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Mossy the Dragon and the Frozen Pond

2nd grade fiction passage about a dragon helps a skating pond: 132 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a dragon helps a skating pond 132 words

Mossy the Dragon and the Frozen Pond

Mossy was a small green dragon who lived near a pond. In winter, the pond froze. The ducks could not swim, and they stood on the ice with sad faces.

"I wish we could swim," said a duck named Pim.

Mossy puffed out her chest. She breathed out a little fire. But the fire was too big! It melted the whole pond into a puddle.

"Oh no," said Mossy. "Now we have no ice at all."

She tried again. This time she breathed out soft, warm air, like a sigh. It melted one round hole in the middle of the ice.

The ducks splashed in the hole, and the children skated around it. Everyone had a place to play.

Mossy kept the hole open all winter, one gentle breath at a time.

Questions

  1. What color was Mossy? in the text

  2. Why were the ducks sad? in the text

  3. What went wrong when Mossy breathed out fire? in the text

  4. How did Mossy fix the problem? in the text

  5. Why was a small hole better than a melted pond? think about it

Words to know

froze
turned hard and icy from the cold
puffed
blew out a quick breath of air
melted
turned from ice into water
gentle
soft and careful, not rough
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 · 111 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.5

Mossy was a small green dragon. She lived near a pond. In winter, the pond froze. The ducks could not swim. They stood on the ice. They looked sad.

"I wish we could swim," said a duck named Pim.

Mossy took a big breath. She blew out fire. But the fire was too big! It melted the whole pond.

"Oh no," said Mossy. "Now there is no ice."

She tried again. This time she blew out soft, warm air. It melted one round hole in the ice.

The ducks splashed in the hole. The children skated around it. Everyone had a place to play.

Mossy kept the hole open all winter.

▲ This passage · 132 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Mossy was a small green dragon who lived near a pond. In winter, the pond froze. The ducks could not swim, and they stood on the ice with sad faces.

"I wish we could swim," said a duck named Pim.

Mossy puffed out her chest. She breathed out a little fire. But the fire was too big! It melted the whole pond into a puddle.

"Oh no," said Mossy. "Now we have no ice at all."

She tried again. This time she breathed out soft, warm air, like a sigh. It melted one round hole in the middle of the ice.

The ducks splashed in the hole, and the children skated around it. Everyone had a place to play.

Mossy kept the hole open all winter, one gentle breath at a time.

■ Harder · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Mossy was a small green dragon who lived beside a quiet pond. Every winter, the pond froze solid. The ducks could no longer swim, so they stood on the slippery ice with sad faces.

"I wish we could paddle again," said a duck named Pim.

Mossy puffed out her chest and breathed a burst of fire. But the flames were far too big! They melted the entire pond into one enormous puddle.

"Oh no," said Mossy. "Now we have no ice at all."

She tried a second time. This time she breathed out soft, warm air, like a long sigh. It melted a single round hole in the middle of the ice.

The ducks splashed happily in the hole, and the children skated in circles around it. Everyone had a place to play.

Mossy kept the hole open all winter long, one gentle breath at a time.

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 froze, puffed, melted and gentle on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the story 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 retell the story in three sentences: how it began, what the problem was, and how it ended.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Mossy the Dragon and the Frozen Pond"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 132 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.8. 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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