Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Sully the Cloud Shepherd's Stuck Lamb

2nd grade fiction passage about a girl who herds sheep made of cloud: 136 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a girl who herds sheep made of cloud 136 words

Sully the Cloud Shepherd's Stuck Lamb

Sully was a cloud shepherd. Every morning, she led her flock of fluffy white clouds across the sky. They were soft as wool, and they drifted along behind her.

One day, she counted her flock. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen." One lamb was missing!

Sully looked all around. At last, she spotted a small cloud tangled on the top of a tall flagpole. It was crying a few drops of rain.

Sully could not reach it. She called to a passing bird. "Please, can you help?"

The bird flapped over to the flagpole. He beat his wings gently, and a soft breeze puffed out. The little cloud slipped free.

"Thank you, thank you," said Sully. She tucked the lamb into the flock.

That night, the flock rested on a mountain, and it did not lose a single lamb.

Questions

  1. What was Sully's job? in the text

  2. How many clouds were in the flock? in the text

  3. Where was the missing lamb? in the text

  4. Who helped Sully? in the text

  5. How did the little cloud feel when it was stuck? think about it

Words to know

shepherd
a person who takes care of a flock of sheep
flock
a group of animals that stay together
tangled
caught and twisted up on something
drifted
floated slowly along
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 · 119 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6

Sully was a cloud shepherd. Each morning, she led her flock across the sky. Her flock was made of fluffy white clouds. They drifted behind her.

One day, she counted them. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen." One lamb was gone!

Sully looked around. She spotted a small cloud on top of a tall flagpole. It was stuck. It cried a few drops of rain.

Sully could not reach it. She called to a bird. "Can you help me?"

The bird flew to the flagpole. He flapped his wings. A soft breeze puffed. The little cloud came free.

"Thank you," said Sully. She put the lamb with the flock.

That night, the flock rested on a mountain. Not one lamb was lost.

▲ This passage · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

Sully was a cloud shepherd. Every morning, she led her flock of fluffy white clouds across the sky. They were soft as wool, and they drifted along behind her.

One day, she counted her flock. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen." One lamb was missing!

Sully looked all around. At last, she spotted a small cloud tangled on the top of a tall flagpole. It was crying a few drops of rain.

Sully could not reach it. She called to a passing bird. "Please, can you help?"

The bird flapped over to the flagpole. He beat his wings gently, and a soft breeze puffed out. The little cloud slipped free.

"Thank you, thank you," said Sully. She tucked the lamb into the flock.

That night, the flock rested on a mountain, and it did not lose a single lamb.

■ Harder · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

Sully was a cloud shepherd. Every morning, she guided her flock of fluffy white clouds across the sky, and they drifted along behind her as soft as wool.

One day, she counted her flock. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen." One little lamb was missing!

Sully searched in every direction. At last, she spotted a small cloud tangled on the very top of a tall flagpole. It was crying a few drops of rain.

Sully could not reach it by herself. She called to a passing bird. "Excuse me, could you please help?"

The bird flapped over to the flagpole and beat his wings gently, sending out a soft breeze. The little cloud slipped free.

"Thank you, thank you," said Sully, and she tucked the lamb back into the flock.

That night, the flock rested on a mountaintop, and not a single lamb was lost.

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 shepherd, flock, tangled and drifted 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 "Sully the Cloud Shepherd's Stuck Lamb"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 136 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.9. 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.