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The Belly Grumble Mystery

1st grade nonfiction passage about why a stomach rumbles: 101 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

1st grade nonfiction why a stomach rumbles 101 words

The Belly Grumble Mystery

Grr-rumble! It is quiet in class, and Mia's belly makes a loud noise. Her face turns pink. But she does not need to worry.

Inside your belly is a stomach. It is a soft bag that squeezes and moves. When food is inside, the squeezing mixes it up. When the bag is empty, it still squeezes, and the air in it moves around. That makes the grumble.

Every person has a belly that does this. It is a normal sound, and no one is ever in trouble for it. A grumble can mean it is nearly time for a snack.

Questions

  1. What noise does Mia's belly make? in the text

  2. What is a stomach like? in the text

  3. What moves around in an empty stomach? in the text

  4. Who has a belly that grumbles? in the text

  5. What can a grumble tell you? think about it

Words to know

belly
the soft front part of your body below the chest
stomach
the part inside you that holds and mixes food
squeeze
to press tight from all sides
empty
with nothing inside
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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 · 74 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1

Grr-rumble! The class is quiet. Mia's belly makes a loud noise. Her face turns pink. But she need not worry.

Inside your belly is a stomach. It is a soft bag that squeezes. With food in it, the squeeze mixes the food. With nothing in it, the bag still squeezes. The air in it moves. That is the grumble.

All people have this. A grumble may mean it is time for a snack.

▲ This passage · 101 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

Grr-rumble! It is quiet in class, and Mia's belly makes a loud noise. Her face turns pink. But she does not need to worry.

Inside your belly is a stomach. It is a soft bag that squeezes and moves. When food is inside, the squeezing mixes it up. When the bag is empty, it still squeezes, and the air in it moves around. That makes the grumble.

Every person has a belly that does this. It is a normal sound, and no one is ever in trouble for it. A grumble can mean it is nearly time for a snack.

■ Harder · 101 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Grr-rumble! The classroom is completely quiet, and suddenly Mia's belly makes a very loud noise. Her face turns pink with embarrassment, but she does not need to worry at all.

Inside your belly sits your stomach, a soft bag that squeezes and moves. When there is food inside, the squeezing mixes it all together. When the bag is empty, it keeps on squeezing, and the air inside moves around. That movement is what makes the grumbling sound.

Every person has a belly that does this, and a grumble can be a sign that it is nearly time for a snack.

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 belly, stomach, squeeze and empty 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 "The Belly Grumble Mystery"?

It was written for 1st grade. It has 101 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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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