2nd grade fiction passage about a garden and teamwork: 109 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictiona garden and teamwork109 words
The Giant Pumpkin Patch
Grandpa Ray grew a pumpkin in his garden. All summer it grew and grew. By fall, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"Time to take it home," said Grandpa Ray. But when he tried to lift it, he could not. It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily, came to help. Ben pushed. Lily pulled. The pumpkin did not move.
"We need a plan," said Lily. She ran to get a long board. Then they used the board like a ramp and slid the pumpkin onto the wheelbarrow.
"Hooray!" they all cheered. They rolled the giant pumpkin up the path. Grandpa Ray made pumpkin pie for everyone.
Questions
How big did the pumpkin grow? in the text
Why could Grandpa Ray not lift the pumpkin? in the text
Who came to help Grandpa Ray? in the text
What did Lily get to help move the pumpkin? in the text
What did Grandpa Ray make at the end? in the text
Why did the pumpkin finally move when they used the board? think about it
Words to know
wheelbarrow
a small cart with one wheel for carrying heavy things
ramp
a slope that helps you move something up or down
garden
a place where people grow plants
heavy
hard to lift because it weighs a lot
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Giant Pumpkin Patch
2nd grade reading passage
Grandpa Ray grew a pumpkin in his garden. All summer it grew and grew. By fall, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"Time to take it home," said Grandpa Ray. But when he tried to lift it, he could not. It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily, came to help. Ben pushed. Lily pulled. The pumpkin did not move.
"We need a plan," said Lily. She ran to get a long board. Then they used the board like a ramp and slid the pumpkin onto the wheelbarrow.
"Hooray!" they all cheered. They rolled the giant pumpkin up the path. Grandpa Ray made pumpkin pie for everyone.
Questions
How big did the pumpkin grow?
Why could Grandpa Ray not lift the pumpkin?
Who came to help Grandpa Ray?
What did Lily get to help move the pumpkin?
What did Grandpa Ray make at the end?
Why did the pumpkin finally move when they used the board?
Words to know
wheelbarrow: a small cart with one wheel for carrying heavy things
ramp: a slope that helps you move something up or down
garden: a place where people grow plants
heavy: hard to lift because it weighs a lot
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-giant-pumpkin-patch
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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 · 98 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9
Grandpa Ray grew a pumpkin in his garden. All summer it grew. By fall, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"Time to take it home," said Grandpa Ray. He tried to lift it. He could not. It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily, came to help. Ben pushed. Lily pulled. The pumpkin did not move.
"We need a plan," said Lily. She got a long board. They used the board as a ramp. They slid the pumpkin onto the wheelbarrow.
"Hooray!" they cheered. They rolled the pumpkin up the path. Grandpa Ray made pumpkin pie.
▲ This passage · 109 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5
Grandpa Ray grew a pumpkin in his garden. All summer it grew and grew. By fall, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"Time to take it home," said Grandpa Ray. But when he tried to lift it, he could not. It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily, came to help. Ben pushed. Lily pulled. The pumpkin did not move.
"We need a plan," said Lily. She ran to get a long board. Then they used the board like a ramp and slid the pumpkin onto the wheelbarrow.
"Hooray!" they all cheered. They rolled the giant pumpkin up the path. Grandpa Ray made pumpkin pie for everyone.
■ Harder · 138 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5
Grandpa Ray grew an enormous pumpkin in his vegetable garden. All summer long it grew and grew, and by the time autumn arrived, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"It is time to take this pumpkin home," announced Grandpa Ray. But when he tried to lift it, he discovered that it was far too heavy for him.
His grandchildren, Ben and Lily, hurried over to help. Ben pushed with all his might while Lily pulled, but the pumpkin would not budge.
"We need a clever plan," said Lily. She ran off to find a long wooden board. Together they leaned the board against the wheelbarrow like a ramp and slid the pumpkin up onto it.
"Hooray!" they all cheered. They rolled the giant pumpkin up the path, and later Grandpa Ray baked a pumpkin pie for everyone.
Grandpa Ray grew a pumpkin in his garden. All summer it grew. By fall, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"Time to take it home," said Grandpa Ray. He tried to lift it. He could not. It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily, came to help. Ben pushed. Lily pulled. The pumpkin did not move.
"We need a plan," said Lily. She got a long board. They used the board as a ramp. They slid the pumpkin onto the wheelbarrow.
"Hooray!" they cheered. They rolled the pumpkin up the path. Grandpa Ray made pumpkin pie.
Questions
How big was the pumpkin?
Why could Grandpa Ray not lift it?
Who came to help?
What did Lily get?
What did Grandpa Ray make?
Why did the pumpkin move when they used the board?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Giant Pumpkin Patch
Grandpa Ray grew a pumpkin in his garden. All summer it grew and grew. By fall, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"Time to take it home," said Grandpa Ray. But when he tried to lift it, he could not. It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily, came to help. Ben pushed. Lily pulled. The pumpkin did not move.
"We need a plan," said Lily. She ran to get a long board. Then they used the board like a ramp and slid the pumpkin onto the wheelbarrow.
"Hooray!" they all cheered. They rolled the giant pumpkin up the path. Grandpa Ray made pumpkin pie for everyone.
Questions
How big did the pumpkin grow?
Why could Grandpa Ray not lift the pumpkin?
Who came to help Grandpa Ray?
What did Lily get to help move the pumpkin?
What did Grandpa Ray make at the end?
Why did the pumpkin finally move when they used the board?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Giant Pumpkin Patch
Grandpa Ray grew an enormous pumpkin in his vegetable garden. All summer long it grew and grew, and by the time autumn arrived, it was as big as a wheelbarrow.
"It is time to take this pumpkin home," announced Grandpa Ray. But when he tried to lift it, he discovered that it was far too heavy for him.
His grandchildren, Ben and Lily, hurried over to help. Ben pushed with all his might while Lily pulled, but the pumpkin would not budge.
"We need a clever plan," said Lily. She ran off to find a long wooden board. Together they leaned the board against the wheelbarrow like a ramp and slid the pumpkin up onto it.
"Hooray!" they all cheered. They rolled the giant pumpkin up the path, and later Grandpa Ray baked a pumpkin pie for everyone.
Questions
How big was the pumpkin by the time autumn arrived?
Why could Grandpa Ray not lift the pumpkin?
Which grandchildren hurried over to help?
What did Lily find to help move the pumpkin?
What did Grandpa Ray bake for everyone at the end?
Why did the pumpkin finally move once they used the board?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Giant Pumpkin Patch
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9)
As big as a wheelbarrow.
It was too heavy.
Ben and Lily.
A long board.
Pumpkin pie.
The board was a ramp, so they could slide it up and did not have to lift it.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5)
As big as a wheelbarrow.
It was too heavy.
His grandkids, Ben and Lily.
A long board.
Pumpkin pie.
The board worked like a ramp, so they could slide the pumpkin up instead of lifting it.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5)
As big as a wheelbarrow.
It was far too heavy for him.
Ben and Lily.
A long wooden board.
A pumpkin pie.
The board worked like a ramp, so they could slide the pumpkin up instead of lifting it.
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 wheelbarrow, ramp, garden and heavy 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 6 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.
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 109 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.5. 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. 5 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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