2nd grade nonfiction passage about smooth beach stones: 131 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictionsmooth beach stones131 words
Why Beach Pebbles Feel So Smooth
Walk along a rocky beach and pick up a pebble. It feels smooth in your hand, with no sharp corners. A stone from a mountain top is rougher. Why are beach pebbles so different?
The answer is waves. A wave rolls up the beach and pulls back again. It lifts the pebbles and tumbles them around. The pebbles bump into each other. They also rub against bits of sand.
Each bump wears away a tiny piece of the stone. One bump does almost nothing. But the waves come all day and all night, for years and years. Sharp corners wear down first. Slowly, the stone turns round and smooth.
So a smooth pebble has a long story. It has been rolled and rubbed by the sea for a very long time.
Questions
How does a beach pebble feel in your hand? in the text
What does a wave do to the pebbles? in the text
What part of a stone wears down first? in the text
Does a pebble turn smooth in one day? in the text
A pebble is very smooth and round. What does that tell you about it? think about it
Words to know
pebble
a small, smooth stone
tumbles
rolls and falls over and over
rub
to press and slide against something
corners
the sharp points where edges meet
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why Beach Pebbles Feel So Smooth
2nd grade reading passage
Walk along a rocky beach and pick up a pebble. It feels smooth in your hand, with no sharp corners. A stone from a mountain top is rougher. Why are beach pebbles so different?
The answer is waves. A wave rolls up the beach and pulls back again. It lifts the pebbles and tumbles them around. The pebbles bump into each other. They also rub against bits of sand.
Each bump wears away a tiny piece of the stone. One bump does almost nothing. But the waves come all day and all night, for years and years. Sharp corners wear down first. Slowly, the stone turns round and smooth.
So a smooth pebble has a long story. It has been rolled and rubbed by the sea for a very long time.
Questions
How does a beach pebble feel in your hand?
What does a wave do to the pebbles?
What part of a stone wears down first?
Does a pebble turn smooth in one day?
A pebble is very smooth and round. What does that tell you about it?
Words to know
pebble: a small, smooth stone
tumbles: rolls and falls over and over
rub: to press and slide against something
corners: the sharp points where edges meet
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/why-beach-pebbles-feel-so-smooth
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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 · 95 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1
Pick up a pebble on a beach. It is smooth. It has no sharp corners. A stone from a mountain is rough. Why are beach pebbles smooth?
It is the waves. A wave rolls up the beach. Then it pulls back. It lifts the pebbles. It tumbles them. The pebbles bump each other. They rub on sand.
Each bump wears off a tiny bit. One bump does little. But waves come all day and night for years. The sharp corners go first. The stone gets round and smooth.
A smooth pebble has a long story.
▲ This passage · 131 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
Walk along a rocky beach and pick up a pebble. It feels smooth in your hand, with no sharp corners. A stone from a mountain top is rougher. Why are beach pebbles so different?
The answer is waves. A wave rolls up the beach and pulls back again. It lifts the pebbles and tumbles them around. The pebbles bump into each other. They also rub against bits of sand.
Each bump wears away a tiny piece of the stone. One bump does almost nothing. But the waves come all day and all night, for years and years. Sharp corners wear down first. Slowly, the stone turns round and smooth.
So a smooth pebble has a long story. It has been rolled and rubbed by the sea for a very long time.
■ Harder · 155 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3
If you stroll along a rocky beach and pick up a pebble, you will notice that it feels smooth in your hand and has no sharp corners at all. A stone found at the top of a mountain is usually much rougher. What makes beach pebbles so different from other stones?
The answer is the waves. Each wave rolls up the beach and then drags back out again, lifting the pebbles and tumbling them around. The pebbles bump into one another, and they also rub against bits of sand.
Every bump wears away a tiny piece of the stone. A single bump accomplishes almost nothing, but the waves keep coming all day and all night, year after year. The sharp corners wear down first, and slowly the stone becomes round and smooth.
That is why a smooth pebble carries a long story. The sea has been rolling and rubbing it for a very long time.
Pick up a pebble on a beach. It is smooth. It has no sharp corners. A stone from a mountain is rough. Why are beach pebbles smooth?
It is the waves. A wave rolls up the beach. Then it pulls back. It lifts the pebbles. It tumbles them. The pebbles bump each other. They rub on sand.
Each bump wears off a tiny bit. One bump does little. But waves come all day and night for years. The sharp corners go first. The stone gets round and smooth.
A smooth pebble has a long story.
Questions
How does a beach pebble feel?
What do waves do to the pebbles?
What wears down first on a stone?
Does a pebble get smooth in one day?
A pebble is very round. What does that tell you?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why Beach Pebbles Feel So Smooth
Walk along a rocky beach and pick up a pebble. It feels smooth in your hand, with no sharp corners. A stone from a mountain top is rougher. Why are beach pebbles so different?
The answer is waves. A wave rolls up the beach and pulls back again. It lifts the pebbles and tumbles them around. The pebbles bump into each other. They also rub against bits of sand.
Each bump wears away a tiny piece of the stone. One bump does almost nothing. But the waves come all day and all night, for years and years. Sharp corners wear down first. Slowly, the stone turns round and smooth.
So a smooth pebble has a long story. It has been rolled and rubbed by the sea for a very long time.
Questions
How does a beach pebble feel in your hand?
What does a wave do to the pebbles?
What part of a stone wears down first?
Does a pebble turn smooth in one day?
A pebble is very smooth and round. What does that tell you about it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why Beach Pebbles Feel So Smooth
If you stroll along a rocky beach and pick up a pebble, you will notice that it feels smooth in your hand and has no sharp corners at all. A stone found at the top of a mountain is usually much rougher. What makes beach pebbles so different from other stones?
The answer is the waves. Each wave rolls up the beach and then drags back out again, lifting the pebbles and tumbling them around. The pebbles bump into one another, and they also rub against bits of sand.
Every bump wears away a tiny piece of the stone. A single bump accomplishes almost nothing, but the waves keep coming all day and all night, year after year. The sharp corners wear down first, and slowly the stone becomes round and smooth.
That is why a smooth pebble carries a long story. The sea has been rolling and rubbing it for a very long time.
Questions
How does a pebble from a rocky beach feel in your hand?
What do the waves do to the pebbles?
Which part of a stone wears down first?
Can a pebble turn smooth in a single day?
What does a very smooth, round pebble tell you about its past?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why Beach Pebbles Feel So Smooth
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1)
Smooth, with no sharp corners.
They lift and tumble them.
The sharp corners.
No. It takes years.
Waves have rubbed it for a long time.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
Smooth, with no sharp corners.
It lifts them and tumbles them around.
The sharp corners.
No. It takes years and years.
The waves have rolled and rubbed it for a long time.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3)
Smooth, with no sharp corners.
They lift the pebbles and tumble them around.
The sharp corners.
No, it takes years and years of waves.
The sea has rolled and rubbed it for a long time.
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 pebble, tumbles, rub and corners 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 Beach Pebbles Feel So Smooth"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 131 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.9. 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?
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