Skip to content
LessonPrint

Why Does the Author Say That? is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on explaining how a reason supports a claim, aligned to Common Core standard RI.2.8. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with 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 10 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next set

One paper per pupil

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. 24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

Why Does the Author Say That?

RI.2.8

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. What does the author want to explain?
  2. 2. How is the tank of water connected to the hydrant?
  3. 3. The author says the engine is red. What reason is given?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Launching a Lifeboat

When a boat is in trouble, a call goes out to the lifeboat station. Pagers sound. The crew are volunteers, so they stop whatever they are doing and drive to the station. Most arrive within six minutes. They pull on drysuits and lifejackets and climb aboard. The boat slides down a ramp into the sea and the engines start. At sea, the crew look for a flare, a light, or a shape in the water. Once they find the boat, they take the people off first and the boat second. A lifeboat can right itself if a wave rolls it over.

  1. 1. What does the author want to explain?
  2. 2. How are the pagers connected to the launch?
  3. 3. Why do the crew take the people off first?

LessonPrint · RI.2.8 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Why Does the Author Say That?

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Why a fire engine carries what it does. 2. The tank runs out in under three minutes, so the crew connect to a hydrant for more. 3. So that it is seen.
  2. 2.1. What happens, step by step, when a lifeboat is called out. 2. The pagers tell the volunteer crew to come, so the boat can be launched. 3. Because saving people matters more than saving the boat.

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