needs to circle the sun once
path: the way something travels from place to place
zooms: moves very fast
closest: nearest to something
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/a-year-on-mercury-is-very-short
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 · 93 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
A year is how long a planet takes to go around the sun once. On Earth, a year is about twelve months.
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Its path is short, and it moves fast. It goes around the sun in less than three of our months. So a year on Mercury is short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would have a birthday every few months. You would get older fast.
Planets far from the sun have a long trip. They move slowly. A year there is very long.
▲ This passage · 113 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9
A year is the time it takes a planet to go all the way around the sun. On Earth, a year is about twelve months long.
Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. It has a short path to travel, and it moves fast. It zooms around the sun in less than three of our months. That means a year on Mercury is very short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would have a birthday every few months. You would get older very quickly.
Planets that are far from the sun have a long trip around it. They also move more slowly. A year on those planets lasts a very long time.
■ Harder · 123 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2
A year is the amount of time it takes a planet to travel all the way around the sun. On Earth, one year lasts about twelve months.
Mercury is the planet nearest to the sun. It has a short path to follow, and it moves very quickly along that path. It races around the sun in less than three of our months. That means a year on Mercury is remarkably short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would celebrate a birthday every few months, and you would grow older at a startling speed.
Planets that are far from the sun have a much longer journey around it. They also travel more slowly, so a year on those planets lasts a very long time.
A year is how long a planet takes to go around the sun once. On Earth, a year is about twelve months.
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Its path is short, and it moves fast. It goes around the sun in less than three of our months. So a year on Mercury is short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would have a birthday every few months. You would get older fast.
Planets far from the sun have a long trip. They move slowly. A year there is very long.
Questions
What is a year?
Which planet is closest to the sun?
About how long is a year on Earth?
How often would you have a birthday on Mercury?
Is a year on a planet far from the sun short or long?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Year on Mercury Is Very Short
A year is the time it takes a planet to go all the way around the sun. On Earth, a year is about twelve months long.
Mercury is the planet closest to the sun. It has a short path to travel, and it moves fast. It zooms around the sun in less than three of our months. That means a year on Mercury is very short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would have a birthday every few months. You would get older very quickly.
Planets that are far from the sun have a long trip around it. They also move more slowly. A year on those planets lasts a very long time.
Questions
What is a year?
Which planet is closest to the sun?
About how long is a year on Earth?
How would birthdays be different if you lived on Mercury?
Would a planet far from the sun have a short year or a long year?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Year on Mercury Is Very Short
A year is the amount of time it takes a planet to travel all the way around the sun. On Earth, one year lasts about twelve months.
Mercury is the planet nearest to the sun. It has a short path to follow, and it moves very quickly along that path. It races around the sun in less than three of our months. That means a year on Mercury is remarkably short!
If you lived on Mercury, you would celebrate a birthday every few months, and you would grow older at a startling speed.
Planets that are far from the sun have a much longer journey around it. They also travel more slowly, so a year on those planets lasts a very long time.
Questions
What is a year on a planet?
Which planet is nearest to the sun?
About how many months does a year on Earth last?
How often would you celebrate a birthday if you lived on Mercury?
Why does a planet far from the sun have a long year?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Year on Mercury Is Very Short
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
How long a planet takes to go around the sun once.
Mercury.
About twelve months.
Every few months.
Long, because the trip is long and the planet moves slowly.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9)
The time it takes a planet to go all the way around the sun.
Mercury.
About twelve months.
You would have one every few months.
A long year, because it has a long trip and moves slowly.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2)
The amount of time it takes the planet to travel all the way around the sun.
Mercury.
About twelve months.
Every few months.
It has a longer journey to make and it travels more slowly.
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 year, path, zooms and closest 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 Year on Mercury Is Very Short"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 113 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.9. 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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