3rd grade fiction passage about a mailbox full of bees: 142 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradefictiona mailbox full of bees142 words
The Humming Mailbox on Fern Lane
Every morning, Nora checked the mailbox at the end of her lane. But one Tuesday, the mailbox was humming. Mmmmm. It sounded like a tiny motor.
Nora did not open the little door. She ran to get her uncle instead. He tapped the side of the box with a pencil. The humming got louder. "Something is alive in there," he said.
They stepped back and watched. A small gold bee crawled out, and then another. Soon a long line of bees flew off toward the apple trees across the road.
"A swarm moved in," said Uncle Pat. He called a beekeeper named Mrs. Lund. She came with a wooden box and a soft brush. By lunch, the bees had a new home, and the mailbox was quiet.
Nora made a sign for the post. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
Questions
What did Nora hear coming from the mailbox? in the text
What did Uncle Pat use to tap the mailbox? in the text
Where did the bees fly first? in the text
Who came to move the bees? in the text
Why was it smart for Nora to get her uncle before opening the door? think about it
Why do you think Nora made the sign? think about it
Words to know
motor
a machine part that makes things move and hum
swarm
a big group of bees that fly together
beekeeper
a person who takes care of bees
lane
a narrow country road
humming
making a low, steady sound like mmm
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Humming Mailbox on Fern Lane
3rd grade reading passage
Every morning, Nora checked the mailbox at the end of her lane. But one Tuesday, the mailbox was humming. Mmmmm. It sounded like a tiny motor.
Nora did not open the little door. She ran to get her uncle instead. He tapped the side of the box with a pencil. The humming got louder. "Something is alive in there," he said.
They stepped back and watched. A small gold bee crawled out, and then another. Soon a long line of bees flew off toward the apple trees across the road.
"A swarm moved in," said Uncle Pat. He called a beekeeper named Mrs. Lund. She came with a wooden box and a soft brush. By lunch, the bees had a new home, and the mailbox was quiet.
Nora made a sign for the post. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
Questions
What did Nora hear coming from the mailbox?
What did Uncle Pat use to tap the mailbox?
Where did the bees fly first?
Who came to move the bees?
Why was it smart for Nora to get her uncle before opening the door?
Why do you think Nora made the sign?
Words to know
motor: a machine part that makes things move and hum
swarm: a big group of bees that fly together
beekeeper: a person who takes care of bees
lane: a narrow country road
humming: making a low, steady sound like mmm
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/humming-mailbox-fern-lane
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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 · 110 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8
Nora checked the mailbox each morning. One Tuesday, it was humming. Mmmmm. It sounded like a little motor.
Nora did not open it. She got her uncle. He tapped the box with a pencil. The hum got louder. "Something is alive in there," he said.
They stood back. A gold bee came out. Then more bees came out. They flew to the apple trees.
"A swarm of bees moved in," said Uncle Pat. He called Mrs. Lund, a beekeeper. She came with a box and a brush. The bees went into the new box. The mailbox was quiet.
Nora made a sign. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
▲ This passage · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
Every morning, Nora checked the mailbox at the end of her lane. But one Tuesday, the mailbox was humming. Mmmmm. It sounded like a tiny motor.
Nora did not open the little door. She ran to get her uncle instead. He tapped the side of the box with a pencil. The humming got louder. "Something is alive in there," he said.
They stepped back and watched. A small gold bee crawled out, and then another. Soon a long line of bees flew off toward the apple trees across the road.
"A swarm moved in," said Uncle Pat. He called a beekeeper named Mrs. Lund. She came with a wooden box and a soft brush. By lunch, the bees had a new home, and the mailbox was quiet.
Nora made a sign for the post. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
■ Harder · 179 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2
Every morning, Nora walked to the mailbox at the end of her lane to see whether any letters had arrived. But one Tuesday, the mailbox was humming with a low, steady sound, mmmmm, much like a tiny motor.
Instead of opening the little door, Nora hurried back to the house and fetched her uncle. He tapped the side of the box with a pencil, and the humming grew noticeably louder. "Something is alive in there," he said quietly.
They stepped back and waited. A small gold bee crawled out of the opening, followed by another and then another. Before long, a long line of bees rose into the air and drifted toward the apple trees across the road.
"A swarm must have moved in," Uncle Pat explained. He telephoned a beekeeper named Mrs. Lund, who arrived with a wooden box and a soft brush. By lunchtime, the bees had settled into their new home, and the mailbox was silent once again.
Nora made a sign and fastened it to the post. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
Nora checked the mailbox each morning. One Tuesday, it was humming. Mmmmm. It sounded like a little motor.
Nora did not open it. She got her uncle. He tapped the box with a pencil. The hum got louder. "Something is alive in there," he said.
They stood back. A gold bee came out. Then more bees came out. They flew to the apple trees.
"A swarm of bees moved in," said Uncle Pat. He called Mrs. Lund, a beekeeper. She came with a box and a brush. The bees went into the new box. The mailbox was quiet.
Nora made a sign. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
Questions
What did Nora hear in the mailbox?
What did Uncle Pat tap the box with?
Where did the bees fly?
Who came to take the bees?
Why did Nora get her uncle?
Why did Nora make a sign?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Humming Mailbox on Fern Lane
Every morning, Nora checked the mailbox at the end of her lane. But one Tuesday, the mailbox was humming. Mmmmm. It sounded like a tiny motor.
Nora did not open the little door. She ran to get her uncle instead. He tapped the side of the box with a pencil. The humming got louder. "Something is alive in there," he said.
They stepped back and watched. A small gold bee crawled out, and then another. Soon a long line of bees flew off toward the apple trees across the road.
"A swarm moved in," said Uncle Pat. He called a beekeeper named Mrs. Lund. She came with a wooden box and a soft brush. By lunch, the bees had a new home, and the mailbox was quiet.
Nora made a sign for the post. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
Questions
What did Nora hear coming from the mailbox?
What did Uncle Pat use to tap the mailbox?
Where did the bees fly first?
Who came to move the bees?
Why was it smart for Nora to get her uncle before opening the door?
Why do you think Nora made the sign?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Humming Mailbox on Fern Lane
Every morning, Nora walked to the mailbox at the end of her lane to see whether any letters had arrived. But one Tuesday, the mailbox was humming with a low, steady sound, mmmmm, much like a tiny motor.
Instead of opening the little door, Nora hurried back to the house and fetched her uncle. He tapped the side of the box with a pencil, and the humming grew noticeably louder. "Something is alive in there," he said quietly.
They stepped back and waited. A small gold bee crawled out of the opening, followed by another and then another. Before long, a long line of bees rose into the air and drifted toward the apple trees across the road.
"A swarm must have moved in," Uncle Pat explained. He telephoned a beekeeper named Mrs. Lund, who arrived with a wooden box and a soft brush. By lunchtime, the bees had settled into their new home, and the mailbox was silent once again.
Nora made a sign and fastened it to the post. It said, "Mail goes here. Bees go there."
Questions
What sound did Nora hear coming from the mailbox?
What did Uncle Pat use to tap the side of the mailbox?
Which way did the bees fly after they came out?
Who did Uncle Pat call to move the bees?
Why was it wise for Nora to fetch her uncle instead of opening the door?
Why do you think Nora fastened a sign to the post?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Humming Mailbox on Fern Lane
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8)
A humming sound.
A pencil.
To the apple trees.
Mrs. Lund, a beekeeper.
Bees can sting, so a grown-up could help keep her safe.
She wanted people to put mail in the box and leave the bees alone.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
A humming sound.
A pencil.
Toward the apple trees across the road.
A beekeeper named Mrs. Lund.
Bees can sting, so a grown-up could help keep everyone safe.
She wanted people to put mail in the box and leave the bees alone.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2)
A low, steady humming sound.
A pencil.
Toward the apple trees across the road.
A beekeeper named Mrs. Lund.
Bees can sting, so a grown-up could help keep everyone safe.
She wanted people to keep using the mailbox for mail and to leave the bees alone.
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 motor, swarm, beekeeper, lane and humming 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 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.
What reading level is "The Humming Mailbox on Fern Lane"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 142 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 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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