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Grandpa's Glasses in the Hen House

2nd grade fiction passage about lost glasses on a farm: 137 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction lost glasses on a farm 137 words

Grandpa's Glasses in the Hen House

Grandpa could not find his glasses. "I had them at breakfast," he said. Theo and his sister Lila said they would help.

First, they checked the kitchen table. Next, they checked the porch chair. Still no glasses.

"Let us think," said Lila. "Where did Grandpa go after breakfast?"

"To feed the hens," said Theo.

The two children ran to the hen house. Inside, a brown hen sat on her nest. Something shiny stuck out from under her wing. It was one arm of Grandpa's glasses!

Theo lifted the hen very gently. The glasses were warm but not broken. Grandpa had set them down while he scattered the corn.

"Thank you," said Grandpa. He put on his glasses and smiled. "Now I can see who the real thief was." The hen clucked as if she did not mind.

Questions

  1. What did Grandpa lose? in the text

  2. Where did Grandpa go after breakfast? in the text

  3. What did Theo and Lila see sticking out from the hen's wing? in the text

  4. How did Lila know where to look? think about it

  5. How do we know the glasses were not hurt? in the text

Words to know

nest
a bed that a bird makes for its eggs
scattered
threw things here and there
gently
in a soft and careful way
thief
a person or animal that takes things
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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 · 115 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1

Grandpa could not find his glasses. "I had them at breakfast," he said. Theo and Lila said they would help.

First, they looked on the kitchen table. Next, they looked on the porch chair. No glasses.

"Let us think," said Lila. "Where did Grandpa go after breakfast?"

"To feed the hens," said Theo.

The two ran to the hen house. A brown hen sat on her nest. Something shiny stuck out from her wing. It was Grandpa's glasses!

Theo lifted the hen with care. The glasses were warm. They were not broken. Grandpa had put them down to toss the corn.

"Thank you," said Grandpa. He put on his glasses and smiled. The hen clucked.

▲ This passage · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

Grandpa could not find his glasses. "I had them at breakfast," he said. Theo and his sister Lila said they would help.

First, they checked the kitchen table. Next, they checked the porch chair. Still no glasses.

"Let us think," said Lila. "Where did Grandpa go after breakfast?"

"To feed the hens," said Theo.

The two children ran to the hen house. Inside, a brown hen sat on her nest. Something shiny stuck out from under her wing. It was one arm of Grandpa's glasses!

Theo lifted the hen very gently. The glasses were warm but not broken. Grandpa had set them down while he scattered the corn.

"Thank you," said Grandpa. He put on his glasses and smiled. "Now I can see who the real thief was." The hen clucked as if she did not mind.

■ Harder · 160 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

Grandpa could not find his glasses anywhere. "I am certain I had them at breakfast," he said. Theo and his sister Lila promised to help him search.

First, they checked the kitchen table. Next, they checked the chair on the porch. There was still no sign of the glasses.

"Let us think this through," said Lila. "Where did Grandpa go right after breakfast?"

"He went out to feed the hens," said Theo.

The two children hurried to the hen house. Inside, a brown hen sat comfortably on her nest. Something shiny was poking out from under her wing. It was one arm of Grandpa's glasses!

Theo lifted the hen very gently. The glasses were warm but not broken. Grandpa had set them down while he scattered the corn.

"Thank you both," said Grandpa. He put on his glasses and smiled. "Now I can see who the real thief was." The hen clucked as though she did not mind at all.

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 nest, scattered, gently and thief 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 4 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 "Grandpa's Glasses in the Hen House"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 137 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.7. 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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