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Learning to Whistle Took All Week

3rd grade fiction passage about learning to whistle: 158 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction learning to whistle 158 words

Learning to Whistle Took All Week

Every kid in Hana's class could whistle except Hana. At lunch, Dev whistled a bouncy song, and two other kids joined in. Hana pushed air through her lips and got nothing but a puff.

"Pucker up," said Dev. "Make your mouth small, like you are sipping from a straw."

On Monday, Hana puckered and blew. Whoosh. On Tuesday, she tried in the shower and the bathroom mirror. Whoosh. Her cheeks hurt, and she was ready to quit.

On Wednesday, her dad had an idea. "Try moving your tongue a little," he said. "Tuck it back, and blow gently."

Hana tried it that night while brushing her teeth. Nothing. On Thursday morning, she tried again at the bus stop. Then, a thin, wobbly sound came out. It was a whistle, a tiny one.

She squealed so loudly that the bus driver waved. By Friday, Hana could whistle one whole note, and she whistled it all the way to school.

Questions

  1. Who in Hana's class could not whistle? in the text

  2. What did Dev tell Hana to imagine? in the text

  3. What new idea did her dad share? in the text

  4. Where was Hana when she made her first whistle? in the text

  5. Why did Hana feel like quitting on Tuesday? think about it

  6. What did Hana learn about trying something new? think about it

Words to know

whistle
a high sound made by blowing air through your lips
pucker
to pull your lips together tightly
wobbly
shaky and not steady
gently
in a soft and careful way
squealed
made a loud, high happy sound
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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 · 111 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.8

Every kid in Hana's class could whistle but Hana. At lunch, Dev whistled a song. Two kids joined in. Hana blew air and got a puff.

"Pucker up," said Dev. "Make your mouth small, like you sip from a straw."

On Monday, Hana puckered and blew. Whoosh. On Tuesday, she tried again. Whoosh. Her cheeks hurt. She wanted to quit.

On Wednesday, her dad said, "Move your tongue back a little. Blow soft."

She tried that night. Nothing. On Thursday, at the bus stop, a thin sound came out. It was a whistle!

She squealed. The bus driver waved. By Friday, Hana could whistle one note all the way to school.

▲ This passage · 158 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

Every kid in Hana's class could whistle except Hana. At lunch, Dev whistled a bouncy song, and two other kids joined in. Hana pushed air through her lips and got nothing but a puff.

"Pucker up," said Dev. "Make your mouth small, like you are sipping from a straw."

On Monday, Hana puckered and blew. Whoosh. On Tuesday, she tried in the shower and the bathroom mirror. Whoosh. Her cheeks hurt, and she was ready to quit.

On Wednesday, her dad had an idea. "Try moving your tongue a little," he said. "Tuck it back, and blow gently."

Hana tried it that night while brushing her teeth. Nothing. On Thursday morning, she tried again at the bus stop. Then, a thin, wobbly sound came out. It was a whistle, a tiny one.

She squealed so loudly that the bus driver waved. By Friday, Hana could whistle one whole note, and she whistled it all the way to school.

■ Harder · 173 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

Every child in Hana's class could whistle except Hana. At lunch, Dev whistled a bouncy tune, and two other kids joined in. Hana pushed air through her lips and produced nothing but a faint puff.

"Pucker up," Dev advised. "Make your mouth really small, as if you were sipping from a straw."

On Monday, Hana puckered her lips and blew. Whoosh. On Tuesday, she practiced in front of the bathroom mirror. Whoosh. Her cheeks ached, and she was ready to give up completely.

On Wednesday, her dad offered a new suggestion. "Try moving your tongue a little," he said. "Tuck it back, and blow very gently."

Hana tried it that evening while she brushed her teeth, but nothing happened. On Thursday morning at the bus stop, she tried once more, and a thin, wobbly sound finally escaped. It was a real whistle, a tiny one.

She squealed so loudly that the bus driver waved at her. By Friday, Hana could whistle one whole note, and she whistled it all the way to school.

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 whistle, pucker, wobbly, gently and squealed 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 "Learning to Whistle Took All Week"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 158 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.5. 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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