2nd grade fiction passage about buttons that grow like flowers: 137 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictionbuttons that grow like flowers137 words
The Button Garden Behind the Laundry Room
Behind the laundry room was a small garden. Rosa had never seen it before. A little gate was hidden behind a basket of towels.
The garden did not grow flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons hung on vines. Blue buttons sat in the dirt like round eggs. Some had two holes, and some had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick any one you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat. It had lost a button last week. She walked down the row until she found a big brown one that matched.
She twisted it gently off the vine. The vine gave a happy little sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother's help. The coat was whole again.
Rosa left a thank-you note by the gate.
Questions
Where was the little garden? in the text
What did the garden grow? in the text
Why did Rosa need a button? in the text
Who helped Rosa sew on the button? in the text
Why did Rosa leave a thank-you note? think about it
Words to know
garden
a place where plants are grown
vines
long plants that creep and hang down
matched
was the same as another thing
sewed
joined cloth together using a needle and thread
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Button Garden Behind the Laundry Room
2nd grade reading passage
Behind the laundry room was a small garden. Rosa had never seen it before. A little gate was hidden behind a basket of towels.
The garden did not grow flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons hung on vines. Blue buttons sat in the dirt like round eggs. Some had two holes, and some had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick any one you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat. It had lost a button last week. She walked down the row until she found a big brown one that matched.
She twisted it gently off the vine. The vine gave a happy little sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother's help. The coat was whole again.
Rosa left a thank-you note by the gate.
Questions
Where was the little garden?
What did the garden grow?
Why did Rosa need a button?
Who helped Rosa sew on the button?
Why did Rosa leave a thank-you note?
Words to know
garden: a place where plants are grown
vines: long plants that creep and hang down
matched: was the same as another thing
sewed: joined cloth together using a needle and thread
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-button-garden-behind-the-laundry-room
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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 · 125 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
Behind the laundry room was a small garden. Rosa had never seen it. A little gate was hidden behind a basket of towels.
The garden did not grow flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons hung on vines. Blue buttons sat in the dirt. Some had two holes. Some had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick one you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat. It had lost a button. She walked down the row. She found a big brown one that matched.
She twisted it off the vine. The vine gave a happy sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother. The coat was whole again.
Rosa left a thank-you note by the gate.
▲ This passage · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3
Behind the laundry room was a small garden. Rosa had never seen it before. A little gate was hidden behind a basket of towels.
The garden did not grow flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons hung on vines. Blue buttons sat in the dirt like round eggs. Some had two holes, and some had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick any one you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat. It had lost a button last week. She walked down the row until she found a big brown one that matched.
She twisted it gently off the vine. The vine gave a happy little sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother's help. The coat was whole again.
Rosa left a thank-you note by the gate.
■ Harder · 148 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2
Behind the laundry room lay a small garden that Rosa had never noticed before. A narrow gate was hidden behind a basket of fresh towels.
The garden did not grow ordinary flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons dangled from the vines, and blue buttons sat in the dirt like round little eggs. Some had two holes, and others had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick any one that you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat, which had lost a button the week before. She strolled down the row until she found a big brown one that matched perfectly.
She twisted it gently off the vine, and the vine gave a happy little sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother's help, and the coat was whole again. Then she left a thank-you note by the gate.
Behind the laundry room was a small garden. Rosa had never seen it. A little gate was hidden behind a basket of towels.
The garden did not grow flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons hung on vines. Blue buttons sat in the dirt. Some had two holes. Some had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick one you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat. It had lost a button. She walked down the row. She found a big brown one that matched.
She twisted it off the vine. The vine gave a happy sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother. The coat was whole again.
Rosa left a thank-you note by the gate.
Questions
Where was the little garden?
What did the garden grow?
Why did Rosa need a button?
Who helped Rosa sew on the button?
Why did Rosa leave a note?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Button Garden Behind the Laundry Room
Behind the laundry room was a small garden. Rosa had never seen it before. A little gate was hidden behind a basket of towels.
The garden did not grow flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons hung on vines. Blue buttons sat in the dirt like round eggs. Some had two holes, and some had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick any one you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat. It had lost a button last week. She walked down the row until she found a big brown one that matched.
She twisted it gently off the vine. The vine gave a happy little sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother's help. The coat was whole again.
Rosa left a thank-you note by the gate.
Questions
Where was the little garden?
What did the garden grow?
Why did Rosa need a button?
Who helped Rosa sew on the button?
Why did Rosa leave a thank-you note?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Button Garden Behind the Laundry Room
Behind the laundry room lay a small garden that Rosa had never noticed before. A narrow gate was hidden behind a basket of fresh towels.
The garden did not grow ordinary flowers. It grew buttons! Red buttons dangled from the vines, and blue buttons sat in the dirt like round little eggs. Some had two holes, and others had four.
A sleepy gardener in a straw hat was watering them. "Pick any one that you need," he said.
Rosa thought about her coat, which had lost a button the week before. She strolled down the row until she found a big brown one that matched perfectly.
She twisted it gently off the vine, and the vine gave a happy little sigh.
At home, Rosa sewed the button on with her mother's help, and the coat was whole again. Then she left a thank-you note by the gate.
Questions
Where was the little garden hidden?
What did the garden grow instead of ordinary flowers?
Why did Rosa need a button?
Who helped Rosa sew the button on?
Why did Rosa leave a thank-you note by the gate?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Button Garden Behind the Laundry Room
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
Behind the laundry room.
Buttons.
Her coat had lost one.
Her mother.
She was thankful to the gardener.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3)
Behind the laundry room.
Buttons.
Her coat had lost one.
Her mother.
She was grateful to the gardener for the button.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2)
Behind the laundry room, behind a basket of towels.
Buttons.
Her coat had lost one the week before.
Her mother.
She was grateful to the gardener for the button.
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 garden, vines, matched and sewed 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.
What reading level is "The Button Garden Behind the Laundry Room"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 137 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.3. 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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