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The Library Book in the Bathtub

3rd grade fiction passage about telling the truth about a damaged book: 217 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction telling the truth about a damaged book 217 words

The Library Book in the Bathtub

Jules had borrowed a book about sharks from his friend Wren. It was her favorite book, and the cover was soft from being read so many times.

One night, Jules read it in the bathroom. His elbow bumped the edge of the tub. Splash! The book fell into a few inches of water.

Jules pulled it out fast. The pages were fat and wavy. The shark on the cover looked like it was swimming in a wobbly sea.

He did not tell Wren. He hid the book under his bed for three days. At school, his stomach hurt every time she smiled at him.

On the fourth day, he gave up. "Wren, I have to tell you something," he said, and his voice shook. He held out the wet book.

Wren turned it over slowly. Jules waited for her to be angry.

"It looks like the ocean," she said. "It has waves now."

"I am so sorry," Jules said. "I will buy you a new one with my allowance."

"You can," said Wren, "but I think I want this one, too. Let's put paper towels between the pages and stack heavy books on top."

They worked all afternoon. The pages never went completely flat, but Wren did not mind. Jules was glad he had finally told her.

Questions

  1. What was the book about? in the text

  2. How did the book end up in the water? in the text

  3. How long did Jules hide the book under his bed? in the text

  4. What did Wren say the wavy book looked like? in the text

  5. Why did Jules feel sick when Wren smiled at him? think about it

  6. What did Wren do that showed she cared more about Jules than the book? think about it

Words to know

borrowed
took something to use and planned to give it back
wavy
bending up and down in curves
wobbly
shaking from side to side
allowance
money a child gets to spend or save
stack
to put things in a pile, one on top of another
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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 · 196 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7

Jules borrowed a book about sharks from his friend Wren. It was her favorite. The cover was soft from being read so much.

One night, Jules read it in the bathroom. His elbow bumped the tub. Splash! The book fell into the water.

Jules pulled it out fast. The pages were fat and wavy. The shark on the cover looked like it swam in a wobbly sea.

He did not tell Wren. He hid the book under his bed for three days. At school, his stomach hurt when she smiled at him.

On the fourth day, he gave up. "Wren, I have to tell you something," he said. His voice shook. He held out the wet book.

Wren looked at it. Jules waited for her to be mad.

"It looks like the ocean," she said. "It has waves now."

"I am so sorry," said Jules. "I will buy you a new one."

"You can," said Wren. "But I want this one, too. Let's put paper towels between the pages. Then we stack heavy books on top."

They worked all afternoon. The pages did not go flat. Wren did not mind. Jules was glad he told her.

▲ This passage · 217 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

Jules had borrowed a book about sharks from his friend Wren. It was her favorite book, and the cover was soft from being read so many times.

One night, Jules read it in the bathroom. His elbow bumped the edge of the tub. Splash! The book fell into a few inches of water.

Jules pulled it out fast. The pages were fat and wavy. The shark on the cover looked like it was swimming in a wobbly sea.

He did not tell Wren. He hid the book under his bed for three days. At school, his stomach hurt every time she smiled at him.

On the fourth day, he gave up. "Wren, I have to tell you something," he said, and his voice shook. He held out the wet book.

Wren turned it over slowly. Jules waited for her to be angry.

"It looks like the ocean," she said. "It has waves now."

"I am so sorry," Jules said. "I will buy you a new one with my allowance."

"You can," said Wren, "but I think I want this one, too. Let's put paper towels between the pages and stack heavy books on top."

They worked all afternoon. The pages never went completely flat, but Wren did not mind. Jules was glad he had finally told her.

■ Harder · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

Jules had borrowed a book about sharks from his friend Wren. It was her absolute favorite, and the cover had grown soft from being read so many times.

One evening, Jules was reading it in the bathroom when his elbow bumped the edge of the tub. Splash! The book tumbled into a few inches of water.

He snatched it out immediately, but the pages had swollen and turned wavy. The shark on the cover looked as though it were swimming through a wobbly sea.

Jules did not tell Wren. Instead, he hid the book under his bed for three whole days. At school, his stomach ached every time she smiled at him.

On the fourth day, he finally gave up. "Wren, I have to tell you something," he said, and his voice trembled. He held out the soggy book.

Wren turned it over slowly while Jules waited for her to be furious.

"It looks like the ocean," she said. "It has waves now."

"I am so sorry," Jules said. "I will buy you a brand new one with my allowance."

"You can," said Wren, "but I think I want to keep this one, too. Let's put paper towels between the pages and stack some heavy books on top."

They worked together all afternoon. The pages never became completely flat, but Wren did not mind, and Jules was relieved that he had finally told her the truth.

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 borrowed, wavy, wobbly, allowance and stack 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 "The Library Book in the Bathtub"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 217 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.2. 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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