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Gearbox Learns to Knit Mittens

3rd grade fiction passage about a robot who learns to knit: 154 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a robot who learns to knit 154 words

Gearbox Learns to Knit Mittens

Gearbox was a robot with two big metal hands. He could lift boxes and turn wheels. But his fingers were too clumsy to hold a needle.

His neighbor, Mrs. Lindqvist, was knitting mittens for the winter fair. Gearbox wanted to help. He took two needles and some yarn. Snap! The first needle bent in half.

"Hands that are good at lifting are not good at tiny things," said Mrs. Lindqvist. "Try slowly."

Gearbox opened a small panel and turned a dial. His grip got softer. He tried again. The yarn made one loop, then another. By evening he had made a long, crooked scarf shape.

"It is not a mitten," he said sadly.

"No," said Mrs. Lindqvist, "but it is a fine thing for the fair." She hung it on the stand with a sign that said, "Made by Gearbox." By noon the next day, a girl had bought it for her giraffe toy.

Questions

  1. What was Gearbox good at doing? in the text

  2. What happened to the first needle? in the text

  3. What did Gearbox do to make his grip softer? in the text

  4. What did Gearbox make by evening? in the text

  5. Why was Gearbox sad about what he made? think about it

  6. Who bought the scarf shape at the fair? in the text

Words to know

knit
to make cloth by looping yarn with needles
clumsy
not good at moving in a careful way
yarn
long, soft thread used for knitting
crooked
bent or not straight
grip
the way you hold something tightly
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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 · 148 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Gearbox was a robot. He had two big metal hands. He could lift boxes and turn wheels. But his fingers were too clumsy for a needle.

His neighbor, Mrs. Lindqvist, was knitting mittens for the winter fair. Gearbox wanted to help. He took two needles and some yarn. Snap! The first needle bent in half.

"Hands that lift well are not good at tiny things," said Mrs. Lindqvist. "Go slowly."

Gearbox opened a small panel. He turned a dial. His grip got softer. He tried again. The yarn made a loop, and then another loop. By evening he had made a long, crooked scarf shape.

"It is not a mitten," he said sadly.

"No," said Mrs. Lindqvist, "but it is fine for the fair." She hung it up with a sign. The sign said, "Made by Gearbox." The next day, a girl bought it for her giraffe toy.

▲ This passage · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

Gearbox was a robot with two big metal hands. He could lift boxes and turn wheels. But his fingers were too clumsy to hold a needle.

His neighbor, Mrs. Lindqvist, was knitting mittens for the winter fair. Gearbox wanted to help. He took two needles and some yarn. Snap! The first needle bent in half.

"Hands that are good at lifting are not good at tiny things," said Mrs. Lindqvist. "Try slowly."

Gearbox opened a small panel and turned a dial. His grip got softer. He tried again. The yarn made one loop, then another. By evening he had made a long, crooked scarf shape.

"It is not a mitten," he said sadly.

"No," said Mrs. Lindqvist, "but it is a fine thing for the fair." She hung it on the stand with a sign that said, "Made by Gearbox." By noon the next day, a girl had bought it for her giraffe toy.

■ Harder · 177 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

Gearbox was a robot with two enormous metal hands. He could easily lift heavy boxes and turn stubborn wheels, but his fingers were far too clumsy to hold a delicate needle.

His neighbor, Mrs. Lindqvist, was busy knitting mittens for the winter fair, and Gearbox badly wanted to help. He picked up two needles and a ball of yarn. Snap! The first needle bent right in half.

"Hands that are good at lifting are rarely good at tiny things," said Mrs. Lindqvist. "Try it slowly, and be patient with yourself."

Gearbox opened a small panel on his wrist and turned a dial, and his grip grew much softer. He tried again. The yarn made one loop, then another, and by evening he had produced a long, crooked scarf shape.

"It is not a mitten," he said sadly.

"No," said Mrs. Lindqvist, "but it is a fine thing for the fair." She hung it on the stand beside a sign reading "Made by Gearbox." Before noon the next day, a girl had bought it for her toy giraffe.

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 knit, clumsy, yarn, crooked and grip 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 "Gearbox Learns to Knit Mittens"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 154 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.0. 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 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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