2nd grade nonfiction passage about smell and taste working together: 133 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionsmell and taste working together133 words
Hold Your Nose, Lose the Flavor
Try a little game with a grown-up. Take a small bite of apple and chew it. Notice the flavor. Now pinch your nose shut and take another bite. What happened? The flavor is much weaker!
Your tongue can tell only a few tastes, such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose does the rest. When you chew, tiny smells float up the back of your nose. Your brain mixes the taste and the smell together. That mix is called flavor.
This is why food seems plain when you have a stuffy nose from a cold. The smells cannot get through, so your brain has less to mix. Your tongue still works, but the flavor is faint.
Taste and smell are a team. Each one needs the other to make food yummy.
Questions
What do you do the second time you bite the apple? in the text
What can your tongue tell? in the text
Where do the tiny smells go when you chew? in the text
Why does food seem plain when you have a stuffy nose? in the text
When you pinch your nose and eat, which sense do you block? think about it
Words to know
flavor
how food seems to your taste and smell together
sour
sharp tasting, like a lemon
bitter
a strong, sharp taste that is not sweet
stuffy
blocked up so air cannot pass
faint
weak and hard to notice
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Hold Your Nose, Lose the Flavor
2nd grade reading passage
Try a little game with a grown-up. Take a small bite of apple and chew it. Notice the flavor. Now pinch your nose shut and take another bite. What happened? The flavor is much weaker!
Your tongue can tell only a few tastes, such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose does the rest. When you chew, tiny smells float up the back of your nose. Your brain mixes the taste and the smell together. That mix is called flavor.
This is why food seems plain when you have a stuffy nose from a cold. The smells cannot get through, so your brain has less to mix. Your tongue still works, but the flavor is faint.
Taste and smell are a team. Each one needs the other to make food yummy.
Questions
What do you do the second time you bite the apple?
What can your tongue tell?
Where do the tiny smells go when you chew?
Why does food seem plain when you have a stuffy nose?
When you pinch your nose and eat, which sense do you block?
Words to know
flavor: how food seems to your taste and smell together
sour: sharp tasting, like a lemon
bitter: a strong, sharp taste that is not sweet
stuffy: blocked up so air cannot pass
faint: weak and hard to notice
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/hold-your-nose-lose-the-flavor
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 · 92 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.6
Play a game with a grown-up. Take a bite of apple. Chew it. What is the flavor?
Now pinch your nose. Take one more bite. The flavor is weak!
Your tongue knows a few tastes. It knows sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose does the rest. You chew. Small smells go up the back of your nose. Your brain mixes the taste and the smell. That is flavor.
A cold can stuff up your nose. The smells cannot get in. So food seems plain.
Taste and smell are a team.
▲ This passage · 133 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6
Try a little game with a grown-up. Take a small bite of apple and chew it. Notice the flavor. Now pinch your nose shut and take another bite. What happened? The flavor is much weaker!
Your tongue can tell only a few tastes, such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose does the rest. When you chew, tiny smells float up the back of your nose. Your brain mixes the taste and the smell together. That mix is called flavor.
This is why food seems plain when you have a stuffy nose from a cold. The smells cannot get through, so your brain has less to mix. Your tongue still works, but the flavor is faint.
Taste and smell are a team. Each one needs the other to make food yummy.
■ Harder · 152 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1
Try a simple experiment with a grown-up beside you. Take a small bite of apple and chew it slowly, paying attention to the flavor. Next, pinch your nose shut and take another bite. What do you notice? The flavor becomes much weaker!
Your tongue is able to recognize only a handful of tastes, including sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose handles all of the rest. As you chew, tiny smells drift up the back of your nose. Your brain then blends the taste and the smell into a single experience, which we call flavor.
That explains why food seems so plain when a cold leaves you with a stuffy nose. The smells are blocked, so your brain has much less to blend. Your tongue still works perfectly well, but the flavor is faint.
Taste and smell form a team, and each one depends on the other to make food delicious.
Play a game with a grown-up. Take a bite of apple. Chew it. What is the flavor?
Now pinch your nose. Take one more bite. The flavor is weak!
Your tongue knows a few tastes. It knows sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose does the rest. You chew. Small smells go up the back of your nose. Your brain mixes the taste and the smell. That is flavor.
A cold can stuff up your nose. The smells cannot get in. So food seems plain.
Taste and smell are a team.
Questions
What do you do the second time you take a bite?
What tastes does your tongue know?
Where do small smells go when you chew?
Why is food plain when you have a cold?
When you pinch your nose, which sense do you block?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Hold Your Nose, Lose the Flavor
Try a little game with a grown-up. Take a small bite of apple and chew it. Notice the flavor. Now pinch your nose shut and take another bite. What happened? The flavor is much weaker!
Your tongue can tell only a few tastes, such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose does the rest. When you chew, tiny smells float up the back of your nose. Your brain mixes the taste and the smell together. That mix is called flavor.
This is why food seems plain when you have a stuffy nose from a cold. The smells cannot get through, so your brain has less to mix. Your tongue still works, but the flavor is faint.
Taste and smell are a team. Each one needs the other to make food yummy.
Questions
What do you do the second time you bite the apple?
What can your tongue tell?
Where do the tiny smells go when you chew?
Why does food seem plain when you have a stuffy nose?
When you pinch your nose and eat, which sense do you block?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Hold Your Nose, Lose the Flavor
Try a simple experiment with a grown-up beside you. Take a small bite of apple and chew it slowly, paying attention to the flavor. Next, pinch your nose shut and take another bite. What do you notice? The flavor becomes much weaker!
Your tongue is able to recognize only a handful of tastes, including sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Your nose handles all of the rest. As you chew, tiny smells drift up the back of your nose. Your brain then blends the taste and the smell into a single experience, which we call flavor.
That explains why food seems so plain when a cold leaves you with a stuffy nose. The smells are blocked, so your brain has much less to blend. Your tongue still works perfectly well, but the flavor is faint.
Taste and smell form a team, and each one depends on the other to make food delicious.
Questions
What do you do the second time you bite the apple?
Which tastes can your tongue recognize?
Where do tiny smells drift when you chew?
Why does food seem plain when you have a stuffy nose from a cold?
When you pinch your nose and eat, which sense are you blocking?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Hold Your Nose, Lose the Flavor
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.6)
You pinch your nose.
Sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
Up the back of your nose.
Your nose is stuffed up, so smells cannot get in.
Your sense of smell.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6)
You pinch your nose shut.
A few tastes, such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
Up the back of your nose.
The smells cannot get through to your brain.
Your sense of smell.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1)
You pinch your nose shut.
Sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
Up the back of your nose.
The smells are blocked, so your brain has less to blend.
Your sense of smell.
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 flavor, sour, bitter, stuffy and faint 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 "Hold Your Nose, Lose the Flavor"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 133 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.6. 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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