1st grade fiction passage about a squeaky stair: 102 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradefictiona squeaky stair102 words
The Fourth Stair Says Squeak
Mia heard a squeak in the night. Squeak! Squeak! It came from the stairs.
In the morning, Mia went up and down. She stepped on the first stair. No sound. She stepped on the second stair. No sound. The third stair was quiet too.
Then she stepped on the fourth stair. Squeak!
Mia got down low. She looked into a gap under the stair. Something was stuck there. It was a toy mouse! Her baby brother had lost it. Each time she stepped, the stair pressed the mouse, and it squeaked.
Mia gave the mouse back. The baby gave a big grin.
Questions
Where did the squeak come from? in the text
Which stair made the squeak? in the text
What did Mia find in the gap? in the text
Whose toy was it? in the text
Why did the stair squeak when Mia stepped on it? think about it
Words to know
squeak
a short, high sound
stair
one step in a set of steps
gap
a small space between two things
grin
a big smile
toy
a thing that a child plays with
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Fourth Stair Says Squeak
1st grade reading passage
Mia heard a squeak in the night. Squeak! Squeak! It came from the stairs.
In the morning, Mia went up and down. She stepped on the first stair. No sound. She stepped on the second stair. No sound. The third stair was quiet too.
Then she stepped on the fourth stair. Squeak!
Mia got down low. She looked into a gap under the stair. Something was stuck there. It was a toy mouse! Her baby brother had lost it. Each time she stepped, the stair pressed the mouse, and it squeaked.
Mia gave the mouse back. The baby gave a big grin.
Questions
Where did the squeak come from?
Which stair made the squeak?
What did Mia find in the gap?
Whose toy was it?
Why did the stair squeak when Mia stepped on it?
Words to know
squeak: a short, high sound
stair: one step in a set of steps
gap: a small space between two things
grin: a big smile
toy: a thing that a child plays with
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/fourth-stair-says-squeak
Share
One passage, three levels
The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.
● Easier · 76 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.8
Mia heard a squeak in the night. Squeak! It came from the stairs.
In the morning, Mia stepped on the first stair. No sound. She stepped on the second. No sound. The third was quiet.
She stepped on the fourth stair. Squeak!
Mia looked in a gap under the stair. A toy mouse was stuck there! It was her baby brother's. The stair pressed it, and it squeaked.
Mia gave the mouse back. The baby grinned.
▲ This passage · 102 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.6
Mia heard a squeak in the night. Squeak! Squeak! It came from the stairs.
In the morning, Mia went up and down. She stepped on the first stair. No sound. She stepped on the second stair. No sound. The third stair was quiet too.
Then she stepped on the fourth stair. Squeak!
Mia got down low. She looked into a gap under the stair. Something was stuck there. It was a toy mouse! Her baby brother had lost it. Each time she stepped, the stair pressed the mouse, and it squeaked.
Mia gave the mouse back. The baby gave a big grin.
■ Harder · 115 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7
In the middle of the night, Mia heard a strange squeak coming from the stairs. Squeak! Squeak!
The next morning, she decided to investigate. She stepped on the first stair, and it made no noise. She stepped on the second stair, and the third one, and both stayed completely silent.
But when she stepped on the fourth stair, it squeaked loudly.
Mia crouched down and peered into a narrow gap beneath the stair. Something was wedged inside. It was a toy mouse that her baby brother had lost! Every time she stepped down, the stair squashed the mouse, and out came the squeak.
Mia handed the toy back, and the baby gave a huge grin.
Mia heard a squeak in the night. Squeak! It came from the stairs.
In the morning, Mia stepped on the first stair. No sound. She stepped on the second. No sound. The third was quiet.
She stepped on the fourth stair. Squeak!
Mia looked in a gap under the stair. A toy mouse was stuck there! It was her baby brother's. The stair pressed it, and it squeaked.
Mia gave the mouse back. The baby grinned.
Questions
Where did the squeak come from?
Which stair made the squeak?
What did Mia find in the gap?
Whose toy was it?
Why did the stair squeak?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Fourth Stair Says Squeak
Mia heard a squeak in the night. Squeak! Squeak! It came from the stairs.
In the morning, Mia went up and down. She stepped on the first stair. No sound. She stepped on the second stair. No sound. The third stair was quiet too.
Then she stepped on the fourth stair. Squeak!
Mia got down low. She looked into a gap under the stair. Something was stuck there. It was a toy mouse! Her baby brother had lost it. Each time she stepped, the stair pressed the mouse, and it squeaked.
Mia gave the mouse back. The baby gave a big grin.
Questions
Where did the squeak come from?
Which stair made the squeak?
What did Mia find in the gap?
Whose toy was it?
Why did the stair squeak when Mia stepped on it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Fourth Stair Says Squeak
In the middle of the night, Mia heard a strange squeak coming from the stairs. Squeak! Squeak!
The next morning, she decided to investigate. She stepped on the first stair, and it made no noise. She stepped on the second stair, and the third one, and both stayed completely silent.
But when she stepped on the fourth stair, it squeaked loudly.
Mia crouched down and peered into a narrow gap beneath the stair. Something was wedged inside. It was a toy mouse that her baby brother had lost! Every time she stepped down, the stair squashed the mouse, and out came the squeak.
Mia handed the toy back, and the baby gave a huge grin.
Questions
Where did the strange squeak come from?
Which stair made the loud squeak?
What did Mia discover wedged in the gap?
Whose toy mouse was it?
Why did the stair squeak whenever Mia stepped on it?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Fourth Stair Says Squeak
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.8)
The stairs.
The fourth stair.
A toy mouse.
Her baby brother's.
It pressed the toy mouse.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.6)
The stairs.
The fourth stair.
A toy mouse.
Her baby brother's toy.
The stair pressed the toy mouse under it.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7)
From the stairs.
The fourth stair.
A toy mouse.
Her baby brother's.
The stair squashed the toy mouse underneath, and the mouse squeaked.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put squeak, stair, gap, grin and toy on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the story will be about.
Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 1 minute to read aloud.
Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
Ask students to retell the story in three sentences: how it began, what the problem was, and how it ended.
Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
What reading level is "The Fourth Stair Says Squeak"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 102 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about below 1. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.
What do the questions ask?
There are five. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.
How long does it take to read?
About 1 minute read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.
Can I print it?
Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.
Is this passage from a published book?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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