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Houses on Tall Legs Above the Water

1st grade nonfiction passage about stilt houses: 94 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

1st grade nonfiction stilt houses 94 words

Houses on Tall Legs Above the Water

In some places, a river can rise high after big rains. The water spreads over the ground. A house on the ground might get wet.

So some families build houses on stilts. Stilts are tall posts made of wood. They lift the house up high. Water can flow under the house and not get inside.

The family may climb a ladder to get home. They may keep a boat tied to a post. Under the house, they can hang nets or store things. A stilt house is a smart way to live near water.

Questions

  1. What are stilts? in the text

  2. What happens to a river after big rains? in the text

  3. How does a family get up into the house? in the text

  4. What might be tied to a post? in the text

  5. Why do stilts keep the house dry? think about it

Words to know

stilts
tall posts that hold a house up high
ladder
steps you climb to go up or down
rise
to go up higher
post
a tall, strong piece of wood standing up
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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 1.4

In some places, a river can rise after big rains. Water spreads over the ground. A house on the ground can get wet.

So some families build houses on stilts. Stilts are tall posts made of wood. They hold the house up high. Water can flow under the house.

The family climbs a ladder to get home. A boat may be tied to a post. A stilt house is a smart way to live near water.

▲ This passage · 94 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

In some places, a river can rise high after big rains. The water spreads over the ground. A house on the ground might get wet.

So some families build houses on stilts. Stilts are tall posts made of wood. They lift the house up high. Water can flow under the house and not get inside.

The family may climb a ladder to get home. They may keep a boat tied to a post. Under the house, they can hang nets or store things. A stilt house is a smart way to live near water.

■ Harder · 106 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1

In certain places, a river can climb very high after heavy rains, and the water spreads out across the ground. A house built right on the ground might end up soaked.

For that reason, some families build their homes on stilts, which are tall wooden posts that lift the house high into the air. The water can rush underneath without ever reaching the rooms inside.

The family may climb a ladder to get home, and a boat may be tied to one of the posts. Underneath the house, they can hang nets or store things. A stilt house is a clever way to live near water.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put stilts, ladder, rise and post on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text 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 write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Houses on Tall Legs Above the Water"?

It was written for 1st grade. It has 94 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.6. 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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