From tadpole to frog: reading passage for Grade 2, page 1 preview

Reading passage · Science

From tadpole to frog · Grade 2

An original passage about life cycles with 6 questions that check details, inference and vocabulary.

Grade 2 · ages 7 to 8
Medium
25 to 35 minutes
2 pages
Free

The answer key is a separate page for grown-ups. Sign in to download it.

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The passage and its 6 questions

Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions in full sentences.

Every spring, Kofi and his grandma visit the pond near their home. One morning, Kofi spotted a clump of clear jelly near the edge. Inside were hundreds of tiny black dots.
"Frog eggs!" said Grandma.
A couple of weeks later, the dots had become tadpoles. They wiggled their tails and nibbled on green slime called algae. Like fish, they breathed with gills.
Kofi came back every week. First, two back legs popped out. Then two front legs appeared. Bit by bit, the tadpoles' tails got shorter, and they grew lungs for breathing air.
By summer, tiny froglets were climbing onto the lily pads. "They look so different now!"
said Kofi. Grandma smiled. "That big change has a big name: metamorphosis."
1. What did the frog eggs look like?
2. Which legs grew first?
3. What does the word 'algae' mean in paragraph 2?
4. Why do you think the young frogs needed lungs?
5. Copy the sentence that tells what happened to the tadpoles' tails.
6. Write one question you still have after reading.

What your child practices

Your child practices the science skill “Living and non-living things”: tell living things from non-living things by what they need and do, even when a non-living thing moves.

Grades and ages: Grade 2, ages 7 to 8
Time: About 25 to 35 minutes
Subject: Science
Level: Medium for Grade 2
Answer key: Yes, for grown-ups who sign in
Printing: 2 pages, US Letter or A4, low-ink option
Updated: October 15, 2026

How to use it

Read the passage once just for the story or the facts, then again with the questions in mind. Encourage underlining the words in the text that back up each answer. It is pitched at the expected level for Grade 2, for practice after the skill has been taught. Its 2 pages split well across two sittings.

An answer key comes with it as a separate page that grown-ups download after signing in.

Tip for grown-ups: Ask your child to point to the sentence that answers each question before writing it.

Done on paper? A grown-up can record it on the child's page in PlayOwl; downloading alone doesn't count as finished.