2nd grade fiction passage about a camel and a heavy load: 123 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictiona camel and a heavy load123 words
The Camel Who Carried Too Many Jars
Cal the camel was proud of his strong back. A potter asked him to carry jars to the market. "How many can you take?" the potter asked.
"All of them!" said Cal. The potter stacked twenty jars on his back, and they wobbled like a tall tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar fell and broke. Then another. By the time he reached the hill, only five jars were left.
The potter sighed. "Next time, we will make two trips." So Cal carried ten jars, then ten more. Not one broke.
At the market, the potter sold every jar. Cal learned that being strong does not mean doing everything at once. A smaller load, carried well, goes much farther.
Questions
What did the potter ask Cal to carry? in the text
How many jars did the potter stack on Cal's back at first? in the text
What happened to the jars on the way? in the text
How did they fix the problem the next time? in the text
Why did Cal say he could take all of them? think about it
What lesson does the story teach? think about it
Words to know
potter
a person who makes bowls and jars from clay
market
a place where people buy and sell things
stacked
piled one on top of another
load
the things that a person or animal carries
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Camel Who Carried Too Many Jars
2nd grade reading passage
Cal the camel was proud of his strong back. A potter asked him to carry jars to the market. "How many can you take?" the potter asked.
"All of them!" said Cal. The potter stacked twenty jars on his back, and they wobbled like a tall tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar fell and broke. Then another. By the time he reached the hill, only five jars were left.
The potter sighed. "Next time, we will make two trips." So Cal carried ten jars, then ten more. Not one broke.
At the market, the potter sold every jar. Cal learned that being strong does not mean doing everything at once. A smaller load, carried well, goes much farther.
Questions
What did the potter ask Cal to carry?
How many jars did the potter stack on Cal's back at first?
What happened to the jars on the way?
How did they fix the problem the next time?
Why did Cal say he could take all of them?
What lesson does the story teach?
Words to know
potter: a person who makes bowls and jars from clay
market: a place where people buy and sell things
stacked: piled one on top of another
load: the things that a person or animal carries
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-camel-who-carried-too-many-jars
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 · 110 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2
Cal the camel was proud of his strong back. A potter asked him to carry jars to the market. "How many can you take?" he asked.
"All of them!" said Cal. The potter put twenty jars on his back. They wobbled like a tall tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar fell and broke. Then another. At the hill, only five jars were left.
The potter sighed. "Next time, we will go twice." So Cal took ten jars, then ten more. None broke.
At the market, the potter sold every jar. Cal learned that strong does not mean all at once. A small load goes far.
▲ This passage · 123 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2
Cal the camel was proud of his strong back. A potter asked him to carry jars to the market. "How many can you take?" the potter asked.
"All of them!" said Cal. The potter stacked twenty jars on his back, and they wobbled like a tall tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar fell and broke. Then another. By the time he reached the hill, only five jars were left.
The potter sighed. "Next time, we will make two trips." So Cal carried ten jars, then ten more. Not one broke.
At the market, the potter sold every jar. Cal learned that being strong does not mean doing everything at once. A smaller load, carried well, goes much farther.
■ Harder · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4
Cal the camel took great pride in his strong back. A potter asked him to carry a collection of jars to the busy market. "How many do you think you can manage?" the potter inquired.
"Every last one!" boasted Cal. The potter stacked twenty jars on his back, and they teetered like an enormous tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar tumbled off and shattered. Then another followed. By the time he reached the hill, only five jars remained.
The potter sighed heavily. "Next time, we will make two separate trips." So Cal carried ten jars, and then ten more. Not a single jar broke.
At the market, the potter sold every one. Cal discovered that being strong does not mean doing everything at once. A smaller load, carried carefully, travels much farther.
Cal the camel was proud of his strong back. A potter asked him to carry jars to the market. "How many can you take?" he asked.
"All of them!" said Cal. The potter put twenty jars on his back. They wobbled like a tall tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar fell and broke. Then another. At the hill, only five jars were left.
The potter sighed. "Next time, we will go twice." So Cal took ten jars, then ten more. None broke.
At the market, the potter sold every jar. Cal learned that strong does not mean all at once. A small load goes far.
Questions
What did the potter ask Cal to carry?
How many jars were on Cal's back at first?
What happened to the jars on the way?
How did they fix the problem?
Why did Cal say he could take all of them?
What is the lesson of the story?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Camel Who Carried Too Many Jars
Cal the camel was proud of his strong back. A potter asked him to carry jars to the market. "How many can you take?" the potter asked.
"All of them!" said Cal. The potter stacked twenty jars on his back, and they wobbled like a tall tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar fell and broke. Then another. By the time he reached the hill, only five jars were left.
The potter sighed. "Next time, we will make two trips." So Cal carried ten jars, then ten more. Not one broke.
At the market, the potter sold every jar. Cal learned that being strong does not mean doing everything at once. A smaller load, carried well, goes much farther.
Questions
What did the potter ask Cal to carry?
How many jars did the potter stack on Cal's back at first?
What happened to the jars on the way?
How did they fix the problem the next time?
Why did Cal say he could take all of them?
What lesson does the story teach?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Camel Who Carried Too Many Jars
Cal the camel took great pride in his strong back. A potter asked him to carry a collection of jars to the busy market. "How many do you think you can manage?" the potter inquired.
"Every last one!" boasted Cal. The potter stacked twenty jars on his back, and they teetered like an enormous tower.
Cal took one step, then two. Clink. Clank. A jar tumbled off and shattered. Then another followed. By the time he reached the hill, only five jars remained.
The potter sighed heavily. "Next time, we will make two separate trips." So Cal carried ten jars, and then ten more. Not a single jar broke.
At the market, the potter sold every one. Cal discovered that being strong does not mean doing everything at once. A smaller load, carried carefully, travels much farther.
Questions
What did the potter ask Cal to carry to the market?
How many jars did the potter stack on Cal's back at first?
What happened to many of the jars along the way?
How did they solve the problem the next time?
Why did Cal boast that he could carry every jar?
What lesson does the story teach?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Camel Who Carried Too Many Jars
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2)
Jars to the market.
Twenty.
Many fell and broke.
They went twice with ten jars each time.
He was proud of his strong back.
Doing a little at a time is wiser than too much at once.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2)
Jars to the market.
Twenty.
Many of them fell and broke.
They made two trips with ten jars each.
He was proud of being strong and wanted to show it.
Doing a little at a time is wiser than trying to do too much at once.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4)
A collection of jars.
Twenty.
They tumbled off and shattered.
They made two separate trips with ten jars each.
He took great pride in his strength and wanted to show it off.
Handling a little at a time is wiser than attempting too much at once.
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 potter, market, stacked and load 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 Camel Who Carried Too Many Jars"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 123 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.2. 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. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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.