1st grade fiction passage about trying a hard skill: 93 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradefictiontrying a hard skill93 words
Otis Learns to Whistle
Otis had a big brother who could whistle. It sounded like a bird.
Otis wanted to whistle too. He puckered his lips and blew. Only air came out. Pffff. It was not fun.
He tried at breakfast. Pffff. He tried on the bus. Pffff. He tried in the bath, and his brother laughed.
"Make your mouth small," said his brother. "Put your tongue back. Blow soft."
That night, Otis tried once more. Phweee! A thin, high note floated out.
Otis ran to show his mom. He whistled all the way down the hall.
Questions
Who could already whistle? in the text
What came out when Otis first tried? in the text
Where did Otis try to whistle? in the text
What did Otis do after he whistled? in the text
Why did Otis keep trying? think about it
Words to know
whistle
to make a high sound by blowing through your lips
puckered
pulled your lips tight and round
tongue
the soft part inside your mouth
floated
moved lightly through the air
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Otis Learns to Whistle
1st grade reading passage
Otis had a big brother who could whistle. It sounded like a bird.
Otis wanted to whistle too. He puckered his lips and blew. Only air came out. Pffff. It was not fun.
He tried at breakfast. Pffff. He tried on the bus. Pffff. He tried in the bath, and his brother laughed.
"Make your mouth small," said his brother. "Put your tongue back. Blow soft."
That night, Otis tried once more. Phweee! A thin, high note floated out.
Otis ran to show his mom. He whistled all the way down the hall.
Questions
Who could already whistle?
What came out when Otis first tried?
Where did Otis try to whistle?
What did Otis do after he whistled?
Why did Otis keep trying?
Words to know
whistle: to make a high sound by blowing through your lips
puckered: pulled your lips tight and round
tongue: the soft part inside your mouth
floated: moved lightly through the air
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/otis-learns-to-whistle
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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 -0.1
Otis had a big brother. His brother could whistle. It sounded like a bird.
Otis wanted to whistle. He made his lips round and blew. Only air came out. Pffff.
He tried at breakfast. Pffff. He tried on the bus. Pffff. He tried in the bath.
"Make your mouth small," said his brother. "Blow soft."
That night, Otis tried again. Phweee! A high note came out.
Otis ran to his mom. He whistled down the hall.
▲ This passage · 93 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1
Otis had a big brother who could whistle. It sounded like a bird.
Otis wanted to whistle too. He puckered his lips and blew. Only air came out. Pffff. It was not fun.
He tried at breakfast. Pffff. He tried on the bus. Pffff. He tried in the bath, and his brother laughed.
"Make your mouth small," said his brother. "Put your tongue back. Blow soft."
That night, Otis tried once more. Phweee! A thin, high note floated out.
Otis ran to show his mom. He whistled all the way down the hall.
■ Harder · 111 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6
Otis had a big brother who could whistle so well that it sounded just like a bird singing.
Otis wanted to whistle too. He puckered his lips and blew as hard as he could, but nothing came out except air. Pffff.
He tried at breakfast, and he tried again on the bus. He even tried in the bathtub, which made his brother laugh.
"Make your mouth very small," his brother explained. "Pull your tongue back and blow softly."
That night, Otis gave it one more try. Phweee! A thin, high note floated into the air.
Otis dashed off to show his mom, and he whistled the whole way down the hall.
Otis had a big brother. His brother could whistle. It sounded like a bird.
Otis wanted to whistle. He made his lips round and blew. Only air came out. Pffff.
He tried at breakfast. Pffff. He tried on the bus. Pffff. He tried in the bath.
"Make your mouth small," said his brother. "Blow soft."
That night, Otis tried again. Phweee! A high note came out.
Otis ran to his mom. He whistled down the hall.
Questions
Who could whistle?
What came out when Otis first tried?
Where did Otis try to whistle?
Who did Otis run to show?
Why did Otis keep trying?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Otis Learns to Whistle
Otis had a big brother who could whistle. It sounded like a bird.
Otis wanted to whistle too. He puckered his lips and blew. Only air came out. Pffff. It was not fun.
He tried at breakfast. Pffff. He tried on the bus. Pffff. He tried in the bath, and his brother laughed.
"Make your mouth small," said his brother. "Put your tongue back. Blow soft."
That night, Otis tried once more. Phweee! A thin, high note floated out.
Otis ran to show his mom. He whistled all the way down the hall.
Questions
Who could already whistle?
What came out when Otis first tried?
Where did Otis try to whistle?
What did Otis do after he whistled?
Why did Otis keep trying?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Otis Learns to Whistle
Otis had a big brother who could whistle so well that it sounded just like a bird singing.
Otis wanted to whistle too. He puckered his lips and blew as hard as he could, but nothing came out except air. Pffff.
He tried at breakfast, and he tried again on the bus. He even tried in the bathtub, which made his brother laugh.
"Make your mouth very small," his brother explained. "Pull your tongue back and blow softly."
That night, Otis gave it one more try. Phweee! A thin, high note floated into the air.
Otis dashed off to show his mom, and he whistled the whole way down the hall.
Questions
Who could already whistle like a bird?
What came out when Otis first tried to whistle?
Where did Otis try to whistle during the day?
What did Otis do after he whistled that night?
Why did Otis keep trying after nothing worked?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Otis Learns to Whistle
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1)
Otis's big brother.
Only air.
At breakfast, on the bus and in the bath.
His mom.
He wanted to whistle like his brother.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1)
Otis's big brother.
Only air.
At breakfast, on the bus and in the bath.
He ran to show his mom.
He really wanted to whistle like his brother.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6)
Otis's big brother.
Only air.
At breakfast, on the bus and in the bathtub.
He dashed off to show his mom.
He wanted very much to whistle like his brother.
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 whistle, puckered, tongue and floated 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.
It was written for 1st grade. It has 93 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.1. 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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