Do these worksheets teach science or reading?

Reading first. The questions practice finding facts and learning words from the sentences around them. The topics come from second and third grade science, though, so a passage on solids, liquids and gases also previews the science unit.

What if my child doesn't know the topic yet?

That is fine. Every answer is in the passage, and every science word is explained there. A child who knows nothing about fossils can still answer every question by reading carefully.

2nd grade science reading comprehension

2nd grade science reading comprehension worksheets

Second grade science reading comprehension worksheets pair a one-page science passage with five multiple-choice questions. Topics come from second grade science: solids and liquids, magnets, fossils, weather and how land changes. Each science word is explained in the passage. Answer key included.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RI.2.1, RI.2.10.

Each click picks one of the 14 passages written for this grade. Every sheet comes with its answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of passages you'll get

Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

Footprints in Stone

Long ago, a dinosaur walked across soft mud. Today you can still see its footprints, pressed into solid rock. Those footprints are fossils. A fossil is the remains or traces of a living thing from long ago, most often kept in rock. Remains are parts…

What is a fossil? old remains or traces, often in rock · any rock that has mud on it · a plant that is still living · a fresh bone from an animal living today
Answer: old remains or traces, often in rock
Which of these is a trace? a footprint · a leg bone · a tooth · a seashell

Each print picks one of the 14 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 14 to pick from, a second print can land on one you've used, so check the title before you hand it out.

What's on a 2nd grade sheet

2nd grade sheets draw from 14 passages, 114 to 147 words long. 2nd and 3rd grade print from the same 14 passages. What changes is the standard (RI.2.1, RI.2.10 here) and the teaching notes below. None of these passages are on 1st grade sheets. On 1st grade sheets they run 92 to 109 words.

Some of the titles: Can It Go Back?, A Ride for a Seed, A Balloon Trick, Counting to the Thunder, A Month of Moons, Sunlight on the Menu.

Reading passage. Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question. One passage per sheet, with its own question set.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Before reading, ask one question the title raises, such as how a steel ship can float. Read to find out. Each passage defines its science words in the sentence where they appear, so when your child stops at one, reread the sentence and the next one before you explain anything. For the answers, insist on the proving sentence; guessing from what they already know is the habit to break.

Watch for: Choosing the answer you already believed instead of the one the passage states. Science passages often correct an everyday idea, so check the line before you circle. Skipping a science word as too hard. The passage explains it nearby, and at least one question depends on it.

Common questions about 2nd grade science reading comprehension

Do these worksheets teach science or reading?: Reading first. The questions practice finding facts and learning words from the sentences around them. The topics come from second and third grade science, though, so a passage on solids, liquids and gases also previews the science unit.
What if my child doesn't know the topic yet?: That is fine. Every answer is in the passage, and every science word is explained there. A child who knows nothing about fossils can still answer every question by reading carefully.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Want a different passage? Print again. Each print picks one of the 14.

Aligned to Common Core RI.2.1, RI.2.10. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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