Where Does Rain Come From?: Grade 2 Reading Passage

About this worksheet

A second grade weather passage that walks through the water cycle: evaporation, clouds, rain and snow. A free printable 2nd grade nonfiction passage (115 words) with multiple-choice what questions, true-or-false sentences, events to number in order and a short written answer. Answer key on page 2. Second graders usually finish it in 10 to 15 minutes, reading the text twice before the questions.

On this sheet

The water on Earth is always moving in a big loop called the water cycle. It starts when the sun warms the water in oceans, lakes and puddles. Some of the water turns into an invisible gas called water vapor. This is called evaporation. The vapor rises into the sky. High in the sky, the air is cold. The vapor cools and turns back into tiny drops of water. Millions of these drops gather together and make clouds.

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. The PNG shows page 1 only. Free for personal, family and classroom use.