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The Night Train to Cedar Falls

2nd grade fiction passage about an overnight train trip: 136 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction an overnight train trip 136 words

The Night Train to Cedar Falls

Pia had never been on a night train. She and her dad had a tiny room with two beds, one on top of the other. Pia got the top bed.

"It is like sleeping in a bunk on a ship," she said.

The train rocked back and forth. Click-clack, click-clack. Pia looked out the window. She saw lights in a far town and a silver river in the moon.

Soon she felt sleepy. In the morning, a soft voice said, "Cedar Falls. Next stop, Cedar Falls."

Pia sat up fast. Outside, a high waterfall tumbled down a green cliff and made white mist in the sun.

"We are here!" said her dad.

Pia grabbed her small bag. She waved to the train as it pulled away. She wanted to ride it again some day.

Questions

  1. Who went on the night train with Pia? in the text

  2. What kind of beds did Pia and her dad have? in the text

  3. What sound did the train make? in the text

  4. What did Pia see when she woke up in Cedar Falls? in the text

  5. How do you know Pia liked the trip? think about it

Words to know

bunk
a narrow bed that is built above or below another
cliff
a high, steep wall of rock
tumbled
fell down quickly
mist
a cloud of tiny drops of water
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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 · 127 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1

Pia had never been on a night train. She and her dad had a tiny room with two beds. One bed was on top of the other. Pia got the top bed.

"It is like a bunk on a ship," she said.

The train rocked. Click-clack, click-clack. Pia looked out the window. She saw lights in a far town. She saw a silver river in the moon.

Soon she was sleepy. In the morning, a soft voice said, "Cedar Falls. Next stop, Cedar Falls."

Pia sat up fast. Outside, a tall waterfall fell down a green cliff. It made white mist in the sun.

"We are here!" said her dad.

Pia grabbed her bag. She waved to the train. She wanted to ride it again.

▲ This passage · 136 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8

Pia had never been on a night train. She and her dad had a tiny room with two beds, one on top of the other. Pia got the top bed.

"It is like sleeping in a bunk on a ship," she said.

The train rocked back and forth. Click-clack, click-clack. Pia looked out the window. She saw lights in a far town and a silver river in the moon.

Soon she felt sleepy. In the morning, a soft voice said, "Cedar Falls. Next stop, Cedar Falls."

Pia sat up fast. Outside, a high waterfall tumbled down a green cliff and made white mist in the sun.

"We are here!" said her dad.

Pia grabbed her small bag. She waved to the train as it pulled away. She wanted to ride it again some day.

■ Harder · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

Pia had never traveled on a night train before. She and her dad shared a tiny room with two beds, one stacked above the other, and Pia was delighted to get the top bunk.

"It is just like sleeping on a ship," she said.

The train swayed gently from side to side. Click-clack, click-clack. Pia gazed out the window and saw the lights of a faraway town and a silver river shining in the moonlight.

Before long, she felt sleepy. In the morning, a soft voice announced, "Cedar Falls. Next stop, Cedar Falls."

Pia sat straight up. Outside, a towering waterfall tumbled down a green cliff and sent white mist floating into the sunshine.

"We are here!" said her dad.

Pia grabbed her small bag. She waved to the train as it pulled away, hoping that she could ride it again some day.

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 bunk, cliff, tumbled and mist 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 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 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 Night Train to Cedar Falls"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 136 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.8. 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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