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Sami and the Hand Game Tournament

3rd grade fiction passage about a new student who speaks little English: 208 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a new student who speaks little English 208 words

Sami and the Hand Game Tournament

Sami had just moved to a new country. At recess, he stood by the wall with his hands in his pockets. He knew only a few English words, and the kids on the field were talking too fast.

Ruben saw him standing alone. He had no idea how to say hello, so he tried something else. He held out a fist and said, "Rock?"

Sami's face lit up. He pulled out his own fist. Then he shook it three times. Ruben shook his too. Sami opened his hand flat for paper. Ruben made two fingers like scissors. Scissors cut paper. Ruben lost, and he laughed.

They played again. And again. Soon four more kids gathered around. "Tournament!" someone shouted.

Ruben drew a bracket on the ground with a stick. Sami won his first match, then his second. Each time he named the moves in his own language, and the kids copied the sounds. By the end of recess, half the field was saying "rock, paper, scissors" in two languages.

Sami was crowned champion. He bowed, and everybody cheered.

The next day, he did not stand by the wall. He ran to the field first and held up his fist. "Tournament?" he said, and nearly twenty kids said yes.

Questions

  1. Where did Sami stand at the start of recess? in the text

  2. What did Ruben do to start a game with Sami? in the text

  3. What did Ruben draw on the ground with a stick? in the text

  4. What did the kids copy from Sami? in the text

  5. Why was a hand game a good way for Ruben and Sami to connect? think about it

  6. How can you tell Sami felt more at home the next day? think about it

Words to know

tournament
a set of games where players try to win
bracket
a chart that shows who plays whom in a contest
champion
the winner of a contest
gathered
came together in one place
crowned
named the winner with a special honor
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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 · 193 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

Sami had just moved to a new country. At recess he stood by the wall. His hands were in his pockets. He knew only a few English words. The kids on the field talked too fast.

Ruben saw him. He did not know how to say hello. So he tried something else. He held out a fist and said, "Rock?"

Sami's face lit up. He held out his own fist. He shook it three times. Ruben shook his too. Sami held his hand flat for paper. Ruben made two fingers like scissors. Scissors cut paper. Ruben lost. He laughed.

They played again and again. Four more kids came to watch. "Tournament!" someone shouted.

Ruben drew a bracket on the ground with a stick. Sami won his first match. He won his second match. He said the moves in his own language. The kids copied the sounds. Soon half the field said "rock, paper, scissors" in two languages.

Sami was the champion. He bowed. Everyone cheered.

The next day, he did not stand by the wall. He ran to the field and held up his fist. "Tournament?" he said. Nearly twenty kids said yes.

▲ This passage · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

Sami had just moved to a new country. At recess, he stood by the wall with his hands in his pockets. He knew only a few English words, and the kids on the field were talking too fast.

Ruben saw him standing alone. He had no idea how to say hello, so he tried something else. He held out a fist and said, "Rock?"

Sami's face lit up. He pulled out his own fist. Then he shook it three times. Ruben shook his too. Sami opened his hand flat for paper. Ruben made two fingers like scissors. Scissors cut paper. Ruben lost, and he laughed.

They played again. And again. Soon four more kids gathered around. "Tournament!" someone shouted.

Ruben drew a bracket on the ground with a stick. Sami won his first match, then his second. Each time he named the moves in his own language, and the kids copied the sounds. By the end of recess, half the field was saying "rock, paper, scissors" in two languages.

Sami was crowned champion. He bowed, and everybody cheered.

The next day, he did not stand by the wall. He ran to the field first and held up his fist. "Tournament?" he said, and nearly twenty kids said yes.

■ Harder · 232 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5

Sami had only just moved to a new country. At recess, he stood by the wall with his hands in his pockets. He knew only a handful of English words, and the children on the field were chattering far too quickly for him to follow.

Ruben noticed him standing there alone. He had no idea how to say hello in Sami's language, so he tried something different. He held out a fist and asked, "Rock?"

Sami's face lit up. He raised his own fist and shook it three times, and Ruben shook his in return. Sami opened his hand flat for paper, while Ruben made two fingers like scissors. Scissors cut paper, so Ruben lost, and he burst out laughing.

They played again and again. Soon four more children had gathered around them. "Tournament!" somebody shouted.

Ruben drew a bracket on the ground with a stick. Sami won his first match and then his second. Each time, he named the moves in his own language, and the other children copied the unfamiliar sounds. By the end of recess, half the field was saying "rock, paper, scissors" in two languages.

Sami was crowned the champion. He took a deep bow, and everybody cheered.

The next day, he did not stand by the wall. He ran onto the field first and held up his fist. "Tournament?" he said, and nearly twenty kids said yes.

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 tournament, bracket, champion, gathered and crowned 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 "Sami and the Hand Game Tournament"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 208 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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