2nd grade fiction passage about a robot who always wins at checkers: 128 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictiona robot who always wins at checkers128 words
Cog the Checkers Robot Wants to Lose
Cog was a round robot with two squeaky wheels. He loved checkers. He never lost a game, because his brain could think of every move.
At first, winning felt great. Then Cog noticed that his friends stopped playing with him. Bea sat on the steps. Jo went home.
"Why won't you play?" Cog asked.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought hard. His lights blinked slowly. Then he said, "Let me try something new. I will play with one hand tied behind my back."
He folded one arm into his chest. Now he took a long time to think. He made mistakes. Bea won the first game and laughed.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day. He had never been so happy.
Questions
What did Cog love to play? in the text
Why did Cog never lose? in the text
Why did his friends stop playing? in the text
What new thing did Cog try? in the text
Why was Cog happy to lose? think about it
Words to know
checkers
a board game played with round pieces
noticed
saw something and thought about it
mistakes
things done the wrong way by accident
folded
bent something and tucked it in
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Cog the Checkers Robot Wants to Lose
2nd grade reading passage
Cog was a round robot with two squeaky wheels. He loved checkers. He never lost a game, because his brain could think of every move.
At first, winning felt great. Then Cog noticed that his friends stopped playing with him. Bea sat on the steps. Jo went home.
"Why won't you play?" Cog asked.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought hard. His lights blinked slowly. Then he said, "Let me try something new. I will play with one hand tied behind my back."
He folded one arm into his chest. Now he took a long time to think. He made mistakes. Bea won the first game and laughed.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day. He had never been so happy.
Questions
What did Cog love to play?
Why did Cog never lose?
Why did his friends stop playing?
What new thing did Cog try?
Why was Cog happy to lose?
Words to know
checkers: a board game played with round pieces
noticed: saw something and thought about it
mistakes: things done the wrong way by accident
folded: bent something and tucked it in
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/cog-the-checkers-robot-wants-to-lose
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 · 107 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5
Cog was a round robot. He had two squeaky wheels. He loved checkers. He never lost. His brain could think of every move.
At first, winning felt good. Then his friends stopped playing. Bea sat on the steps. Jo went home.
"Why won't you play?" asked Cog.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought hard. His lights blinked. Then he said, "I will try one hand only."
He folded one arm in. Now he took a long time to think. He made mistakes. Bea won the first game. She laughed.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day. He was so happy.
▲ This passage · 128 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.3
Cog was a round robot with two squeaky wheels. He loved checkers. He never lost a game, because his brain could think of every move.
At first, winning felt great. Then Cog noticed that his friends stopped playing with him. Bea sat on the steps. Jo went home.
"Why won't you play?" Cog asked.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought hard. His lights blinked slowly. Then he said, "Let me try something new. I will play with one hand tied behind my back."
He folded one arm into his chest. Now he took a long time to think. He made mistakes. Bea won the first game and laughed.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day. He had never been so happy.
■ Harder · 141 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5
Cog was a round robot with two squeaky wheels, and he adored checkers. He never lost a single game, because his clever brain could work out every possible move.
At first, winning felt wonderful. But soon Cog noticed that his friends had stopped playing with him. Bea sat sadly on the steps, and Jo wandered home.
"Why won't you play anymore?" Cog asked.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought very hard, and his lights blinked slowly. Then he said, "Let me try something different. I will play with only one hand."
He folded one arm into his chest. Now he took a long time to think, and he made several mistakes. Bea won the first game and laughed out loud.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day, and he had never been so happy.
Cog was a round robot. He had two squeaky wheels. He loved checkers. He never lost. His brain could think of every move.
At first, winning felt good. Then his friends stopped playing. Bea sat on the steps. Jo went home.
"Why won't you play?" asked Cog.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought hard. His lights blinked. Then he said, "I will try one hand only."
He folded one arm in. Now he took a long time to think. He made mistakes. Bea won the first game. She laughed.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day. He was so happy.
Questions
What did Cog love to play?
Why did Cog never lose?
Why did his friends stop playing?
What did Cog try?
Why was Cog happy to lose?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Cog the Checkers Robot Wants to Lose
Cog was a round robot with two squeaky wheels. He loved checkers. He never lost a game, because his brain could think of every move.
At first, winning felt great. Then Cog noticed that his friends stopped playing with him. Bea sat on the steps. Jo went home.
"Why won't you play?" Cog asked.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought hard. His lights blinked slowly. Then he said, "Let me try something new. I will play with one hand tied behind my back."
He folded one arm into his chest. Now he took a long time to think. He made mistakes. Bea won the first game and laughed.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day. He had never been so happy.
Questions
What did Cog love to play?
Why did Cog never lose?
Why did his friends stop playing?
What new thing did Cog try?
Why was Cog happy to lose?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Cog the Checkers Robot Wants to Lose
Cog was a round robot with two squeaky wheels, and he adored checkers. He never lost a single game, because his clever brain could work out every possible move.
At first, winning felt wonderful. But soon Cog noticed that his friends had stopped playing with him. Bea sat sadly on the steps, and Jo wandered home.
"Why won't you play anymore?" Cog asked.
"It is no fun," said Bea. "You always win."
Cog thought very hard, and his lights blinked slowly. Then he said, "Let me try something different. I will play with only one hand."
He folded one arm into his chest. Now he took a long time to think, and he made several mistakes. Bea won the first game and laughed out loud.
"Again!" said Jo.
Cog lost three games that day, and he had never been so happy.
Questions
What game did Cog adore?
Why did Cog never lose a single game?
Why had his friends stopped playing with him?
What different thing did Cog try?
Why was Cog so happy to lose three games?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Cog the Checkers Robot Wants to Lose
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5)
Checkers.
His brain could think of every move.
It was no fun when he always won.
He folded one arm in and played with one hand.
His friends laughed and played with him again.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.3)
Checkers.
His brain could think of every move.
It was no fun when Cog always won.
He folded one arm into his chest and played with one hand.
His friends were laughing and playing with him again.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5)
Checkers.
His clever brain could work out every possible move.
It was no fun when Cog always won.
He folded one arm into his chest and played with only one hand.
His friends were laughing and playing with him again.
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 checkers, noticed, mistakes and folded 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 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 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.
What reading level is "Cog the Checkers Robot Wants to Lose"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 128 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.3. 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 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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