2nd grade nonfiction passage about salmon journey: 128 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionsalmon journey128 words
The Salmon Who Swim Home Up the River
A salmon starts life in a small, clear river. It is tiny when it hatches. After a time, it swims down the river and out to the sea. It grows big in the salty water.
Then something amazing happens. When the salmon is grown, it swims back to the river where it was born. It has to swim against the current. The water pushes the other way, but the salmon keeps going.
Sometimes there is a waterfall in the way. The salmon leaps up out of the water. It may try again and again until it gets over.
At last the salmon reaches the quiet place where it began. There it lays its eggs in the gravel. Soon new baby salmon will hatch, and the story starts over.
Questions
Where does a salmon start its life? in the text
Where does the salmon grow big? in the text
Where does the grown salmon swim back to? in the text
What does the salmon do at a waterfall? in the text
Why is it hard for the salmon to swim up the river? think about it
Words to know
salmon
a large fish that swims up rivers to lay eggs
hatches
comes out of an egg
current
water that moves in one direction
gravel
small stones at the bottom of a river
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Salmon Who Swim Home Up the River
2nd grade reading passage
A salmon starts life in a small, clear river. It is tiny when it hatches. After a time, it swims down the river and out to the sea. It grows big in the salty water.
Then something amazing happens. When the salmon is grown, it swims back to the river where it was born. It has to swim against the current. The water pushes the other way, but the salmon keeps going.
Sometimes there is a waterfall in the way. The salmon leaps up out of the water. It may try again and again until it gets over.
At last the salmon reaches the quiet place where it began. There it lays its eggs in the gravel. Soon new baby salmon will hatch, and the story starts over.
Questions
Where does a salmon start its life?
Where does the salmon grow big?
Where does the grown salmon swim back to?
What does the salmon do at a waterfall?
Why is it hard for the salmon to swim up the river?
Words to know
salmon: a large fish that swims up rivers to lay eggs
hatches: comes out of an egg
current: water that moves in one direction
gravel: small stones at the bottom of a river
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/salmon-who-swim-home-up-the-river
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 · 101 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5
A salmon starts life in a small, clear river. It is tiny when it hatches. Then it swims down the river to the sea. It grows big in the salty water.
When the salmon is grown, it swims back to the river where it was born. The water pushes the other way. The salmon keeps going.
Sometimes there is a waterfall. The salmon leaps up out of the water. It tries again and again.
At last it gets to the quiet place where it began. It lays its eggs in the gravel. Baby salmon will hatch, and the story starts over.
▲ This passage · 128 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5
A salmon starts life in a small, clear river. It is tiny when it hatches. After a time, it swims down the river and out to the sea. It grows big in the salty water.
Then something amazing happens. When the salmon is grown, it swims back to the river where it was born. It has to swim against the current. The water pushes the other way, but the salmon keeps going.
Sometimes there is a waterfall in the way. The salmon leaps up out of the water. It may try again and again until it gets over.
At last the salmon reaches the quiet place where it began. There it lays its eggs in the gravel. Soon new baby salmon will hatch, and the story starts over.
■ Harder · 138 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3
A salmon begins its life in a small, clear river, where it hatches as a tiny fish. After a while, it swims downstream and out to the sea, and it grows large in the salty water.
Then something remarkable happens. When the salmon is fully grown, it travels all the way back to the river where it was born. It must swim against the current, which pushes in the opposite direction, but the salmon does not give up.
Occasionally a waterfall blocks the way, and the salmon leaps up out of the water. It may try again and again until it finally gets over the top.
Eventually the salmon reaches the quiet place where its own life began. There it lays its eggs in the gravel. Soon new baby salmon will hatch, and the cycle begins once more.
A salmon starts life in a small, clear river. It is tiny when it hatches. Then it swims down the river to the sea. It grows big in the salty water.
When the salmon is grown, it swims back to the river where it was born. The water pushes the other way. The salmon keeps going.
Sometimes there is a waterfall. The salmon leaps up out of the water. It tries again and again.
At last it gets to the quiet place where it began. It lays its eggs in the gravel. Baby salmon will hatch, and the story starts over.
Questions
Where does a salmon start its life?
Where does the salmon grow big?
Where does the grown salmon swim back to?
What does the salmon do at a waterfall?
Why is it hard to swim up the river?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Salmon Who Swim Home Up the River
A salmon starts life in a small, clear river. It is tiny when it hatches. After a time, it swims down the river and out to the sea. It grows big in the salty water.
Then something amazing happens. When the salmon is grown, it swims back to the river where it was born. It has to swim against the current. The water pushes the other way, but the salmon keeps going.
Sometimes there is a waterfall in the way. The salmon leaps up out of the water. It may try again and again until it gets over.
At last the salmon reaches the quiet place where it began. There it lays its eggs in the gravel. Soon new baby salmon will hatch, and the story starts over.
Questions
Where does a salmon start its life?
Where does the salmon grow big?
Where does the grown salmon swim back to?
What does the salmon do at a waterfall?
Why is it hard for the salmon to swim up the river?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Salmon Who Swim Home Up the River
A salmon begins its life in a small, clear river, where it hatches as a tiny fish. After a while, it swims downstream and out to the sea, and it grows large in the salty water.
Then something remarkable happens. When the salmon is fully grown, it travels all the way back to the river where it was born. It must swim against the current, which pushes in the opposite direction, but the salmon does not give up.
Occasionally a waterfall blocks the way, and the salmon leaps up out of the water. It may try again and again until it finally gets over the top.
Eventually the salmon reaches the quiet place where its own life began. There it lays its eggs in the gravel. Soon new baby salmon will hatch, and the cycle begins once more.
Questions
Where does a salmon begin its life?
Where does the salmon grow large?
Where does the fully grown salmon travel back to?
What does the salmon do when a waterfall blocks the way?
Why is the trip up the river so difficult for the salmon?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Salmon Who Swim Home Up the River
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5)
In a small, clear river.
In the sea.
The river where it was born.
It leaps up out of the water.
The water pushes the other way.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5)
In a small, clear river.
In the sea.
The river where it was born.
It leaps up out of the water.
It must swim against the current, which pushes the other way.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3)
In a small, clear river.
In the salty sea.
The river where it was born.
It leaps up out of the water, trying again and again.
It must swim against a current that pushes the opposite way.
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 salmon, hatches, current and gravel 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.
What reading level is "The Salmon Who Swim Home Up the River"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 128 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.