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The Map That Faced Backward

3rd grade fiction passage about a hand-drawn map to a pond: 167 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a hand-drawn map to a pond 167 words

The Map That Faced Backward

Grandma Ro drew a map for Ivy and Theo. It showed the way to Pebble Pond. At the top, she wrote, "Turn left at the split oak."

The cousins hiked past the old fence and found the split oak. They turned left, just as the map said, but the path soon ended in a thick wall of brambles. There was no pond anywhere.

"Grandma never makes mistakes," said Theo. "Maybe we missed something."

Ivy turned the map around in her hands. She noticed a tiny arrow in the corner. It pointed back toward the house. "Look," she said. "Grandma drew this while standing at the pond. She was looking back at us!"

Theo grinned. "So her left is really our right."

They went back to the oak and took the other path, and in a few minutes they heard frogs. Pebble Pond sparkled just ahead. Ivy folded the map and added one line at the bottom, in her own writing. It said, "Check which way it faces."

Questions

  1. Who drew the map? in the text

  2. What was at the end of the first path? in the text

  3. What did Ivy find in the corner of the map? in the text

  4. What did the cousins hear when they were close to the pond? in the text

  5. Why did the left turn lead to the wrong place? think about it

  6. Why did Ivy add a line to the map? think about it

Words to know

hiked
walked a long way outdoors for fun
brambles
thorny bushes that grow in tangles
split
broken or divided into two parts
noticed
saw something and paid attention to it
sparkled
shone with little flashes of light
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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 · 118 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6

Grandma Ro drew a map for Ivy and Theo. It showed the way to Pebble Pond. It said, "Turn left at the split oak."

The cousins found the split oak. They turned left. The path ended in thick brambles. There was no pond.

"Grandma does not make mistakes," said Theo.

Ivy looked at the map. A tiny arrow in the corner pointed back to the house. "Grandma drew this at the pond," she said. "She was looking back at us!"

Theo grinned. "So her left is our right."

They went back and took the other path. Soon they heard frogs. Pebble Pond sparkled ahead. Ivy wrote one line on the map. It said, "Check which way it faces."

▲ This passage · 167 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2

Grandma Ro drew a map for Ivy and Theo. It showed the way to Pebble Pond. At the top, she wrote, "Turn left at the split oak."

The cousins hiked past the old fence and found the split oak. They turned left, just as the map said, but the path soon ended in a thick wall of brambles. There was no pond anywhere.

"Grandma never makes mistakes," said Theo. "Maybe we missed something."

Ivy turned the map around in her hands. She noticed a tiny arrow in the corner. It pointed back toward the house. "Look," she said. "Grandma drew this while standing at the pond. She was looking back at us!"

Theo grinned. "So her left is really our right."

They went back to the oak and took the other path, and in a few minutes they heard frogs. Pebble Pond sparkled just ahead. Ivy folded the map and added one line at the bottom, in her own writing. It said, "Check which way it faces."

■ Harder · 175 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1

Grandma Ro carefully drew a map for her grandchildren, Ivy and Theo, showing the route to Pebble Pond. Near the top, she had written, "Turn left at the split oak."

The cousins hiked past the crumbling old fence and soon reached the split oak. They turned left, exactly as the map instructed, but the path ended abruptly in a thick wall of brambles. There was not a pond in sight.

"Grandma never makes mistakes," Theo declared. "We must have missed something."

Ivy rotated the map in her hands and spotted a tiny arrow in one corner. It pointed back toward the house. "Look at this," she said. "Grandma drew the map while she was standing at the pond, so she was facing us!"

Theo grinned. "That means her left is our right."

They returned to the oak and chose the other path. Within minutes, they could hear frogs croaking, and Pebble Pond sparkled just ahead. Ivy folded the map and added a line at the bottom in her own handwriting: "Check which way it faces."

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 hiked, brambles, split, noticed and sparkled 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 Map That Faced Backward"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 167 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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