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Breakfast at Dawn with Baker Mom

2nd grade fiction passage about a parent who works at night: 153 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a parent who works at night 153 words

Breakfast at Dawn with Baker Mom

Kai's mom was a baker. She worked all night while Kai slept. By the time Kai woke up, she was just coming home.

Kai missed her at bedtime. Sometimes he felt grumpy about it.

"I have an idea," said Mom one Saturday. "Let's have breakfast at dawn. That is when my day ends."

So Kai set his alarm for very early. The sky was still pink and gray. The birds were just starting to sing. Mom came in carrying a warm paper bag. It smelled like butter and cinnamon.

They sat on the back steps with two rolls and one cup of milk. Mom told Kai about the dough that grew too big. Kai told her about his missing tooth.

"This is our time," said Mom. "Even if the sun is barely up."

Kai nodded, his mouth full. "I like your day ending," he said. "It is a good time to start mine."

Questions

  1. What was Kai's mom's job? in the text

  2. When did Mom work? in the text

  3. What was in the warm paper bag? in the text

  4. Where did Kai and Mom eat their breakfast? in the text

  5. Why did Mom call it "our time"? think about it

Words to know

baker
a person who makes bread and cakes
dawn
the time in the morning when the sun comes up
cinnamon
a sweet brown spice
dough
soft, thick mix that turns into bread when baked
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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 · 111 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4

Kai's mom was a baker. She worked all night. Kai was asleep. When he woke up, she was just coming home.

Kai missed her at bedtime. Sometimes he felt grumpy.

"I have an idea," said Mom. "Let's have breakfast at dawn. That is when my day ends."

Kai set his alarm. The sky was pink and gray. Birds began to sing. Mom came in with a warm paper bag. It smelled like butter and cinnamon.

They sat on the back steps with rolls and milk. Mom told about the dough that grew too big. Kai told about his missing tooth.

"This is our time," said Mom.

"I like it," said Kai.

▲ This passage · 153 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3

Kai's mom was a baker. She worked all night while Kai slept. By the time Kai woke up, she was just coming home.

Kai missed her at bedtime. Sometimes he felt grumpy about it.

"I have an idea," said Mom one Saturday. "Let's have breakfast at dawn. That is when my day ends."

So Kai set his alarm for very early. The sky was still pink and gray. The birds were just starting to sing. Mom came in carrying a warm paper bag. It smelled like butter and cinnamon.

They sat on the back steps with two rolls and one cup of milk. Mom told Kai about the dough that grew too big. Kai told her about his missing tooth.

"This is our time," said Mom. "Even if the sun is barely up."

Kai nodded, his mouth full. "I like your day ending," he said. "It is a good time to start mine."

■ Harder · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Kai's mom was a baker, and she worked through the entire night while Kai slept soundly in his bed. By the time he woke up each morning, she was just arriving home, tired and sleepy.

Kai missed her at bedtime, and sometimes he felt rather grumpy about it.

"I have an idea," Mom said one Saturday. "Let's have breakfast at dawn, since that is exactly when my workday ends."

So Kai set his alarm for very early. The sky was still pink and gray, and the birds were just beginning to sing. Mom came in carrying a warm paper bag that smelled wonderfully of butter and cinnamon.

They sat together on the back steps with two rolls and one cup of milk. Mom told Kai about the dough that had grown far too big. Kai told her all about his missing tooth.

"This is our time," said Mom. "Even if the sun is barely up."

Kai nodded with his mouth full. "I like it when your day is ending," he said. "It is a good moment to start mine."

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put baker, dawn, cinnamon and dough on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the story 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 2 minutes 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 retell the story in three sentences: how it began, what the problem was, and how it ended.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Breakfast at Dawn with Baker Mom"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 153 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.3. 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 2 minutes 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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