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The Singing Teakettle Mystery

2nd grade fiction passage about a strange sound in a kitchen: 144 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

2nd grade fiction a strange sound in a kitchen 144 words

The Singing Teakettle Mystery

Every night at bedtime, a sweet whistle came from the kitchen. Wee-oo, wee-oo. Dana and her mom were puzzled.

"The teakettle is cold," said Mom. "It cannot be singing."

Dana tiptoed in with a flashlight. The room was quiet. Then she heard it again. Wee-oo, wee-oo. The sound was not from the kettle. It was from the window.

She looked closely. A small crack ran along the bottom of the glass. The night wind blew through it, and the crack made a little whistle.

"Mom, it is the window!" Dana said.

Mom held a finger up to the crack and felt a cool draft. The next day, she pressed a strip of soft tape over it. That night, the kitchen was quiet.

Dana was a little sad. She had liked the song. But she was glad to solve the mystery.

Questions

  1. What sound did Dana and Mom hear at bedtime? in the text

  2. Why did Mom think it was not the teakettle? in the text

  3. What was making the whistle? in the text

  4. How did Mom stop the sound? in the text

  5. Why was Dana a little sad at the end? think about it

Words to know

puzzled
not sure what is going on
tiptoed
walked quietly on the tips of your toes
crack
a thin break in something
draft
a stream of cool air in a room
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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 0.5

Each night at bedtime, a sweet whistle came from the kitchen. Wee-oo, wee-oo. Dana and Mom did not know why.

"The teakettle is cold," said Mom. "It can not be singing."

Dana tiptoed in with a flashlight. It was quiet. Then she heard it. Wee-oo, wee-oo. It was not the kettle. It was the window.

She looked close. A small crack ran along the glass. The wind blew through it and made a little whistle.

"Mom, it is the window!" said Dana.

Mom felt cool air at the crack. The next day, she put soft tape on it. That night, the kitchen was quiet.

Dana was a bit sad. She liked the song. But she was glad she solved it.

▲ This passage · 144 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Every night at bedtime, a sweet whistle came from the kitchen. Wee-oo, wee-oo. Dana and her mom were puzzled.

"The teakettle is cold," said Mom. "It cannot be singing."

Dana tiptoed in with a flashlight. The room was quiet. Then she heard it again. Wee-oo, wee-oo. The sound was not from the kettle. It was from the window.

She looked closely. A small crack ran along the bottom of the glass. The night wind blew through it, and the crack made a little whistle.

"Mom, it is the window!" Dana said.

Mom held a finger up to the crack and felt a cool draft. The next day, she pressed a strip of soft tape over it. That night, the kitchen was quiet.

Dana was a little sad. She had liked the song. But she was glad to solve the mystery.

■ Harder · 158 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Every night at bedtime, a sweet, high whistle drifted out of the kitchen. Wee-oo, wee-oo. Dana and her mom were completely puzzled.

"The teakettle is cold," said Mom. "It cannot possibly be singing."

Dana tiptoed into the kitchen with a flashlight. The room was quiet. Then she heard it again. Wee-oo, wee-oo. The sound was not coming from the kettle at all. It was coming from the window.

She looked closely and noticed a small crack running along the bottom of the glass. The night wind blew through it, and the crack made a little whistle.

"Mom, it is the window!" Dana announced.

Mom held a finger up to the crack and felt a cool draft. The next day, she pressed a strip of soft tape over it. That night, the kitchen was silent.

Dana felt a little sad, because she had enjoyed the song. Still, she was proud to have solved the mystery.

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 puzzled, tiptoed, crack and draft 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 Singing Teakettle Mystery"?

It was written for 2nd grade. It has 144 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.5. 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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