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Following a Long Explanation is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on holding a multi-stage explanation together, aligned to Common Core standard RI.2.10. 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 11 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.

Following a Long Explanation

RI.2.10

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. How is pressure connected to the shaking?
  2. 2. Summarise this text in one sentence.
  3. 3. Put these in order: the ground shakes, the plates catch, pressure builds.
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. 1. How are the guard hairs connected to the bear looking white?
  2. 2. Summarise this text in one sentence.
  3. 3. Name the three layers from the skin outwards.

LessonPrint · RI.2.10 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Following a Long Explanation

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Pressure builds while the plates are stuck, and it is released all at once when they slip. 2. Moving plates of the Earth's crust catch on each other, build pressure, and shake the ground when they slip. 3. The plates catch, pressure builds, the ground shakes.
  2. 2.1. The hairs are clear but scatter light, which makes the bear look white. 2. A polar bear keeps warm with thick fat, dense underfur and hollow guard hairs, and is so well insulated it can overheat. 3. Fat, then dense underfur, then long guard hairs.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.2.10 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.