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Goalie Pads Two Sizes Too Big

3rd grade fiction passage about a first day as goalie: 168 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a first day as goalie 168 words

Goalie Pads Two Sizes Too Big

When the coach asked who wanted to be goalie, nobody raised a hand. Then Jun's hand went up, partly by accident. He had been scratching his nose.

"Great!" said Coach Bell. "The old pads are in the closet."

The pads were two sizes too big, so they flapped around Jun's knees, and the gloves made his hands look like baseballs. When he walked, he waddled like a duck that was wearing a mattress.

In the first game, the other team kicked eight shots at him, and he missed the first three while his teammates groaned. But on the fourth, a ball bounced right toward his chest, and Jun hugged it with both arms. Stopped!

"Keep your eyes on the ball," called Coach Bell, "and not on the crowd."

After that, Jun watched the ball closely. He did not stop every shot, but he stopped enough. At the end, his team won by one goal. Jun waddled off the field with mud on his nose, and he was grinning.

Questions

  1. How did Jun become the goalie? in the text

  2. What was wrong with the old pads? in the text

  3. How many shots did Jun miss at the start? in the text

  4. What advice did Coach Bell give Jun? in the text

  5. Why did the team groan when Jun missed? think about it

  6. Why was Jun grinning at the end? think about it

Words to know

goalie
the player who guards the goal and stops the ball
pads
soft covers worn to protect the body
waddled
walked with short steps, swaying side to side
coach
a person who trains and leads a team
accident
something that happens without being planned
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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 · 119 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1

The coach asked who wanted to be goalie. Nobody raised a hand. Then Jun's hand went up. It was an accident. He had been scratching his nose.

"Great!" said Coach Bell. "The old pads are in the closet."

The pads were too big. They flapped at Jun's knees. The gloves made his hands look like baseballs. He waddled like a duck.

In the first game, the other team took eight shots. Jun missed the first three. His team groaned. Then a ball came at his chest. Jun hugged it. Stopped!

"Watch the ball," called Coach Bell.

After that, Jun watched the ball closely. His team won by one goal. Jun had mud on his nose, and he was grinning.

▲ This passage · 168 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

When the coach asked who wanted to be goalie, nobody raised a hand. Then Jun's hand went up, partly by accident. He had been scratching his nose.

"Great!" said Coach Bell. "The old pads are in the closet."

The pads were two sizes too big, so they flapped around Jun's knees, and the gloves made his hands look like baseballs. When he walked, he waddled like a duck that was wearing a mattress.

In the first game, the other team kicked eight shots at him, and he missed the first three while his teammates groaned. But on the fourth, a ball bounced right toward his chest, and Jun hugged it with both arms. Stopped!

"Keep your eyes on the ball," called Coach Bell, "and not on the crowd."

After that, Jun watched the ball closely. He did not stop every shot, but he stopped enough. At the end, his team won by one goal. Jun waddled off the field with mud on his nose, and he was grinning.

■ Harder · 177 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

When the coach asked for a volunteer to play goalie, nobody raised a hand. Then Jun's hand shot up, partly by accident, because he had actually been scratching his nose.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Coach Bell. "The old pads are in the equipment closet."

The pads turned out to be two sizes too large. They flapped loosely around Jun's knees, and the enormous gloves made his hands look like baseballs. When he walked, he waddled like a duck.

During the first game, the opposing team launched eight shots at him. Jun missed the first three, and his teammates groaned. But on the fourth shot, the ball bounced straight toward his chest, and he wrapped both arms around it. Saved!

"Keep your eyes on the ball," called Coach Bell, "and not on the crowd."

From then on, Jun concentrated on the ball. He did not stop every shot, but he stopped plenty of them. By the end, his team had won by a single goal. Jun waddled off the field with mud on his nose, grinning from ear to ear.

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 goalie, pads, waddled, coach and accident 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 "Goalie Pads Two Sizes Too Big"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 168 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.4. 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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