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Tess Turns the Rope

3rd grade fiction passage about a rope turner who never gets to jump: 198 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a rope turner who never gets to jump 198 words

Tess Turns the Rope

Every recess, the girls on the blacktop jumped rope. Tess was the best at keeping the beat, so she always turned one end of the rope. Her friend Dina turned the other end. Everyone else took a turn jumping.

Tess never complained. She turned and chanted, and she watched the jumpers' feet. Her own feet tapped on the ground, just a little.

One windy day, Dina saw those tapping feet. "Tess," she said, "when was the last time you jumped?"

Tess shrugged. "Somebody has to turn."

"Wait," said Dina. She looked at the fence. Then she tied her end of the rope to the post, tight with a double knot. "Now the fence can turn with me. We only need one turner at a time."

Tess stepped into the middle. The rope swung over her head. She counted the beat in her mind and jumped. Her sneakers hit the ground with a smack, smack, smack.

"Ten in a row!" cheered the girls.

From then on, the group made a chart. Everyone took a turn at turning, a turn at jumping, and a turn at calling out the chant. Tess did all three, and she liked the jumping best.

Questions

  1. Why did Tess always turn the rope? in the text

  2. What did Dina notice on the windy day? in the text

  3. What did Dina tie to the fence post? in the text

  4. How many jumps did Tess do in a row? in the text

  5. Why did Tess say, Somebody has to turn? think about it

  6. How did the chart make recess fairer? think about it

Words to know

blacktop
a hard, dark paved ground at a school
chanted
said words again and again in a steady beat
complained
said that something was not fair or not good
knot
a tight tie made by looping rope or string
beat
the steady rhythm of a song or chant
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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 · 168 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7

Every recess, the girls jumped rope on the blacktop. Tess kept the best beat. So she always turned one end of the rope. Her friend Dina turned the other end. Everyone else took a turn to jump.

Tess never complained. She turned and chanted. She watched the jumpers' feet. Her own feet tapped on the ground a little.

One windy day, Dina saw her feet. "Tess," she said, "when did you last jump?"

Tess shrugged. "Somebody has to turn."

"Wait," said Dina. She looked at the fence. She tied her end of the rope to the post. She made a double knot. "Now the fence can turn with me. We need just one turner."

Tess stepped into the middle. The rope swung over her head. She jumped. Her sneakers went smack, smack, smack.

"Ten in a row!" cheered the girls.

After that, the girls made a chart. Everyone got a turn to turn, a turn to jump, and a turn to call the chant. Tess liked jumping best.

▲ This passage · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

Every recess, the girls on the blacktop jumped rope. Tess was the best at keeping the beat, so she always turned one end of the rope. Her friend Dina turned the other end. Everyone else took a turn jumping.

Tess never complained. She turned and chanted, and she watched the jumpers' feet. Her own feet tapped on the ground, just a little.

One windy day, Dina saw those tapping feet. "Tess," she said, "when was the last time you jumped?"

Tess shrugged. "Somebody has to turn."

"Wait," said Dina. She looked at the fence. Then she tied her end of the rope to the post, tight with a double knot. "Now the fence can turn with me. We only need one turner at a time."

Tess stepped into the middle. The rope swung over her head. She counted the beat in her mind and jumped. Her sneakers hit the ground with a smack, smack, smack.

"Ten in a row!" cheered the girls.

From then on, the group made a chart. Everyone took a turn at turning, a turn at jumping, and a turn at calling out the chant. Tess did all three, and she liked the jumping best.

■ Harder · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

At every recess, a group of girls gathered on the blacktop to jump rope. Tess was the best at keeping a steady beat, so she always turned one end of the rope while her friend Dina turned the other. Everyone else took turns jumping in the middle.

Tess never once complained. She turned and chanted and watched the jumpers' feet, although her own feet tapped on the pavement, just a little.

One blustery day, Dina noticed those tapping feet. "Tess," she asked, "when was the last time you got to jump?"

Tess shrugged. "Somebody has to turn."

"Hold on," said Dina. She glanced at the fence, and then she tied her end of the rope to the post with a tight double knot. "Now the fence can turn with me. We only need one turner at a time."

Tess stepped into the middle as the rope swung over her head. She counted the beat in her mind and jumped, and her sneakers landed with a smack, smack, smack.

"Ten in a row!" the girls cheered.

From then on, the group made a chart so that everyone took a turn at turning, a turn at jumping, and a turn at calling out the chant. Tess did all three jobs, but she liked the jumping best.

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 blacktop, chanted, complained, knot and beat 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 "Tess Turns the Rope"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 198 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.6. 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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