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The Secret Knock at the Treehouse

2nd grade fiction passage about a secret password: 134 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a secret password 134 words

The Secret Knock at the Treehouse

Omar and Kit had a treehouse. To go in, you had to know the secret knock. Two taps, a pause, and three taps.

One afternoon, Omar climbed up and gave the knock. No one answered. He knocked again. Still nothing.

"Kit, it is me," he said.

Then he heard a tiny voice. "Say the password."

Omar did not remember the password! He thought hard. It was a fruit, he was sure. "Apple?" he said. "Pear?" The door stayed shut.

Then he spotted a paper stuck by the door. It had a drawing of a yellow fruit with a curl on the end. Omar grinned.

"Banana!" he said.

The door swung open. Kit stood there with a big smile. "I made the drawing in case you forgot," she said. "Now you know it for good."

Questions

  1. What was the secret knock? in the text

  2. Why did the door stay shut at first? in the text

  3. What was the clue that Kit left? in the text

  4. What was the password? in the text

  5. Why do you think Kit left the drawing? think about it

Words to know

secret
something that only a few people know
password
a special word that lets you in
pause
a short stop
grinned
smiled very wide
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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 · 124 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1

Omar and Kit had a treehouse. To go in, you had to know the secret knock. Two taps, a stop, and three taps.

One day, Omar climbed up and did the knock. No one came. He knocked again. Nothing.

"Kit, it is me," he said.

Then he heard a tiny voice. "Say the password."

Omar did not know the password! He thought hard. It was a fruit. "Apple?" he said. "Pear?" The door stayed shut.

Then he saw a paper by the door. It had a drawing of a yellow fruit with a curl at the end. Omar grinned.

"Banana!" he said.

The door swung open. Kit smiled. "I made the drawing in case you forgot," she said. "Now you know it for good."

▲ This passage · 134 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8

Omar and Kit had a treehouse. To go in, you had to know the secret knock. Two taps, a pause, and three taps.

One afternoon, Omar climbed up and gave the knock. No one answered. He knocked again. Still nothing.

"Kit, it is me," he said.

Then he heard a tiny voice. "Say the password."

Omar did not remember the password! He thought hard. It was a fruit, he was sure. "Apple?" he said. "Pear?" The door stayed shut.

Then he spotted a paper stuck by the door. It had a drawing of a yellow fruit with a curl on the end. Omar grinned.

"Banana!" he said.

The door swung open. Kit stood there with a big smile. "I made the drawing in case you forgot," she said. "Now you know it for good."

■ Harder · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Omar and Kit shared a treehouse, and nobody could enter without knowing the secret knock: two taps, a pause, and then three more taps.

One afternoon, Omar scrambled up the ladder and gave the knock. No one answered. He knocked again, but there was still no reply.

"Kit, it is me," he called.

Then he heard a tiny voice from inside. "Say the password."

Omar could not remember the password! He thought as hard as he could. It was a fruit, he felt certain. "Apple?" he guessed. "Pear?" The door stayed firmly shut.

Then he noticed a piece of paper stuck beside the door. It showed a drawing of a yellow fruit with a curl at one end. Omar grinned from ear to ear.

"Banana!" he shouted.

The door swung wide open, and Kit stood there smiling. "I made the drawing in case you forgot," she said. "Now you will remember it for good."

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 secret, password, pause and grinned 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 Secret Knock at the Treehouse"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 134 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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