2nd grade nonfiction passage about the near and far side of the moon: 125 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionthe near and far side of the moon125 words
The Moon Always Shows Us One Face
Look at the Moon on any clear night. You will see the same dark and light patches each time. The Moon always shows us the same side.
Here is why. The Moon goes around Earth, and it also spins. It spins slowly. It takes the same amount of time to spin once as it takes to go around Earth once. So the same side always points toward us.
The side we never see is called the far side. People did not know what it looked like for a long time. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon and took pictures of it.
You can try this at home. Walk in a circle around a friend, and keep your face turned toward your friend the whole time.
Questions
What do you see when you look at the Moon each night? in the text
What is the side we never see called? in the text
How did people find out what the far side looks like? in the text
What does the Moon do besides going around Earth? in the text
In the walking game, who stands for Earth and who stands for the Moon? think about it
Words to know
patches
small areas that look different from what is around them
spin
to turn around and around
spacecraft
a machine that travels in space
pictures
photos that show what something looks like
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Moon Always Shows Us One Face
2nd grade reading passage
Look at the Moon on any clear night. You will see the same dark and light patches each time. The Moon always shows us the same side.
Here is why. The Moon goes around Earth, and it also spins. It spins slowly. It takes the same amount of time to spin once as it takes to go around Earth once. So the same side always points toward us.
The side we never see is called the far side. People did not know what it looked like for a long time. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon and took pictures of it.
You can try this at home. Walk in a circle around a friend, and keep your face turned toward your friend the whole time.
Questions
What do you see when you look at the Moon each night?
What is the side we never see called?
How did people find out what the far side looks like?
What does the Moon do besides going around Earth?
In the walking game, who stands for Earth and who stands for the Moon?
Words to know
patches: small areas that look different from what is around them
spin: to turn around and around
spacecraft: a machine that travels in space
pictures: photos that show what something looks like
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-moon-always-shows-us-one-face
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 · 106 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4
Look at the Moon on a clear night. You see dark and light patches. You see the same ones each time. The Moon shows us the same side.
Here is why. The Moon goes around Earth. It also spins, but slowly. It spins once in the same time it goes around Earth once. So the same side points at us.
We never see the far side. For a long time, people did not know how it looked. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon. They took pictures of it.
You can try this. Walk in a circle around a friend. Keep your face turned to your friend.
▲ This passage · 125 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
Look at the Moon on any clear night. You will see the same dark and light patches each time. The Moon always shows us the same side.
Here is why. The Moon goes around Earth, and it also spins. It spins slowly. It takes the same amount of time to spin once as it takes to go around Earth once. So the same side always points toward us.
The side we never see is called the far side. People did not know what it looked like for a long time. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon and took pictures of it.
You can try this at home. Walk in a circle around a friend, and keep your face turned toward your friend the whole time.
■ Harder · 132 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6
Look up at the Moon on any clear night, and you will notice the same dark and light patches every time. The Moon always shows us the very same side.
The reason is simple. The Moon travels around Earth, and it also spins on its own, though quite slowly. It takes exactly as long to spin once as it takes to circle Earth once. Because of this, the same side always points toward us.
The side we can never see is called the far side. For a long time, nobody knew what it looked like. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon and sent back pictures of it.
You can try this idea at home. Walk in a circle around a friend, and keep your face turned toward your friend the whole time.
Look at the Moon on a clear night. You see dark and light patches. You see the same ones each time. The Moon shows us the same side.
Here is why. The Moon goes around Earth. It also spins, but slowly. It spins once in the same time it goes around Earth once. So the same side points at us.
We never see the far side. For a long time, people did not know how it looked. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon. They took pictures of it.
You can try this. Walk in a circle around a friend. Keep your face turned to your friend.
Questions
What do you see when you look at the Moon each night?
What is the side we never see called?
How did people learn how the far side looks?
What does the Moon do besides going around Earth?
In the walking game, who stands for Earth and who stands for the Moon?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Moon Always Shows Us One Face
Look at the Moon on any clear night. You will see the same dark and light patches each time. The Moon always shows us the same side.
Here is why. The Moon goes around Earth, and it also spins. It spins slowly. It takes the same amount of time to spin once as it takes to go around Earth once. So the same side always points toward us.
The side we never see is called the far side. People did not know what it looked like for a long time. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon and took pictures of it.
You can try this at home. Walk in a circle around a friend, and keep your face turned toward your friend the whole time.
Questions
What do you see when you look at the Moon each night?
What is the side we never see called?
How did people find out what the far side looks like?
What does the Moon do besides going around Earth?
In the walking game, who stands for Earth and who stands for the Moon?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Moon Always Shows Us One Face
Look up at the Moon on any clear night, and you will notice the same dark and light patches every time. The Moon always shows us the very same side.
The reason is simple. The Moon travels around Earth, and it also spins on its own, though quite slowly. It takes exactly as long to spin once as it takes to circle Earth once. Because of this, the same side always points toward us.
The side we can never see is called the far side. For a long time, nobody knew what it looked like. Then spacecraft flew around the Moon and sent back pictures of it.
You can try this idea at home. Walk in a circle around a friend, and keep your face turned toward your friend the whole time.
Questions
What do you notice each time you look at the Moon on a clear night?
What is the side that we can never see called?
How did people finally learn what the far side looks like?
What does the Moon do on its own besides traveling around Earth?
In the walking game, who represents Earth and who represents the Moon?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Moon Always Shows Us One Face
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4)
The same dark and light patches.
The far side.
Spacecraft flew around the Moon and took pictures.
It spins.
Your friend is Earth, and you are the Moon.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
The same dark and light patches.
The far side.
Spacecraft flew around the Moon and took pictures.
It spins.
Your friend stands for Earth, and you stand for the Moon.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6)
The same dark and light patches.
The far side.
Spacecraft flew around the Moon and sent back pictures.
It spins slowly.
Your friend represents Earth, and you represent the Moon.
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 patches, spin, spacecraft and pictures 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 Moon Always Shows Us One Face"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 125 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.9. 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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