1st grade fiction passage about returning lost things: 106 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
1st gradefictionreturning lost things106 words
The Lost Mitten Box
A big box sat by the school door. It was full of lost mittens. There were red ones, green ones and one with a star.
Wen had lost her purple mitten. She dug through the box. No purple. She felt sad.
Then Wen had an idea. She took a marker and some paper. She drew each mitten and hung the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked the class.
A boy named Gus cried, "That star one is mine!" A girl found her green pair too.
The next morning, Wen's purple mitten was in the box. Someone had found it on the bus.
Questions
Where did the box of mittens sit? in the text
What color was Wen's lost mitten? in the text
What did Wen draw? in the text
How did Wen's drawings help the class? think about it
Where was Wen's mitten found? in the text
Words to know
mitten
a warm cover for your hand with a place for the thumb
dug
searched by reaching deep into something
marker
a pen with a thick tip for drawing
idea
a new thought about what to do
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Lost Mitten Box
1st grade reading passage
A big box sat by the school door. It was full of lost mittens. There were red ones, green ones and one with a star.
Wen had lost her purple mitten. She dug through the box. No purple. She felt sad.
Then Wen had an idea. She took a marker and some paper. She drew each mitten and hung the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked the class.
A boy named Gus cried, "That star one is mine!" A girl found her green pair too.
The next morning, Wen's purple mitten was in the box. Someone had found it on the bus.
Questions
Where did the box of mittens sit?
What color was Wen's lost mitten?
What did Wen draw?
How did Wen's drawings help the class?
Where was Wen's mitten found?
Words to know
mitten: a warm cover for your hand with a place for the thumb
dug: searched by reaching deep into something
marker: a pen with a thick tip for drawing
idea: a new thought about what to do
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/1/the-lost-mitten-box
Share
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 · 97 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0
A big box sat by the school door. It was full of lost mittens. Some were red. Some were green. One had a star.
Wen lost her purple mitten. She dug in the box. No purple. She was sad.
Then Wen had an idea. She got a marker and paper. She drew each mitten. She put the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked.
Gus said, "The star one is mine!" A girl found her green pair too.
The next day, Wen's purple mitten was in the box. Someone found it on the bus.
▲ This passage · 106 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6
A big box sat by the school door. It was full of lost mittens. There were red ones, green ones and one with a star.
Wen had lost her purple mitten. She dug through the box. No purple. She felt sad.
Then Wen had an idea. She took a marker and some paper. She drew each mitten and hung the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked the class.
A boy named Gus cried, "That star one is mine!" A girl found her green pair too.
The next morning, Wen's purple mitten was in the box. Someone had found it on the bus.
■ Harder · 122 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3
A large box sat beside the school door, and it was overflowing with lost mittens. There were red ones, green ones and even one with a bright star.
Wen had lost her purple mitten, so she dug through the whole box. There was no purple one anywhere, and she felt sad.
Then Wen had a clever idea. She grabbed a marker and some paper, drew a picture of each mitten and hung the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked everyone in the class.
A boy named Gus cried, "That star one is mine!" A girl also found her green pair.
The next morning, Wen's purple mitten was waiting in the box. Someone had found it on the bus.
A big box sat by the school door. It was full of lost mittens. Some were red. Some were green. One had a star.
Wen lost her purple mitten. She dug in the box. No purple. She was sad.
Then Wen had an idea. She got a marker and paper. She drew each mitten. She put the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked.
Gus said, "The star one is mine!" A girl found her green pair too.
The next day, Wen's purple mitten was in the box. Someone found it on the bus.
Questions
Where was the box?
What color was Wen's mitten?
What did Wen draw?
How did the drawings help?
Where was Wen's mitten found?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Lost Mitten Box
A big box sat by the school door. It was full of lost mittens. There were red ones, green ones and one with a star.
Wen had lost her purple mitten. She dug through the box. No purple. She felt sad.
Then Wen had an idea. She took a marker and some paper. She drew each mitten and hung the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked the class.
A boy named Gus cried, "That star one is mine!" A girl found her green pair too.
The next morning, Wen's purple mitten was in the box. Someone had found it on the bus.
Questions
Where did the box of mittens sit?
What color was Wen's lost mitten?
What did Wen draw?
How did Wen's drawings help the class?
Where was Wen's mitten found?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Lost Mitten Box
A large box sat beside the school door, and it was overflowing with lost mittens. There were red ones, green ones and even one with a bright star.
Wen had lost her purple mitten, so she dug through the whole box. There was no purple one anywhere, and she felt sad.
Then Wen had a clever idea. She grabbed a marker and some paper, drew a picture of each mitten and hung the pictures on the wall.
"Is this your mitten?" she asked everyone in the class.
A boy named Gus cried, "That star one is mine!" A girl also found her green pair.
The next morning, Wen's purple mitten was waiting in the box. Someone had found it on the bus.
Questions
Where did the large box of lost mittens sit?
What color was the mitten Wen had lost?
What did Wen draw with her marker?
How did Wen's drawings help the children in her class?
Where did someone find Wen's purple mitten?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Lost Mitten Box
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0)
By the school door.
Purple.
Pictures of the mittens.
Kids could see their mittens and claim them.
On the bus.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6)
By the school door.
Purple.
Pictures of the mittens.
Kids could see their mittens and claim them.
On the bus.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3)
Beside the school door.
Purple.
Pictures of the mittens.
They could see the pictures and claim their own mittens.
On the bus.
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 mitten, dug, marker and idea 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 4 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 106 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.6. 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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