1st grade fiction passage about a classroom pet chore: 99 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
Sam's class had two snails in a glass tank. This week, it was Sam's job to clean it.
Sam did not like the job. The tank was a bit slimy. But the snails needed a clean home.
Sam wiped the glass with a damp cloth. He picked out the old lettuce. He put in a fresh leaf.
Then he spotted a snail with a small spiral shell. It slid up the glass slowly. Its eye stalks wiggled at him.
"You are not so yucky," Sam said. "You are kind of cool."
Next week, Sam asked for the job again.
How many snails lived in the tank? in the text
What was Sam's job? in the text
What did Sam put in the tank? in the text
Why did Sam change his mind about the job? think about it
Why do you think Sam asked for the job again? think about it
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.
Sam's class had two snails in a tank. This week, Sam had to clean it.
Sam did not like the job. The tank was slimy. But the snails needed a clean home.
Sam wiped the glass. He took out the old lettuce. He put in a new leaf.
Then he saw a snail with a small shell. It slid up the glass. Its eye stalks wiggled.
"You are not yucky," said Sam. "You are cool."
Next week, Sam asked for the job again.
Sam's class had two snails in a glass tank. This week, it was Sam's job to clean it.
Sam did not like the job. The tank was a bit slimy. But the snails needed a clean home.
Sam wiped the glass with a damp cloth. He picked out the old lettuce. He put in a fresh leaf.
Then he spotted a snail with a small spiral shell. It slid up the glass slowly. Its eye stalks wiggled at him.
"You are not so yucky," Sam said. "You are kind of cool."
Next week, Sam asked for the job again.
Sam's class kept two snails in a glass tank, and this week it was Sam's turn to clean it.
At first, Sam did not want to do the job because the tank was a bit slimy. Still, he knew the snails needed a clean home.
He wiped the glass with a damp cloth, picked out the old lettuce and set in a fresh leaf.
Then he noticed a snail with a tiny spiral shell. It slid slowly up the side of the glass, and its eye stalks wiggled right at him.
"You are not so yucky after all," Sam said. "You are actually pretty cool."
The following week, Sam asked if he could clean the tank again.
It was written for 1st grade. It has 99 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.
There are five. 3 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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.
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.
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.
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.