Skip to the main content
PeabodyMake a free story

My Teeth: reading passage and questions

A free printable nonfiction reading passage, written at a grade 1 reading level (Peabody level 5, where 2nd grade readers start; 78 words) with 6 comprehension questions and an answer key. No sign-up.

⬇ PDF with answer key📖 Read it on screen
Name: ____________________Date: ____________

My Teeth

Smile big. Do you see your teeth?

Baby teeth hide in your jaw.

You were born with 20 of them.

The first one shows at about six months.

By age three, most have come in.

At about age six, a tooth gets loose.

You can wiggle it with your tongue.

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!

Out it comes!

A new tooth was waiting under it.

The new tooth grows in.

Run your tongue over your teeth. Find a wiggly one?

Questions

1. How many baby teeth were hiding in your jaw?
  1. Ten
  2. Twenty
  3. Thirty
2. What can you wiggle a loose tooth with?
  1. Your tongue
  2. Your toes
  3. Your ear
3. What is waiting under a baby tooth?
  1. A pebble
  2. Nothing
  3. A new tooth
4. At about what age does a tooth get loose?
  1. Two
  2. Six
  3. Ten
5. What does the book say wiggle means?
  1. Sit very still
  2. Move side to side
  3. Jump high
6. Why does a baby tooth fall out?
  1. A new tooth is coming
  2. It is too small to see
  3. It was broken

Words to know

  • tooth: chewing part
  • teeth: chewing parts
  • jaw: mouth bone
  • wiggle: move side-to-side
  • loose: not stuck tight

Answer key: My Teeth

  1. B. Twenty
  2. A. Your tongue
  3. C. A new tooth
  4. B. Six
  5. B. Move side to side
  6. A. A new tooth is coming
For teachers: standards and questions with an answer key

Common Core standards

  • RI.1.1 · Grade 1 · Key details and evidence in an information text. Asks and answers questions about key details in an information book: how many baby teeth, and when they come and go.
  • RI.1.2 · Grade 1 · Main idea, retelling and summary. Asks the child to name the main topic, baby teeth, and retell the key details in order.

All the Common Core reading standards, and the pages that work toward each

Right there (The answer is stated in the book.)

  1. How many baby teeth does the book say you were born with?
    Show answer20 baby teeth. The book says: “You were born with 20 of them.”
  2. When does the first baby tooth show?
    Show answerAt about six months. The book says: “The first one shows at about six months.”

Think and search (Put clues from the book together.)

  1. What happens to a baby tooth at about age six?
    Show answerIt gets loose and comes out, and a new tooth grows in. The book says: “Out it comes! A new tooth was waiting under it.”
  2. Why is a new tooth ready when the baby tooth comes out?
    Show answerThe new tooth was already waiting under the baby tooth. The book says: “A new tooth was waiting under it.”

On my own (Use the book to think further.)

  1. Why is it okay when a tooth gets wiggly?
    Show answerAnswers will vary. A good answer: it is a normal part of growing up, because a new tooth is waiting. The book says: “The new tooth grows in.”

Written and checked by hand against the book. Standards codes are the Common Core’s own; the lines are ours.

For the teacher: how this passage is levelled

“My Teeth” is a reading level 5 story. Every Peabody story at this level is written and checked to keep sentences to 10 words or fewer, to aim at an average of 5 words a sentence, and to show 1 to 12 words on a screen. At most 6% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Children in 2nd grade start at this level.

This passage78 words, 12 screens, 6 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 5 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings
Longest sentence at this level10 words
Words on a screen1 to 12
Skills practised at this levelphonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words

Reading level 5: the limits, a real sample and the free games. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: use the questions to talk about the story, not to grade a child.

Play a word game from this story

More nonfiction reading passages

More 2nd grade passages