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The Bakery Sign That Lost a Letter

3rd grade fiction passage about a bakery sign with a missing letter: 138 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a bakery sign with a missing letter 138 words

The Bakery Sign That Lost a Letter

Rosa's bakery had a bright sign that said FRESH BREAD. One windy morning, the wind snatched the first letter off the second word. Now the sign said FRESH READ.

Soon people lined up at the door. Mr. Tran asked for a mystery novel. A girl wanted a book about horses.

"This is a bakery," said Rosa. "We have bread, not books."

"But your sign says fresh read," said Mr. Tran. Rosa looked up and laughed out loud.

Then she had an idea. She baked a loaf in the shape of an open book. She set it in the window, and she taped the missing letter back where it belonged. Under the sign she wrote, "Yes, you can read our bread."

Mr. Tran bought the loaf. "That is the best read in town," he said. He ate every page.

Questions

  1. What did the bakery sign say at first? in the text

  2. What did the wind do to the sign? in the text

  3. What did the sign say after that? in the text

  4. What kind of book did Mr. Tran ask for? in the text

  5. Why did people think Rosa's bakery sold books? think about it

  6. Why was the book-shaped loaf a clever idea? think about it

Words to know

bakery
a shop that makes and sells bread and cakes
snatched
grabbed quickly
mystery
a story about a puzzle that needs solving
novel
a long made-up story in a book
loaf
a shaped lump of baked bread
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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 · 129 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

Rosa had a bakery with a bright sign. The sign said FRESH BREAD. One windy day, the wind took the first letter off the second word. Now the sign said FRESH READ.

Soon people stood in line. Mr. Tran asked for a mystery book. A girl wanted a book about horses.

"This is a bakery," said Rosa. "We have bread, not books."

"But your sign says fresh read," said Mr. Tran. Rosa looked up and laughed.

Then she had an idea. She baked a loaf like an open book. She put it in the window and taped the letter back. Under the sign she wrote, "Yes, you can read our bread."

Mr. Tran bought the loaf. "That is the best read in town," he said. He ate every page.

▲ This passage · 138 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Rosa's bakery had a bright sign that said FRESH BREAD. One windy morning, the wind snatched the first letter off the second word. Now the sign said FRESH READ.

Soon people lined up at the door. Mr. Tran asked for a mystery novel. A girl wanted a book about horses.

"This is a bakery," said Rosa. "We have bread, not books."

"But your sign says fresh read," said Mr. Tran. Rosa looked up and laughed out loud.

Then she had an idea. She baked a loaf in the shape of an open book. She set it in the window, and she taped the missing letter back where it belonged. Under the sign she wrote, "Yes, you can read our bread."

Mr. Tran bought the loaf. "That is the best read in town," he said. He ate every page.

■ Harder · 147 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Rosa's bakery had a cheerful sign that proudly announced FRESH BREAD. One blustery morning, the wind snatched the first letter off the second word. Suddenly the sign read FRESH READ.

Before long, people lined up outside the door. Mr. Tran requested a mystery novel, and a young girl asked for a book about horses.

"This is a bakery," said Rosa. "We sell bread, not books."

"But your sign says fresh read," said Mr. Tran. Rosa glanced up at the sign and laughed out loud.

Then she had a clever idea. She baked a loaf in the shape of an open book and placed it in the window. She also taped the missing letter back where it belonged. Underneath the sign she wrote, "Yes, you can read our bread."

Mr. Tran bought the loaf. "That is the best read in town," he said, and he ate every page.

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 bakery, snatched, mystery, novel and loaf 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 1 minute 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 Bakery Sign That Lost a Letter"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 138 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.8. 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 1 minute 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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