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The Goat and the Squeaky Bridge

1st grade fiction passage about taking turns on a bridge: 104 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

1st grade fiction taking turns on a bridge 104 words

The Goat and the Squeaky Bridge

A narrow bridge crossed a creek. It squeaked when you stepped on it. Only one animal could cross at a time.

Gus the goat ran to the bridge. Rosa the ram ran to it, too. They met in the middle. "Move!" said Gus. "No, you move!" said Rosa. Neither would move. The bridge went squeak, squeak.

Then Gus said, "Let us take turns. You go first, and then I will go."

Rosa crossed. Then Gus crossed. The bridge squeaked, but nobody was cross. Taking turns was a kind way to fix the trouble. Gus and Rosa waved to each other from the far banks.

Questions

  1. What sound did the bridge make? in the text

  2. How many animals could cross at one time? in the text

  3. Who was the ram in the story? in the text

  4. What idea did Gus have to fix the trouble? in the text

  5. Why was nobody cross at the end? think about it

Words to know

narrow
not wide
creek
a small stream of water
ram
a male sheep
cross
to go from one side to the other
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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 · 71 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0

A narrow bridge crossed a creek. It went squeak when you stepped on it. Only one animal could cross at a time.

Gus the goat ran to the bridge. Rosa the ram ran to it, too. They met in the middle. "Move!" said Gus. "No, you move!" said Rosa.

Then Gus said, "Let us take turns. You go first."

Rosa crossed. Then Gus crossed. Nobody was cross. Taking turns fixed it.

▲ This passage · 104 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.3

A narrow bridge crossed a creek. It squeaked when you stepped on it. Only one animal could cross at a time.

Gus the goat ran to the bridge. Rosa the ram ran to it, too. They met in the middle. "Move!" said Gus. "No, you move!" said Rosa. Neither would move. The bridge went squeak, squeak.

Then Gus said, "Let us take turns. You go first, and then I will go."

Rosa crossed. Then Gus crossed. The bridge squeaked, but nobody was cross. Taking turns was a kind way to fix the trouble. Gus and Rosa waved to each other from the far banks.

■ Harder · 105 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

A narrow wooden bridge stretched across a creek. It squeaked whenever anyone stepped on it, and only one animal could cross at a time.

Gus the goat raced to the bridge, and Rosa the ram raced to it from the other side. They met in the middle. "Move!" demanded Gus. "No, you move!" said Rosa. Neither of them would budge, and the bridge went squeak, squeak.

Finally Gus said, "Let us take turns. You may go first, and then I will go."

Rosa crossed, and then Gus crossed. The bridge squeaked, but nobody was cross. Taking turns was a kind way to fix the trouble.

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 narrow, creek, ram and cross 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.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Goat and the Squeaky Bridge"?

It was written for 1st grade. It has 104 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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