2nd grade fiction passage about a sparrow who listens: 129 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictiona sparrow who listens129 words
The Sparrow and the Silent Bell
A town had an old clock tower with a bell. Every hour the bell rang, and every hour Sam the sparrow chirped loudly right over it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell did not ring. A rope had slipped. The town grew quiet, and Sam sang louder, but no one looked up. They were all waiting for the bell.
Then Sam noticed a tiny sound from inside the tower. It was a kitten, stuck behind the bell, mewing softly.
Sam flew down to the baker and tugged on her apron. Her ears were open now, and she heard the mew. She climbed the stairs and rescued the kitten.
After that, Sam stopped singing over the bell. He had learned how much a quiet bird can hear.
Questions
What did Sam do every hour? in the text
Why did the bell not ring one morning? in the text
What was stuck behind the bell? in the text
Who rescued the kitten? in the text
Why did Sam hear the kitten when he was quiet? think about it
What lesson does the story teach? think about it
Words to know
tower
a tall, narrow building
chirped
made short, high bird sounds
mewing
making the soft cry of a cat
rescued
saved from trouble
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Sparrow and the Silent Bell
2nd grade reading passage
A town had an old clock tower with a bell. Every hour the bell rang, and every hour Sam the sparrow chirped loudly right over it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell did not ring. A rope had slipped. The town grew quiet, and Sam sang louder, but no one looked up. They were all waiting for the bell.
Then Sam noticed a tiny sound from inside the tower. It was a kitten, stuck behind the bell, mewing softly.
Sam flew down to the baker and tugged on her apron. Her ears were open now, and she heard the mew. She climbed the stairs and rescued the kitten.
After that, Sam stopped singing over the bell. He had learned how much a quiet bird can hear.
Questions
What did Sam do every hour?
Why did the bell not ring one morning?
What was stuck behind the bell?
Who rescued the kitten?
Why did Sam hear the kitten when he was quiet?
What lesson does the story teach?
Words to know
tower: a tall, narrow building
chirped: made short, high bird sounds
mewing: making the soft cry of a cat
rescued: saved from trouble
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/the-sparrow-and-the-silent-bell
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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 · 118 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9
A town had an old clock tower with a bell. Each hour the bell rang. Each hour Sam the sparrow chirped over it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell did not ring. A rope had slipped. The town was quiet. Sam sang louder, but no one looked up. They waited for the bell.
Then Sam heard a tiny sound in the tower. A kitten was stuck behind the bell. It was mewing softly.
Sam flew to the baker and tugged her apron. She had open ears now. She heard the mew. She ran up the stairs and saved the kitten.
Sam did not sing over the bell again. A quiet bird can hear a lot.
▲ This passage · 129 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6
A town had an old clock tower with a bell. Every hour the bell rang, and every hour Sam the sparrow chirped loudly right over it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell did not ring. A rope had slipped. The town grew quiet, and Sam sang louder, but no one looked up. They were all waiting for the bell.
Then Sam noticed a tiny sound from inside the tower. It was a kitten, stuck behind the bell, mewing softly.
Sam flew down to the baker and tugged on her apron. Her ears were open now, and she heard the mew. She climbed the stairs and rescued the kitten.
After that, Sam stopped singing over the bell. He had learned how much a quiet bird can hear.
■ Harder · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9
A small town had an ancient clock tower with a great brass bell. Every hour the bell rang out, and every hour Sam the sparrow chirped noisily right over the top of it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell failed to ring, because a rope had slipped loose. The whole town fell silent, and Sam sang even louder, but nobody looked up. They were all waiting for the bell.
Then Sam noticed a faint sound coming from inside the tower. A kitten was trapped behind the bell, mewing softly.
Sam swooped down to the baker and tugged at her apron. Now that the town was quiet, her ears were open, and she heard the tiny mew. She hurried up the stairs and rescued the kitten.
From then on Sam stopped singing over the bell. He had discovered how much a quiet bird can hear.
A town had an old clock tower with a bell. Each hour the bell rang. Each hour Sam the sparrow chirped over it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell did not ring. A rope had slipped. The town was quiet. Sam sang louder, but no one looked up. They waited for the bell.
Then Sam heard a tiny sound in the tower. A kitten was stuck behind the bell. It was mewing softly.
Sam flew to the baker and tugged her apron. She had open ears now. She heard the mew. She ran up the stairs and saved the kitten.
Sam did not sing over the bell again. A quiet bird can hear a lot.
Questions
What did Sam do each hour?
Why did the bell not ring?
What was stuck behind the bell?
Who saved the kitten?
Why did Sam hear the kitten?
What is the lesson of the story?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Sparrow and the Silent Bell
A town had an old clock tower with a bell. Every hour the bell rang, and every hour Sam the sparrow chirped loudly right over it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell did not ring. A rope had slipped. The town grew quiet, and Sam sang louder, but no one looked up. They were all waiting for the bell.
Then Sam noticed a tiny sound from inside the tower. It was a kitten, stuck behind the bell, mewing softly.
Sam flew down to the baker and tugged on her apron. Her ears were open now, and she heard the mew. She climbed the stairs and rescued the kitten.
After that, Sam stopped singing over the bell. He had learned how much a quiet bird can hear.
Questions
What did Sam do every hour?
Why did the bell not ring one morning?
What was stuck behind the bell?
Who rescued the kitten?
Why did Sam hear the kitten when he was quiet?
What lesson does the story teach?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Sparrow and the Silent Bell
A small town had an ancient clock tower with a great brass bell. Every hour the bell rang out, and every hour Sam the sparrow chirped noisily right over the top of it. "Listen to me!" he sang.
One morning the bell failed to ring, because a rope had slipped loose. The whole town fell silent, and Sam sang even louder, but nobody looked up. They were all waiting for the bell.
Then Sam noticed a faint sound coming from inside the tower. A kitten was trapped behind the bell, mewing softly.
Sam swooped down to the baker and tugged at her apron. Now that the town was quiet, her ears were open, and she heard the tiny mew. She hurried up the stairs and rescued the kitten.
From then on Sam stopped singing over the bell. He had discovered how much a quiet bird can hear.
Questions
What did Sam do every hour?
Why did the bell fail to ring one morning?
What was trapped behind the bell?
Who rescued the kitten?
Why was Sam able to hear the kitten when others had not?
What lesson does the story teach?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Sparrow and the Silent Bell
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9)
He chirped over the bell.
A rope had slipped.
A kitten.
The baker.
He was quiet, so he could hear small sounds.
Listening can teach you more than talking.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6)
He chirped loudly over the bell.
A rope had slipped.
A kitten.
The baker.
He was not making noise, so he could hear small sounds.
Listening can teach you more than talking.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9)
He chirped noisily over the bell.
A rope had slipped loose.
A kitten.
The baker.
He had stopped making noise, so he could notice small sounds.
Listening carefully can teach you more than talking does.
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 tower, chirped, mewing and rescued 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.
What reading level is "The Sparrow and the Silent Bell"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 129 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.5. 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 six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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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