Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Great Mustard Mix-Up

3rd grade fiction passage about mustard stirred into tea: 154 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction mustard stirred into tea 154 words

The Great Mustard Mix-Up

Grandma Rose was having a tea party. She set out cups, tiny cakes, and a jar of honey. Her honey jar and her mustard jar looked just alike. Both were short and round, and both held something yellow.

Mr. Fenn, her neighbor, sat down. He took a big spoonful from a jar and stirred it into his tea. He took a sip. His eyebrows jumped up to the top of his head.

"Rose," he said politely, "this is the boldest tea I have ever had."

Grandma Rose tasted it and made a face like a squished prune. She had grabbed the mustard!

They laughed until their cups wobbled. Then Grandma Rose found a marker. On the honey jar she drew a bee. On the mustard jar she drew a hot dog.

"Now we will never mix them up again," she said. Mr. Fenn drank a fresh cup with real honey. "Much better," he said.

Questions

  1. What was Grandma Rose having? in the text

  2. Why did the two jars look alike? in the text

  3. What did Mr. Fenn stir into his tea? in the text

  4. What did Mr. Fenn's eyebrows do after his sip? in the text

  5. How did Grandma Rose make sure it would not happen again? in the text

  6. Why did Mr. Fenn say the tea was bold instead of saying it was awful? think about it

Words to know

mustard
a sharp, yellow sauce that goes on hot dogs
honey
a sweet, sticky food made by bees
politely
in a kind and well-mannered way
bold
very strong and not shy
marker
a pen with a thick tip for drawing and writing
Share

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 · 139 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

Grandma Rose had a tea party. She set out cups, small cakes, and a jar of honey. Her honey jar and her mustard jar looked the same. Both were short and round, and both held something yellow.

Mr. Fenn, her neighbor, sat down. He took a big spoonful from a jar and put it in his tea. He took a sip. His eyebrows jumped up.

"Rose," he said kindly, "this is the boldest tea I ever had."

Grandma Rose tasted it and made a sour face. She had grabbed the mustard!

They laughed and laughed. Then Grandma Rose found a marker. On the honey jar she drew a bee. On the mustard jar she drew a hot dog.

"Now we will not mix them up," she said. Mr. Fenn drank a new cup with honey. "Much better," he said.

▲ This passage · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2

Grandma Rose was having a tea party. She set out cups, tiny cakes, and a jar of honey. Her honey jar and her mustard jar looked just alike. Both were short and round, and both held something yellow.

Mr. Fenn, her neighbor, sat down. He took a big spoonful from a jar and stirred it into his tea. He took a sip. His eyebrows jumped up to the top of his head.

"Rose," he said politely, "this is the boldest tea I have ever had."

Grandma Rose tasted it and made a face like a squished prune. She had grabbed the mustard!

They laughed until their cups wobbled. Then Grandma Rose found a marker. On the honey jar she drew a bee. On the mustard jar she drew a hot dog.

"Now we will never mix them up again," she said. Mr. Fenn drank a fresh cup with real honey. "Much better," he said.

■ Harder · 158 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Grandma Rose was hosting a tea party. She arranged cups, tiny cakes, and a jar of honey on the table. Unfortunately, her honey jar and her mustard jar looked nearly identical. Both were short and round, and both held something yellow.

Mr. Fenn, her neighbor, sat down and scooped a big spoonful from one of the jars into his tea. He took a sip, and his eyebrows jumped to the top of his head.

"Rose," he said politely, "this is the boldest tea I have ever had."

Grandma Rose tasted it and made a face like a squished prune. She had grabbed the mustard by mistake!

They laughed until their cups wobbled. Then Grandma Rose found a marker. On the honey jar she drew a bee, and on the mustard jar she drew a hot dog.

"Now we will never confuse them again," she declared. Mr. Fenn poured a fresh cup with real honey. "Much better," he said.

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 mustard, honey, politely, bold and marker 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 Great Mustard Mix-Up"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 154 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.0. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.