Story Spinners Worksheet Grade 2 • 12-Min Read & Review Text: Grandma's Yo-yo
Name:
Date:
Grandma’s Yo-yo Story Challenge
Answer the questions below using clues from the story. Work carefully and finish in 12 minutes!
12 Minutes
Part 1: Story Clues Write your answer on the lines using details from the story.
1. Why was Grandma at the house instead of Hong’s mom?
2. What toy did Hong notice in Grandma’s old photograph?
3. How long did Hong and Grandma practice playing with the yo-yo?
Part 2: Feelings Tracker Choose the word from the Word Box that matches how Hong felt.
Word Box: happy grumpy excited sad
At the Start of the Story
Hong felt because he missed his mom.
Clue: He muttered in a grumpy voice and wanted to watch TV.
At the End of the Story
Hong felt to stay with Grandma every day!
Clue: He smiled and asked Grandma to take care of him after school.
Part 3: Think & Write Write a complete sentence to explain your answer.
Why did Hong change his mind about spending time with Grandma?
Hong changed his mind because
Fast Finisher Extra
Draw Hong's Chinese Yo-yo!
Remember: It has two round wheels connected by a thin axle, balanced on a string held by two sticks!
Story Spinners Answer Key Teacher Resource • Grade 2 Text: Grandma's Yo-yo by Ashley Kim
Answer Key & Guide
Story Spinners Answer Key
Quick reference guide, exemplar student responses, and 12-minute lesson pacing.
12-Min Protocol
Suggested 12-Minute Lesson Breakdown
Minutes 0 – 2 Set the purpose: Review the story title and clarify instructions for each section.
Minutes 2 – 10 Independent work time: Circulate to prompt struggling readers with page clues.
Minutes 10 – 12 Wrap-up: Rapid pair-share on character change or quick thumbs-up review.
Part 1: Story Clues (Open-Ended Key) 1 pt each • 3 pts total
1. Why was Grandma at the house instead of Hong’s mom?
Accept: Mom was at her new job / She had to work.
Story Evidence: Page 1 — "Your mother is at her new job."
2. What toy did Hong notice in Grandma’s old photograph?
Accept: A Chinese yo-yo / A yo-yo.
Story Evidence: Page 4 & 5 — "It’s a Chinese yo-yo, Grandma explained."
3. How long did Hong and Grandma practice playing with the yo-yo?
Accept: A whole hour / For one hour / An hour.
Story Evidence: Page 5 — "He and Grandma played with the yo-yo for a whole hour."
Part 2: Feelings Tracker (Key) 1 pt each • 2 pts total
Start of Story:
Accept: grumpy or sad
Hong felt grumpy/sad because he missed his mom after moving to a new town.
End of Story:
Accept: happy or excited
Hong felt happy/excited because playing the yo-yo was fun and Grandma knew many games.
Part 3: Think & Write Rubric 2 pts possible
Exemplar Response:
"Hong changed his mind because he had so much fun learning how to play with the Chinese yo-yo with Grandma."
2 Points: Mentions that playing the yo-yo / learning games with Grandma was fun, using a complete sentence.
1 Point: Identifies that he liked the yo-yo or had fun, but uses an incomplete phrase.
Differentiation & Rapid Support (During the 12 Minutes)
Struggling Readers / ELL: Point directly to the illustrations on pages 3 and 5. Have the student orally state how Hong’s face changed before writing the feeling words.
Early Finishers: In addition to the yo-yo sketch, encourage students to write one sentence predicting what other Chinese toy Grandma might bring tomorrow.
Yo-yo Words Crossword Grade 2 Vocabulary Story: Grandma's Yo-yo
Name:
Date:
Yo-yo Words Crossword
Read the clues from the story. Fill in the puzzle boxes using words from the Word Bank!
Word Detective
Word Bank Use each word once:
CHINA GRUMPY HOUR TOY TOWN YOYO
Puzzle Grid
1
2
3
4
5
Across (→)
The country where Grandma was born and grew up.
How Hong felt and talked when he missed his mom.
Grandma shared a fun spinning ______ from China.
Down (↓)
Hong and Grandma practiced playing for a whole ______.
A spinning toy with two wheels and sticks.
Hong and his mother moved to a brand new ______.
Tip: Count the squares to match the number of letters in each word!
Sentence Builder Challenge Pick 1 word from the puzzle to use below:
Write your own 2nd-grade sentence about the story using one of the puzzle words:
Yo-yo Words Answer Key Teacher Key & Guide Vocabulary: Grandma's Yo-yo
Solved Key
Yo-yo Words Answer Key
Complete crossword solution grid, answer list, and teacher vocabulary teaching notes.
6 Key Terms
Completed Solution Grid
1 C
2 H
I
N
A
O
U
3 G
R
U
M
P
4 Y
O
Y
5 T
O
Y
O
W
N
Across Solutions
1. CHINA: Country where Grandma was born (Page 3).
3. GRUMPY: Hong's voice when he missed his mother (Page 2).
5. TOY: The Chinese yo-yo Grandma played with as a child (Page 4).
Down Solutions
2. HOUR: How long they practiced together happily (Page 5).
4. YOYO: The title item and traditional spinning spool (Page 5).
5. TOWN: Where Hong and his mother moved at the start (Page 1).
Sentence Challenge Exemplars:
"Hong learned to spin the Chinese yoyo with his grandmother."
"Hong was grumpy because he missed his mother."
"Grandma showed Hong pictures of China ."
Instructional & Phonics Notes for 2nd Grade
Vowel Team 'ou': Focus on the word HOUR . Remind students of the silent h and the vowel sound matching sour / our .
Suffix /y/: Highlight GRUMPY . Discuss how adding -y turns the noun/verb grump into a descriptive feeling word.
Proper Nouns: Remind students that CHINA is a country name and always starts with an uppercase capital letter.
