Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Library Clock That Stopped at Ten Past Three

3rd grade fiction passage about a stopped library clock: 160 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a stopped library clock 160 words

The Library Clock That Stopped at Ten Past Three

The tall clock in the Maple Street Library had a problem. Every afternoon, it stopped at ten past three. The librarian, Mr. Dane, wound it up each morning. By evening, it always stood still again.

Mina and Gus liked puzzles, so they sat on the rug and watched the clock. At three o'clock, nothing happened. At five past, still nothing. Then, at ten past, they heard a soft peep.

Gus pointed. A small brown wren sat inside the clock case, hopping on the swinging arm. Each hop made the arm wobble, and the clock ticked slower and slower until it stopped.

"A bird has been visiting through that crack in the window frame," whispered Mina.

Mr. Dane smiled. He did not want to hurt the wren, so he hung a little wooden birdhouse outside the window. The next day, the wren moved into it. The clock kept good time all week, and the children kept an eye on the birdhouse.

Questions

  1. What time did the clock stop each day? in the text

  2. Who wound up the clock each morning? in the text

  3. What kind of bird was inside the clock case? in the text

  4. Where did Mr. Dane hang the birdhouse? in the text

  5. Why did the clock slow down and stop? think about it

  6. Why do you think Mr. Dane gave the wren a birdhouse? think about it

Words to know

librarian
a person who works in a library
wren
a tiny brown bird with a loud song
wound
turned a key to give a clock its power
wobble
to shake from side to side
whispered
spoke in a very soft voice
Share

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 · 129 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

The tall clock in the Maple Street Library had a problem. Each afternoon, it stopped at ten past three. Mr. Dane, the librarian, wound it every morning. By night, it was still again.

Mina and Gus liked puzzles. They sat on the rug and watched the clock. At three, nothing. At five past, nothing. At ten past, they heard a soft peep.

Gus pointed. A little brown wren sat in the clock case. It hopped on the swinging arm. The arm wobbled. The clock ticked slower and slower. Then it stopped.

"The bird comes in through a crack by the window," whispered Mina.

Mr. Dane did not want to hurt the wren. He hung a birdhouse outside. The next day, the wren moved in. The clock kept good time.

▲ This passage · 160 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

The tall clock in the Maple Street Library had a problem. Every afternoon, it stopped at ten past three. The librarian, Mr. Dane, wound it up each morning. By evening, it always stood still again.

Mina and Gus liked puzzles, so they sat on the rug and watched the clock. At three o'clock, nothing happened. At five past, still nothing. Then, at ten past, they heard a soft peep.

Gus pointed. A small brown wren sat inside the clock case, hopping on the swinging arm. Each hop made the arm wobble, and the clock ticked slower and slower until it stopped.

"A bird has been visiting through that crack in the window frame," whispered Mina.

Mr. Dane smiled. He did not want to hurt the wren, so he hung a little wooden birdhouse outside the window. The next day, the wren moved into it. The clock kept good time all week, and the children kept an eye on the birdhouse.

■ Harder · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

The tall grandfather clock in the Maple Street Library had developed a baffling problem. Every afternoon, it came to a stop at ten past three. The librarian, Mr. Dane, wound it faithfully each morning, yet by evening it always stood motionless again.

Mina and Gus both loved puzzles, so they settled on the rug and kept a close watch on the clock. At three o'clock, nothing happened. At five past, still nothing. Then, at precisely ten past, they heard a soft peep.

Gus pointed excitedly. A small brown wren was perched inside the clock case, hopping on the swinging arm. Every hop made the arm wobble, and the clock ticked slower and slower until it finally stopped.

"A bird must be visiting through that crack in the window frame," Mina whispered.

Mr. Dane smiled, because he had no wish to harm the wren. Instead, he hung a little wooden birdhouse outside the window. By the next day, the wren had moved into its new home, and the clock kept perfect time all week long.

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 librarian, wren, wound, wobble and whispered 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 "The Library Clock That Stopped at Ten Past Three"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 160 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.3. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.