Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Middle Seat Schedule

3rd grade fiction passage about three siblings and one car seat problem: 218 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction three siblings and one car seat problem 218 words

The Middle Seat Schedule

The Park family had a small car and three kids. Two kids got the windows. One kid got the middle seat, where a lumpy hump poked up from the floor. Nobody wanted it.

Every morning, the same fight started. "I called the window!" yelled Kai. "I had it yesterday!" yelled Lina. "Mom said I could," said big brother Dae, which was not true.

One rainy morning, Grandma rode along. She listened to the shouting for two whole blocks. Then she said, "May I make a suggestion?"

She took a sheet of paper from her purse and drew three rows. "Each day, the seats rotate. Monday, Kai gets the left window. Tuesday, he moves to the middle. Everyone has a turn."

"But the middle is the worst," said Lina.

"Then let's fix the middle," said Grandma. "Whoever sits there gets two special jobs. First, you hold the snack bag and share it out. Second, you pick the song."

The kids looked at each other. Being in charge of snacks was a very big deal.

The next day, Dae sat in the middle. He chose a silly song and passed out crackers. By the end of the week, Kai was asking, "Is it my day for the hump yet?" Mom taped the paper to the dashboard, and the fighting stopped.

Questions

  1. How many kids were in the Park family? in the text

  2. What made the middle seat uncomfortable? in the text

  3. Who came up with the seat schedule? in the text

  4. What two jobs did the child in the middle get? in the text

  5. Why did Grandma give the middle seat special jobs? think about it

  6. What shows that the plan worked? think about it

Words to know

lumpy
bumpy, with hard round parts sticking up
suggestion
an idea that someone offers to help
rotate
to take turns by moving around in order
schedule
a plan that shows who does what and when
dashboard
the panel at the front of a car under the windshield
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 · 191 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

The Park family had a small car and three kids. Two kids got the windows. One kid got the middle seat. A lumpy hump stuck up from the floor there. Nobody wanted it.

Every morning, the same fight began. "I called the window!" yelled Kai. "I had it yesterday!" yelled Lina. "Mom said I could," said Dae. That was not true.

One rainy day, Grandma rode along. She heard the shouting for two blocks. Then she said, "May I make a suggestion?"

She drew three rows on paper. "Each day, the seats change. On Monday, Kai gets the left window. On Tuesday, he gets the middle. Everyone gets a turn."

"The middle is the worst," said Lina.

"Then let's fix the middle," said Grandma. "The kid in the middle holds the snack bag and shares it out. That kid also picks the song."

The kids looked at each other. Snacks were a big deal.

The next day, Dae sat in the middle. He picked a silly song and gave out crackers. Soon Kai asked, "Is it my day for the hump?" Mom taped the paper to the dashboard. The fighting stopped.

▲ This passage · 218 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

The Park family had a small car and three kids. Two kids got the windows. One kid got the middle seat, where a lumpy hump poked up from the floor. Nobody wanted it.

Every morning, the same fight started. "I called the window!" yelled Kai. "I had it yesterday!" yelled Lina. "Mom said I could," said big brother Dae, which was not true.

One rainy morning, Grandma rode along. She listened to the shouting for two whole blocks. Then she said, "May I make a suggestion?"

She took a sheet of paper from her purse and drew three rows. "Each day, the seats rotate. Monday, Kai gets the left window. Tuesday, he moves to the middle. Everyone has a turn."

"But the middle is the worst," said Lina.

"Then let's fix the middle," said Grandma. "Whoever sits there gets two special jobs. First, you hold the snack bag and share it out. Second, you pick the song."

The kids looked at each other. Being in charge of snacks was a very big deal.

The next day, Dae sat in the middle. He chose a silly song and passed out crackers. By the end of the week, Kai was asking, "Is it my day for the hump yet?" Mom taped the paper to the dashboard, and the fighting stopped.

■ Harder · 245 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

The Park family owned a small car and had three children. Two of the kids were lucky enough to get the windows, while the third got the middle seat, where a lumpy hump poked up from the floor. Nobody wanted it.

Every single morning, the same argument erupted. "I called the window!" yelled Kai. "I had it yesterday!" yelled Lina. "Mom said I could have it," claimed big brother Dae, which was not true.

One rainy morning, Grandma rode along. She listened to the shouting for two whole blocks, and then she asked, "May I make a suggestion?"

She took a sheet of paper from her purse and drew three neat rows. "Every day, the seats will rotate. On Monday, Kai gets the left window. On Tuesday, he moves to the middle. That way, everyone gets a fair turn."

"But the middle is the worst," complained Lina.

"Then let's improve the middle," said Grandma. "Whoever sits there gets two special jobs. First, you hold the snack bag and share the snacks out. Second, you choose the song."

The children glanced at one another. Being in charge of the snacks was a very big deal indeed.

The following day, Dae sat in the middle. He chose a silly song and passed out crackers to everyone. By the end of the week, Kai was already asking, "Is it my day for the hump yet?" Mom taped the paper to the dashboard, and the arguing stopped for good.

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 lumpy, suggestion, rotate, schedule and dashboard 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 Middle Seat Schedule"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 218 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.1. 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.

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