1st grade nonfiction passage about quill pens: 91 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
Long ago, there were no pens like ours. People wrote with a feather. It was called a quill.
A big feather from a goose made a good quill. The writer cut the tip into a point. Then he dipped the tip in a pot of ink. He wrote a few words. Then he had to dip again.
Writing took a long time. A drop of ink might fall on the paper. Oops! Today, a pen has its own ink inside. We can write for a long time without dipping at all.
What did people write with long ago? in the text
Which bird gave a big feather for a quill? in the text
What did the writer dip the quill in? in the text
What can happen when you dip a quill? in the text
Why is a pen today easier to use? 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.
Long ago, there were no pens like ours. People wrote with a feather. It was called a quill.
A big goose feather made a good quill. The writer cut the tip to a point. He dipped it in a pot of ink. He wrote a few words. Then he had to dip again.
Writing took a long time. Today, a pen has ink inside. We do not have to dip it.
Long ago, there were no pens like ours. People wrote with a feather. It was called a quill.
A big feather from a goose made a good quill. The writer cut the tip into a point. Then he dipped the tip in a pot of ink. He wrote a few words. Then he had to dip again.
Writing took a long time. A drop of ink might fall on the paper. Oops! Today, a pen has its own ink inside. We can write for a long time without dipping at all.
Long ago, people did not have pens like the ones we use today. Instead, they wrote with a large feather that was called a quill.
A big feather from a goose made an excellent quill. The writer carefully trimmed the tip into a sharp point and dipped it into a small pot of ink. He could write only a few words before he needed to dip it again.
Writing this way took a long time, and a drop of ink might fall onto the paper at any moment. Oops! A pen today holds its own ink inside, so we can write for a long while without dipping at all.
It was written for 1st grade. It has 91 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.
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.
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.
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