2nd grade fiction passage about practicing the long jump: 132 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictionpracticing the long jump132 words
Tomas and the Sandy Long Jump Pit
Field day was coming. Tomas wanted to do the long jump. But every time he ran at the sand pit, he stopped short. He was afraid to land.
Coach Bell knelt beside him. "The sand is soft," she said. "Let's start small. Jump from the line to the first rake mark."
Tomas ran two steps and jumped. He landed with a soft thud. The sand puffed up around his shoes. It did not hurt at all.
Next he jumped to the second mark. Then to the third. Each time he ran a little farther.
On field day, Tomas lined up at the start. He ran, he jumped, and he flew. He landed past the fifth mark. His whole class cheered, and sand fell from his socks for the rest of the day.
Questions
What did Tomas want to do on field day? in the text
Why did Tomas stop short at the sand pit? in the text
What did Coach Bell tell him to do first? in the text
How did the sand feel when Tomas landed? in the text
How did starting small help Tomas? think about it
Words to know
jump
to push off the ground and move through the air
knelt
bent down and rested on one or both knees
thud
a dull, heavy sound
cheered
shouted happily to show support
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Tomas and the Sandy Long Jump Pit
2nd grade reading passage
Field day was coming. Tomas wanted to do the long jump. But every time he ran at the sand pit, he stopped short. He was afraid to land.
Coach Bell knelt beside him. "The sand is soft," she said. "Let's start small. Jump from the line to the first rake mark."
Tomas ran two steps and jumped. He landed with a soft thud. The sand puffed up around his shoes. It did not hurt at all.
Next he jumped to the second mark. Then to the third. Each time he ran a little farther.
On field day, Tomas lined up at the start. He ran, he jumped, and he flew. He landed past the fifth mark. His whole class cheered, and sand fell from his socks for the rest of the day.
Questions
What did Tomas want to do on field day?
Why did Tomas stop short at the sand pit?
What did Coach Bell tell him to do first?
How did the sand feel when Tomas landed?
How did starting small help Tomas?
Words to know
jump: to push off the ground and move through the air
knelt: bent down and rested on one or both knees
thud: a dull, heavy sound
cheered: shouted happily to show support
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/tomas-and-the-sandy-long-jump-pit
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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 · 93 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5
Field day was coming. Tomas wanted to do the long jump. But he stopped short at the sand pit. He was afraid to land.
Coach Bell knelt by him. "The sand is soft," she said. "Start small. Jump to the first mark."
Tomas ran two steps and jumped. He landed with a thud. Sand puffed up. It did not hurt.
Next he jumped to the second mark. Then the third. Each time he ran a bit farther.
On field day, Tomas ran and jumped. He landed past the fifth mark. His class cheered.
▲ This passage · 132 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4
Field day was coming. Tomas wanted to do the long jump. But every time he ran at the sand pit, he stopped short. He was afraid to land.
Coach Bell knelt beside him. "The sand is soft," she said. "Let's start small. Jump from the line to the first rake mark."
Tomas ran two steps and jumped. He landed with a soft thud. The sand puffed up around his shoes. It did not hurt at all.
Next he jumped to the second mark. Then to the third. Each time he ran a little farther.
On field day, Tomas lined up at the start. He ran, he jumped, and he flew. He landed past the fifth mark. His whole class cheered, and sand fell from his socks for the rest of the day.
■ Harder · 156 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1
Field day was almost here, and Tomas badly wanted to try the long jump. But every time he sprinted toward the sand pit, he skidded to a stop at the edge. He was afraid of the landing.
Coach Bell knelt down beside him. "The sand is very soft," she said reassuringly. "Let's start small. Just jump from the line to the first rake mark."
Tomas took two quick steps and jumped. He landed with a soft thud, and the sand puffed up around his shoes. It did not hurt at all.
Next he jumped to the second mark, and then to the third. Each time, he started his run from a little farther back.
On field day, Tomas lined up at the start. He ran, he leaped, and he seemed to fly. He landed beyond the fifth mark, and his whole class cheered. Sand kept falling out of his socks for the rest of the day.
Field day was coming. Tomas wanted to do the long jump. But he stopped short at the sand pit. He was afraid to land.
Coach Bell knelt by him. "The sand is soft," she said. "Start small. Jump to the first mark."
Tomas ran two steps and jumped. He landed with a thud. Sand puffed up. It did not hurt.
Next he jumped to the second mark. Then the third. Each time he ran a bit farther.
On field day, Tomas ran and jumped. He landed past the fifth mark. His class cheered.
Questions
What did Tomas want to do on field day?
Why did Tomas stop at the sand pit?
What did Coach Bell tell him to do first?
How did the sand feel?
How did starting small help Tomas?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Tomas and the Sandy Long Jump Pit
Field day was coming. Tomas wanted to do the long jump. But every time he ran at the sand pit, he stopped short. He was afraid to land.
Coach Bell knelt beside him. "The sand is soft," she said. "Let's start small. Jump from the line to the first rake mark."
Tomas ran two steps and jumped. He landed with a soft thud. The sand puffed up around his shoes. It did not hurt at all.
Next he jumped to the second mark. Then to the third. Each time he ran a little farther.
On field day, Tomas lined up at the start. He ran, he jumped, and he flew. He landed past the fifth mark. His whole class cheered, and sand fell from his socks for the rest of the day.
Questions
What did Tomas want to do on field day?
Why did Tomas stop short at the sand pit?
What did Coach Bell tell him to do first?
How did the sand feel when Tomas landed?
How did starting small help Tomas?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Tomas and the Sandy Long Jump Pit
Field day was almost here, and Tomas badly wanted to try the long jump. But every time he sprinted toward the sand pit, he skidded to a stop at the edge. He was afraid of the landing.
Coach Bell knelt down beside him. "The sand is very soft," she said reassuringly. "Let's start small. Just jump from the line to the first rake mark."
Tomas took two quick steps and jumped. He landed with a soft thud, and the sand puffed up around his shoes. It did not hurt at all.
Next he jumped to the second mark, and then to the third. Each time, he started his run from a little farther back.
On field day, Tomas lined up at the start. He ran, he leaped, and he seemed to fly. He landed beyond the fifth mark, and his whole class cheered. Sand kept falling out of his socks for the rest of the day.
Questions
What did Tomas badly want to try on field day?
Why did Tomas skid to a stop at the edge of the sand pit?
What did Coach Bell tell him to do first?
How did the sand feel when Tomas landed?
How did starting small help Tomas get over his fear?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Tomas and the Sandy Long Jump Pit
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.5)
The long jump.
He was afraid to land.
Jump to the first mark.
Soft, and it did not hurt.
He learned that landing was safe, so he felt brave.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4)
The long jump.
He was afraid to land.
Jump from the line to the first rake mark.
Soft, and it did not hurt.
He found out that landing was safe, so he felt brave enough to jump farther.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1)
The long jump.
He was afraid of the landing.
Jump from the line to the first rake mark.
Very soft, and it did not hurt at all.
He discovered that landing in the sand was safe, so he felt brave enough to jump farther.
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 jump, knelt, thud and cheered 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 "Tomas and the Sandy Long Jump Pit"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 132 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.3. 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?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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