2nd grade nonfiction passage about plants and seeds: 103 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionplants and seeds103 words
Seeds on the Move
A plant cannot walk, but its seeds can travel far away. This is good for the plant. A seed that lands far from its parent has more room to grow.
Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has soft white fluff. The fluff works like a tiny parachute and floats on the breeze.
Some seeds ride on animals. A burr has little hooks. It sticks to the fur of a dog or a squirrel. Later, it falls off in a new place.
Some seeds are inside fruit. A bird eats a berry and flies away. Later, the seeds drop to the ground.
Questions
Why is it good for a seed to land far from its parent plant? in the text
What does a dandelion seed have that helps it float? in the text
How does a burr travel? in the text
What does a bird do with a berry? in the text
What are the three ways seeds travel in this passage? in the text
Why do you think a burr has little hooks? think about it
Words to know
seeds
small parts of a plant that can grow into new plants
parachute
a big cloth that helps something float down slowly
burr
a seed case with little hooks that sticks to fur
breeze
a gentle wind
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Seeds on the Move
2nd grade reading passage
A plant cannot walk, but its seeds can travel far away. This is good for the plant. A seed that lands far from its parent has more room to grow.
Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has soft white fluff. The fluff works like a tiny parachute and floats on the breeze.
Some seeds ride on animals. A burr has little hooks. It sticks to the fur of a dog or a squirrel. Later, it falls off in a new place.
Some seeds are inside fruit. A bird eats a berry and flies away. Later, the seeds drop to the ground.
Questions
Why is it good for a seed to land far from its parent plant?
What does a dandelion seed have that helps it float?
How does a burr travel?
What does a bird do with a berry?
What are the three ways seeds travel in this passage?
Why do you think a burr has little hooks?
Words to know
seeds: small parts of a plant that can grow into new plants
parachute: a big cloth that helps something float down slowly
burr: a seed case with little hooks that sticks to fur
breeze: a gentle wind
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/seeds-on-the-move
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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 · 93 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1
A plant cannot walk. But its seeds can go far. A seed needs room to grow. It is best to land far from its parent.
Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has white fluff. The fluff is like a tiny parachute. It floats on the breeze.
Some seeds ride on animals. A burr has little hooks. It sticks to a dog or a squirrel. Then it falls off in a new place.
Some seeds are in fruit. A bird eats a berry. It flies off. The seeds drop to the ground.
▲ This passage · 103 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5
A plant cannot walk, but its seeds can travel far away. This is good for the plant. A seed that lands far from its parent has more room to grow.
Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has soft white fluff. The fluff works like a tiny parachute and floats on the breeze.
Some seeds ride on animals. A burr has little hooks. It sticks to the fur of a dog or a squirrel. Later, it falls off in a new place.
Some seeds are inside fruit. A bird eats a berry and flies away. Later, the seeds drop to the ground.
■ Harder · 128 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6
A plant cannot walk from place to place, but its seeds can travel a surprisingly long way. That is helpful for the plant, because a seed that lands far from its parent has much more room to grow.
Some seeds travel by wind. A dandelion seed is covered in soft white fluff. The fluff acts like a tiny parachute, carrying the seed along on the gentle breeze.
Other seeds travel on animals. A burr is covered in little hooks, and those hooks cling to the fur of a dog or a squirrel. Eventually the burr falls off in a brand new place.
Still other seeds travel inside fruit. When a bird eats a berry and flies away, the seeds drop to the ground somewhere far from the bush.
A plant cannot walk. But its seeds can go far. A seed needs room to grow. It is best to land far from its parent.
Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has white fluff. The fluff is like a tiny parachute. It floats on the breeze.
Some seeds ride on animals. A burr has little hooks. It sticks to a dog or a squirrel. Then it falls off in a new place.
Some seeds are in fruit. A bird eats a berry. It flies off. The seeds drop to the ground.
Questions
Why is it good for a seed to land far from its parent?
What helps a dandelion seed float?
How does a burr travel?
What does the bird eat?
What are the three ways seeds travel?
Why does a burr have little hooks?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Seeds on the Move
A plant cannot walk, but its seeds can travel far away. This is good for the plant. A seed that lands far from its parent has more room to grow.
Some seeds ride the wind. A dandelion seed has soft white fluff. The fluff works like a tiny parachute and floats on the breeze.
Some seeds ride on animals. A burr has little hooks. It sticks to the fur of a dog or a squirrel. Later, it falls off in a new place.
Some seeds are inside fruit. A bird eats a berry and flies away. Later, the seeds drop to the ground.
Questions
Why is it good for a seed to land far from its parent plant?
What does a dandelion seed have that helps it float?
How does a burr travel?
What does a bird do with a berry?
What are the three ways seeds travel in this passage?
Why do you think a burr has little hooks?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Seeds on the Move
A plant cannot walk from place to place, but its seeds can travel a surprisingly long way. That is helpful for the plant, because a seed that lands far from its parent has much more room to grow.
Some seeds travel by wind. A dandelion seed is covered in soft white fluff. The fluff acts like a tiny parachute, carrying the seed along on the gentle breeze.
Other seeds travel on animals. A burr is covered in little hooks, and those hooks cling to the fur of a dog or a squirrel. Eventually the burr falls off in a brand new place.
Still other seeds travel inside fruit. When a bird eats a berry and flies away, the seeds drop to the ground somewhere far from the bush.
Questions
Why is it helpful for a seed to land far from its parent plant?
What covers a dandelion seed and helps it float?
How does a burr travel?
What happens to the seeds when a bird eats a berry and flies away?
What are the three ways that seeds travel in this passage?
Why do you think a burr is covered in hooks?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Seeds on the Move
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1)
It has more room to grow.
White fluff.
It sticks to an animal's fur.
A berry.
On the wind, on animals, and in fruit.
They help it grab fur so it can be carried to a new place.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5)
It has more room to grow.
Soft white fluff.
It sticks to the fur of an animal.
It eats the berry and flies away.
On the wind, on animals, and inside fruit that animals eat.
The hooks help it grab onto fur so it can be carried to a new place.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6)
It has much more room to grow.
Soft white fluff.
Its hooks cling to the fur of an animal.
They drop to the ground far from the bush.
By wind, on animals, and inside fruit.
The hooks let it grab onto fur so an animal can carry it to a new place.
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 seeds, parachute, burr and breeze 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 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 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.
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 103 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 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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