2nd grade nonfiction passage about echoes in empty rooms: 119 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionechoes in empty rooms119 words
The Empty Room That Answers Back
When a family moves out of a house, the rooms are empty. Say hello in one of them, and the room says hello back! This is called an echo.
Sound travels through the air. It spreads out from your mouth in every direction. When it hits a hard wall, it bounces back to your ears, much like a ball bounces off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and a bare floor. They are hard and flat, so they bounce sound very well.
When a new family moves in, the echo goes away. Rugs, curtains, and couches are soft. They soak up some of the sound. Less of it bounces back, so you hear mostly your own voice.
Questions
What do you hear when you say hello in an empty room? in the text
What does sound do when it hits a hard wall? in the text
Why does an empty room have an echo? in the text
Which soft things soak up sound? in the text
A bathroom with hard tile walls often has an echo. Why? think about it
Words to know
echo
a sound that bounces back so you hear it again
bounces
hits something and springs back
bare
empty, with nothing covering it
soak
to take in, as a sponge takes in water
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Empty Room That Answers Back
2nd grade reading passage
When a family moves out of a house, the rooms are empty. Say hello in one of them, and the room says hello back! This is called an echo.
Sound travels through the air. It spreads out from your mouth in every direction. When it hits a hard wall, it bounces back to your ears, much like a ball bounces off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and a bare floor. They are hard and flat, so they bounce sound very well.
When a new family moves in, the echo goes away. Rugs, curtains, and couches are soft. They soak up some of the sound. Less of it bounces back, so you hear mostly your own voice.
Questions
What do you hear when you say hello in an empty room?
What does sound do when it hits a hard wall?
Why does an empty room have an echo?
Which soft things soak up sound?
A bathroom with hard tile walls often has an echo. Why?
Words to know
echo: a sound that bounces back so you hear it again
bounces: hits something and springs back
bare: empty, with nothing covering it
soak: to take in, as a sponge takes in water
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-empty-room-that-answers-back
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 · 86 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2
A family moves out. The rooms are empty. Say hello in a room. The room says hello back! It is an echo.
Sound moves through the air. It hits a hard wall. Then it bounces back to your ears. It is like a ball that bounces off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and floor. They are hard. They bounce sound well.
A new family moves in. The echo goes away. Rugs and curtains are soft. They soak up sound. Less sound bounces back.
▲ This passage · 119 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4
When a family moves out of a house, the rooms are empty. Say hello in one of them, and the room says hello back! This is called an echo.
Sound travels through the air. It spreads out from your mouth in every direction. When it hits a hard wall, it bounces back to your ears, much like a ball bounces off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and a bare floor. They are hard and flat, so they bounce sound very well.
When a new family moves in, the echo goes away. Rugs, curtains, and couches are soft. They soak up some of the sound. Less of it bounces back, so you hear mostly your own voice.
■ Harder · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6
When a family moves out of a house, the rooms are left completely empty. If you say hello in one of them, the room seems to answer with a hello of its own. That repeated sound is called an echo.
Sound travels through the air, spreading outward from your mouth in every direction. When it strikes a hard wall, it bounces back toward your ears, much like a ball rebounding off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and a bare floor. Because they are hard and flat, they bounce sound extremely well.
Once a new family moves in, the echo fades away. Rugs, curtains, and couches are soft, and they soak up some of the sound. Less of it bounces back, so you mostly hear your own voice.
A family moves out. The rooms are empty. Say hello in a room. The room says hello back! It is an echo.
Sound moves through the air. It hits a hard wall. Then it bounces back to your ears. It is like a ball that bounces off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and floor. They are hard. They bounce sound well.
A new family moves in. The echo goes away. Rugs and curtains are soft. They soak up sound. Less sound bounces back.
Questions
What do you hear in an empty room?
What does sound do at a hard wall?
Why does an empty room have an echo?
What soft things soak up sound?
Why does a bathroom with tile walls have an echo?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Empty Room That Answers Back
When a family moves out of a house, the rooms are empty. Say hello in one of them, and the room says hello back! This is called an echo.
Sound travels through the air. It spreads out from your mouth in every direction. When it hits a hard wall, it bounces back to your ears, much like a ball bounces off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and a bare floor. They are hard and flat, so they bounce sound very well.
When a new family moves in, the echo goes away. Rugs, curtains, and couches are soft. They soak up some of the sound. Less of it bounces back, so you hear mostly your own voice.
Questions
What do you hear when you say hello in an empty room?
What does sound do when it hits a hard wall?
Why does an empty room have an echo?
Which soft things soak up sound?
A bathroom with hard tile walls often has an echo. Why?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Empty Room That Answers Back
When a family moves out of a house, the rooms are left completely empty. If you say hello in one of them, the room seems to answer with a hello of its own. That repeated sound is called an echo.
Sound travels through the air, spreading outward from your mouth in every direction. When it strikes a hard wall, it bounces back toward your ears, much like a ball rebounding off a wall.
An empty room has bare walls and a bare floor. Because they are hard and flat, they bounce sound extremely well.
Once a new family moves in, the echo fades away. Rugs, curtains, and couches are soft, and they soak up some of the sound. Less of it bounces back, so you mostly hear your own voice.
Questions
What do you hear when you say hello in an empty room?
What happens when sound strikes a hard wall?
Why does an empty room produce an echo?
Which soft things soak up some of the sound?
Why might a bathroom with hard tile walls have an echo?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Empty Room That Answers Back
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2)
An echo.
It bounces back.
The bare walls and floor are hard and bounce sound.
Rugs, curtains, and couches.
Hard walls bounce sound back.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4)
An echo.
It bounces back.
Its bare walls and floor are hard and bounce sound well.
Rugs, curtains, and couches.
Hard walls bounce sound back, just like in an empty room.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6)
An echo.
It bounces back toward your ears.
Its bare walls and floor are hard and flat, so they bounce sound well.
Rugs, curtains, and couches.
Hard walls bounce sound back, as they do in an empty room.
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 echo, bounces, bare and soak 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 Empty Room That Answers Back"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 119 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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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