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The Day the Bakery Swapped Its Signs

2nd grade fiction passage about shop signs in the wrong places: 121 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction shop signs in the wrong places 121 words

The Day the Bakery Swapped Its Signs

Mrs. Pike ran a bakery. Her cousin ran the shoe shop next door. One windy morning, a big gust blew down both signs. They landed in a heap.

Mrs. Pike put them back up in a hurry. She did not look closely. Now the bakery sign hung on the shoe shop, and the shoe sign hung on the bakery.

Soon a man walked into the shoe shop. "One loaf of bread, please," he said.

The cousin held up a boot. "Will this do?"

Next, a girl came into the bakery. "I need new sneakers," she said.

Mrs. Pike handed her a muffin. "Will this fit?"

Everybody laughed. Then they swapped the signs back, and both shops had a very good day.

Questions

  1. What blew down the two signs? in the text

  2. Who ran the shoe shop? in the text

  3. What did the man ask for in the shoe shop? in the text

  4. What did Mrs. Pike hand to the girl? in the text

  5. Why did customers ask for the wrong things? think about it

Words to know

bakery
a shop that sells bread and treats
gust
a quick, strong blow of wind
heap
a messy pile
swapped
traded places with something else
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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 · 106 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6

Mrs. Pike had a bakery. Her cousin had the shoe shop next door. One windy day, wind blew down both signs.

Mrs. Pike put them back up fast. She did not look. Now the bakery sign was on the shoe shop. The shoe sign was on the bakery.

A man went into the shoe shop. "A loaf of bread, please," he said.

The cousin held up a boot. "Will this do?"

A girl went into the bakery. "I need new sneakers," she said.

Mrs. Pike gave her a muffin. "Will this fit?"

Everybody laughed. They put the signs back right. Both shops had a good day.

▲ This passage · 121 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Mrs. Pike ran a bakery. Her cousin ran the shoe shop next door. One windy morning, a big gust blew down both signs. They landed in a heap.

Mrs. Pike put them back up in a hurry. She did not look closely. Now the bakery sign hung on the shoe shop, and the shoe sign hung on the bakery.

Soon a man walked into the shoe shop. "One loaf of bread, please," he said.

The cousin held up a boot. "Will this do?"

Next, a girl came into the bakery. "I need new sneakers," she said.

Mrs. Pike handed her a muffin. "Will this fit?"

Everybody laughed. Then they swapped the signs back, and both shops had a very good day.

■ Harder · 151 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Mrs. Pike owned a bakery, and her cousin owned the shoe shop right next door. One breezy morning, a powerful gust of wind knocked down both signs, and they landed in a messy heap on the sidewalk.

Mrs. Pike hung them back up in a great hurry. She did not look closely at which was which. Now the bakery sign dangled over the shoe shop, and the shoe sign dangled over the bakery.

Before long, a man strolled into the shoe shop. "One fresh loaf of bread, please," he said.

The cousin held up a leather boot. "Will this do instead?"

Soon after, a girl walked into the bakery. "I need a new pair of sneakers," she said.

Mrs. Pike handed her a warm muffin. "Will this fit you?"

Everybody burst out laughing. Then they swapped the signs back where they belonged, and both shops had a very busy, happy day.

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 bakery, gust, heap and swapped 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Day the Bakery Swapped Its Signs"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 121 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.5. 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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