2nd grade nonfiction passage about how bells ring: 112 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionhow bells ring112 words
Why a Bell Keeps Ringing After a Hit
Tap a bell, and it rings for a long time. Why does it not stop right away?
When something hits the bell, the metal begins to shake. The shaking is too small and quick for your eyes to see. But the shaking pushes the air around the bell. The air carries the push to your ears, and you hear a ring.
A bell is made of hard metal. Hard metal keeps shaking for a while after it is hit. That is why the sound lasts.
Now touch the bell with your hand. The ringing stops at once. Your hand holds the metal still, so the shaking stops. No shaking means no sound.
Questions
What happens to the metal when a bell is hit? in the text
What carries the sound to your ears? in the text
Why can you not see the shaking? in the text
What happens when you touch a ringing bell? in the text
Why does a bell stop ringing when you hold it? think about it
Words to know
shake
to move back and forth very fast
metal
a hard, shiny material like iron or copper
ring
the clear sound a bell makes
air
the invisible gas all around us
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why a Bell Keeps Ringing After a Hit
2nd grade reading passage
Tap a bell, and it rings for a long time. Why does it not stop right away?
When something hits the bell, the metal begins to shake. The shaking is too small and quick for your eyes to see. But the shaking pushes the air around the bell. The air carries the push to your ears, and you hear a ring.
A bell is made of hard metal. Hard metal keeps shaking for a while after it is hit. That is why the sound lasts.
Now touch the bell with your hand. The ringing stops at once. Your hand holds the metal still, so the shaking stops. No shaking means no sound.
Questions
What happens to the metal when a bell is hit?
What carries the sound to your ears?
Why can you not see the shaking?
What happens when you touch a ringing bell?
Why does a bell stop ringing when you hold it?
Words to know
shake: to move back and forth very fast
metal: a hard, shiny material like iron or copper
ring: the clear sound a bell makes
air: the invisible gas all around us
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/why-a-bell-keeps-ringing-after-a-hit
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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 · 91 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1
Tap a bell. It rings for a long time. Why does it not stop?
The bell gets hit. The metal starts to shake. The shaking is small and quick. Your eyes cannot see it. But it pushes the air. The air carries the push to your ears. You hear a ring.
A bell is hard metal. Hard metal keeps on shaking for a while. That is why the sound lasts.
Now touch the bell. The ringing stops. Your hand holds the metal still. The shaking stops. No shaking means no sound.
▲ This passage · 112 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6
Tap a bell, and it rings for a long time. Why does it not stop right away?
When something hits the bell, the metal begins to shake. The shaking is too small and quick for your eyes to see. But the shaking pushes the air around the bell. The air carries the push to your ears, and you hear a ring.
A bell is made of hard metal. Hard metal keeps shaking for a while after it is hit. That is why the sound lasts.
Now touch the bell with your hand. The ringing stops at once. Your hand holds the metal still, so the shaking stops. No shaking means no sound.
■ Harder · 138 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8
If you tap a bell, it keeps ringing for a surprisingly long time. Why does the sound not stop right away?
When something strikes the bell, the metal begins to vibrate. The vibration is far too small and quick for your eyes to notice. Nevertheless, it pushes against the air around the bell. The air carries each push all the way to your ears, and that is how you hear a ring.
A bell is made of hard metal, and hard metal continues to shake for quite a while after it has been struck. That is the reason the sound lasts so long.
Now touch the bell with your hand. The ringing stops at once, because your hand holds the metal still and the shaking comes to an end. When there is no shaking, there is no sound.
Tap a bell. It rings for a long time. Why does it not stop?
The bell gets hit. The metal starts to shake. The shaking is small and quick. Your eyes cannot see it. But it pushes the air. The air carries the push to your ears. You hear a ring.
A bell is hard metal. Hard metal keeps on shaking for a while. That is why the sound lasts.
Now touch the bell. The ringing stops. Your hand holds the metal still. The shaking stops. No shaking means no sound.
Questions
What happens to the metal when the bell is hit?
What carries the sound to your ears?
Why can your eyes not see the shaking?
What happens when you touch a ringing bell?
Why does the ringing stop when you hold the bell?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why a Bell Keeps Ringing After a Hit
Tap a bell, and it rings for a long time. Why does it not stop right away?
When something hits the bell, the metal begins to shake. The shaking is too small and quick for your eyes to see. But the shaking pushes the air around the bell. The air carries the push to your ears, and you hear a ring.
A bell is made of hard metal. Hard metal keeps shaking for a while after it is hit. That is why the sound lasts.
Now touch the bell with your hand. The ringing stops at once. Your hand holds the metal still, so the shaking stops. No shaking means no sound.
Questions
What happens to the metal when a bell is hit?
What carries the sound to your ears?
Why can you not see the shaking?
What happens when you touch a ringing bell?
Why does a bell stop ringing when you hold it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why a Bell Keeps Ringing After a Hit
If you tap a bell, it keeps ringing for a surprisingly long time. Why does the sound not stop right away?
When something strikes the bell, the metal begins to vibrate. The vibration is far too small and quick for your eyes to notice. Nevertheless, it pushes against the air around the bell. The air carries each push all the way to your ears, and that is how you hear a ring.
A bell is made of hard metal, and hard metal continues to shake for quite a while after it has been struck. That is the reason the sound lasts so long.
Now touch the bell with your hand. The ringing stops at once, because your hand holds the metal still and the shaking comes to an end. When there is no shaking, there is no sound.
Questions
What happens to the metal when something strikes a bell?
What carries the sound all the way to your ears?
Why can your eyes not notice the shaking?
What happens when you touch a ringing bell with your hand?
Why does a bell stop ringing when you hold it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why a Bell Keeps Ringing After a Hit
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1)
It starts to shake.
The air.
It is small and quick.
The ringing stops.
Your hand holds the metal still, and no shaking means no sound.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6)
It begins to shake.
The air.
It is too small and quick for your eyes.
The ringing stops at once.
Your hand holds the metal still, and no shaking means no sound.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8)
It begins to vibrate, or shake.
The air.
It is far too small and quick.
The ringing stops at once.
Your hand holds the metal still, and when there is no shaking there is no sound.
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 shake, metal, ring and air on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text 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 write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
What reading level is "Why a Bell Keeps Ringing After a Hit"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 112 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.6. 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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