3rd grade fiction passage about folding origami cranes: 158 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradefictionfolding origami cranes158 words
A Hundred Paper Cranes for Room Twelve
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school at the end of the year, and Room Twelve wanted to give him a gift. Lucy had an idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she said. "A hundred of them."
Everyone agreed. But a paper crane has many folds, and the first ones looked more like crumpled snacks than birds.
Lucy showed the class a slow way. "Fold the paper corner to corner first. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail. Then take your time."
Each day after lunch, the class folded. Some kids made three cranes and some made seven. A boy named Sam folded one so small it fit on a fingertip. A tally on the board grew from ten to forty to eighty.
On the last Friday, Lucy counted the final birds. Ninety-nine. They were one short! Then Mr. Reyes walked in, smiling, and handed Lucy a folded crane of his own. Now there were a hundred.
Questions
Why did Room Twelve want to make a gift? in the text
How many cranes did the class want to fold? in the text
What did the first cranes look like? in the text
How did Sam's crane stand out? in the text
Why did the class keep a tally on the board? think about it
How did Mr. Reyes help finish the number? think about it
Words to know
crane
a tall bird with a long neck and long legs
crumpled
squashed and wrinkled
crease
a sharp line made by folding paper
tally
a count that you keep by making marks
folds
bends in paper made by pressing it over itself
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
A Hundred Paper Cranes for Room Twelve
3rd grade reading passage
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school at the end of the year, and Room Twelve wanted to give him a gift. Lucy had an idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she said. "A hundred of them."
Everyone agreed. But a paper crane has many folds, and the first ones looked more like crumpled snacks than birds.
Lucy showed the class a slow way. "Fold the paper corner to corner first. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail. Then take your time."
Each day after lunch, the class folded. Some kids made three cranes and some made seven. A boy named Sam folded one so small it fit on a fingertip. A tally on the board grew from ten to forty to eighty.
On the last Friday, Lucy counted the final birds. Ninety-nine. They were one short! Then Mr. Reyes walked in, smiling, and handed Lucy a folded crane of his own. Now there were a hundred.
Questions
Why did Room Twelve want to make a gift?
How many cranes did the class want to fold?
What did the first cranes look like?
How did Sam's crane stand out?
Why did the class keep a tally on the board?
How did Mr. Reyes help finish the number?
Words to know
crane: a tall bird with a long neck and long legs
crumpled: squashed and wrinkled
crease: a sharp line made by folding paper
tally: a count that you keep by making marks
folds: bends in paper made by pressing it over itself
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/hundred-paper-cranes-for-room-twelve
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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 · 121 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school. Room Twelve wanted to give him a gift. Lucy had an idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she said. "A hundred."
Everyone said yes. But a crane has many folds. The first ones looked like crumpled snacks.
Lucy showed a slow way. "Fold corner to corner. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail. Take your time."
Each day after lunch, the class folded. Some kids made three. Some made seven. Sam made one so small it fit on a fingertip. The tally on the board grew.
On the last Friday, Lucy counted. Ninety-nine! One short. Then Mr. Reyes walked in. He gave Lucy a crane he had folded. Now there were a hundred.
▲ This passage · 158 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school at the end of the year, and Room Twelve wanted to give him a gift. Lucy had an idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she said. "A hundred of them."
Everyone agreed. But a paper crane has many folds, and the first ones looked more like crumpled snacks than birds.
Lucy showed the class a slow way. "Fold the paper corner to corner first. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail. Then take your time."
Each day after lunch, the class folded. Some kids made three cranes and some made seven. A boy named Sam folded one so small it fit on a fingertip. A tally on the board grew from ten to forty to eighty.
On the last Friday, Lucy counted the final birds. Ninety-nine. They were one short! Then Mr. Reyes walked in, smiling, and handed Lucy a folded crane of his own. Now there were a hundred.
■ Harder · 176 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school at the end of the year, and the students in Room Twelve were determined to give him a memorable gift. Lucy had a wonderful idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she proposed. "A hundred of them."
Everyone eagerly agreed. However, a paper crane requires many precise folds, and the first attempts resembled crumpled snacks far more than graceful birds.
Lucy demonstrated a slower method. "Begin by folding the paper from corner to corner. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail, and then take your time with every step."
Each afternoon after lunch, the class folded together. Some students finished three cranes while others finished seven. A boy named Sam folded one so tiny that it balanced on a fingertip. The tally on the board climbed from ten to forty to eighty.
On the final Friday, Lucy counted the last birds. Ninety-nine! They were one short. Just then, Mr. Reyes strolled in, smiling, and handed Lucy a crane that he had folded himself. Now there were exactly a hundred.
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school. Room Twelve wanted to give him a gift. Lucy had an idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she said. "A hundred."
Everyone said yes. But a crane has many folds. The first ones looked like crumpled snacks.
Lucy showed a slow way. "Fold corner to corner. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail. Take your time."
Each day after lunch, the class folded. Some kids made three. Some made seven. Sam made one so small it fit on a fingertip. The tally on the board grew.
On the last Friday, Lucy counted. Ninety-nine! One short. Then Mr. Reyes walked in. He gave Lucy a crane he had folded. Now there were a hundred.
Questions
Why did Room Twelve want a gift?
How many cranes did they want?
What did the first cranes look like?
How was Sam's crane special?
Why was there a tally on the board?
How did Mr. Reyes help?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
A Hundred Paper Cranes for Room Twelve
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school at the end of the year, and Room Twelve wanted to give him a gift. Lucy had an idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she said. "A hundred of them."
Everyone agreed. But a paper crane has many folds, and the first ones looked more like crumpled snacks than birds.
Lucy showed the class a slow way. "Fold the paper corner to corner first. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail. Then take your time."
Each day after lunch, the class folded. Some kids made three cranes and some made seven. A boy named Sam folded one so small it fit on a fingertip. A tally on the board grew from ten to forty to eighty.
On the last Friday, Lucy counted the final birds. Ninety-nine. They were one short! Then Mr. Reyes walked in, smiling, and handed Lucy a folded crane of his own. Now there were a hundred.
Questions
Why did Room Twelve want to make a gift?
How many cranes did the class want to fold?
What did the first cranes look like?
How did Sam's crane stand out?
Why did the class keep a tally on the board?
How did Mr. Reyes help finish the number?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
A Hundred Paper Cranes for Room Twelve
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school at the end of the year, and the students in Room Twelve were determined to give him a memorable gift. Lucy had a wonderful idea. "Let's fold paper cranes," she proposed. "A hundred of them."
Everyone eagerly agreed. However, a paper crane requires many precise folds, and the first attempts resembled crumpled snacks far more than graceful birds.
Lucy demonstrated a slower method. "Begin by folding the paper from corner to corner. Make a crisp crease with your thumbnail, and then take your time with every step."
Each afternoon after lunch, the class folded together. Some students finished three cranes while others finished seven. A boy named Sam folded one so tiny that it balanced on a fingertip. The tally on the board climbed from ten to forty to eighty.
On the final Friday, Lucy counted the last birds. Ninety-nine! They were one short. Just then, Mr. Reyes strolled in, smiling, and handed Lucy a crane that he had folded himself. Now there were exactly a hundred.
Questions
Why did the students in Room Twelve want to make a gift?
How many cranes did the class plan to fold?
What did the first attempts look like?
What made Sam's crane stand out?
Why did the class keep a tally on the board?
How did Mr. Reyes help complete the number?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: A Hundred Paper Cranes for Room Twelve
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7)
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school.
One hundred.
Crumpled snacks.
It was so small it fit on a fingertip.
To count how many cranes they made.
He gave Lucy a crane he folded, so there were a hundred.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school.
One hundred.
Crumpled snacks instead of birds.
It was so small it fit on a fingertip.
To keep track of how many cranes they had made.
He gave Lucy a crane he had folded himself, which made one hundred.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1)
Mr. Reyes was moving to a new school.
One hundred.
Crumpled snacks instead of graceful birds.
It was so tiny that it balanced on a fingertip.
To keep track of how many cranes they had finished.
He handed Lucy a crane he had folded himself, which made exactly a hundred.
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 crane, crumpled, crease, tally and folds 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.
What reading level is "A Hundred Paper Cranes for Room Twelve"?
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 158 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. 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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