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The Footprints That Only Went Up the Hill

3rd grade fiction passage about a snowy hill puzzle: 175 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a snowy hill puzzle 175 words

The Footprints That Only Went Up the Hill

After the first big snow, Tess and Marcus ran to Cutler Hill. The snow lay smooth and white. But a long line of boot prints marched from the bottom of the hill to the very top.

"Somebody climbed up," said Marcus. "But there are no prints coming down."

Tess frowned. "Did they fly away?" She was joking, but Marcus took the puzzle seriously. He walked along the hill and looked closely at the snow next to the prints. Right beside them was a wide, smooth stripe with two thin lines on the sides.

"Those are runner marks," he said. "From a sled!"

Tess laughed. "Whoever climbed up must have slid back down, because a sled leaves a track instead of footprints."

They followed the stripe to the bottom. It ended near a red sled, tipped on its side by the fence. A tag tied to the rope said, "Please share. From the Ortiz family."

Tess and Marcus took the sled to the top. Then they whooshed down, leaving a brand new stripe in the snow.

Questions

  1. What did Tess and Marcus see on Cutler Hill? in the text

  2. What was missing from the snow? in the text

  3. What marks were beside the boot prints? in the text

  4. What did the tag on the sled say? in the text

  5. How did the person get down the hill without leaving footprints? think about it

  6. Why do you think the Ortiz family left a sled with a tag? think about it

Words to know

frowned
made a face that shows you are puzzled or unhappy
runner
a thin strip under a sled that slides over snow
puzzle
a problem that you have to figure out
stripe
a long, narrow band or line
whooshed
moved fast with a rushing sound
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 · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4

After the first big snow, Tess and Marcus ran to Cutler Hill. The snow was smooth and white. But a line of boot prints went from the bottom to the top.

"Somebody climbed up," said Marcus. "But no prints come down."

Tess frowned. "Did they fly?" She was joking. Marcus looked at the snow beside the prints. There was a wide, smooth stripe with two thin lines.

"Those are runner marks," he said. "From a sled!"

Tess laughed. "They climbed up and slid down. A sled leaves a track, not footprints."

They followed the stripe to the bottom. It ended by a red sled near the fence. A tag on the rope said, "Please share. From the Ortiz family."

Tess and Marcus took the sled up. Then they whooshed down.

▲ This passage · 175 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

After the first big snow, Tess and Marcus ran to Cutler Hill. The snow lay smooth and white. But a long line of boot prints marched from the bottom of the hill to the very top.

"Somebody climbed up," said Marcus. "But there are no prints coming down."

Tess frowned. "Did they fly away?" She was joking, but Marcus took the puzzle seriously. He walked along the hill and looked closely at the snow next to the prints. Right beside them was a wide, smooth stripe with two thin lines on the sides.

"Those are runner marks," he said. "From a sled!"

Tess laughed. "Whoever climbed up must have slid back down, because a sled leaves a track instead of footprints."

They followed the stripe to the bottom. It ended near a red sled, tipped on its side by the fence. A tag tied to the rope said, "Please share. From the Ortiz family."

Tess and Marcus took the sled to the top. Then they whooshed down, leaving a brand new stripe in the snow.

■ Harder · 180 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

After the season's first big snowfall, Tess and Marcus raced to Cutler Hill. The snow lay smooth and white, except for a single line of boot prints that marched from the bottom of the hill all the way to the summit.

"Somebody climbed up here," observed Marcus. "But there are no prints coming back down."

Tess frowned. "Did they fly away?" She was only joking, but Marcus treated the puzzle seriously. He walked alongside the hill and examined the snow next to the prints. Right beside them ran a wide, smooth stripe with a thin line on each side.

"Those are runner marks," he said. "From a sled!"

Tess laughed. "Whoever climbed up simply slid back down. A sled leaves a track, not footprints."

They followed the stripe to the bottom, where it ended beside a red sled leaning against the fence. A tag tied to the rope read, "Please share. From the Ortiz family."

Tess and Marcus hauled the sled to the top of the hill. Then they whooshed down together, carving a brand new stripe in the snow.

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 frowned, runner, puzzle, stripe and whooshed 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 Footprints That Only Went Up the Hill"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 175 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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