2nd grade nonfiction passage about morning dew: 129 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionmorning dew129 words
Jewels of Dew on a Spider Web
Early in the morning, a spider web can look like a necklace of tiny jewels. Little drops of water hang all along the threads. This water is called dew.
Dew comes from the air. During the day, the air holds water vapor, which you cannot see. At night, the ground and the grass get cool. The air touching them cools too. Cool air cannot hold as much vapor, so the vapor turns into drops of water.
The drops land on things that are cool, such as grass, leaves, and thin spider threads. Nothing rained. The water simply came out of the air.
When the sun rises, the air warms up. The dew dries up and floats back into the air as vapor. The jewels are gone for the day.
Questions
What does dew look like on a spider web? in the text
Where does dew come from? in the text
What happens to the air at night? in the text
What happens to dew when the sun rises? in the text
Did rain make the dew? How do you know? think about it
Words to know
dew
tiny drops of water that form outside at night
jewels
sparkling gems
threads
thin strings, like the ones a spider spins
vapor
water that is a gas in the air
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Jewels of Dew on a Spider Web
2nd grade reading passage
Early in the morning, a spider web can look like a necklace of tiny jewels. Little drops of water hang all along the threads. This water is called dew.
Dew comes from the air. During the day, the air holds water vapor, which you cannot see. At night, the ground and the grass get cool. The air touching them cools too. Cool air cannot hold as much vapor, so the vapor turns into drops of water.
The drops land on things that are cool, such as grass, leaves, and thin spider threads. Nothing rained. The water simply came out of the air.
When the sun rises, the air warms up. The dew dries up and floats back into the air as vapor. The jewels are gone for the day.
Questions
What does dew look like on a spider web?
Where does dew come from?
What happens to the air at night?
What happens to dew when the sun rises?
Did rain make the dew? How do you know?
Words to know
dew: tiny drops of water that form outside at night
jewels: sparkling gems
threads: thin strings, like the ones a spider spins
vapor: water that is a gas in the air
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/jewels-of-dew-on-a-spider-web
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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 · 107 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2
In the morning, a spider web can look like a necklace. Tiny drops of water hang on the threads. This water is called dew.
Dew comes from the air. The air has water vapor in it. You cannot see it. At night, the grass gets cool. The air next to it gets cool too. Cool air holds less vapor. So the vapor turns into drops.
The drops land on cool things. They land on grass, leaves, and spider threads. It did not rain. The water came out of the air.
Then the sun comes up. The air gets warm. The dew dries up. The jewels are gone.
▲ This passage · 129 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
Early in the morning, a spider web can look like a necklace of tiny jewels. Little drops of water hang all along the threads. This water is called dew.
Dew comes from the air. During the day, the air holds water vapor, which you cannot see. At night, the ground and the grass get cool. The air touching them cools too. Cool air cannot hold as much vapor, so the vapor turns into drops of water.
The drops land on things that are cool, such as grass, leaves, and thin spider threads. Nothing rained. The water simply came out of the air.
When the sun rises, the air warms up. The dew dries up and floats back into the air as vapor. The jewels are gone for the day.
■ Harder · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6
Early in the morning, a spider web can resemble a necklace studded with tiny jewels, because little drops of water cling all along its threads. This water is known as dew.
Dew comes from the air itself. During the day, the air holds water vapor, which is invisible to our eyes. At night, the ground and the grass cool down, and the air that touches them cools as well. Since cool air cannot hold as much vapor, some of the vapor changes into drops of liquid water.
Those drops settle on anything cool, such as blades of grass, leaves, and thin spider threads. No rain fell at all. The water simply came out of the air.
When the sun rises, the air warms, and the dew dries up and drifts back into the air as vapor. The jewels vanish for the day.
In the morning, a spider web can look like a necklace. Tiny drops of water hang on the threads. This water is called dew.
Dew comes from the air. The air has water vapor in it. You cannot see it. At night, the grass gets cool. The air next to it gets cool too. Cool air holds less vapor. So the vapor turns into drops.
The drops land on cool things. They land on grass, leaves, and spider threads. It did not rain. The water came out of the air.
Then the sun comes up. The air gets warm. The dew dries up. The jewels are gone.
Questions
What does dew look like on a web?
Where does dew come from?
What happens to the air at night?
What happens to dew when the sun comes up?
Did rain make the dew? How do you know?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Jewels of Dew on a Spider Web
Early in the morning, a spider web can look like a necklace of tiny jewels. Little drops of water hang all along the threads. This water is called dew.
Dew comes from the air. During the day, the air holds water vapor, which you cannot see. At night, the ground and the grass get cool. The air touching them cools too. Cool air cannot hold as much vapor, so the vapor turns into drops of water.
The drops land on things that are cool, such as grass, leaves, and thin spider threads. Nothing rained. The water simply came out of the air.
When the sun rises, the air warms up. The dew dries up and floats back into the air as vapor. The jewels are gone for the day.
Questions
What does dew look like on a spider web?
Where does dew come from?
What happens to the air at night?
What happens to dew when the sun rises?
Did rain make the dew? How do you know?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Jewels of Dew on a Spider Web
Early in the morning, a spider web can resemble a necklace studded with tiny jewels, because little drops of water cling all along its threads. This water is known as dew.
Dew comes from the air itself. During the day, the air holds water vapor, which is invisible to our eyes. At night, the ground and the grass cool down, and the air that touches them cools as well. Since cool air cannot hold as much vapor, some of the vapor changes into drops of liquid water.
Those drops settle on anything cool, such as blades of grass, leaves, and thin spider threads. No rain fell at all. The water simply came out of the air.
When the sun rises, the air warms, and the dew dries up and drifts back into the air as vapor. The jewels vanish for the day.
Questions
What does dew look like on a spider web in the early morning?
Where does dew come from?
What happens to the ground and the air touching it at night?
What happens to the dew once the sun rises?
Was the dew caused by rain? How can you tell?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Jewels of Dew on a Spider Web
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2)
Tiny drops of water, like jewels.
From water vapor in the air.
It gets cool.
It dries up.
No, the passage says it did not rain.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
Tiny jewels or little drops of water.
From water vapor in the air.
It cools down.
It dries up and goes back into the air.
No, because the passage says nothing rained.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6)
Tiny jewels, which are little drops of water.
From water vapor in the air.
They cool down.
It dries up and drifts back into the air as vapor.
No, because the passage says no rain fell.
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 dew, jewels, threads and vapor 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 "Jewels of Dew on a Spider Web"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 129 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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?
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