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Measuring a Boot with Paper Clips

2nd grade nonfiction passage about measuring with small units: 128 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade nonfiction measuring with small units 128 words

Measuring a Boot with Paper Clips

You do not need a ruler to measure. You can use paper clips. A paper clip is a unit. A unit is the thing you count when you measure.

Here is how to measure a boot.

First, set the boot on a table. Next, lay one paper clip at the heel. Put the next clip right after it. Keep going until you reach the toe. Do not leave gaps, and do not let the clips overlap.

Now count the clips. If you used nine, the boot is nine paper clips long.

Now measure your friend's boot with the same clips. Is it longer or shorter? If your friend gets eleven, the boot is two clips longer. You must use the same unit every time. Then you can compare.

Questions

  1. What is a unit? in the text

  2. Where do you put the first paper clip? in the text

  3. What should you not leave between the clips? in the text

  4. A boot measures nine clips and a second boot measures eleven. How much longer is the second one? in the text

  5. Why must you use the same unit each time you compare? think about it

Words to know

measure
to find out how long or big something is
unit
the thing you count when you measure
heel
the back end of a shoe or boot
overlap
to lie partly on top of something else
compare
to see how two things are alike or different
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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 · 89 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4

You can measure with paper clips. A paper clip is a unit. A unit is what you count.

Here is how to measure a boot.

Set the boot on a table. Put a clip at the heel. Put the next clip right after it. Go to the toe. No gaps. No overlap.

Now count the clips. If you used nine, the boot is nine clips long.

Measure a friend's boot. Use the same clips. If it is eleven, it is two clips longer. Use the same unit each time.

▲ This passage · 128 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

You do not need a ruler to measure. You can use paper clips. A paper clip is a unit. A unit is the thing you count when you measure.

Here is how to measure a boot.

First, set the boot on a table. Next, lay one paper clip at the heel. Put the next clip right after it. Keep going until you reach the toe. Do not leave gaps, and do not let the clips overlap.

Now count the clips. If you used nine, the boot is nine paper clips long.

Now measure your friend's boot with the same clips. Is it longer or shorter? If your friend gets eleven, the boot is two clips longer. You must use the same unit every time. Then you can compare.

■ Harder · 140 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5

You do not need a ruler in order to measure something, because you can use paper clips instead. In this case, a paper clip is the unit, and a unit is the thing you count whenever you measure.

Here is how to measure a boot with them.

First, set the boot flat on a table. Next, lay one paper clip at the heel, and place the following clip directly after it. Continue all the way to the toe, making sure that you leave no gaps and that the clips never overlap.

Then count the clips. If you used nine, the boot is nine paper clips long.

Next, measure your friend's boot with the very same clips. If it takes eleven, that boot is two clips longer. You must use the same unit every time so that you can compare fairly.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put measure, unit, heel, overlap and compare 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Measuring a Boot with Paper Clips"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 128 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.4. 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?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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