1st grade fiction passage about a beaver tries again: 94 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradefictiona beaver tries again94 words
The Beaver Who Built a Lopsided Dam
Bruno the beaver built a dam. He piled up sticks and mud. At last it was done. But the dam leaned to one side.
Splash! The water ran over the low side. The dam fell apart. Bruno was sad. "I will never get it right," he said.
His mother said, "Look at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno looked. He saw that the bottom sticks were too thin.
The next day he began again. He put thick logs at the bottom. This time the dam stood straight. Bruno smiled and patted it.
Questions
What did Bruno the beaver build? in the text
What did Bruno use to build it? in the text
What happened to the first dam? in the text
What did Bruno put at the bottom the next time? in the text
Why did the second dam stand straight? think about it
Words to know
beaver
an animal with a flat tail that builds with sticks
dam
a wall that holds back water in a river
lean
to tilt to one side
weak
not strong
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Beaver Who Built a Lopsided Dam
1st grade reading passage
Bruno the beaver built a dam. He piled up sticks and mud. At last it was done. But the dam leaned to one side.
Splash! The water ran over the low side. The dam fell apart. Bruno was sad. "I will never get it right," he said.
His mother said, "Look at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno looked. He saw that the bottom sticks were too thin.
The next day he began again. He put thick logs at the bottom. This time the dam stood straight. Bruno smiled and patted it.
Questions
What did Bruno the beaver build?
What did Bruno use to build it?
What happened to the first dam?
What did Bruno put at the bottom the next time?
Why did the second dam stand straight?
Words to know
beaver: an animal with a flat tail that builds with sticks
dam: a wall that holds back water in a river
lean: to tilt to one side
weak: not strong
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/the-beaver-who-built-a-lopsided-dam
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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 · 84 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1
Bruno the beaver built a dam. He piled up sticks and mud. It was done. But the dam leaned to one side.
Splash! The water ran over the low side. The dam fell. Bruno was sad. "I will never get it right," he said.
His mother said, "Look at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno saw that the bottom sticks were too thin.
The next day he began again. He put thick logs at the bottom. This time the dam stood straight.
▲ This passage · 94 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.3
Bruno the beaver built a dam. He piled up sticks and mud. At last it was done. But the dam leaned to one side.
Splash! The water ran over the low side. The dam fell apart. Bruno was sad. "I will never get it right," he said.
His mother said, "Look at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno looked. He saw that the bottom sticks were too thin.
The next day he began again. He put thick logs at the bottom. This time the dam stood straight. Bruno smiled and patted it.
■ Harder · 107 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9
Bruno the beaver worked hard to build a dam. He piled up sticks and packed them with mud, and at last it was finished. Unfortunately, the dam leaned badly to one side.
Splash! The river poured over the low side, and the whole dam collapsed. Bruno felt discouraged. "I will never get it right," he sighed.
His mother said gently, "Look closely at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno studied the pile and noticed that the sticks at the bottom were too thin.
The next day he started over. This time he set thick logs at the bottom, and the dam stood straight and strong.
Bruno the beaver built a dam. He piled up sticks and mud. It was done. But the dam leaned to one side.
Splash! The water ran over the low side. The dam fell. Bruno was sad. "I will never get it right," he said.
His mother said, "Look at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno saw that the bottom sticks were too thin.
The next day he began again. He put thick logs at the bottom. This time the dam stood straight.
Questions
What did Bruno build?
What did Bruno use to build it?
What happened to the first dam?
What did Bruno put at the bottom the next time?
Why did the second dam stand straight?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Beaver Who Built a Lopsided Dam
Bruno the beaver built a dam. He piled up sticks and mud. At last it was done. But the dam leaned to one side.
Splash! The water ran over the low side. The dam fell apart. Bruno was sad. "I will never get it right," he said.
His mother said, "Look at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno looked. He saw that the bottom sticks were too thin.
The next day he began again. He put thick logs at the bottom. This time the dam stood straight. Bruno smiled and patted it.
Questions
What did Bruno the beaver build?
What did Bruno use to build it?
What happened to the first dam?
What did Bruno put at the bottom the next time?
Why did the second dam stand straight?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Beaver Who Built a Lopsided Dam
Bruno the beaver worked hard to build a dam. He piled up sticks and packed them with mud, and at last it was finished. Unfortunately, the dam leaned badly to one side.
Splash! The river poured over the low side, and the whole dam collapsed. Bruno felt discouraged. "I will never get it right," he sighed.
His mother said gently, "Look closely at how it fell. Where was it weak?" Bruno studied the pile and noticed that the sticks at the bottom were too thin.
The next day he started over. This time he set thick logs at the bottom, and the dam stood straight and strong.
Questions
What did Bruno the beaver work hard to build?
What materials did Bruno use to build it?
What happened to the first dam?
What did Bruno set at the bottom the second time?
Why did the second dam stand straight and strong?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Beaver Who Built a Lopsided Dam
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.1)
A dam.
Sticks and mud.
It leaned and then fell.
Thick logs.
Bruno saw what was weak and fixed it.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.3)
A dam.
Sticks and mud.
It leaned and then fell apart.
Thick logs.
Bruno saw what was weak and fixed it with thick logs.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9)
A dam.
Sticks and mud.
It leaned to one side and then collapsed.
Thick logs.
Bruno studied where the first one was weak and fixed it with thick logs.
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 beaver, dam, lean and weak 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 Beaver Who Built a Lopsided Dam"?
It was written for 1st grade. It has 94 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.3. 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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