A Morning in the School Kitchen
Every day, the school cafeteria serves lunch to hundreds of hungry students. Have you ever wondered what happens behind the kitchen doors before the lunch bell rings? Today, student reporter Sam talks with Mr. Rivera, the head cook at Maple Elementary School.
Sam: Good morning, Mr. Rivera! What time does your workday start?
Mr. Rivera: Good morning, Sam! My team arrives early at seven o'clock in the morning. The school is quiet, but our kitchen gets busy right away. We turn on the ovens, wash our hands, and look at the daily schedule.
Sam: How do you decide what to do first?
Mr. Rivera: We make a plan before we touch any food. Cooking lunch for hundreds of children takes many steps. Some foods take a long time to bake, like warm rolls. Other foods, like fresh fruit, can be sliced closer to lunchtime. We check our list so everything is finished at the same time.
Sam: What kinds of ingredients are you preparing today?
Mr. Rivera: Today is taco day! We are chopping crisp lettuce and bright red tomatoes. We also open large bags of crunchy corn shells and cook lean ground turkey with mild spices. Every tray will also have sweet apple slices.
Sam: That sounds like a lot of work for one person.
- cafeteria:
- A large room in a school where students sit down to eat lunch.
- schedule:
- A plan that shows when things will happen during the day.
- ingredients:
- The different foods used together to make a meal.
- teamwork:
- A group of people working together to finish a task.
- worthwhile:
- Important or good enough to be worth the time and effort.
Educational example text · Interview / Q&A
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts — all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
Practice editing sentences drawn from this passage with a printable worksheet.
Ready to use this passage in class?
Start free with the Mixed worksheet and 3 PDF downloads each week. Focused skill sets depend on plan.
Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Who is Sam interviewing in the passage?
- 2What time does Mr. Rivera's team arrive at the school kitchen?
About this interview / q&a passage for 2nd Grade
“A Morning in the School Kitchen” is a interview / q&a reading passage about School Kitchen Work, written for 2nd Grade. It takes about 2 minutes to read (312 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.