3rd grade fiction passage about a tall tale about giant corn: 142 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradefictiona tall tale about giant corn142 words
Farmer Nell and the Ticklish Cloud
Farmer Nell grew the tallest corn in the whole state. Folks said it grew an inch every time somebody looked at it. One summer it grew so tall that the top poked right through a cloud.
The cloud was ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain fell on the town for three days. Boots floated down Main Street. A duck paddled past the bakery as if it owned the place.
Nell knew she had to fix it. She stacked eleven ladders end to end and climbed up through the fog. At the top she found the cloud wiggling and wheezing.
"Sorry, friend," said Nell. She took out her garden scissors and snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud sighed. It stopped giggling, and the sun came out. The town dried off, and everybody ate corn on the cob for a month.
Questions
What was special about Nell's corn? in the text
What poked through the cloud? in the text
Why did the rain fall on the town? in the text
How long did the rain last? in the text
How did Nell fix the problem? in the text
How can you tell this story is a tall tale? think about it
Words to know
ticklish
easily made to laugh when touched lightly
folks
ordinary people in a town or place
giggled
laughed in a silly, high way
snipped
cut off with a quick snip
fog
a thick cloud close to the ground
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
Farmer Nell and the Ticklish Cloud
3rd grade reading passage
Farmer Nell grew the tallest corn in the whole state. Folks said it grew an inch every time somebody looked at it. One summer it grew so tall that the top poked right through a cloud.
The cloud was ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain fell on the town for three days. Boots floated down Main Street. A duck paddled past the bakery as if it owned the place.
Nell knew she had to fix it. She stacked eleven ladders end to end and climbed up through the fog. At the top she found the cloud wiggling and wheezing.
"Sorry, friend," said Nell. She took out her garden scissors and snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud sighed. It stopped giggling, and the sun came out. The town dried off, and everybody ate corn on the cob for a month.
Questions
What was special about Nell's corn?
What poked through the cloud?
Why did the rain fall on the town?
How long did the rain last?
How did Nell fix the problem?
How can you tell this story is a tall tale?
Words to know
ticklish: easily made to laugh when touched lightly
folks: ordinary people in a town or place
giggled: laughed in a silly, high way
snipped: cut off with a quick snip
fog: a thick cloud close to the ground
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/farmer-nell-and-the-ticklish-cloud
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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 1.3
Farmer Nell had the tallest corn in the state. People said it grew an inch each time they looked at it. One summer it grew so tall that the top poked through a cloud.
The cloud was ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain fell on the town for three days. Boots floated down the street. A duck paddled past the bakery.
Nell had to fix it. She stacked eleven ladders and climbed up through the fog. At the top, she saw the cloud wiggle.
"Sorry, friend," said Nell. She took her garden scissors and snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud sighed. It stopped giggling, and the sun came out. The town dried off, and everyone ate corn on the cob for a month.
▲ This passage · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1
Farmer Nell grew the tallest corn in the whole state. Folks said it grew an inch every time somebody looked at it. One summer it grew so tall that the top poked right through a cloud.
The cloud was ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain fell on the town for three days. Boots floated down Main Street. A duck paddled past the bakery as if it owned the place.
Nell knew she had to fix it. She stacked eleven ladders end to end and climbed up through the fog. At the top she found the cloud wiggling and wheezing.
"Sorry, friend," said Nell. She took out her garden scissors and snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud sighed. It stopped giggling, and the sun came out. The town dried off, and everybody ate corn on the cob for a month.
■ Harder · 163 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8
Farmer Nell grew the tallest corn in the entire state. Folks claimed that it grew an inch every time somebody glanced at it. One summer it shot up so high that the top poked right through a passing cloud.
The cloud turned out to be extremely ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain poured down on the town for three whole days. Boots floated along Main Street, and a duck paddled past the bakery as if it owned the place.
Nell knew she had to put things right. She stacked eleven ladders end to end and climbed up through the thick fog. At the top, she found the cloud wiggling and wheezing with laughter.
"I am sorry, friend," said Nell. She pulled out her garden scissors and carefully snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud let out a long sigh and stopped giggling. The sun came out, the town dried off, and everybody feasted on corn on the cob for a month.
Farmer Nell had the tallest corn in the state. People said it grew an inch each time they looked at it. One summer it grew so tall that the top poked through a cloud.
The cloud was ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain fell on the town for three days. Boots floated down the street. A duck paddled past the bakery.
Nell had to fix it. She stacked eleven ladders and climbed up through the fog. At the top, she saw the cloud wiggle.
"Sorry, friend," said Nell. She took her garden scissors and snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud sighed. It stopped giggling, and the sun came out. The town dried off, and everyone ate corn on the cob for a month.
Questions
What was special about Nell's corn?
What poked through the cloud?
Why did the rain fall?
How many days did it rain?
How did Nell fix it?
Why is this a tall tale?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
Farmer Nell and the Ticklish Cloud
Farmer Nell grew the tallest corn in the whole state. Folks said it grew an inch every time somebody looked at it. One summer it grew so tall that the top poked right through a cloud.
The cloud was ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain fell on the town for three days. Boots floated down Main Street. A duck paddled past the bakery as if it owned the place.
Nell knew she had to fix it. She stacked eleven ladders end to end and climbed up through the fog. At the top she found the cloud wiggling and wheezing.
"Sorry, friend," said Nell. She took out her garden scissors and snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud sighed. It stopped giggling, and the sun came out. The town dried off, and everybody ate corn on the cob for a month.
Questions
What was special about Nell's corn?
What poked through the cloud?
Why did the rain fall on the town?
How long did the rain last?
How did Nell fix the problem?
How can you tell this story is a tall tale?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
Farmer Nell and the Ticklish Cloud
Farmer Nell grew the tallest corn in the entire state. Folks claimed that it grew an inch every time somebody glanced at it. One summer it shot up so high that the top poked right through a passing cloud.
The cloud turned out to be extremely ticklish. It giggled and shook, and rain poured down on the town for three whole days. Boots floated along Main Street, and a duck paddled past the bakery as if it owned the place.
Nell knew she had to put things right. She stacked eleven ladders end to end and climbed up through the thick fog. At the top, she found the cloud wiggling and wheezing with laughter.
"I am sorry, friend," said Nell. She pulled out her garden scissors and carefully snipped the tip of the corn.
The cloud let out a long sigh and stopped giggling. The sun came out, the town dried off, and everybody feasted on corn on the cob for a month.
Questions
What was remarkable about Nell's corn?
What poked through the passing cloud?
Why did rain pour down on the town?
How long did the rain last?
How did Nell put things right?
What makes this story a tall tale?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: Farmer Nell and the Ticklish Cloud
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3)
It was the tallest in the state.
The top of the corn.
The ticklish cloud giggled and shook.
Three days.
She climbed up and snipped the tip of the corn.
It tells things much bigger than real life, like corn poking through a cloud.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1)
It was the tallest corn in the whole state.
The top of the corn.
The ticklish cloud giggled and shook.
Three days.
She climbed up and snipped the tip of the corn with garden scissors.
The things in it are blown up much bigger than real life, like corn poking through a cloud.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8)
It was the tallest corn in the entire state.
The top of the corn.
The ticklish cloud giggled and shook.
Three whole days.
She climbed the ladders and snipped the tip of the corn with her garden scissors.
It stretches things far beyond real life, such as corn so high it pokes through a cloud.
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 ticklish, folks, giggled, snipped and fog 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 6 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 "Farmer Nell and the Ticklish Cloud"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 142 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.1. 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. 5 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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