2nd grade nonfiction passage about telling time on the half hour: 114 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictiontelling time on the half hour114 words
Half Past Seven on the Clock
Breakfast at our house is at half past seven. What does that mean?
Every hour on a clock is cut into two halves. Half of an hour is thirty minutes. So half past seven means thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how it looks. The small hand rests between the seven and the eight, a bit past the seven. The big hand points at the six, the number at the very bottom.
Why not half past eight? Because the small hand has not gotten to the eight. It moves slowly and waits near the seven.
On a phone or a stove, you will see the time as 7:30. Both ways say the same thing.
Questions
When is breakfast at the narrator's house? in the text
How many minutes are in half of an hour? in the text
Where does the big hand point at half past seven? in the text
How can the time half past seven be written with numbers? in the text
The small hand is a bit past the four and the big hand points at the six. What time is it? think about it
Words to know
hour
a length of time that is sixty minutes long
minutes
short pieces of time that make up an hour
halves
two equal parts of one whole thing
stove
the kitchen machine used to cook food
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Half Past Seven on the Clock
2nd grade reading passage
Breakfast at our house is at half past seven. What does that mean?
Every hour on a clock is cut into two halves. Half of an hour is thirty minutes. So half past seven means thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how it looks. The small hand rests between the seven and the eight, a bit past the seven. The big hand points at the six, the number at the very bottom.
Why not half past eight? Because the small hand has not gotten to the eight. It moves slowly and waits near the seven.
On a phone or a stove, you will see the time as 7:30. Both ways say the same thing.
Questions
When is breakfast at the narrator's house?
How many minutes are in half of an hour?
Where does the big hand point at half past seven?
How can the time half past seven be written with numbers?
The small hand is a bit past the four and the big hand points at the six. What time is it?
Words to know
hour: a length of time that is sixty minutes long
minutes: short pieces of time that make up an hour
halves: two equal parts of one whole thing
stove: the kitchen machine used to cook food
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/half-past-seven-on-the-clock
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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 · 90 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4
We eat breakfast at half past seven. What does that mean?
An hour has two halves. Half an hour is thirty minutes. So half past seven is thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how it looks. The small hand is a bit past the seven. The big hand points at the six. The six is at the bottom.
It is not half past eight. The small hand has not got to the eight. It waits near the seven.
A phone or a stove shows 7:30. It says the same thing.
▲ This passage · 114 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
Breakfast at our house is at half past seven. What does that mean?
Every hour on a clock is cut into two halves. Half of an hour is thirty minutes. So half past seven means thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how it looks. The small hand rests between the seven and the eight, a bit past the seven. The big hand points at the six, the number at the very bottom.
Why not half past eight? Because the small hand has not gotten to the eight. It moves slowly and waits near the seven.
On a phone or a stove, you will see the time as 7:30. Both ways say the same thing.
■ Harder · 139 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.7
Breakfast at our house is served at half past seven, and you may wonder exactly what that phrase means.
Every hour on a clock can be separated into two equal halves, and half of an hour is thirty minutes. Therefore, half past seven means thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how the clock looks. The small hand rests between the seven and the eight, just a little past the seven. The big hand points directly at the six, which is the number at the very bottom of the clock.
Why is it not half past eight? The small hand has not yet traveled as far as the eight, because it moves slowly and lingers near the seven.
On a phone or a stove, the time appears as 7:30, and both ways of writing it say exactly the same thing.
We eat breakfast at half past seven. What does that mean?
An hour has two halves. Half an hour is thirty minutes. So half past seven is thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how it looks. The small hand is a bit past the seven. The big hand points at the six. The six is at the bottom.
It is not half past eight. The small hand has not got to the eight. It waits near the seven.
A phone or a stove shows 7:30. It says the same thing.
Questions
When is breakfast?
How many minutes are in half an hour?
Where does the big hand point at half past seven?
How can half past seven be written with numbers?
The small hand is a bit past the four and the big hand is on the six. What time is it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Half Past Seven on the Clock
Breakfast at our house is at half past seven. What does that mean?
Every hour on a clock is cut into two halves. Half of an hour is thirty minutes. So half past seven means thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how it looks. The small hand rests between the seven and the eight, a bit past the seven. The big hand points at the six, the number at the very bottom.
Why not half past eight? Because the small hand has not gotten to the eight. It moves slowly and waits near the seven.
On a phone or a stove, you will see the time as 7:30. Both ways say the same thing.
Questions
When is breakfast at the narrator's house?
How many minutes are in half of an hour?
Where does the big hand point at half past seven?
How can the time half past seven be written with numbers?
The small hand is a bit past the four and the big hand points at the six. What time is it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Half Past Seven on the Clock
Breakfast at our house is served at half past seven, and you may wonder exactly what that phrase means.
Every hour on a clock can be separated into two equal halves, and half of an hour is thirty minutes. Therefore, half past seven means thirty minutes after seven o'clock.
Here is how the clock looks. The small hand rests between the seven and the eight, just a little past the seven. The big hand points directly at the six, which is the number at the very bottom of the clock.
Why is it not half past eight? The small hand has not yet traveled as far as the eight, because it moves slowly and lingers near the seven.
On a phone or a stove, the time appears as 7:30, and both ways of writing it say exactly the same thing.
Questions
At what time is breakfast served at the narrator's house?
How many minutes are there in half of an hour?
Where does the big hand point at half past seven?
How can the time half past seven be written with numbers?
The small hand is a little past the four and the big hand points at the six. What time is it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Half Past Seven on the Clock
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4)
At half past seven.
Thirty minutes.
At the six, at the bottom.
7:30.
Half past four, or 4:30.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
At half past seven.
Thirty minutes.
At the six, at the very bottom.
7:30.
Half past four, or 4:30.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.7)
At half past seven.
Thirty minutes.
At the six, the number at the very bottom.
7:30.
Half past four, or 4:30.
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 hour, minutes, halves and stove 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.
What reading level is "Half Past Seven on the Clock"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 114 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.0. 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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