2nd grade nonfiction passage about baobab trees in madagascar: 92 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionbaobab trees in madagascar92 words
The Road Lined With Bottle-Shaped Trees
Madagascar is a big island in the Indian Ocean, near the continent of Africa. Many of its plants and animals live almost nowhere else.
On one dirt road, giant trees stand in two long rows. They are called baobabs. Each trunk is thick and tall. A baobab has branches only at the top. It looks like a tree upside down.
The trunk can hold water. This helps the tree live through a long dry season.
Visitors love to walk on this road at sunset. The trees glow orange. Many people take pictures.
Questions
Where is Madagascar? in the text
What are the giant trees called? in the text
Where are the branches of a baobab? in the text
What can the trunk hold? in the text
How does storing water help the tree? think about it
Words to know
island
a piece of land with water all around it
trunk
the thick main stem of a tree
branches
the parts of a tree that grow out from the trunk
season
a part of the year with its own kind of weather
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Road Lined With Bottle-Shaped Trees
2nd grade reading passage
Madagascar is a big island in the Indian Ocean, near the continent of Africa. Many of its plants and animals live almost nowhere else.
On one dirt road, giant trees stand in two long rows. They are called baobabs. Each trunk is thick and tall. A baobab has branches only at the top. It looks like a tree upside down.
The trunk can hold water. This helps the tree live through a long dry season.
Visitors love to walk on this road at sunset. The trees glow orange. Many people take pictures.
Questions
Where is Madagascar?
What are the giant trees called?
Where are the branches of a baobab?
What can the trunk hold?
How does storing water help the tree?
Words to know
island: a piece of land with water all around it
trunk: the thick main stem of a tree
branches: the parts of a tree that grow out from the trunk
season: a part of the year with its own kind of weather
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-road-lined-with-bottle-shaped-trees
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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 · 87 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9
Madagascar is a big island in the Indian Ocean. It is near Africa. Many of its plants and animals live almost nowhere else.
On one dirt road, giant trees stand in two long rows. They are baobabs. Each trunk is thick and wide. A baobab has branches only at the top. It looks like a tree upside down.
The trunk can hold water. This helps the tree live through a long dry season.
Visitors walk the road at sunset. The trees glow orange. Many people take pictures.
▲ This passage · 92 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3
Madagascar is a big island in the Indian Ocean, near the continent of Africa. Many of its plants and animals live almost nowhere else.
On one dirt road, giant trees stand in two long rows. They are called baobabs. Each trunk is thick and tall. A baobab has branches only at the top. It looks like a tree upside down.
The trunk can hold water. This helps the tree live through a long dry season.
Visitors love to walk on this road at sunset. The trees glow orange. Many people take pictures.
■ Harder · 123 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3
Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean, located near the continent of Africa. It is home to many kinds of plants and animals that can be found almost nowhere else on Earth.
Along one dirt road, enormous trees stand in two long rows. They are called baobabs. Each trunk is thick, wide, smooth, and tall, and the branches grow only at the very top, so a baobab looks like a tree growing upside down.
The trunk of a baobab is able to hold water, which helps the tree survive through a long dry season.
Visitors love to stroll along this road at sunset, when the trees glow orange in the low light. Many people take pictures of the long, quiet row.
Madagascar is a big island in the Indian Ocean. It is near Africa. Many of its plants and animals live almost nowhere else.
On one dirt road, giant trees stand in two long rows. They are baobabs. Each trunk is thick and wide. A baobab has branches only at the top. It looks like a tree upside down.
The trunk can hold water. This helps the tree live through a long dry season.
Visitors walk the road at sunset. The trees glow orange. Many people take pictures.
Questions
Where is Madagascar?
What are the giant trees called?
Where are the branches of a baobab?
What can the trunk hold?
How does holding water help the tree?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Road Lined With Bottle-Shaped Trees
Madagascar is a big island in the Indian Ocean, near the continent of Africa. Many of its plants and animals live almost nowhere else.
On one dirt road, giant trees stand in two long rows. They are called baobabs. Each trunk is thick and tall. A baobab has branches only at the top. It looks like a tree upside down.
The trunk can hold water. This helps the tree live through a long dry season.
Visitors love to walk on this road at sunset. The trees glow orange. Many people take pictures.
Questions
Where is Madagascar?
What are the giant trees called?
Where are the branches of a baobab?
What can the trunk hold?
How does storing water help the tree?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Road Lined With Bottle-Shaped Trees
Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean, located near the continent of Africa. It is home to many kinds of plants and animals that can be found almost nowhere else on Earth.
Along one dirt road, enormous trees stand in two long rows. They are called baobabs. Each trunk is thick, wide, smooth, and tall, and the branches grow only at the very top, so a baobab looks like a tree growing upside down.
The trunk of a baobab is able to hold water, which helps the tree survive through a long dry season.
Visitors love to stroll along this road at sunset, when the trees glow orange in the low light. Many people take pictures of the long, quiet row.
Questions
Where is Madagascar located?
What are the enormous trees called?
Where do the branches of a baobab grow?
What is the trunk of a baobab able to hold?
How does holding water help the tree survive?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Road Lined With Bottle-Shaped Trees
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9)
In the Indian Ocean, near Africa.
Baobabs.
Only at the top.
Water.
It helps the tree live through a long dry season.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3)
In the Indian Ocean, near Africa.
Baobabs.
Only at the very top.
Water.
It helps the tree live through a long dry season.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3)
In the Indian Ocean, near the continent of Africa.
Baobabs.
Only at the very top.
Water.
It helps the tree get through a long dry season.
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 island, trunk, branches and season 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 Road Lined With Bottle-Shaped Trees"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 92 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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?
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