2nd grade nonfiction passage about tap dancing: 116 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictiontap dancing116 words
The Clickety Shoes of a Tap Dancer
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their shoes have a small piece of metal on the toe and another on the heel. These pieces are called taps.
When a dancer hits the floor with a tap, it goes click. A heel makes a deeper sound. A toe makes a lighter sound. A dancer can brush the floor, stomp, or skip. Each move makes its own sound.
Tap dancing needs a hard floor, such as wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound. The floor is part of the instrument.
A tap dancer must keep the beat. Some dances are slow and some are fast. A good dancer is both a dancer and a drummer.
Questions
What are the metal pieces on a tap shoe called? in the text
Where are the taps on the shoe? in the text
Which part of the shoe makes a deeper sound? in the text
What kind of floor does tap dancing need? in the text
Why is a tap dancer like a drummer? think about it
Words to know
taps
small metal pieces on the bottom of a dance shoe
heel
the back part of a shoe
stomp
to step down hard
beat
the steady pulse of music
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Clickety Shoes of a Tap Dancer
2nd grade reading passage
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their shoes have a small piece of metal on the toe and another on the heel. These pieces are called taps.
When a dancer hits the floor with a tap, it goes click. A heel makes a deeper sound. A toe makes a lighter sound. A dancer can brush the floor, stomp, or skip. Each move makes its own sound.
Tap dancing needs a hard floor, such as wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound. The floor is part of the instrument.
A tap dancer must keep the beat. Some dances are slow and some are fast. A good dancer is both a dancer and a drummer.
Questions
What are the metal pieces on a tap shoe called?
Where are the taps on the shoe?
Which part of the shoe makes a deeper sound?
What kind of floor does tap dancing need?
Why is a tap dancer like a drummer?
Words to know
taps: small metal pieces on the bottom of a dance shoe
heel: the back part of a shoe
stomp: to step down hard
beat: the steady pulse of music
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-clickety-shoes-of-a-tap-dancer
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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 -0.2
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their shoes have a bit of metal on the toe. They have one on the heel too. These are called taps.
A tap hits the floor. Click! A heel makes a deep sound. A toe makes a light sound. A dancer can brush, stomp, or skip. Each move has its own sound.
Tap dancers need a hard floor, like wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound.
A dancer must keep the beat. Some dances are slow. Some are fast. A tap dancer is also a drummer.
▲ This passage · 116 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their shoes have a small piece of metal on the toe and another on the heel. These pieces are called taps.
When a dancer hits the floor with a tap, it goes click. A heel makes a deeper sound. A toe makes a lighter sound. A dancer can brush the floor, stomp, or skip. Each move makes its own sound.
Tap dancing needs a hard floor, such as wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound. The floor is part of the instrument.
A tap dancer must keep the beat. Some dances are slow and some are fast. A good dancer is both a dancer and a drummer.
■ Harder · 131 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their special shoes have a small piece of metal fastened to the toe and another fastened to the heel. These pieces are called taps.
When a dancer strikes the floor with a tap, it makes a sharp click. The heel produces a deeper sound, while the toe produces a lighter one. A dancer can brush the floor, stomp, or skip, and every movement makes its own sound.
Tap dancing works best on a hard floor, such as wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound, so the floor becomes part of the instrument.
A tap dancer must also keep the beat. Some dances are slow and gentle, and others are fast and lively. A skilled dancer is both a dancer and a drummer.
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their shoes have a bit of metal on the toe. They have one on the heel too. These are called taps.
A tap hits the floor. Click! A heel makes a deep sound. A toe makes a light sound. A dancer can brush, stomp, or skip. Each move has its own sound.
Tap dancers need a hard floor, like wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound.
A dancer must keep the beat. Some dances are slow. Some are fast. A tap dancer is also a drummer.
Questions
What are the metal pieces on a tap shoe called?
Where are the taps on the shoe?
Which part of the shoe makes a deep sound?
What kind of floor does a tap dancer need?
Why is a tap dancer like a drummer?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Clickety Shoes of a Tap Dancer
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their shoes have a small piece of metal on the toe and another on the heel. These pieces are called taps.
When a dancer hits the floor with a tap, it goes click. A heel makes a deeper sound. A toe makes a lighter sound. A dancer can brush the floor, stomp, or skip. Each move makes its own sound.
Tap dancing needs a hard floor, such as wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound. The floor is part of the instrument.
A tap dancer must keep the beat. Some dances are slow and some are fast. A good dancer is both a dancer and a drummer.
Questions
What are the metal pieces on a tap shoe called?
Where are the taps on the shoe?
Which part of the shoe makes a deeper sound?
What kind of floor does tap dancing need?
Why is a tap dancer like a drummer?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Clickety Shoes of a Tap Dancer
Tap dancers make music with their feet. Their special shoes have a small piece of metal fastened to the toe and another fastened to the heel. These pieces are called taps.
When a dancer strikes the floor with a tap, it makes a sharp click. The heel produces a deeper sound, while the toe produces a lighter one. A dancer can brush the floor, stomp, or skip, and every movement makes its own sound.
Tap dancing works best on a hard floor, such as wood. A soft rug would soak up the sound, so the floor becomes part of the instrument.
A tap dancer must also keep the beat. Some dances are slow and gentle, and others are fast and lively. A skilled dancer is both a dancer and a drummer.
Questions
What are the metal pieces on a tap shoe called?
Where are the taps fastened on the shoe?
Which part of the shoe produces a deeper sound?
What kind of floor does tap dancing work best on?
Why is a skilled tap dancer also a drummer?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Clickety Shoes of a Tap Dancer
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.2)
Taps.
On the toe and the heel.
The heel.
A hard floor, like wood.
The dancer makes sounds and keeps the beat with the feet.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3)
Taps.
On the toe and the heel.
The heel.
A hard floor, such as wood.
The dancer makes sounds and keeps the beat with the feet.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2)
Taps.
On the toe and on the heel.
The heel.
A hard floor, such as wood.
The dancer makes sounds and keeps the beat with the feet.
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 taps, heel, stomp and beat 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 "The Clickety Shoes of a Tap Dancer"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 116 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.3. 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?
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