What Makes Thunder?: Grade 2 Reading Passage

About this worksheet

A second grade weather passage about lightning and thunder: why we see the flash before the boom, and how to stay safe. A free printable 2nd grade nonfiction passage (99 words) with multiple-choice what/why questions, fill-in-the-blanks with a word bank and a short written answer. Answer key on page 2. It fits second grade readers, around ages 7 to 8.

On this sheet

Flash! Boom! A thunderstorm is a storm with lightning and thunder. Lightning is a giant spark of electricity. It forms inside tall, dark storm clouds. A bolt of lightning is very hot, even hotter than the surface of the sun. It heats the air around it so fast that the air bursts outward. That sudden push of air makes the loud sound we call thunder. Light travels much faster than sound, so you see the flash before you hear the boom.

Tips for using it

• Before reading, look at the picture and the title together and guess what the passage will be about.
• Ask your child to underline the sentence in the passage that proves each answer.
• Talk about the story afterwards: what was the problem, how was it solved, and what would your child have done?

Printing tips

Download the PDF and print at 100% (or “fit to page” on A4). Page 1 is the worksheet and page 2 is the answer key with the answers in red; print just page 1 if you want to keep the answers for checking. Free for personal, family and classroom use.