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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 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Answer from the Sources

W.2.8

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Earthquakes

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. 1. What are the huge slabs of crust called?
  2. 2. How fast do the plates move?
  3. 3. The author says new buildings are made to sway. What reason is given?
  4. 4. What makes the ground shake?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Inside a Fire Engine

A fire engine carries everything a crew might need, because there is no time to go back for anything. It holds about eighteen hundred litres of water. That sounds like a lot, but a hose can empty it in under three minutes, so the crew connect to a hydrant as soon as they can. Ladders are carried on the roof. The longest can reach a third-floor window. Inside are cutting tools for road accidents, breathing sets for smoke, and a thermal camera that finds a hot spot through a wall. The engine is red so that it is seen. The siren is for when being seen is not enough.

  1. 1. What finds a hot spot through a wall?
  2. 2. How high can the longest ladder reach?
  3. 3. How would a labelled photograph help this text?
  4. 4. The author says the engine is red. What reason is given?

LessonPrint · W.2.8 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Answer from the Sources

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Plates. 2. About as fast as your fingernails grow. 3. Because a few earthquakes are strong enough to bring buildings down. 4. Stored energy released when two stuck plates finally slip.
  2. 2.1. A thermal camera. 2. A third-floor window. 3. It could point at the ladders, the hose and the tools where they actually are on the engine. 4. So that it is seen.

More practice for W.2.8

Answer a question from what you remember or from sources you are given.

Teaching this next? Recalling and Gathering to Answer is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to W.2.8 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.