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Row Seven Has Too Many Weeds

3rd grade fiction passage about a garden chore: 162 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a garden chore 162 words

Row Seven Has Too Many Weeds

Every Saturday, Mateo's grandfather gave him a job in the family vegetable garden. This week it was pulling weeds from row seven. Mateo groaned. Row seven was the longest row, and it was full of tough green weeds.

"I will never finish," he said.

Grandpa handed him a small orange bucket. "Do not look at the whole row," he said. "Just fill the bucket."

Mateo knelt down and pulled. Some weeds came out easily. Others had long roots that fought back. When the bucket was full, he looked up and was surprised. A big patch of dark soil was clear, and the little carrot tops looked happy to have room.

He grabbed the bucket again and filled it a second time. Then a third time. His hands were muddy and his knees were damp, but the end of the row was getting closer.

By lunch, row seven was done. Mateo carried the last bucket to the compost pile and felt very proud.

Questions

  1. What was Mateo's chore on Saturday? in the text

  2. What did Grandpa give Mateo? in the text

  3. What did Grandpa tell Mateo to do instead of looking at the whole row? in the text

  4. What vegetables were growing in the row? in the text

  5. Why did the bucket idea help Mateo? think about it

  6. Why do you think Mateo felt proud at the end? think about it

Words to know

weeds
wild plants that grow where you do not want them
groaned
made a low sound because you did not want to do something
roots
the parts of a plant that grow under the ground
compost
old plant scraps that turn into food for soil
patch
a small area of ground
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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 · 112 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

Every Saturday, Mateo's grandfather gave him a job in the garden. This week it was pulling weeds from row seven. Mateo groaned. Row seven was long, and it was full of weeds.

"I will never finish," he said.

Grandpa gave him a small orange bucket. "Do not look at the whole row," he said. "Just fill the bucket."

Mateo knelt and pulled. Some weeds came out easy. Some had long roots. When the bucket was full, he looked up. A big patch of soil was clear. The little carrot tops had room.

He filled the bucket again. And again. His hands were muddy.

By lunch, row seven was done. Mateo felt proud.

▲ This passage · 162 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Every Saturday, Mateo's grandfather gave him a job in the family vegetable garden. This week it was pulling weeds from row seven. Mateo groaned. Row seven was the longest row, and it was full of tough green weeds.

"I will never finish," he said.

Grandpa handed him a small orange bucket. "Do not look at the whole row," he said. "Just fill the bucket."

Mateo knelt down and pulled. Some weeds came out easily. Others had long roots that fought back. When the bucket was full, he looked up and was surprised. A big patch of dark soil was clear, and the little carrot tops looked happy to have room.

He grabbed the bucket again and filled it a second time. Then a third time. His hands were muddy and his knees were damp, but the end of the row was getting closer.

By lunch, row seven was done. Mateo carried the last bucket to the compost pile and felt very proud.

■ Harder · 176 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Every Saturday, Mateo's grandfather assigned him a job in the family vegetable garden. This week the job was pulling weeds from row seven, and Mateo groaned out loud. Row seven was the longest row in the garden, and it was crowded with tough, stubborn weeds.

"I will never finish this," he complained.

Grandpa handed him a small orange bucket. "Do not stare at the whole row," he advised. "Just concentrate on filling the bucket."

Mateo knelt down and began to pull. Some weeds slid out easily, while others had long roots that clung to the soil. When the bucket was full, he looked up and was astonished. A wide patch of dark soil was bare, and the little carrot tops seemed delighted to have room to grow.

He emptied the bucket and filled it again, and then a third time. His hands were muddy and his knees were damp, but the end of the row was creeping closer.

By lunchtime, row seven was finished. Mateo carried the last bucket to the compost pile, feeling enormously proud.

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 weeds, groaned, roots, compost and patch 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 "Row Seven Has Too Many Weeds"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 162 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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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