2nd grade fiction passage about a rainy day: 113 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictiona rainy day113 words
Pip and the Puddle Boat
It rained all morning. Pip the pup sat by the window. She wanted to go out and play, but the yard was all mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," said Pip.
Her friend Jo came over in a yellow raincoat. Jo had a paper boat in her hand. "Let us sail it in a puddle," said Jo.
They ran out into the rain. Jo set the boat in the biggest puddle. It spun round and round. Then it began to sink. The paper was too wet!
"Wait," said Pip. She ran to get a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on the lid, and now it floated. They sailed it all afternoon.
Questions
Why did Pip sit by the window? in the text
What was Jo wearing? in the text
What did Jo bring? in the text
Why did the paper boat begin to sink? in the text
What did Pip get to fix the problem? in the text
Why did the boat float on the lid? think about it
Words to know
puddle
a small pool of water on the ground
bored
tired because you have nothing fun to do
sail
to move across water on a boat
floated
stayed on top of the water
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Pip and the Puddle Boat
2nd grade reading passage
It rained all morning. Pip the pup sat by the window. She wanted to go out and play, but the yard was all mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," said Pip.
Her friend Jo came over in a yellow raincoat. Jo had a paper boat in her hand. "Let us sail it in a puddle," said Jo.
They ran out into the rain. Jo set the boat in the biggest puddle. It spun round and round. Then it began to sink. The paper was too wet!
"Wait," said Pip. She ran to get a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on the lid, and now it floated. They sailed it all afternoon.
Questions
Why did Pip sit by the window?
What was Jo wearing?
What did Jo bring?
Why did the paper boat begin to sink?
What did Pip get to fix the problem?
Why did the boat float on the lid?
Words to know
puddle: a small pool of water on the ground
bored: tired because you have nothing fun to do
sail: to move across water on a boat
floated: stayed on top of the water
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/pip-and-the-puddle-boat
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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 · 100 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2
It rained all morning. Pip the pup sat by the window. She wanted to play. But the yard was mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," said Pip.
Her friend Jo came in a yellow raincoat. Jo had a paper boat. "Let us sail it in a puddle," said Jo.
They ran out in the rain. Jo set the boat in a big puddle. It spun round. Then it began to sink. The paper was too wet!
"Wait," said Pip. She got a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on the lid. Now it floated. They sailed it all afternoon.
▲ This passage · 113 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8
It rained all morning. Pip the pup sat by the window. She wanted to go out and play, but the yard was all mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," said Pip.
Her friend Jo came over in a yellow raincoat. Jo had a paper boat in her hand. "Let us sail it in a puddle," said Jo.
They ran out into the rain. Jo set the boat in the biggest puddle. It spun round and round. Then it began to sink. The paper was too wet!
"Wait," said Pip. She ran to get a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on the lid, and now it floated. They sailed it all afternoon.
■ Harder · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5
It rained steadily all morning long. Pip the pup sat gloomily beside the window. She was longing to go outside and play, but the whole yard was nothing but mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," sighed Pip.
Just then, her friend Jo arrived wearing a bright yellow raincoat. Jo was holding a little paper boat. "Let us sail it across a puddle," suggested Jo.
The two friends dashed out into the rain. Jo placed the boat in the biggest puddle, and it spun round and round. Before long, it began to sink, because the paper had become far too wet!
"Wait a moment," said Pip. She hurried off and fetched a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on top of the lid, and this time it floated perfectly. They sailed it for the entire afternoon.
It rained all morning. Pip the pup sat by the window. She wanted to play. But the yard was mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," said Pip.
Her friend Jo came in a yellow raincoat. Jo had a paper boat. "Let us sail it in a puddle," said Jo.
They ran out in the rain. Jo set the boat in a big puddle. It spun round. Then it began to sink. The paper was too wet!
"Wait," said Pip. She got a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on the lid. Now it floated. They sailed it all afternoon.
Questions
Why did Pip sit by the window?
What did Jo wear?
What did Jo bring?
Why did the boat sink?
What did Pip get?
Why did the boat float on the lid?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Pip and the Puddle Boat
It rained all morning. Pip the pup sat by the window. She wanted to go out and play, but the yard was all mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," said Pip.
Her friend Jo came over in a yellow raincoat. Jo had a paper boat in her hand. "Let us sail it in a puddle," said Jo.
They ran out into the rain. Jo set the boat in the biggest puddle. It spun round and round. Then it began to sink. The paper was too wet!
"Wait," said Pip. She ran to get a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on the lid, and now it floated. They sailed it all afternoon.
Questions
Why did Pip sit by the window?
What was Jo wearing?
What did Jo bring?
Why did the paper boat begin to sink?
What did Pip get to fix the problem?
Why did the boat float on the lid?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Pip and the Puddle Boat
It rained steadily all morning long. Pip the pup sat gloomily beside the window. She was longing to go outside and play, but the whole yard was nothing but mud and puddles.
"I am so bored," sighed Pip.
Just then, her friend Jo arrived wearing a bright yellow raincoat. Jo was holding a little paper boat. "Let us sail it across a puddle," suggested Jo.
The two friends dashed out into the rain. Jo placed the boat in the biggest puddle, and it spun round and round. Before long, it began to sink, because the paper had become far too wet!
"Wait a moment," said Pip. She hurried off and fetched a plastic lid. Jo set the boat on top of the lid, and this time it floated perfectly. They sailed it for the entire afternoon.
Questions
Why did Pip sit gloomily beside the window?
What was Jo wearing when she arrived?
What was Jo holding?
Why did the paper boat begin to sink?
What did Pip fetch to solve the problem?
Why did the boat float on the plastic lid?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Pip and the Puddle Boat
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2)
It was raining and she could not play outside.
A yellow raincoat.
A paper boat.
The paper got too wet.
A plastic lid.
A plastic lid does not get soaked like paper.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8)
It was raining and she could not play outside.
A yellow raincoat.
A paper boat.
The paper got too wet.
A plastic lid.
A plastic lid does not soak up water like paper does.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5)
It was raining, and the yard was full of mud and puddles, so she could not play outside.
A bright yellow raincoat.
A little paper boat.
The paper had become far too wet.
A plastic lid.
Plastic does not soak up water the way paper does.
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 puddle, bored, sail and floated 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 6 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.
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 113 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.8. 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 six. 5 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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