2nd grade nonfiction passage about icicles: 130 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionicicles130 words
How an Icicle Grows
On a winter day, you may see sharp, clear spikes hanging from a roof. They are icicles. An icicle is made one drop at a time.
It starts with snow on the roof. The sun shines and warms the snow a little. Some of the snow melts into water. The water runs down to the edge of the roof.
At the edge, the water hangs in a drop. The air is still cold, so the drop begins to freeze. A little ice forms. Then another drop slides down and freezes on top of that ice.
Drip by drip, the ice grows longer and longer. It grows into a point at the bottom.
Icicles look beautiful, but they can be heavy. They can fall without warning. Stay out from under them.
Questions
Where do icicles hang? in the text
What melts the snow on the roof? in the text
Why does the drop at the edge freeze? in the text
What shape does the bottom of an icicle have? in the text
Why should you stay out from under an icicle? think about it
Words to know
icicle
a pointed spike of ice hanging down
melts
turns from ice or snow into water
freeze
to turn from water into ice
drip
to fall in small drops
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
How an Icicle Grows
2nd grade reading passage
On a winter day, you may see sharp, clear spikes hanging from a roof. They are icicles. An icicle is made one drop at a time.
It starts with snow on the roof. The sun shines and warms the snow a little. Some of the snow melts into water. The water runs down to the edge of the roof.
At the edge, the water hangs in a drop. The air is still cold, so the drop begins to freeze. A little ice forms. Then another drop slides down and freezes on top of that ice.
Drip by drip, the ice grows longer and longer. It grows into a point at the bottom.
Icicles look beautiful, but they can be heavy. They can fall without warning. Stay out from under them.
Questions
Where do icicles hang?
What melts the snow on the roof?
Why does the drop at the edge freeze?
What shape does the bottom of an icicle have?
Why should you stay out from under an icicle?
Words to know
icicle: a pointed spike of ice hanging down
melts: turns from ice or snow into water
freeze: to turn from water into ice
drip: to fall in small drops
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/how-an-icicle-grows
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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 · 97 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0
In winter, you may see icicles. They are clear spikes of ice. They hang from a roof. An icicle is made one drop at a time.
Snow is on the roof. The sun warms it. Some snow melts into water. The water runs to the edge of the roof.
A drop hangs at the edge. The air is cold. The drop starts to freeze. Then more water comes. It freezes on the ice.
Drip by drip, the ice grows long. It ends in a point.
Icicles can be heavy. They can fall. Stay out from under them.
▲ This passage · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
On a winter day, you may see sharp, clear spikes hanging from a roof. They are icicles. An icicle is made one drop at a time.
It starts with snow on the roof. The sun shines and warms the snow a little. Some of the snow melts into water. The water runs down to the edge of the roof.
At the edge, the water hangs in a drop. The air is still cold, so the drop begins to freeze. A little ice forms. Then another drop slides down and freezes on top of that ice.
Drip by drip, the ice grows longer and longer. It grows into a point at the bottom.
Icicles look beautiful, but they can be heavy. They can fall without warning. Stay out from under them.
■ Harder · 151 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8
On a winter day, you may notice sharp, clear spikes of ice dangling from the edge of a roof. These are called icicles, and each one is built a single drop at a time.
The process begins with snow lying on the roof. When the sun shines, it warms the snow slightly, and some of it melts into water. The water trickles down toward the edge of the roof.
At the edge, the water gathers into a drop that hangs there. Because the air is still cold, the drop begins to freeze, forming a little ice. Then another drop slides down and freezes on top of that ice.
Drip after drip, the ice stretches longer and longer, until it narrows into a point at the bottom.
Although icicles look beautiful, they can be quite heavy, and they may fall without any warning. It is wise to stay out from under them.
In winter, you may see icicles. They are clear spikes of ice. They hang from a roof. An icicle is made one drop at a time.
Snow is on the roof. The sun warms it. Some snow melts into water. The water runs to the edge of the roof.
A drop hangs at the edge. The air is cold. The drop starts to freeze. Then more water comes. It freezes on the ice.
Drip by drip, the ice grows long. It ends in a point.
Icicles can be heavy. They can fall. Stay out from under them.
Questions
Where do icicles hang?
What melts the snow?
Why does the drop freeze?
What shape is the bottom of an icicle?
Why should you stay out from under an icicle?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
How an Icicle Grows
On a winter day, you may see sharp, clear spikes hanging from a roof. They are icicles. An icicle is made one drop at a time.
It starts with snow on the roof. The sun shines and warms the snow a little. Some of the snow melts into water. The water runs down to the edge of the roof.
At the edge, the water hangs in a drop. The air is still cold, so the drop begins to freeze. A little ice forms. Then another drop slides down and freezes on top of that ice.
Drip by drip, the ice grows longer and longer. It grows into a point at the bottom.
Icicles look beautiful, but they can be heavy. They can fall without warning. Stay out from under them.
Questions
Where do icicles hang?
What melts the snow on the roof?
Why does the drop at the edge freeze?
What shape does the bottom of an icicle have?
Why should you stay out from under an icicle?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
How an Icicle Grows
On a winter day, you may notice sharp, clear spikes of ice dangling from the edge of a roof. These are called icicles, and each one is built a single drop at a time.
The process begins with snow lying on the roof. When the sun shines, it warms the snow slightly, and some of it melts into water. The water trickles down toward the edge of the roof.
At the edge, the water gathers into a drop that hangs there. Because the air is still cold, the drop begins to freeze, forming a little ice. Then another drop slides down and freezes on top of that ice.
Drip after drip, the ice stretches longer and longer, until it narrows into a point at the bottom.
Although icicles look beautiful, they can be quite heavy, and they may fall without any warning. It is wise to stay out from under them.
Questions
Where do icicles hang?
What warms the snow on the roof so that it melts?
Why does the drop of water at the edge begin to freeze?
What shape does the bottom of an icicle make?
Why is it wise to stay out from under an icicle?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: How an Icicle Grows
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0)
From the edge of a roof.
The sun.
The air is cold.
A point.
It can be heavy and fall.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
From the edge of a roof.
The sun.
The air is still cold.
A point.
It can be heavy and fall without warning.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8)
From the edge of a roof.
The sun.
The air is still cold.
A point.
It can be heavy and may fall without warning.
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 icicle, melts, freeze and drip 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.
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 130 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.9. 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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