2nd grade nonfiction passage about animal life cycles: 112 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionanimal life cycles112 words
From Tadpole to Frog
A frog does not start out looking like a frog. It changes a lot as it grows. These changes are called a life cycle.
A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. Soon, small tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole has a tail and no legs. It lives in the water and breathes with gills, like a fish.
As the tadpole grows, two back legs appear. Then two front legs grow. Its tail gets shorter and shorter. It also grows lungs, so it can breathe air.
At last, it is a frog. It can hop on land and swim in the pond. Someday it will lay eggs of its own.
Questions
Where does a mother frog lay her eggs? in the text
What hatches from the eggs? in the text
What does a tadpole look like? in the text
What does a tadpole use to breathe? in the text
What body part helps a frog breathe air? in the text
Why can a young frog live on land but a tadpole cannot? think about it
Words to know
tadpole
a baby frog that lives in water
hatch
to break out of an egg
gills
body parts that let a fish breathe in water
lungs
body parts that let animals breathe air
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
From Tadpole to Frog
2nd grade reading passage
A frog does not start out looking like a frog. It changes a lot as it grows. These changes are called a life cycle.
A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. Soon, small tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole has a tail and no legs. It lives in the water and breathes with gills, like a fish.
As the tadpole grows, two back legs appear. Then two front legs grow. Its tail gets shorter and shorter. It also grows lungs, so it can breathe air.
At last, it is a frog. It can hop on land and swim in the pond. Someday it will lay eggs of its own.
Questions
Where does a mother frog lay her eggs?
What hatches from the eggs?
What does a tadpole look like?
What does a tadpole use to breathe?
What body part helps a frog breathe air?
Why can a young frog live on land but a tadpole cannot?
Words to know
tadpole: a baby frog that lives in water
hatch: to break out of an egg
gills: body parts that let a fish breathe in water
lungs: body parts that let animals breathe air
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/from-tadpole-to-frog
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 · 100 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1
A frog does not start out as a frog. It changes as it grows. These changes are a life cycle.
A mother frog lays eggs in the water. Tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole has a tail. It has no legs. It lives in the water. It breathes with gills, like a fish.
The tadpole grows. Two back legs come. Then two front legs come. The tail gets short. It grows lungs. Now it can breathe air.
Now it is a frog. It can hop on land. It can swim in the pond. Someday it will lay eggs too.
▲ This passage · 112 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3
A frog does not start out looking like a frog. It changes a lot as it grows. These changes are called a life cycle.
A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. Soon, small tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole has a tail and no legs. It lives in the water and breathes with gills, like a fish.
As the tadpole grows, two back legs appear. Then two front legs grow. Its tail gets shorter and shorter. It also grows lungs, so it can breathe air.
At last, it is a frog. It can hop on land and swim in the pond. Someday it will lay eggs of its own.
■ Harder · 125 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2
A frog does not begin its life looking like a frog. As it grows, its body changes in remarkable ways. These changes are known as a life cycle.
A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. Before long, tiny tadpoles hatch from those eggs. A tadpole has a tail but no legs, and it lives in the water. Just like a fish, it breathes through gills.
As the tadpole grows, two back legs appear first, and then two front legs grow. Its tail becomes shorter and shorter. It also develops lungs, which allow it to breathe air.
At last, the tadpole has become a frog. It can hop across the land and swim in the pond. Someday, it will lay eggs of its own.
A frog does not start out as a frog. It changes as it grows. These changes are a life cycle.
A mother frog lays eggs in the water. Tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole has a tail. It has no legs. It lives in the water. It breathes with gills, like a fish.
The tadpole grows. Two back legs come. Then two front legs come. The tail gets short. It grows lungs. Now it can breathe air.
Now it is a frog. It can hop on land. It can swim in the pond. Someday it will lay eggs too.
Questions
Where does a mother frog lay eggs?
What hatches from the eggs?
What does a tadpole look like?
What does a tadpole breathe with?
What helps a frog breathe air?
Why can a frog live on land but a tadpole cannot?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
From Tadpole to Frog
A frog does not start out looking like a frog. It changes a lot as it grows. These changes are called a life cycle.
A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. Soon, small tadpoles hatch from the eggs. A tadpole has a tail and no legs. It lives in the water and breathes with gills, like a fish.
As the tadpole grows, two back legs appear. Then two front legs grow. Its tail gets shorter and shorter. It also grows lungs, so it can breathe air.
At last, it is a frog. It can hop on land and swim in the pond. Someday it will lay eggs of its own.
Questions
Where does a mother frog lay her eggs?
What hatches from the eggs?
What does a tadpole look like?
What does a tadpole use to breathe?
What body part helps a frog breathe air?
Why can a young frog live on land but a tadpole cannot?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
From Tadpole to Frog
A frog does not begin its life looking like a frog. As it grows, its body changes in remarkable ways. These changes are known as a life cycle.
A mother frog lays her eggs in the water. Before long, tiny tadpoles hatch from those eggs. A tadpole has a tail but no legs, and it lives in the water. Just like a fish, it breathes through gills.
As the tadpole grows, two back legs appear first, and then two front legs grow. Its tail becomes shorter and shorter. It also develops lungs, which allow it to breathe air.
At last, the tadpole has become a frog. It can hop across the land and swim in the pond. Someday, it will lay eggs of its own.
Questions
Where does a mother frog lay her eggs?
What hatches from the eggs?
What does a tadpole look like?
What does a tadpole breathe through, just like a fish?
Which body parts allow a frog to breathe air?
Why can a frog live on land when a tadpole cannot?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: From Tadpole to Frog
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1)
In the water.
Tadpoles.
It has a tail and no legs.
Gills.
Lungs.
The frog has legs and lungs. The tadpole has a tail and gills.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3)
In the water.
Tadpoles.
It has a tail and no legs.
Gills, like a fish.
Lungs.
The frog has legs for hopping and lungs for breathing air, and the tadpole has only a tail and gills.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2)
In the water.
Tiny tadpoles.
It has a tail but no legs.
Gills.
Lungs.
The frog has legs for hopping and lungs for air, while a tadpole has only a tail and gills.
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 tadpole, hatch, gills and lungs 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 6 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 112 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 six. 5 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.