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Puddle Is Called Something Else

2nd grade fiction passage about a new classmate and new words: 142 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a new classmate and new words 142 words

Puddle Is Called Something Else

Mina was new at the bus stop. She knew only a few words in English. She stood by herself and held her backpack with both hands.

It had rained all night. A big puddle sat at the curb. Theo pointed at it. "Puddle," he said.

"Pu-ddle," said Mina carefully.

Theo jumped in. Splash! Then he waved for Mina to jump too. She did, and water flew up in a spray. They both laughed.

Mina pointed at the puddle and said a word in her first language. It sounded like music.

"Say it again," said Theo. She did, slowly. Theo tried. He got it a little wrong, and Mina clapped anyway.

When the bus came, the two friends were still jumping. Theo's socks were soaked. He did not mind one bit.

The next day, Mina taught him how to say good morning.

Questions

  1. How did Mina stand at the bus stop at first? in the text

  2. What word did Theo teach Mina? in the text

  3. What did Mina teach Theo on the next day? in the text

  4. What happened to Theo's socks? in the text

  5. Why did Mina clap when Theo got her word a little wrong? think about it

Words to know

curb
the edge of a sidewalk next to the street
spray
tiny drops of water flying through the air
soaked
completely wet
carefully
slowly, with close attention
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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 · 106 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6

Mina was new at the bus stop. She knew a few words in English. She stood by herself.

It had rained all night. A big puddle sat at the curb. Theo pointed. "Puddle," he said.

"Pu-ddle," said Mina.

Theo jumped in. Splash! He waved for Mina. She jumped too. They both laughed.

Mina said a word in her first language. It sounded like music.

"Say it again," said Theo. She did. Theo tried. He got it a little wrong. Mina clapped.

When the bus came, they were still jumping. Theo's socks were wet. He did not mind.

The next day, Mina taught him good morning.

▲ This passage · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Mina was new at the bus stop. She knew only a few words in English. She stood by herself and held her backpack with both hands.

It had rained all night. A big puddle sat at the curb. Theo pointed at it. "Puddle," he said.

"Pu-ddle," said Mina carefully.

Theo jumped in. Splash! Then he waved for Mina to jump too. She did, and water flew up in a spray. They both laughed.

Mina pointed at the puddle and said a word in her first language. It sounded like music.

"Say it again," said Theo. She did, slowly. Theo tried. He got it a little wrong, and Mina clapped anyway.

When the bus came, the two friends were still jumping. Theo's socks were soaked. He did not mind one bit.

The next day, Mina taught him how to say good morning.

■ Harder · 163 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

Mina was new at the bus stop, and she knew only a handful of words in English. She stood off to the side by herself, clutching her backpack with both hands.

It had rained all through the night, and an enormous puddle had formed at the curb. Theo pointed at it. "Puddle," he said.

"Pu-ddle," Mina repeated carefully.

Theo jumped right in with a splash. Then he waved for Mina to join him. She did, and water flew up in a great spray. They both burst out laughing.

Mina pointed at the puddle and said a word in her first language. It sounded like music.

"Say it again," Theo begged. She did, slowly. Theo tried to copy it. He got it a little wrong, but Mina clapped anyway.

When the bus finally arrived, the two friends were still jumping. Theo's socks were completely soaked, but he did not mind one bit.

The following day, Mina taught him how to say good morning.

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 curb, spray, soaked and carefully 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 "Puddle Is Called Something Else"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 142 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.5. 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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