2nd grade nonfiction passage about a sundial and the moving sun: 120 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictiona sundial and the moving sun120 words
Telling Time With a Stick and a Shadow
Before clocks were made, people looked to the sun for the time. A simple stick can do the job.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. Sunlight hits the stick, and a dark stripe appears on the ground behind it. That stripe is the shadow.
All day, the sun seems to move across the sky. It is really Earth that is turning. As the sun seems to move, the stripe moves too. It is long in the morning. Around noon, it is short. Then it grows long again in the afternoon.
Every hour, set a small stone where the stripe ends. Soon you will have a clock made of stones.
Questions
What did people use to tell time long ago? in the text
Where should you put the stick for a sundial? in the text
When is the shadow shortest? in the text
What really makes the sun seem to move across the sky? in the text
Would a sundial work on a cloudy day? think about it
Words to know
shadow
a dark shape made when something blocks light
sundial
a tool that tells time by the shadow of the sun
noon
twelve o'clock in the middle of the day
turning
moving around in a circle
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Telling Time With a Stick and a Shadow
2nd grade reading passage
Before clocks were made, people looked to the sun for the time. A simple stick can do the job.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. Sunlight hits the stick, and a dark stripe appears on the ground behind it. That stripe is the shadow.
All day, the sun seems to move across the sky. It is really Earth that is turning. As the sun seems to move, the stripe moves too. It is long in the morning. Around noon, it is short. Then it grows long again in the afternoon.
Every hour, set a small stone where the stripe ends. Soon you will have a clock made of stones.
Questions
What did people use to tell time long ago?
Where should you put the stick for a sundial?
When is the shadow shortest?
What really makes the sun seem to move across the sky?
Would a sundial work on a cloudy day?
Words to know
shadow: a dark shape made when something blocks light
sundial: a tool that tells time by the shadow of the sun
noon: twelve o'clock in the middle of the day
turning: moving around in a circle
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/telling-time-with-a-stick-and-a-shadow
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 · 116 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1
Long ago, people had no clocks. They used the sun to tell time. They used a stick and its shadow.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. The sun shines on the stick. The stick makes a shadow on the ground.
All day, the sun seems to move across the sky. It is really Earth that turns. As the sun seems to move, the shadow moves too. In the morning, the shadow is long. Near noon, it is short. In the afternoon, it is long again.
Set a small stone at the end of the shadow each hour. Then you can tell time by the shadow.
▲ This passage · 120 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
Before clocks were made, people looked to the sun for the time. A simple stick can do the job.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. Sunlight hits the stick, and a dark stripe appears on the ground behind it. That stripe is the shadow.
All day, the sun seems to move across the sky. It is really Earth that is turning. As the sun seems to move, the stripe moves too. It is long in the morning. Around noon, it is short. Then it grows long again in the afternoon.
Every hour, set a small stone where the stripe ends. Soon you will have a clock made of stones.
■ Harder · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5
Long ago, people did not have clocks, so they used the sun to tell the time. All they needed was a stick and its shadow.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. When the sun shines on the stick, it casts a shadow across the ground.
All day long, the sun appears to travel across the sky, although it is really Earth that is turning. As the sun appears to move, the shadow moves along with it. In the morning, the shadow is long. Around noon, it becomes short. Then it stretches out long again in the afternoon.
You can place a small stone at the end of the shadow every hour. After that, you will be able to tell the time by where the shadow falls.
Long ago, people had no clocks. They used the sun to tell time. They used a stick and its shadow.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. The sun shines on the stick. The stick makes a shadow on the ground.
All day, the sun seems to move across the sky. It is really Earth that turns. As the sun seems to move, the shadow moves too. In the morning, the shadow is long. Near noon, it is short. In the afternoon, it is long again.
Set a small stone at the end of the shadow each hour. Then you can tell time by the shadow.
Questions
What did people use to tell time long ago?
Where do you put the stick for a sundial?
When is the shadow shortest?
What really makes the sun seem to move?
Would a sundial work on a cloudy day?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Telling Time With a Stick and a Shadow
Before clocks were made, people looked to the sun for the time. A simple stick can do the job.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. Sunlight hits the stick, and a dark stripe appears on the ground behind it. That stripe is the shadow.
All day, the sun seems to move across the sky. It is really Earth that is turning. As the sun seems to move, the stripe moves too. It is long in the morning. Around noon, it is short. Then it grows long again in the afternoon.
Every hour, set a small stone where the stripe ends. Soon you will have a clock made of stones.
Questions
What did people use to tell time long ago?
Where should you put the stick for a sundial?
When is the shadow shortest?
What really makes the sun seem to move across the sky?
Would a sundial work on a cloudy day?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Telling Time With a Stick and a Shadow
Long ago, people did not have clocks, so they used the sun to tell the time. All they needed was a stick and its shadow.
Here is how a sundial works. Push a stick straight into the ground in a sunny spot. When the sun shines on the stick, it casts a shadow across the ground.
All day long, the sun appears to travel across the sky, although it is really Earth that is turning. As the sun appears to move, the shadow moves along with it. In the morning, the shadow is long. Around noon, it becomes short. Then it stretches out long again in the afternoon.
You can place a small stone at the end of the shadow every hour. After that, you will be able to tell the time by where the shadow falls.
Questions
What did people use to tell the time long ago?
Where should you push the stick to make a sundial?
When does the shadow become shortest?
What is really happening when the sun appears to travel across the sky?
Would a sundial be useful on a cloudy day?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Telling Time With a Stick and a Shadow
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1)
The sun, a stick and its shadow.
Straight into the ground in a sunny spot.
Near noon.
Earth is turning.
No, because it needs sunshine to make a shadow.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
The sun, a stick and its shadow.
Straight into the ground in a sunny spot.
Around noon.
Earth is turning.
No, because it needs sunshine to make a shadow.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5)
The sun, along with a stick and its shadow.
Straight into the ground in a sunny spot.
Around noon.
Earth is turning.
No, because it needs direct sunshine to cast a shadow.
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 shadow, sundial, noon and turning 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 "Telling Time With a Stick and a Shadow"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 120 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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