2nd grade nonfiction passage about sound from vibrations: 134 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionsound from vibrations134 words
How to Build a Rubber Band Guitar
You can make a pretend guitar with things from a drawer. You need an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. Make sure the box has a hole in the top.
Stretch the rubber bands around the box so they cross the hole. Choose bands that are thick, medium, and thin. Now pluck one with your finger. You will hear a sound!
What makes the sound? The rubber band moves back and forth very fast. This is called a vibration. The vibration shakes the air, and the shaking air carries the sound to your ears.
Each band sounds different. The thick band makes a low sound. The thin band makes a high sound. If you pull a band tighter, its sound gets higher too.
Next time you hear music, think about what is shaking.
Questions
What do you need to build the guitar? in the text
What makes the sound when you pluck a band? in the text
What is a vibration? in the text
Which band makes the lowest sound? in the text
What could you do to make a band sound higher? think about it
Words to know
pluck
to pull a string and let it go
vibration
a very fast shaking back and forth
stretch
to pull something so it gets longer
thick
wide, not thin
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
How to Build a Rubber Band Guitar
2nd grade reading passage
You can make a pretend guitar with things from a drawer. You need an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. Make sure the box has a hole in the top.
Stretch the rubber bands around the box so they cross the hole. Choose bands that are thick, medium, and thin. Now pluck one with your finger. You will hear a sound!
What makes the sound? The rubber band moves back and forth very fast. This is called a vibration. The vibration shakes the air, and the shaking air carries the sound to your ears.
Each band sounds different. The thick band makes a low sound. The thin band makes a high sound. If you pull a band tighter, its sound gets higher too.
Next time you hear music, think about what is shaking.
Questions
What do you need to build the guitar?
What makes the sound when you pluck a band?
What is a vibration?
Which band makes the lowest sound?
What could you do to make a band sound higher?
Words to know
pluck: to pull a string and let it go
vibration: a very fast shaking back and forth
stretch: to pull something so it gets longer
thick: wide, not thin
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/how-to-build-a-rubber-band-guitar
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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 · 101 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.5
You can make a pretend guitar. You need an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. The box needs a hole in the top.
Stretch the bands over the box. They go across the hole. Use a thick band, a medium band, and a thin band. Pluck one with your finger. You hear a sound!
The band moves back and forth very fast. This is a vibration. It shakes the air. The air takes the sound to your ears.
The thick band makes a low sound. The thin band makes a high sound. Pull a band tight. The sound gets higher.
▲ This passage · 134 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
You can make a pretend guitar with things from a drawer. You need an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. Make sure the box has a hole in the top.
Stretch the rubber bands around the box so they cross the hole. Choose bands that are thick, medium, and thin. Now pluck one with your finger. You will hear a sound!
What makes the sound? The rubber band moves back and forth very fast. This is called a vibration. The vibration shakes the air, and the shaking air carries the sound to your ears.
Each band sounds different. The thick band makes a low sound. The thin band makes a high sound. If you pull a band tighter, its sound gets higher too.
Next time you hear music, think about what is shaking.
■ Harder · 150 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9
You can build a pretend guitar from ordinary things in a drawer. All you need is an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. Make sure the box has an opening in the top.
Stretch the rubber bands around the box so that they cross the opening. Choose one thick band, one medium band, and one thin band. Now pluck a band with your finger, and you will hear a sound!
What creates the sound? The rubber band moves back and forth extremely fast, and this motion is called a vibration. The vibration shakes the air, and the shaking air carries the sound to your ears.
Each band sounds different from the others. The thick band makes a low sound, while the thin band makes a high one. If you pull a band tighter, its sound becomes higher too.
The next time you hear music, think about what is shaking.
You can make a pretend guitar. You need an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. The box needs a hole in the top.
Stretch the bands over the box. They go across the hole. Use a thick band, a medium band, and a thin band. Pluck one with your finger. You hear a sound!
The band moves back and forth very fast. This is a vibration. It shakes the air. The air takes the sound to your ears.
The thick band makes a low sound. The thin band makes a high sound. Pull a band tight. The sound gets higher.
Questions
What do you need for the guitar?
What makes the sound?
What is a vibration?
Which band makes the lowest sound?
How can you make a band sound higher?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
How to Build a Rubber Band Guitar
You can make a pretend guitar with things from a drawer. You need an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. Make sure the box has a hole in the top.
Stretch the rubber bands around the box so they cross the hole. Choose bands that are thick, medium, and thin. Now pluck one with your finger. You will hear a sound!
What makes the sound? The rubber band moves back and forth very fast. This is called a vibration. The vibration shakes the air, and the shaking air carries the sound to your ears.
Each band sounds different. The thick band makes a low sound. The thin band makes a high sound. If you pull a band tighter, its sound gets higher too.
Next time you hear music, think about what is shaking.
Questions
What do you need to build the guitar?
What makes the sound when you pluck a band?
What is a vibration?
Which band makes the lowest sound?
What could you do to make a band sound higher?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
How to Build a Rubber Band Guitar
You can build a pretend guitar from ordinary things in a drawer. All you need is an empty tissue box and three rubber bands. Make sure the box has an opening in the top.
Stretch the rubber bands around the box so that they cross the opening. Choose one thick band, one medium band, and one thin band. Now pluck a band with your finger, and you will hear a sound!
What creates the sound? The rubber band moves back and forth extremely fast, and this motion is called a vibration. The vibration shakes the air, and the shaking air carries the sound to your ears.
Each band sounds different from the others. The thick band makes a low sound, while the thin band makes a high one. If you pull a band tighter, its sound becomes higher too.
The next time you hear music, think about what is shaking.
Questions
What do you need to build the guitar?
What creates the sound when you pluck a band?
What is a vibration?
Which band makes the lowest sound?
What could you do to make a band sound higher?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: How to Build a Rubber Band Guitar
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.5)
An empty tissue box and three rubber bands.
The band moves back and forth very fast.
A fast back and forth movement.
The thick band.
Pull it tighter.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
An empty tissue box and three rubber bands.
The band moves back and forth very fast.
A fast back and forth movement.
The thick band.
Pull it tighter.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9)
An empty tissue box and three rubber bands.
The band moves back and forth extremely fast.
A very fast back and forth motion.
The thick band.
Pull it tighter.
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 pluck, vibration, stretch and thick 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 "How to Build a Rubber Band Guitar"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 134 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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