2nd grade nonfiction passage about taxes and town money: 126 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictiontaxes and town money126 words
How a Town Pays for a New Swing Set
A town needs money to buy a new swing set. Where does the money come from?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small amount of money that people in a town pay. Each person gives a little. When many people give a little, the town has enough to do big jobs.
The town leaders choose how to spend the money. They use it to fix roads and pay workers. They use it to run the library and the fire station. They can also use it to fill a park with swings.
Taxes are a way of sharing. Everyone helps pay, and everyone gets to use the things that are built. That is why the swings are for all the children in town.
Questions
What is a tax? in the text
Who chooses how the town spends its money? in the text
What is one thing a town pays for besides swings? in the text
Why can a town do big jobs with taxes? think about it
Who gets to use the swings after the town buys them? in the text
Words to know
tax
money that people pay to help their town
leaders
people who guide a group and make choices for it
sharing
letting many people have or use something
spend
to use money to buy or pay for things
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
How a Town Pays for a New Swing Set
2nd grade reading passage
A town needs money to buy a new swing set. Where does the money come from?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small amount of money that people in a town pay. Each person gives a little. When many people give a little, the town has enough to do big jobs.
The town leaders choose how to spend the money. They use it to fix roads and pay workers. They use it to run the library and the fire station. They can also use it to fill a park with swings.
Taxes are a way of sharing. Everyone helps pay, and everyone gets to use the things that are built. That is why the swings are for all the children in town.
Questions
What is a tax?
Who chooses how the town spends its money?
What is one thing a town pays for besides swings?
Why can a town do big jobs with taxes?
Who gets to use the swings after the town buys them?
Words to know
tax: money that people pay to help their town
leaders: people who guide a group and make choices for it
sharing: letting many people have or use something
spend: to use money to buy or pay for things
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/how-a-town-pays-for-a-new-swing-set
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 · 95 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5
A town needs money to buy a new swing set. Where does it get the money?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small bit of money that people pay. Each person gives a little. Many people give a little, and the town has enough.
The town leaders choose how to spend it. They fix roads and pay workers. They run the library and the fire station. They can buy swings for a park.
Taxes are a way of sharing. All of us help pay. All of us can use the swings.
▲ This passage · 126 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6
A town needs money to buy a new swing set. Where does the money come from?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small amount of money that people in a town pay. Each person gives a little. When many people give a little, the town has enough to do big jobs.
The town leaders choose how to spend the money. They use it to fix roads and pay workers. They use it to run the library and the fire station. They can also use it to fill a park with swings.
Taxes are a way of sharing. Everyone helps pay, and everyone gets to use the things that are built. That is why the swings are for all the children in town.
■ Harder · 150 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7
When a town wants to buy a brand new swing set, it first needs to find the money to pay for it. Where does that money come from?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small amount of money that the people of a town pay, and since each person gives only a little, it is easy to afford. When a great many people each give a little, the town collects enough to take on big jobs.
The town leaders decide how the money will be spent. They may use it to repair roads, pay workers, and run the library and the fire station. They can also use it to fill a park with swings.
Taxes are a way of sharing. Everyone helps pay, and everyone gets to use the things that are built, which is why the swings are there for all the children in town.
A town needs money to buy a new swing set. Where does it get the money?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small bit of money that people pay. Each person gives a little. Many people give a little, and the town has enough.
The town leaders choose how to spend it. They fix roads and pay workers. They run the library and the fire station. They can buy swings for a park.
Taxes are a way of sharing. All of us help pay. All of us can use the swings.
Questions
What is a tax?
Who chooses how to spend the town's money?
What is one thing a town pays for besides swings?
Why does the town have enough money for big jobs?
Who can use the swings?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
How a Town Pays for a New Swing Set
A town needs money to buy a new swing set. Where does the money come from?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small amount of money that people in a town pay. Each person gives a little. When many people give a little, the town has enough to do big jobs.
The town leaders choose how to spend the money. They use it to fix roads and pay workers. They use it to run the library and the fire station. They can also use it to fill a park with swings.
Taxes are a way of sharing. Everyone helps pay, and everyone gets to use the things that are built. That is why the swings are for all the children in town.
Questions
What is a tax?
Who chooses how the town spends its money?
What is one thing a town pays for besides swings?
Why can a town do big jobs with taxes?
Who gets to use the swings after the town buys them?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
How a Town Pays for a New Swing Set
When a town wants to buy a brand new swing set, it first needs to find the money to pay for it. Where does that money come from?
Most of it comes from taxes. A tax is a small amount of money that the people of a town pay, and since each person gives only a little, it is easy to afford. When a great many people each give a little, the town collects enough to take on big jobs.
The town leaders decide how the money will be spent. They may use it to repair roads, pay workers, and run the library and the fire station. They can also use it to fill a park with swings.
Taxes are a way of sharing. Everyone helps pay, and everyone gets to use the things that are built, which is why the swings are there for all the children in town.
Questions
What is a tax?
Who decides how the town's money will be spent?
What is one thing a town pays for besides swings?
Why can a town take on big jobs with taxes?
Who gets to use the swings once the town has built them?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: How a Town Pays for a New Swing Set
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5)
A small bit of money that people pay.
The town leaders.
Roads, workers, the library, or the fire station.
Many people each give a little.
All the children in town.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6)
A small amount of money that people in a town pay.
The town leaders.
Roads, workers, the library, or the fire station.
Many people each give a little, so there is enough money.
All the children in town.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7)
A small amount of money that the people of a town pay.
The town leaders.
Roads, workers, the library, or the fire station.
A great many people each give a little, so the town collects enough money.
All the children in town.
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 tax, leaders, sharing and spend 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 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 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 "How a Town Pays for a New Swing Set"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 126 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.6. 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.