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Describe the Key Details is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on describing details from something presented orally, aligned to Common Core standard SL.2.2. 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 23 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.

Describe the Key Details

SL.2.2

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.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. How much water does a fire engine hold?
  2. 2. What finds a hot spot through a wall?
  3. 3. Summarise this text in one sentence.
2.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. How fast do the plates move?
  2. 2. What makes the ground shake?
  3. 3. Summarise this text in one sentence.

LessonPrint · SL.2.2 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Describe the Key Details

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. About eighteen hundred litres. 2. A thermal camera. 3. A fire engine carries water, ladders, cutting tools, breathing sets and a thermal camera, because there is no time to fetch anything.
  2. 2.1. About as fast as your fingernails grow. 2. Stored energy released when two stuck plates finally slip. 3. Moving plates of the Earth's crust catch on each other, build pressure, and shake the ground when they slip.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.2.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.