2nd grade nonfiction passage about lighthouses: 145 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionlighthouses145 words
The Lighthouse Beam Turns Round and Round
A lighthouse is a tall tower built near the sea. At the top is a very bright light. It has a big job. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are close by, so they can steer their ships away.
The light does not stay on one spot. A big glass lens sits around the lamp, and the lens slowly turns. It gathers the light into a beam, a bit like a flashlight beam. As the lens turns, the beam sweeps across the water.
A sailor far away sees a flash each time the beam passes by. Every lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once, then wait. Another may flash twice and wait. By counting the flashes, a sailor can tell which lighthouse it is.
That helps a ship find its way along the coast, even on a dark night.
Questions
Where is a lighthouse built? in the text
What does the light warn sailors about? in the text
What turns slowly around the lamp? in the text
What does the lens do with the light? in the text
What can a sailor do to tell which lighthouse it is? in the text
Why does a lighthouse light need to turn? think about it
Words to know
lighthouse
a tall tower with a bright light for ships
sailors
people who work on ships
lens
a curved piece of glass that bends light
beam
a strong line of light
coast
the land next to the sea
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Lighthouse Beam Turns Round and Round
2nd grade reading passage
A lighthouse is a tall tower built near the sea. At the top is a very bright light. It has a big job. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are close by, so they can steer their ships away.
The light does not stay on one spot. A big glass lens sits around the lamp, and the lens slowly turns. It gathers the light into a beam, a bit like a flashlight beam. As the lens turns, the beam sweeps across the water.
A sailor far away sees a flash each time the beam passes by. Every lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once, then wait. Another may flash twice and wait. By counting the flashes, a sailor can tell which lighthouse it is.
That helps a ship find its way along the coast, even on a dark night.
Questions
Where is a lighthouse built?
What does the light warn sailors about?
What turns slowly around the lamp?
What does the lens do with the light?
What can a sailor do to tell which lighthouse it is?
Why does a lighthouse light need to turn?
Words to know
lighthouse: a tall tower with a bright light for ships
sailors: people who work on ships
lens: a curved piece of glass that bends light
beam: a strong line of light
coast: the land next to the sea
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-lighthouse-beam-turns-round-and-round
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 · 125 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
A lighthouse is a tall tower near the sea. At the top is a very bright light. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are close. Then they can steer their ships away.
The light does not stay on one spot. A big glass lens sits around the lamp. The lens turns slowly. It gathers the light into a beam, like a flashlight. The beam sweeps over the water.
A sailor far away sees a flash each time the beam goes by. Each lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once and wait. Another may flash twice and wait. A sailor counts the flashes to know which lighthouse it is.
That helps a ship find its way on a dark night.
▲ This passage · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7
A lighthouse is a tall tower built near the sea. At the top is a very bright light. It has a big job. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are close by, so they can steer their ships away.
The light does not stay on one spot. A big glass lens sits around the lamp, and the lens slowly turns. It gathers the light into a beam, a bit like a flashlight beam. As the lens turns, the beam sweeps across the water.
A sailor far away sees a flash each time the beam passes by. Every lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once, then wait. Another may flash twice and wait. By counting the flashes, a sailor can tell which lighthouse it is.
That helps a ship find its way along the coast, even on a dark night.
■ Harder · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7
A lighthouse is a tall tower built close to the sea, with a very bright light at the top. It has an important job. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are nearby, so that they are able to steer their ships safely away.
The light does not stay fixed on one spot. A large glass lens sits around the lamp, and the lens slowly turns. It gathers the light into a beam, a bit like the beam of a flashlight, and as the lens turns, the beam sweeps across the water.
A sailor who is far away sees a flash each time the beam passes by. Every lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once and then wait, while another may flash twice and then wait. By counting the flashes, a sailor can tell which lighthouse it is.
That knowledge helps a ship find its way along the coast, even on the darkest night.
A lighthouse is a tall tower near the sea. At the top is a very bright light. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are close. Then they can steer their ships away.
The light does not stay on one spot. A big glass lens sits around the lamp. The lens turns slowly. It gathers the light into a beam, like a flashlight. The beam sweeps over the water.
A sailor far away sees a flash each time the beam goes by. Each lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once and wait. Another may flash twice and wait. A sailor counts the flashes to know which lighthouse it is.
That helps a ship find its way on a dark night.
Questions
Where is a lighthouse built?
What does the light warn sailors about?
What turns slowly around the lamp?
What does the lens do with the light?
How can a sailor tell which lighthouse it is?
Why does the light need to turn?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Lighthouse Beam Turns Round and Round
A lighthouse is a tall tower built near the sea. At the top is a very bright light. It has a big job. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are close by, so they can steer their ships away.
The light does not stay on one spot. A big glass lens sits around the lamp, and the lens slowly turns. It gathers the light into a beam, a bit like a flashlight beam. As the lens turns, the beam sweeps across the water.
A sailor far away sees a flash each time the beam passes by. Every lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once, then wait. Another may flash twice and wait. By counting the flashes, a sailor can tell which lighthouse it is.
That helps a ship find its way along the coast, even on a dark night.
Questions
Where is a lighthouse built?
What does the light warn sailors about?
What turns slowly around the lamp?
What does the lens do with the light?
What can a sailor do to tell which lighthouse it is?
Why does a lighthouse light need to turn?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Lighthouse Beam Turns Round and Round
A lighthouse is a tall tower built close to the sea, with a very bright light at the top. It has an important job. It warns sailors that rocks or shallow water are nearby, so that they are able to steer their ships safely away.
The light does not stay fixed on one spot. A large glass lens sits around the lamp, and the lens slowly turns. It gathers the light into a beam, a bit like the beam of a flashlight, and as the lens turns, the beam sweeps across the water.
A sailor who is far away sees a flash each time the beam passes by. Every lighthouse has its own pattern of flashes. One may flash once and then wait, while another may flash twice and then wait. By counting the flashes, a sailor can tell which lighthouse it is.
That knowledge helps a ship find its way along the coast, even on the darkest night.
Questions
Where is a lighthouse built?
What does the light warn sailors about?
What slowly turns around the lamp?
What does the lens do with the light?
What can a sailor do to tell which lighthouse it is?
Why does a lighthouse light need to turn?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Lighthouse Beam Turns Round and Round
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
Near the sea.
Rocks or shallow water close by.
A big glass lens.
It gathers it into a beam.
Count the flashes.
The beam sweeps over the water so ships can see it from any side.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7)
Near the sea.
Rocks or shallow water close by.
A big glass lens.
It gathers the light into a beam.
Count the flashes.
The beam sweeps over the water so ships far away in any direction can see it.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7)
Close to the sea.
Rocks or shallow water nearby.
A large glass lens.
It gathers the light into a beam.
Count the flashes.
The beam sweeps across the water so ships far away on any side can see 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 lighthouse, sailors, lens, beam and coast 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 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 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 Lighthouse Beam Turns Round and Round"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 145 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.7. 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?
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