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The Backward Birthday

2nd grade fiction passage about a birthday with a new baby: 145 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a birthday with a new baby 145 words

The Backward Birthday

On the morning of Nell's birthday, Mom was not home. She was at the hospital. A baby was on the way, and the baby did not want to wait.

Nell sat on the stairs. "Everything is wrong," she said. "A birthday should start with games. The cake comes last. Not today."

Dad thought hard. Then he smiled. "Let's have a backward birthday," he said. "Cake first!"

So they ate cake for breakfast. They opened presents before lunch. They even sang the birthday song at the sink while they washed the dishes. Nell laughed so hard that she got the hiccups.

That night, Dad's phone buzzed. It was Mom. She held up a tiny baby on the screen. "Meet your brother," she said.

Nell sang the song one more time, very softly. "Happy birthday to you," she told the baby. "We get the same day now."

Questions

  1. Where was Mom on the morning of Nell's birthday? in the text

  2. What did Dad call the new kind of birthday? in the text

  3. What did Nell and Dad eat for breakfast? in the text

  4. What news did Mom share that night? in the text

  5. Why did Nell say, "We get the same day now"? think about it

Words to know

hospital
a place where doctors help sick people and babies are born
backward
in the opposite order from the usual way
hiccups
little jumps in your chest that make a sound
tiny
very, very small
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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 · 95 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8

It was Nell's birthday. Mom was not home. She was at the hospital. A baby was coming.

Nell sat on the stairs. "This is a bad birthday," she said.

Dad had an idea. "Let's have a backward birthday," he said. "Cake first!"

They ate cake for breakfast. They opened presents before lunch. They sang the song at the sink. Nell laughed and got the hiccups.

That night, Mom called. She held up a tiny baby. "Meet your brother," she said.

Nell sang the song to the baby, very softly. "We have the same day now."

▲ This passage · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1

On the morning of Nell's birthday, Mom was not home. She was at the hospital. A baby was on the way, and the baby did not want to wait.

Nell sat on the stairs. "Everything is wrong," she said. "A birthday should start with games. The cake comes last. Not today."

Dad thought hard. Then he smiled. "Let's have a backward birthday," he said. "Cake first!"

So they ate cake for breakfast. They opened presents before lunch. They even sang the birthday song at the sink while they washed the dishes. Nell laughed so hard that she got the hiccups.

That night, Dad's phone buzzed. It was Mom. She held up a tiny baby on the screen. "Meet your brother," she said.

Nell sang the song one more time, very softly. "Happy birthday to you," she told the baby. "We get the same day now."

■ Harder · 165 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

On the morning of Nell's birthday, Mom was not at home. She had gone to the hospital, because a baby was arriving and the baby refused to wait any longer.

Nell sat gloomily on the stairs. "Everything is wrong," she complained. "A birthday is supposed to begin with games, and the cake is supposed to come at the very end."

Dad thought hard, and then a grin spread across his face. "Let's have a backward birthday," he announced. "We will start with cake!"

So they ate cake for breakfast and opened presents before lunch. They even sang the birthday song at the sink while they washed the dishes. Nell laughed so hard that she got the hiccups.

That night, Dad's phone buzzed. Mom was calling, and she held up a tiny baby for Nell to see. "Meet your brother," she said.

Nell sang the song once more, very softly. "Happy birthday to you," she told the baby. "Now we get to share the same day."

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 hospital, backward, hiccups and tiny 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 "The Backward Birthday"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 145 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.1. 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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