2nd grade nonfiction passage about sea star arms: 127 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionsea star arms127 words
A Sea Star Can Grow Back an Arm
A sea star lives on the bottom of the ocean. It has no head and no tail. Most sea stars have five arms, and each arm has tiny feet underneath.
Sometimes a sea star loses an arm. Maybe a crab pulled on it, or a rock fell on it. That is not the end of the story. The sea star can grow a new arm in its place.
It takes a long time. The new arm starts out small and then gets bigger and bigger. It may take many months before the arm is as long as the others.
While it waits, the sea star keeps on living. It still moves along the sand on its little feet. It still looks for food, like clams and snails.
Questions
Where does a sea star live? in the text
How many arms do most sea stars have? in the text
What can a sea star do when it loses an arm? in the text
What does a sea star eat? in the text
Why does the sea star keep moving while the arm grows back? think about it
Words to know
ocean
a very large body of salt water
arm
one of the long parts that stick out from the body of a sea star
clams
sea animals with two hard shells
snails
small soft animals that carry a shell on their backs
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Sea Star Can Grow Back an Arm
2nd grade reading passage
A sea star lives on the bottom of the ocean. It has no head and no tail. Most sea stars have five arms, and each arm has tiny feet underneath.
Sometimes a sea star loses an arm. Maybe a crab pulled on it, or a rock fell on it. That is not the end of the story. The sea star can grow a new arm in its place.
It takes a long time. The new arm starts out small and then gets bigger and bigger. It may take many months before the arm is as long as the others.
While it waits, the sea star keeps on living. It still moves along the sand on its little feet. It still looks for food, like clams and snails.
Questions
Where does a sea star live?
How many arms do most sea stars have?
What can a sea star do when it loses an arm?
What does a sea star eat?
Why does the sea star keep moving while the arm grows back?
Words to know
ocean: a very large body of salt water
arm: one of the long parts that stick out from the body of a sea star
clams: sea animals with two hard shells
snails: small soft animals that carry a shell on their backs
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/sea-star-can-grow-back-an-arm
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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 · 88 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1
A sea star lives on the bottom of the sea. It has no head. It has no tail. Most sea stars have five arms. Each arm has tiny feet.
Sometimes a sea star loses an arm. A crab may pull it off. But the sea star can grow a new arm.
The new arm is small at first. Then it gets bigger. It takes many months.
The sea star keeps on living. It still walks on its tiny feet. It still looks for clams and snails to eat.
▲ This passage · 127 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
A sea star lives on the bottom of the ocean. It has no head and no tail. Most sea stars have five arms, and each arm has tiny feet underneath.
Sometimes a sea star loses an arm. Maybe a crab pulled on it, or a rock fell on it. That is not the end of the story. The sea star can grow a new arm in its place.
It takes a long time. The new arm starts out small and then gets bigger and bigger. It may take many months before the arm is as long as the others.
While it waits, the sea star keeps on living. It still moves along the sand on its little feet. It still looks for food, like clams and snails.
■ Harder · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6
A sea star spends its life on the bottom of the ocean. It has neither a head nor a tail, and most sea stars have five arms, each with rows of tiny feet underneath.
Occasionally a sea star loses an arm, perhaps because a hungry crab pulled on it or a rock tumbled onto it. Remarkably, that is not the end of the story, because the sea star is able to grow a new arm in its place.
The process is slow. The new arm begins very small and gradually gets bigger, and it may take many months before it is as long as the others.
Meanwhile, the sea star carries on with its life. It still crawls across the sand on its little feet, and it still hunts for food such as clams and snails.
A sea star lives on the bottom of the sea. It has no head. It has no tail. Most sea stars have five arms. Each arm has tiny feet.
Sometimes a sea star loses an arm. A crab may pull it off. But the sea star can grow a new arm.
The new arm is small at first. Then it gets bigger. It takes many months.
The sea star keeps on living. It still walks on its tiny feet. It still looks for clams and snails to eat.
Questions
Where does a sea star live?
How many arms do most sea stars have?
What can a sea star do when it loses an arm?
What does a sea star eat?
Why can the sea star still look for food with a new arm growing?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Sea Star Can Grow Back an Arm
A sea star lives on the bottom of the ocean. It has no head and no tail. Most sea stars have five arms, and each arm has tiny feet underneath.
Sometimes a sea star loses an arm. Maybe a crab pulled on it, or a rock fell on it. That is not the end of the story. The sea star can grow a new arm in its place.
It takes a long time. The new arm starts out small and then gets bigger and bigger. It may take many months before the arm is as long as the others.
While it waits, the sea star keeps on living. It still moves along the sand on its little feet. It still looks for food, like clams and snails.
Questions
Where does a sea star live?
How many arms do most sea stars have?
What can a sea star do when it loses an arm?
What does a sea star eat?
Why does the sea star keep moving while the arm grows back?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Sea Star Can Grow Back an Arm
A sea star spends its life on the bottom of the ocean. It has neither a head nor a tail, and most sea stars have five arms, each with rows of tiny feet underneath.
Occasionally a sea star loses an arm, perhaps because a hungry crab pulled on it or a rock tumbled onto it. Remarkably, that is not the end of the story, because the sea star is able to grow a new arm in its place.
The process is slow. The new arm begins very small and gradually gets bigger, and it may take many months before it is as long as the others.
Meanwhile, the sea star carries on with its life. It still crawls across the sand on its little feet, and it still hunts for food such as clams and snails.
Questions
Where does a sea star spend its life?
How many arms do most sea stars have?
What is a sea star able to do after it loses an arm?
Which foods does a sea star hunt for?
Why can the sea star keep hunting while the new arm is still growing?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Sea Star Can Grow Back an Arm
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1)
On the bottom of the sea.
Five arms.
It can grow a new arm.
Clams and snails.
It still has its other arms and feet.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
On the bottom of the ocean.
Five arms.
It can grow a new arm.
Clams and snails.
It can still use its other arms and feet, so it can look for food.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6)
On the bottom of the ocean.
Five arms.
Grow a new arm in its place.
Clams and snails.
It can still use its other arms and feet to move and find food.
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 ocean, arm, clams and snails 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 "A Sea Star Can Grow Back an Arm"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 127 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.7. 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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