2nd grade fiction passage about cousins sharing a hammock: 143 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradefictioncousins sharing a hammock143 words
Two Cousins, One Hammock
Grandma's yard had one hammock. It hung between two apple trees. When Pia and her cousin Jonah came to visit, they both ran for it.
"I was here first!" said Pia.
"No, I was!" said Jonah. They tugged on the rope. The hammock swayed and wobbled.
Grandma looked out the window. She did not shout. She came out with a glass of lemonade and sat on the grass.
"That hammock is long," she said. "I wonder how many cousins fit."
Pia looked at Jonah. Jonah looked at Pia. Slowly, Pia climbed in with her head at one end. Jonah climbed in with his head at the other end. Their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip at all. Pia read her book. Jonah watched the leaves. Soon they were both giggling about whose toes smelled worse.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
Questions
Where did the hammock hang? in the text
Why did Pia and Jonah tug on the rope? in the text
What did Grandma bring out to the yard? in the text
How did the cousins lie in the hammock? in the text
Why did Grandma ask how many cousins fit? think about it
Words to know
hammock
a bed made of cloth or net that hangs between two trees
wobbled
rocked from side to side in a shaky way
cousins
children of your aunt or uncle
giggling
laughing in a silly, quiet way
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Two Cousins, One Hammock
2nd grade reading passage
Grandma's yard had one hammock. It hung between two apple trees. When Pia and her cousin Jonah came to visit, they both ran for it.
"I was here first!" said Pia.
"No, I was!" said Jonah. They tugged on the rope. The hammock swayed and wobbled.
Grandma looked out the window. She did not shout. She came out with a glass of lemonade and sat on the grass.
"That hammock is long," she said. "I wonder how many cousins fit."
Pia looked at Jonah. Jonah looked at Pia. Slowly, Pia climbed in with her head at one end. Jonah climbed in with his head at the other end. Their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip at all. Pia read her book. Jonah watched the leaves. Soon they were both giggling about whose toes smelled worse.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
Questions
Where did the hammock hang?
Why did Pia and Jonah tug on the rope?
What did Grandma bring out to the yard?
How did the cousins lie in the hammock?
Why did Grandma ask how many cousins fit?
Words to know
hammock: a bed made of cloth or net that hangs between two trees
wobbled: rocked from side to side in a shaky way
cousins: children of your aunt or uncle
giggling: laughing in a silly, quiet way
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/two-cousins-one-hammock
Share
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 · 110 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7
Grandma's yard had one hammock. It hung between two apple trees. Pia and her cousin Jonah came to visit. They both ran to it.
"I was first!" said Pia.
"No, I was!" said Jonah. They tugged the rope. The hammock wobbled.
Grandma came out with lemonade. She sat on the grass.
"That hammock is long," she said. "How many cousins fit?"
Pia looked at Jonah. Pia got in with her head at one end. Jonah got in with his head at the other end. Their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip. Pia read. Jonah looked at the leaves. They giggled about toes.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
▲ This passage · 143 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1
Grandma's yard had one hammock. It hung between two apple trees. When Pia and her cousin Jonah came to visit, they both ran for it.
"I was here first!" said Pia.
"No, I was!" said Jonah. They tugged on the rope. The hammock swayed and wobbled.
Grandma looked out the window. She did not shout. She came out with a glass of lemonade and sat on the grass.
"That hammock is long," she said. "I wonder how many cousins fit."
Pia looked at Jonah. Jonah looked at Pia. Slowly, Pia climbed in with her head at one end. Jonah climbed in with his head at the other end. Their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip at all. Pia read her book. Jonah watched the leaves. Soon they were both giggling about whose toes smelled worse.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
■ Harder · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2
Grandma's yard contained exactly one hammock, which hung between two old apple trees. When Pia and her cousin Jonah arrived for a visit, they both sprinted straight toward it.
"I was here first!" declared Pia.
"No, I was!" Jonah protested. They tugged on the rope, and the hammock swayed and wobbled dangerously.
Grandma looked out of the kitchen window. She did not shout. Instead, she carried out a glass of lemonade and sat down on the grass.
"That hammock is quite long," she remarked. "I wonder how many cousins would fit inside."
Pia looked at Jonah, and Jonah looked at Pia. Slowly, Pia climbed in with her head at one end. Jonah climbed in with his head at the opposite end, and their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip at all. Pia read her book while Jonah watched the leaves. Before long, they were both giggling about whose toes smelled worse.
Grandma's yard had one hammock. It hung between two apple trees. Pia and her cousin Jonah came to visit. They both ran to it.
"I was first!" said Pia.
"No, I was!" said Jonah. They tugged the rope. The hammock wobbled.
Grandma came out with lemonade. She sat on the grass.
"That hammock is long," she said. "How many cousins fit?"
Pia looked at Jonah. Pia got in with her head at one end. Jonah got in with his head at the other end. Their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip. Pia read. Jonah looked at the leaves. They giggled about toes.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
Questions
Where did the hammock hang?
Why did the cousins tug the rope?
What did Grandma bring?
How did the cousins lie in the hammock?
Why did Grandma ask how many cousins fit?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Two Cousins, One Hammock
Grandma's yard had one hammock. It hung between two apple trees. When Pia and her cousin Jonah came to visit, they both ran for it.
"I was here first!" said Pia.
"No, I was!" said Jonah. They tugged on the rope. The hammock swayed and wobbled.
Grandma looked out the window. She did not shout. She came out with a glass of lemonade and sat on the grass.
"That hammock is long," she said. "I wonder how many cousins fit."
Pia looked at Jonah. Jonah looked at Pia. Slowly, Pia climbed in with her head at one end. Jonah climbed in with his head at the other end. Their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip at all. Pia read her book. Jonah watched the leaves. Soon they were both giggling about whose toes smelled worse.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
Questions
Where did the hammock hang?
Why did Pia and Jonah tug on the rope?
What did Grandma bring out to the yard?
How did the cousins lie in the hammock?
Why did Grandma ask how many cousins fit?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Two Cousins, One Hammock
Grandma's yard contained exactly one hammock, which hung between two old apple trees. When Pia and her cousin Jonah arrived for a visit, they both sprinted straight toward it.
"I was here first!" declared Pia.
"No, I was!" Jonah protested. They tugged on the rope, and the hammock swayed and wobbled dangerously.
Grandma looked out of the kitchen window. She did not shout. Instead, she carried out a glass of lemonade and sat down on the grass.
"That hammock is quite long," she remarked. "I wonder how many cousins would fit inside."
Pia looked at Jonah, and Jonah looked at Pia. Slowly, Pia climbed in with her head at one end. Jonah climbed in with his head at the opposite end, and their feet met in the middle.
The hammock did not tip at all. Pia read her book while Jonah watched the leaves. Before long, they were both giggling about whose toes smelled worse.
"Two fit," said Grandma.
Questions
Where did the hammock hang in Grandma's yard?
Why did Pia and Jonah tug on the rope?
What did Grandma carry out to the yard?
How did the cousins arrange themselves in the hammock?
Why did Grandma wonder how many cousins would fit?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Two Cousins, One Hammock
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7)
Between two apple trees.
They both wanted the hammock.
Lemonade.
One had a head at each end.
She wanted them to see they could share.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1)
Between two apple trees.
They both wanted the hammock first.
A glass of lemonade.
Pia's head was at one end and Jonah's head was at the other end.
She wanted them to think of sharing and see that both could use it.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2)
Between two old apple trees.
They each wanted to use the hammock first.
A glass of lemonade.
Pia's head was at one end and Jonah's head was at the other end.
She hoped to help them see that sharing would let both of them enjoy it.
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 hammock, wobbled, cousins and giggling 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.
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 143 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.1. 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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