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The Echo Cave Under Maple Hill

2nd grade fiction passage about a hike to a cave with an echo: 140 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a hike to a cave with an echo 140 words

The Echo Cave Under Maple Hill

On Saturday, Ines and her uncle hiked up Maple Hill. Her uncle had told her about a cave that talks back.

The path was steep, and Ines had to use her hands in some places. At the top, they found a wide, dark opening in the rock.

"Say something," said Uncle Paz.

Ines took a big breath. "Hello!" she called.

"Hello, hello, hello," said the cave. The voice sounded far away.

Ines giggled. She called out her name, and the cave called it back. Then she tried a song. The cave sang it too, a little late.

"How does it do that?" asked Ines.

"Your voice hits the rock walls and bounces back," said her uncle. "That is an echo."

Ines did not go inside, because the cave was dark. But she waved goodbye. "Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye," said the cave.

Questions

  1. Where did Ines and her uncle hike? in the text

  2. What did the cave do when Ines called hello? in the text

  3. What made the echo? in the text

  4. Why did Ines stay outside the cave? think about it

  5. What did Ines do before she left? in the text

Words to know

steep
rising up very sharply, hard to climb
opening
a space where you can go in
echo
a sound that bounces back to you
giggled
laughed in a quiet, silly way
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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 · 118 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7

On Saturday, Ines and her uncle hiked up Maple Hill. He knew a cave that talks back.

The path was steep. At the top, they found a dark hole in the rock.

"Say something," said Uncle Paz.

Ines took a big breath. "Hello!" she called.

"Hello, hello, hello," said the cave. The voice sounded far off.

Ines giggled. She called her name, and the cave said it back. She sang a song. The cave sang it too, a bit late.

"How does it do that?" asked Ines.

"Your voice hits the rock and bounces back," said her uncle. "That is an echo."

Ines stayed outside, because the cave was dark. She waved. "Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye," said the cave.

▲ This passage · 140 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

On Saturday, Ines and her uncle hiked up Maple Hill. Her uncle had told her about a cave that talks back.

The path was steep, and Ines had to use her hands in some places. At the top, they found a wide, dark opening in the rock.

"Say something," said Uncle Paz.

Ines took a big breath. "Hello!" she called.

"Hello, hello, hello," said the cave. The voice sounded far away.

Ines giggled. She called out her name, and the cave called it back. Then she tried a song. The cave sang it too, a little late.

"How does it do that?" asked Ines.

"Your voice hits the rock walls and bounces back," said her uncle. "That is an echo."

Ines did not go inside, because the cave was dark. But she waved goodbye. "Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye," said the cave.

■ Harder · 151 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

On Saturday, Ines and her uncle hiked up Maple Hill, because he had told her about a cave that seemed to talk back.

The path was so steep that Ines had to use her hands in a few places. At the top, they discovered a wide, dark opening in the rock.

"Say something," suggested Uncle Paz.

Ines took a deep breath. "Hello!" she called.

"Hello, hello, hello," replied the cave. The voice sounded very far away.

Ines giggled. She shouted her name, and the cave called it back to her. Then she tried a song, and the cave sang it too, just a little late.

"How does it do that?" asked Ines.

"Your voice hits the rock walls and bounces right back," explained her uncle. "That is called an echo."

Ines did not go inside, because the cave was so dark. Instead, she waved goodbye. "Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye," said the cave.

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 steep, opening, echo and giggled 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 4 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 Echo Cave Under Maple Hill"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 140 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.4. 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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