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The Chess Knight Moves in an L

3rd grade fiction passage about learning chess: 164 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction learning chess 164 words

The Chess Knight Moves in an L

Owen joined the chess club because his big sister said it was easy. It was not easy. The knight, the little horse piece, was the strangest of all. It did not move straight or on a slant. It jumped in the shape of the letter L.

"I keep putting it in the wrong place," Owen said sadly.

Mrs. Alvarez, who ran the club, smiled. "Try this. Say it out loud. Two steps forward, one step to the side."

Owen picked up the knight and said it as he moved. "Two forward, one over." He did it again. And again. Soon he was drawing little L shapes in the air with his finger while he waited for lunch.

At the next meeting, Owen played against a boy named Felix. When Felix left his queen alone, Owen's knight hopped over two pieces and captured it. Felix's eyes went wide.

"How did you do that?" Felix asked.

"It is just an L," said Owen, and he grinned.

Questions

  1. Why was the knight hard for Owen? in the text

  2. Who ran the chess club? in the text

  3. What did Mrs. Alvarez tell Owen to say out loud? in the text

  4. What did Owen do while waiting for lunch? in the text

  5. Why did Felix's eyes go wide? think about it

  6. What helped Owen get better at chess? think about it

Words to know

chess
a board game where players move pieces to trap the other king
knight
a chess piece shaped like a horse's head
slant
a sloping line that goes up or down at an angle
captured
took a piece from the other player
club
a group that meets to do something they enjoy
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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 · 126 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.9

Owen joined the chess club. His big sister said chess was easy. It was not. The knight was the strangest piece. It did not go straight. It jumped in the shape of an L.

"I put it in the wrong place," Owen said.

Mrs. Alvarez ran the club. "Say it out loud," she said. "Two steps forward, one step to the side."

Owen said it as he moved the knight. He did it again. Soon he drew L shapes in the air while he waited for lunch.

At the next meeting, Owen played Felix. Felix left his queen alone. Owen's knight jumped over two pieces and took it. Felix's eyes went wide.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"It is just an L," said Owen.

▲ This passage · 164 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

Owen joined the chess club because his big sister said it was easy. It was not easy. The knight, the little horse piece, was the strangest of all. It did not move straight or on a slant. It jumped in the shape of the letter L.

"I keep putting it in the wrong place," Owen said sadly.

Mrs. Alvarez, who ran the club, smiled. "Try this. Say it out loud. Two steps forward, one step to the side."

Owen picked up the knight and said it as he moved. "Two forward, one over." He did it again. And again. Soon he was drawing little L shapes in the air with his finger while he waited for lunch.

At the next meeting, Owen played against a boy named Felix. When Felix left his queen alone, Owen's knight hopped over two pieces and captured it. Felix's eyes went wide.

"How did you do that?" Felix asked.

"It is just an L," said Owen, and he grinned.

■ Harder · 194 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

Owen joined the chess club because his big sister had assured him that chess was easy. It turned out to be nothing of the sort. The knight, the little horse piece, was the most puzzling of all, because it did not move in a straight line or along a slant. Instead, it jumped in the shape of the letter L.

"I keep putting it in the wrong place," Owen admitted sadly.

Mrs. Alvarez, who supervised the club, smiled warmly. "Try this technique. Say the move out loud as you make it. Two steps forward, then one step to the side."

Owen picked up the knight and repeated the words as he moved it. "Two forward, one over." He did it again, and then again. Before long, he was tracing little L shapes in the air with his finger while he stood in the lunch line.

At the next meeting, Owen played against a boy named Felix. When Felix carelessly left his queen unprotected, Owen's knight leaped over two pieces and captured it. Felix's eyes widened in astonishment.

"How on earth did you do that?" Felix asked.

"It is just an L," Owen replied, grinning.

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 chess, knight, slant, captured and club 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 2 minutes 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 Chess Knight Moves in an L"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 164 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 six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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 2 minutes 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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