2nd grade nonfiction passage about theater stagehands: 111 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
2nd gradenonfictiontheater stagehands111 words
Why Stagehands Wear Black
In a play, the actors do the talking. But a team of helpers works behind the scenes. They are called stagehands.
Stagehands move the chairs and tables. They pull the curtains. They change the big painted pictures that show where the story takes place. Sometimes they must do this while the play is going on.
So that nobody sees them, stagehands wear all black. The stage lights are bright, but the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothes blend in with the dark, so the people in the seats do not notice.
The stagehands work quietly and quickly. When they do a good job, the audience only sees the story.
Questions
What are the helpers behind the scenes called? in the text
What is one thing stagehands move? in the text
What color do stagehands wear? in the text
Why do black clothes help stagehands? think about it
When do stagehands do a good job? think about it
Words to know
stagehands
workers who help a play run smoothly
actors
people who play parts in a story
audience
the people who watch a show
curtains
large pieces of cloth that hang across a stage
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Why Stagehands Wear Black
2nd grade reading passage
In a play, the actors do the talking. But a team of helpers works behind the scenes. They are called stagehands.
Stagehands move the chairs and tables. They pull the curtains. They change the big painted pictures that show where the story takes place. Sometimes they must do this while the play is going on.
So that nobody sees them, stagehands wear all black. The stage lights are bright, but the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothes blend in with the dark, so the people in the seats do not notice.
The stagehands work quietly and quickly. When they do a good job, the audience only sees the story.
Questions
What are the helpers behind the scenes called?
What is one thing stagehands move?
What color do stagehands wear?
Why do black clothes help stagehands?
When do stagehands do a good job?
Words to know
stagehands: workers who help a play run smoothly
actors: people who play parts in a story
audience: the people who watch a show
curtains: large pieces of cloth that hang across a stage
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/2/why-stagehands-wear-black
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 · 91 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7
In a play, actors do the talking. But some helpers work behind the scenes. They are called stagehands.
Stagehands move chairs and tables. They pull the curtains. They change the big painted pictures that show where the story is. They do this while the play goes on.
Nobody should see them. So they wear all black. The stage lights are bright. But the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothes blend in with the dark. The audience does not notice.
When stagehands do well, the audience sees only the story.
▲ This passage · 111 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
In a play, the actors do the talking. But a team of helpers works behind the scenes. They are called stagehands.
Stagehands move the chairs and tables. They pull the curtains. They change the big painted pictures that show where the story takes place. Sometimes they must do this while the play is going on.
So that nobody sees them, stagehands wear all black. The stage lights are bright, but the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothes blend in with the dark, so the people in the seats do not notice.
The stagehands work quietly and quickly. When they do a good job, the audience only sees the story.
■ Harder · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2
In a play, the actors do all of the talking, but a whole team of helpers works behind the scenes. These workers are called stagehands.
Stagehands carry the chairs and tables from place to place. They open and close the curtains. They also change the large painted pictures that show where the story takes place. Sometimes they have to do all of this while the play is still going on.
To keep from being noticed, stagehands dress in all black. The lights on the stage are bright, but the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothing blends in with the darkness, so the people sitting in the seats do not see them.
Stagehands work quietly and quickly. When they do their jobs well, the audience sees only the story.
In a play, actors do the talking. But some helpers work behind the scenes. They are called stagehands.
Stagehands move chairs and tables. They pull the curtains. They change the big painted pictures that show where the story is. They do this while the play goes on.
Nobody should see them. So they wear all black. The stage lights are bright. But the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothes blend in with the dark. The audience does not notice.
When stagehands do well, the audience sees only the story.
Questions
What are the helpers behind the scenes called?
What is one thing stagehands move?
What color do stagehands wear?
Why do black clothes help stagehands?
When do stagehands do well?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Why Stagehands Wear Black
In a play, the actors do the talking. But a team of helpers works behind the scenes. They are called stagehands.
Stagehands move the chairs and tables. They pull the curtains. They change the big painted pictures that show where the story takes place. Sometimes they must do this while the play is going on.
So that nobody sees them, stagehands wear all black. The stage lights are bright, but the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothes blend in with the dark, so the people in the seats do not notice.
The stagehands work quietly and quickly. When they do a good job, the audience only sees the story.
Questions
What are the helpers behind the scenes called?
What is one thing stagehands move?
What color do stagehands wear?
Why do black clothes help stagehands?
When do stagehands do a good job?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Why Stagehands Wear Black
In a play, the actors do all of the talking, but a whole team of helpers works behind the scenes. These workers are called stagehands.
Stagehands carry the chairs and tables from place to place. They open and close the curtains. They also change the large painted pictures that show where the story takes place. Sometimes they have to do all of this while the play is still going on.
To keep from being noticed, stagehands dress in all black. The lights on the stage are bright, but the sides of the stage are dark. Black clothing blends in with the darkness, so the people sitting in the seats do not see them.
Stagehands work quietly and quickly. When they do their jobs well, the audience sees only the story.
Questions
What are the helpers who work behind the scenes called?
What is one thing that stagehands carry from place to place?
What color do stagehands dress in?
Why does black clothing help stagehands go unseen?
When have stagehands done their jobs well?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Why Stagehands Wear Black
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7)
Stagehands.
Chairs or tables.
Black.
They blend in with the dark, so the audience does not see them.
When the audience sees only the story and does not notice them.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1)
Stagehands.
Chairs or tables.
Black.
They blend in with the dark, so the audience does not see them.
When the audience only sees the story and does not notice them.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2)
Stagehands.
Chairs or tables.
Black.
It blends in with the darkness, so the audience does not see them.
When the audience sees only the story and does not notice them.
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 stagehands, actors, audience and curtains 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 4 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 Stagehands Wear Black"?
It was written for 2nd grade. It has 111 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.1. 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. 3 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.