2nd grade nonfiction passage about earthworms and soil: 135 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionearthworms and soil135 words
Earthworms Help the Soil
An earthworm has no legs, no eyes, and no bones. It still has an important job. It helps make soil better for plants.
An earthworm lives underground. It moves by stretching its long body and then squeezing it short. As it moves, it digs tunnels in the dirt.
The tunnels are useful. Air and water can slip down through them. Plant roots can follow the tunnels and grow deep.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves and other dead plants. Then it leaves behind tiny bits of waste called castings. Castings are good food for plants.
After a rain, you may see earthworms on the sidewalk. Their tunnels may be full of water. Worms breathe through their skin, and their skin must stay damp. If the sun comes out, a worm can dry out quickly.
Questions
Does an earthworm have legs? in the text
How does an earthworm move? in the text
How do the tunnels help plants? in the text
What are castings? in the text
Why is it a problem for a worm to stay on a sidewalk in the sun? think about it
Words to know
soil
the dirt that plants grow in
tunnel
a long path that is dug under the ground
castings
the waste an earthworm leaves in the soil
damp
a little bit wet
squeezing
pressing something tight
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Earthworms Help the Soil
2nd grade reading passage
An earthworm has no legs, no eyes, and no bones. It still has an important job. It helps make soil better for plants.
An earthworm lives underground. It moves by stretching its long body and then squeezing it short. As it moves, it digs tunnels in the dirt.
The tunnels are useful. Air and water can slip down through them. Plant roots can follow the tunnels and grow deep.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves and other dead plants. Then it leaves behind tiny bits of waste called castings. Castings are good food for plants.
After a rain, you may see earthworms on the sidewalk. Their tunnels may be full of water. Worms breathe through their skin, and their skin must stay damp. If the sun comes out, a worm can dry out quickly.
Questions
Does an earthworm have legs?
How does an earthworm move?
How do the tunnels help plants?
What are castings?
Why is it a problem for a worm to stay on a sidewalk in the sun?
Words to know
soil: the dirt that plants grow in
tunnel: a long path that is dug under the ground
castings: the waste an earthworm leaves in the soil
damp: a little bit wet
squeezing: pressing something tight
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/earthworms-help-the-soil
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 · 116 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8
An earthworm has no legs. It has no eyes. It has no bones. But it has an important job. It helps make soil better for plants.
An earthworm lives underground. It moves by stretching its long body and then squeezing it short. It digs tunnels in the dirt as it goes.
The tunnels help. Air and water slip down in them. Plant roots can grow deep.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves. Then it leaves tiny bits of waste called castings. Castings are good food for plants.
After rain, you may see worms on the sidewalk. Worms breathe through their skin. Their skin must stay damp. In the sun, a worm can dry out fast.
▲ This passage · 135 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1
An earthworm has no legs, no eyes, and no bones. It still has an important job. It helps make soil better for plants.
An earthworm lives underground. It moves by stretching its long body and then squeezing it short. As it moves, it digs tunnels in the dirt.
The tunnels are useful. Air and water can slip down through them. Plant roots can follow the tunnels and grow deep.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves and other dead plants. Then it leaves behind tiny bits of waste called castings. Castings are good food for plants.
After a rain, you may see earthworms on the sidewalk. Their tunnels may be full of water. Worms breathe through their skin, and their skin must stay damp. If the sun comes out, a worm can dry out quickly.
■ Harder · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5
An earthworm has no legs, no eyes, and no bones, yet it performs an important job: it helps make the soil healthier for plants.
An earthworm spends its life underground. It moves by stretching its long body out and then squeezing it short again. While it travels, it digs tunnels through the dirt.
Those tunnels are remarkably useful. Air and water can slip down through them, and plant roots can follow them and grow deep into the ground.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves and other dead plants. Afterward, it leaves behind tiny pieces of waste called castings, which make excellent food for plants.
After a heavy rain, you might notice earthworms on the sidewalk, because their tunnels may be full of water. Worms breathe through their skin, so their skin must stay damp. If the sun comes out, a worm can dry out very quickly.
An earthworm has no legs. It has no eyes. It has no bones. But it has an important job. It helps make soil better for plants.
An earthworm lives underground. It moves by stretching its long body and then squeezing it short. It digs tunnels in the dirt as it goes.
The tunnels help. Air and water slip down in them. Plant roots can grow deep.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves. Then it leaves tiny bits of waste called castings. Castings are good food for plants.
After rain, you may see worms on the sidewalk. Worms breathe through their skin. Their skin must stay damp. In the sun, a worm can dry out fast.
Questions
Does an earthworm have legs?
How does an earthworm move?
How do the tunnels help plants?
What are castings?
Why is a sunny sidewalk bad for a worm?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Earthworms Help the Soil
An earthworm has no legs, no eyes, and no bones. It still has an important job. It helps make soil better for plants.
An earthworm lives underground. It moves by stretching its long body and then squeezing it short. As it moves, it digs tunnels in the dirt.
The tunnels are useful. Air and water can slip down through them. Plant roots can follow the tunnels and grow deep.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves and other dead plants. Then it leaves behind tiny bits of waste called castings. Castings are good food for plants.
After a rain, you may see earthworms on the sidewalk. Their tunnels may be full of water. Worms breathe through their skin, and their skin must stay damp. If the sun comes out, a worm can dry out quickly.
Questions
Does an earthworm have legs?
How does an earthworm move?
How do the tunnels help plants?
What are castings?
Why is it a problem for a worm to stay on a sidewalk in the sun?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Earthworms Help the Soil
An earthworm has no legs, no eyes, and no bones, yet it performs an important job: it helps make the soil healthier for plants.
An earthworm spends its life underground. It moves by stretching its long body out and then squeezing it short again. While it travels, it digs tunnels through the dirt.
Those tunnels are remarkably useful. Air and water can slip down through them, and plant roots can follow them and grow deep into the ground.
An earthworm eats bits of old leaves and other dead plants. Afterward, it leaves behind tiny pieces of waste called castings, which make excellent food for plants.
After a heavy rain, you might notice earthworms on the sidewalk, because their tunnels may be full of water. Worms breathe through their skin, so their skin must stay damp. If the sun comes out, a worm can dry out very quickly.
Questions
Does an earthworm have legs, eyes, or bones?
In what way does an earthworm travel?
How do an earthworm's tunnels help plants?
What are castings, and why do plants like them?
Why is it dangerous for a worm to stay on a sidewalk when the sun comes out?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Earthworms Help the Soil
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8)
No. It has no legs, no eyes, and no bones.
It stretches its long body and then squeezes it short.
Air and water slip down, and roots can grow deep.
Tiny bits of waste that are good food for plants.
Its skin must stay damp, and the sun can dry it out fast.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1)
No. It has no legs, no eyes, and no bones.
It stretches its long body and then squeezes it short.
Air and water slip down through them, and roots can follow them and grow deep.
Tiny bits of waste that an earthworm leaves behind, which are good food for plants.
Its skin must stay damp to breathe, and the sun can dry it out quickly.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5)
No. It has none of them.
It stretches its long body out and then squeezes it short again.
Air and water slip down through them, and roots can follow them and grow deep.
Castings are tiny pieces of waste that an earthworm leaves behind, and they make excellent food for plants.
A worm breathes through its skin, which must stay damp, and the sun can dry it out very quickly.
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 soil, tunnel, castings, damp and squeezing 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.
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 135 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.1. 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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