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The Extra Minute in Mina's Pocket

3rd grade fiction passage about a spare minute you can keep: 163 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a spare minute you can keep 163 words

The Extra Minute in Mina's Pocket

On her birthday, Mina's great-aunt gave her a small, flat box with no lid. Inside lay a single gold minute. It looked like a coin, and it ticked very quietly.

"Use it when you need it," said her great-aunt. "But only once."

Mina kept the minute in her coat pocket. She thought about using it during her piano recital, when she was nervous. She thought about using it when the school bus drove away without her. But each time, she made it through without the minute.

Then one rainy morning, she saw a baby bird on the sidewalk. It had fallen from a nest, and a bicycle was rolling toward it.

Mina took out the gold minute and squeezed it. Everything went still, even the raindrops. She scooped up the bird, set it in a dry tree hole, and let go. The world began to move again, and the bicycle passed by.

The pocket was empty, but Mina smiled all day.

Questions

  1. What did Mina's great-aunt give her? in the text

  2. How many times could Mina use the minute? in the text

  3. When did Mina think about using it but did not? in the text

  4. What did Mina see on the sidewalk? in the text

  5. What happened when Mina squeezed the minute? in the text

  6. Why do you think Mina saved the minute for the bird? think about it

Words to know

recital
a show where a person plays music for an audience
nervous
worried and a little scared
scooped
picked up carefully with a hand
sidewalk
a path for walking beside a road
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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 · 156 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

On her birthday, Mina's great-aunt gave her a small, flat box with no lid. Inside was a gold minute. It looked like a coin. It ticked very softly.

"Use it when you need it," said her great-aunt. "But only once."

Mina kept the minute in her coat pocket. She thought of using it at her piano recital, when she felt nervous. She thought of using it when the school bus left without her. But each time, she did fine without it.

Then one rainy morning, she saw a baby bird on the sidewalk. It had fallen from its nest. A bicycle was rolling toward it.

Mina took out the gold minute and squeezed it. Everything went still, even the raindrops. She scooped up the bird and set it in a dry tree hole. Then she let go. The world moved again. The bicycle passed by.

Her pocket was empty, but Mina smiled all day.

▲ This passage · 163 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

On her birthday, Mina's great-aunt gave her a small, flat box with no lid. Inside lay a single gold minute. It looked like a coin, and it ticked very quietly.

"Use it when you need it," said her great-aunt. "But only once."

Mina kept the minute in her coat pocket. She thought about using it during her piano recital, when she was nervous. She thought about using it when the school bus drove away without her. But each time, she made it through without the minute.

Then one rainy morning, she saw a baby bird on the sidewalk. It had fallen from a nest, and a bicycle was rolling toward it.

Mina took out the gold minute and squeezed it. Everything went still, even the raindrops. She scooped up the bird, set it in a dry tree hole, and let go. The world began to move again, and the bicycle passed by.

The pocket was empty, but Mina smiled all day.

■ Harder · 182 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5

On her birthday, Mina's great-aunt presented her with a small, flat box that had no lid. Inside lay a single gold minute that resembled a coin and ticked very quietly.

"Use it when you truly need it," said her great-aunt. "But you may use it only once."

Mina kept the minute in her coat pocket. She considered using it during her piano recital, when her hands trembled with nerves. She considered using it when the school bus rumbled away without her. But each time, she managed to get through the day without the minute.

Then, on a rainy morning, she noticed a baby bird on the sidewalk. It had tumbled from its nest, and a bicycle was rolling straight toward it.

Mina pulled out the gold minute and squeezed it. Everything went perfectly still, even the falling raindrops. She scooped up the bird, tucked it into a dry hollow in a tree, and let go. The world began to move again, and the bicycle sped harmlessly past.

Her pocket was empty, but Mina smiled for the rest of the day.

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 recital, nervous, scooped and sidewalk 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 6 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 Extra Minute in Mina's Pocket"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 163 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.9. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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