3rd grade fiction passage about a letter about a giant sneeze: 144 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradefictiona letter about a giant sneeze144 words
A Letter About Uncle Rudy's Sneeze
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday. It was no little sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze our street has ever seen.
The sneeze blew his hat clear across the yard. It blew the curtains out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes off the table, and it made the dog's ears flap backward. Our cat slid across the floor on her belly all the way to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." All of us said, "Bless you" at the same time, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof. We had no ladder that tall. Mr. Park hooked it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string whenever he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
Questions
Who is the letter written to? in the text
Who sneezed on Sunday? in the text
What did the sneeze do to the curtains? in the text
Where did Uncle Rudy's hat land? in the text
How did Mr. Park get the hat down? in the text
What does Uncle Rudy do now when he feels a sneeze coming? in the text
How can you tell Jo is joking about the size of the sneeze? think about it
Words to know
sneeze
a sudden loud blast of air through your nose
curtains
pieces of cloth that hang over a window
choir
a group of people who sing together
ladder
a set of steps for climbing up high
hooked
caught with a bent tip
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Letter About Uncle Rudy's Sneeze
3rd grade reading passage
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday. It was no little sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze our street has ever seen.
The sneeze blew his hat clear across the yard. It blew the curtains out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes off the table, and it made the dog's ears flap backward. Our cat slid across the floor on her belly all the way to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." All of us said, "Bless you" at the same time, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof. We had no ladder that tall. Mr. Park hooked it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string whenever he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
Questions
Who is the letter written to?
Who sneezed on Sunday?
What did the sneeze do to the curtains?
Where did Uncle Rudy's hat land?
How did Mr. Park get the hat down?
What does Uncle Rudy do now when he feels a sneeze coming?
How can you tell Jo is joking about the size of the sneeze?
Words to know
sneeze: a sudden loud blast of air through your nose
curtains: pieces of cloth that hang over a window
choir: a group of people who sing together
ladder: a set of steps for climbing up high
hooked: caught with a bent tip
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/a-letter-about-uncle-rudys-sneeze
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 · 131 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday. It was not a little sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze on our street.
The sneeze blew his hat across the yard. It blew the curtains out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes off the table, and the dog's ears flapped back. Our cat slid on her belly to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." We all said, "Bless you" at once, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof. We had no ladder that tall. Mr. Park caught it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string when he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
▲ This passage · 144 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday. It was no little sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze our street has ever seen.
The sneeze blew his hat clear across the yard. It blew the curtains out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes off the table, and it made the dog's ears flap backward. Our cat slid across the floor on her belly all the way to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." All of us said, "Bless you" at the same time, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof. We had no ladder that tall. Mr. Park hooked it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string whenever he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
■ Harder · 150 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday, and it was no ordinary sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze our street has ever witnessed.
The sneeze blew his hat clear across the yard. It sent the curtains flapping out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes right off the table, and it made the dog's ears flap backward. Our cat slid across the kitchen floor on her belly all the way to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." All of us said, "Bless you" at the same moment, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof, and we had no ladder that tall. Fortunately, Mr. Park hooked it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string whenever he feels a sneeze coming.
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday. It was not a little sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze on our street.
The sneeze blew his hat across the yard. It blew the curtains out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes off the table, and the dog's ears flapped back. Our cat slid on her belly to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." We all said, "Bless you" at once, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof. We had no ladder that tall. Mr. Park caught it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string when he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
Questions
Who is the letter written to?
Who sneezed on Sunday?
What did the sneeze do to the curtains?
Where did the hat land?
How did Mr. Park get the hat?
What does Uncle Rudy do now when he feels a sneeze coming?
How can you tell Jo is joking about the sneeze?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Letter About Uncle Rudy's Sneeze
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday. It was no little sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze our street has ever seen.
The sneeze blew his hat clear across the yard. It blew the curtains out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes off the table, and it made the dog's ears flap backward. Our cat slid across the floor on her belly all the way to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." All of us said, "Bless you" at the same time, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof. We had no ladder that tall. Mr. Park hooked it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string whenever he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
Questions
Who is the letter written to?
Who sneezed on Sunday?
What did the sneeze do to the curtains?
Where did Uncle Rudy's hat land?
How did Mr. Park get the hat down?
What does Uncle Rudy do now when he feels a sneeze coming?
How can you tell Jo is joking about the size of the sneeze?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Letter About Uncle Rudy's Sneeze
Dear Bea,
You will not believe what happened at our house. Uncle Rudy sneezed on Sunday, and it was no ordinary sneeze. It was the biggest sneeze our street has ever witnessed.
The sneeze blew his hat clear across the yard. It sent the curtains flapping out the window like flags. It blew the pancakes right off the table, and it made the dog's ears flap backward. Our cat slid across the kitchen floor on her belly all the way to the door.
Then Uncle Rudy said, "Excuse me." All of us said, "Bless you" at the same moment, and it sounded like a choir.
His hat landed on the neighbor's roof, and we had no ladder that tall. Fortunately, Mr. Park hooked it with a long fishing pole.
Now Uncle Rudy ties his hat on with string whenever he feels a sneeze coming.
Write back soon!
Your cousin,
Jo
Questions
Who is the letter addressed to?
Who sneezed on Sunday?
What did the sneeze do to the curtains?
Where did Uncle Rudy's hat land?
How did Mr. Park manage to get the hat down?
What does Uncle Rudy do whenever he feels a sneeze coming now?
How can you tell that Jo is exaggerating about the sneeze?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Letter About Uncle Rudy's Sneeze
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4)
Bea.
Uncle Rudy.
It blew them out the window like flags.
On the neighbor's roof.
He caught it with a long fishing pole.
He ties his hat on with string.
No real sneeze could blow curtains out a window and a hat onto a roof, so Jo made it bigger than real life.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9)
Bea.
Uncle Rudy.
It blew them out the window like flags.
On the neighbor's roof.
He hooked it with a long fishing pole.
He ties his hat on with string.
A real sneeze could not blow curtains out a window and a hat onto a roof, so Jo is making it bigger than real life.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1)
Bea.
Uncle Rudy.
It sent them flapping out the window like flags.
On the neighbor's roof.
He hooked it with a long fishing pole.
He ties his hat on with string.
A real sneeze could not blow curtains out a window or a hat onto a roof, so Jo is stretching the truth for fun.
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 sneeze, curtains, choir, ladder and hooked 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 7 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 "A Letter About Uncle Rudy's Sneeze"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 144 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.9. 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 seven. 6 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.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.