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The Mule Who Wore Mittens in July

2nd grade fiction passage about a mule with cold hooves: 122 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a mule with cold hooves 122 words

The Mule Who Wore Mittens in July

Old Mule Mabel lived on a hot, dusty ranch. Every day was sunny. Every night was warm.

But Mabel always said, "My hooves are cold!"

"It is July," said the cowboy. "Nobody's feet are cold."

Mabel did not care. She asked the farmer's wife to knit her four tiny mittens. They were red with white stripes.

Mabel clip-clopped around the ranch in her mittens. The chickens stared. The goats giggled. The cowboy shook his head.

Then one day, Mabel stepped in a puddle by the water trough. Splash! The puddle was ice cold, because it was shaded under the trough all day.

"See?" said Mabel. "I told you so." Her dry, warm hooves were the only ones that did not shiver.

Questions

  1. Where did Mabel live? in the text

  2. What did Mabel ask the farmer's wife to knit? in the text

  3. What colors were the mittens? in the text

  4. Where did Mabel step in an ice cold puddle? in the text

  5. Why did Mabel say 'I told you so'? think about it

Words to know

ranch
a big farm where cows and horses live
knit
make cloth by looping yarn together
trough
a long box that holds water for animals
shiver
to shake because you feel cold
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 1

Old Mule Mabel lived on a hot ranch. Every day was sunny. Every night was warm.

But Mabel said, "My hooves are cold!"

"It is July," said the cowboy. "No one's feet are cold."

Mabel did not care. She asked the farmer's wife to knit four tiny mittens. They were red with white stripes.

Mabel clip-clopped around in her mittens. The hens stared. The goats giggled.

Then Mabel stepped in a puddle by the water trough. Splash! The puddle was ice cold. It sat in the shade all day.

"I told you so," said Mabel. Her hooves were warm and dry. They were the only ones that did not shiver.

▲ This passage · 122 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

Old Mule Mabel lived on a hot, dusty ranch. Every day was sunny. Every night was warm.

But Mabel always said, "My hooves are cold!"

"It is July," said the cowboy. "Nobody's feet are cold."

Mabel did not care. She asked the farmer's wife to knit her four tiny mittens. They were red with white stripes.

Mabel clip-clopped around the ranch in her mittens. The chickens stared. The goats giggled. The cowboy shook his head.

Then one day, Mabel stepped in a puddle by the water trough. Splash! The puddle was ice cold, because it was shaded under the trough all day.

"See?" said Mabel. "I told you so." Her dry, warm hooves were the only ones that did not shiver.

■ Harder · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Old Mule Mabel lived on a scorching, dusty ranch where every day was sunny and every night was warm.

Even so, Mabel complained constantly. "My hooves are freezing!" she said.

"It is the middle of July," said the cowboy. "Nobody's feet are cold."

Mabel did not care what he thought. She asked the farmer's wife to knit her four tiny mittens, which came out red with bright white stripes.

Mabel clip-clopped proudly around the ranch in her new mittens. The chickens stared, the goats giggled, and the cowboy shook his head in wonder.

Then one afternoon, Mabel stepped right into a puddle beside the water trough. Splash! The puddle was icy cold, because it had sat in the shade all day long.

"See? I told you so," said Mabel. Her warm, dry hooves were the only ones on the ranch that did not shiver.

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 ranch, knit, trough and shiver 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 "The Mule Who Wore Mittens in July"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 122 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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