2nd grade nonfiction passage about the zipper: 121 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionthe zipper121 words
Buttoned Boots and the First Zipper
Long ago, there were no zippers. People fastened their clothes with buttons, hooks, and laces. Some boots had a long row of tiny buttons up the side. It took a long time to do them all.
People used a small tool called a button hook. It was a little hook on a handle. It pulled each button through its hole, one by one.
Then inventors made a new kind of fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers appeared. They had two rows of small metal teeth. A slider moved up and the teeth locked together. When the slider moved down, they came apart.
At first, zippers were used on boots. Later, they came to coats, pants, and bags.
Questions
What did people use before zippers? in the text
What did a button hook do? in the text
What did the first zippers have? in the text
What did the slider do when it moved up? in the text
Why was a zipper better than a long row of buttons? think about it
Words to know
fastened
closed or held shut
laces
strings that tie a shoe or boot closed
inventors
people who think up new things
slider
the small part that moves along a zipper
teeth
the little points along a zipper that lock together
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Buttoned Boots and the First Zipper
2nd grade reading passage
Long ago, there were no zippers. People fastened their clothes with buttons, hooks, and laces. Some boots had a long row of tiny buttons up the side. It took a long time to do them all.
People used a small tool called a button hook. It was a little hook on a handle. It pulled each button through its hole, one by one.
Then inventors made a new kind of fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers appeared. They had two rows of small metal teeth. A slider moved up and the teeth locked together. When the slider moved down, they came apart.
At first, zippers were used on boots. Later, they came to coats, pants, and bags.
Questions
What did people use before zippers?
What did a button hook do?
What did the first zippers have?
What did the slider do when it moved up?
Why was a zipper better than a long row of buttons?
Words to know
fastened: closed or held shut
laces: strings that tie a shoe or boot closed
inventors: people who think up new things
slider: the small part that moves along a zipper
teeth: the little points along a zipper that lock together
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/buttoned-boots-and-the-first-zipper
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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 · 101 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8
Long ago, there were no zippers. People used buttons, hooks, and laces. Some boots had a long row of tiny buttons. It took a long time to do them all.
People used a button hook. It was a little hook on a handle. It pulled each button through its hole.
Then inventors made a new fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers came. They had two rows of small metal teeth. A slider moved up, and the teeth locked. It moved down, and they came apart.
Zippers were first on boots. Later they came to coats and bags.
▲ This passage · 121 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
Long ago, there were no zippers. People fastened their clothes with buttons, hooks, and laces. Some boots had a long row of tiny buttons up the side. It took a long time to do them all.
People used a small tool called a button hook. It was a little hook on a handle. It pulled each button through its hole, one by one.
Then inventors made a new kind of fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers appeared. They had two rows of small metal teeth. A slider moved up and the teeth locked together. When the slider moved down, they came apart.
At first, zippers were used on boots. Later, they came to coats, pants, and bags.
■ Harder · 134 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4
Long ago, there were no zippers at all. People fastened their clothes with buttons, hooks, and laces, and some boots had a long row of tiny buttons running up the side. Doing up every single one took a very long time.
To help, people used a small tool called a button hook, which was a little hook attached to a handle. It pulled each button through its hole, one after another.
Eventually, inventors designed a completely new kind of fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers appeared. They consisted of two rows of small metal teeth, and a slider that moved up locked the teeth together while moving it down made them come apart.
At first, zippers were mostly used on boots, but later they spread to coats, pants, and bags.
Long ago, there were no zippers. People used buttons, hooks, and laces. Some boots had a long row of tiny buttons. It took a long time to do them all.
People used a button hook. It was a little hook on a handle. It pulled each button through its hole.
Then inventors made a new fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers came. They had two rows of small metal teeth. A slider moved up, and the teeth locked. It moved down, and they came apart.
Zippers were first on boots. Later they came to coats and bags.
Questions
What did people use before zippers?
What did a button hook do?
What did the first zippers have?
What happened when the slider moved up?
Why was a zipper better than a row of buttons?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Buttoned Boots and the First Zipper
Long ago, there were no zippers. People fastened their clothes with buttons, hooks, and laces. Some boots had a long row of tiny buttons up the side. It took a long time to do them all.
People used a small tool called a button hook. It was a little hook on a handle. It pulled each button through its hole, one by one.
Then inventors made a new kind of fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers appeared. They had two rows of small metal teeth. A slider moved up and the teeth locked together. When the slider moved down, they came apart.
At first, zippers were used on boots. Later, they came to coats, pants, and bags.
Questions
What did people use before zippers?
What did a button hook do?
What did the first zippers have?
What did the slider do when it moved up?
Why was a zipper better than a long row of buttons?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Buttoned Boots and the First Zipper
Long ago, there were no zippers at all. People fastened their clothes with buttons, hooks, and laces, and some boots had a long row of tiny buttons running up the side. Doing up every single one took a very long time.
To help, people used a small tool called a button hook, which was a little hook attached to a handle. It pulled each button through its hole, one after another.
Eventually, inventors designed a completely new kind of fastener. More than one hundred years ago, the first zippers appeared. They consisted of two rows of small metal teeth, and a slider that moved up locked the teeth together while moving it down made them come apart.
At first, zippers were mostly used on boots, but later they spread to coats, pants, and bags.
Questions
What did people use to fasten clothes before zippers?
What did a button hook do?
What did the first zippers consist of?
What happened when the slider moved up?
Why was a zipper an improvement over a long row of buttons?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Buttoned Boots and the First Zipper
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8)
Buttons, hooks, and laces.
It pulled each button through its hole.
Two rows of metal teeth and a slider.
The teeth locked together.
It was much faster to close all at once.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
Buttons, hooks, and laces.
It pulled each button through its hole.
Two rows of small metal teeth and a slider.
The teeth locked together.
It was much faster to close all at once.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4)
Buttons, hooks, and laces.
It pulled each button through its hole.
Two rows of small metal teeth and a slider.
The teeth locked together.
It could close everything at once, which saved a lot of time.
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 fastened, laces, inventors, slider and teeth 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 "Buttoned Boots and the First Zipper"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 121 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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