Answer from the Sources is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on using a given text to answer a question, aligned to Common Core standard W.2.8. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
The Earth's crust is not one piece. It is broken into huge slabs called plates, and the plates are always moving — about as fast as your fingernails grow.
Where two plates meet, they can catch on each other. Pressure builds up for years while they are stuck.
When they finally slip, all that stored energy is released at once. The ground shakes. That shaking is an earthquake.
Most earthquakes are too small to feel. A few are strong enough to bring down buildings, which is why new buildings in some places are made to sway.
1. What makes the ground shake?
2. How would a heading over the last paragraph help a reader?
3. What are the huge slabs of crust called?
4. How fast do the plates move?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
How a Polar Bear Stays Warm
A polar bear lives where the sea freezes. It has three ways of keeping its heat in.
Under its skin is a layer of fat up to eleven centimetres thick. Fat is a poor conductor, so heat does not pass through it easily.
Above that is dense underfur, packed tight so cold water cannot reach the skin.
On top are long guard hairs. Each one is hollow and clear, not white. They look white because they scatter the light, the way snow does.
A polar bear is so well insulated that it can overheat if it runs too far.
1. How would a labelled diagram help with this text?
2. What is under the guard hairs?
3. The author says fat keeps the bear warm. What reason is given?
4. How thick can a polar bear's fat layer be?
LessonPrint · W.2.8 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Answer from the Sources
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Stored energy released when two stuck plates finally slip. 2. It would say that part is about how strong earthquakes are, so a reader could find it. 3. Plates. 4. About as fast as your fingernails grow.
2.1. It could show the three layers in order, which is hard to hold in your head from words alone. 2. Dense underfur, packed tight. 3. Fat is a poor conductor, so heat does not pass through it easily. 4. Up to eleven centimetres.
Questions about Answer from the Sources
What does the Answer from the Sources worksheet cover?
It practises using a given text to answer a question — 2 questions for Grade 2, all on Common Core W.2.8: Answer a question from what you remember or from sources you are given. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Answer from the Sources practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8 — W.2.8, in the Writing domain for Grade 2. The published standard reads: “Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Answer from the Sources is written for Grade 2, typically ages 7-8. It is one of the sheets on W.2.8, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Answer from the Sources come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Answer from the Sources can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Answer from the Sources free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Answer from the Sources, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach W.2.8?
Yes — “Recalling and Gathering to Answer” is a 40-minute Grade 2 plan for W.2.8, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Answer from the Sources is the practice that follows it.
More practice for W.2.8
Answer a question from what you remember or from sources you are given.