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The Note Under the Floorboard

3rd grade fiction passage about leaving a note in an old house: 190 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction leaving a note in an old house 190 words

The Note Under the Floorboard

On the last night in the old house, Priya looked at her empty closet. One board in the floor was loose. She had always used it as a secret spot for small treasures.

Now the spot was bare, and Priya felt a lump in her throat. Another kid would sleep in this room soon. That kid would never know she had lived here.

So Priya tore a page from her notebook. She wrote, "Hello, new kid. The third stair squeaks. The window sticks, but a good push fixes it. The best sunset is from the back step. I was happy here. I hope you will be too." At the bottom she drew a small star and added her new address.

She folded the note and tucked it under the board. Then she pressed the board down until it clicked.

Three weeks later, a letter came to her new house. The envelope had a drawing of a squeaky stair on it. Inside, a boy named Owen had written, "I found your note. I watched the sunset from the back step. You were right."

Priya hung his letter above her new desk.

Questions

  1. Where did Priya find the loose board? in the text

  2. What did Priya say about the third stair? in the text

  3. Where did Priya hide the note? in the text

  4. What did Owen say he did after he found the note? in the text

  5. How did Owen know where to send his letter? think about it

  6. Why did Priya write a note to a kid she had never met? think about it

Words to know

loose
not held on tightly, so it can move
treasures
special things that are worth keeping
bare
empty, with nothing on it
tucked
pushed into a small space to keep it safe
envelope
the paper cover that holds a letter
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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 · 142 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.4

It was the last night in the old house. Priya looked at her empty closet. One board in the floor was loose. She used to hide small treasures there.

Now the spot was bare. Priya felt sad. Soon a new kid would sleep in this room. That kid would not know her.

So Priya wrote a note. "Hello, new kid. The third stair squeaks. The window sticks, but push hard. The best sunset is on the back step. I was happy here. I hope you are too." She drew a star. She wrote her new address.

She tucked the note under the board. She pressed the board down. Click!

Three weeks later, a letter came. A boy named Owen wrote, "I found your note. I saw the sunset from the back step. You were right."

Priya hung his letter on her wall.

▲ This passage · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

On the last night in the old house, Priya looked at her empty closet. One board in the floor was loose. She had always used it as a secret spot for small treasures.

Now the spot was bare, and Priya felt a lump in her throat. Another kid would sleep in this room soon. That kid would never know she had lived here.

So Priya tore a page from her notebook. She wrote, "Hello, new kid. The third stair squeaks. The window sticks, but a good push fixes it. The best sunset is from the back step. I was happy here. I hope you will be too." At the bottom she drew a small star and added her new address.

She folded the note and tucked it under the board. Then she pressed the board down until it clicked.

Three weeks later, a letter came to her new house. The envelope had a drawing of a squeaky stair on it. Inside, a boy named Owen had written, "I found your note. I watched the sunset from the back step. You were right."

Priya hung his letter above her new desk.

■ Harder · 223 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

On the final night in the old house, Priya stood in her bare closet and gazed at the one board in the floor that had always been loose. For years, she had used that hidden space as a secret place for keeping small treasures.

Now that the hiding spot was empty, Priya felt a lump rise in her throat. Before long, another child would sleep in this very room, and that child would never find out that she had once lived here.

Priya tore a clean page from her notebook and began to write. "Hello, new kid. The third stair squeaks. The window sticks, but a firm push will fix it. The best sunset in the whole neighborhood is from the back step. I was happy here, and I hope you will be as well." At the bottom she sketched a small star and carefully added her new address.

She folded the note, tucked it beneath the board, and pressed the board down until it clicked into place.

Three weeks later, an unexpected letter arrived at her new house. The envelope was decorated with a drawing of a squeaky stair. Inside, a boy named Owen had written, "I found your note. I watched the sunset from the back step, and you were absolutely right."

Priya proudly hung his letter above her new desk.

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 loose, treasures, bare, tucked and envelope 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 Note Under the Floorboard"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 190 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.6. 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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