3rd grade fiction passage about solving boredom: 137 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
3rd gradefictionsolving boredom137 words
The Rainy Recess Game
It was raining, so recess was inside. The class groaned. There was nothing new to do. Sam looked around the room. Some kids were reading. Some were drawing. Some were just sighing.
Sam had an idea. He took a sheet of paper and tore it into little squares. On each square, he wrote a silly action, like "walk like a penguin" or "sing like a robot." He put the squares into a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila drew "walk like a penguin" and waddled across the room. Everyone laughed. Soon a long line of kids waited for a turn.
When the bell rang, their teacher said, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned. He decided to keep the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
Questions
Why did the class have recess inside? in the text
What did Sam write on the paper squares? in the text
Where did Sam put the squares? in the text
What did Lila do? in the text
Why did the class groan at the start? think about it
Why did Sam keep the hat on his desk? think about it
Words to know
recess
a break from lessons when children play
groaned
made a low sound because of being unhappy
sighing
breathing out slowly, often when bored
silly
funny in a goofy way
waddled
walked with short steps, swaying side to side
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Rainy Recess Game
3rd grade reading passage
It was raining, so recess was inside. The class groaned. There was nothing new to do. Sam looked around the room. Some kids were reading. Some were drawing. Some were just sighing.
Sam had an idea. He took a sheet of paper and tore it into little squares. On each square, he wrote a silly action, like "walk like a penguin" or "sing like a robot." He put the squares into a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila drew "walk like a penguin" and waddled across the room. Everyone laughed. Soon a long line of kids waited for a turn.
When the bell rang, their teacher said, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned. He decided to keep the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
Questions
Why did the class have recess inside?
What did Sam write on the paper squares?
Where did Sam put the squares?
What did Lila do?
Why did the class groan at the start?
Why did Sam keep the hat on his desk?
Words to know
recess: a break from lessons when children play
groaned: made a low sound because of being unhappy
sighing: breathing out slowly, often when bored
silly: funny in a goofy way
waddled: walked with short steps, swaying side to side
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/3/the-rainy-recess-game
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 · 130 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1
It rained, so recess was inside. The class groaned. There was nothing new to do. Sam looked around. Some kids were reading. Some were drawing. Some were just sighing.
Sam had an idea. He tore a sheet of paper into small squares. On each one, he wrote a silly action. One said "walk like a penguin." One said "sing like a robot." He put the squares in a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila got "walk like a penguin." She waddled across the room. Everyone laughed. Soon a long line of kids waited for a turn.
The bell rang. Their teacher said, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned. He kept the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
▲ This passage · 137 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2
It was raining, so recess was inside. The class groaned. There was nothing new to do. Sam looked around the room. Some kids were reading. Some were drawing. Some were just sighing.
Sam had an idea. He took a sheet of paper and tore it into little squares. On each square, he wrote a silly action, like "walk like a penguin" or "sing like a robot." He put the squares into a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila drew "walk like a penguin" and waddled across the room. Everyone laughed. Soon a long line of kids waited for a turn.
When the bell rang, their teacher said, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned. He decided to keep the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
■ Harder · 157 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5
Because it was pouring outside, recess had to be held indoors, and the whole class groaned. Nobody could think of anything new to do. Sam glanced around the classroom, where some kids were reading, some were drawing, and some were simply sighing with boredom.
Suddenly Sam had an idea. He tore a sheet of paper into little squares and wrote a silly action on each one, such as "walk like a penguin" or "sing like a robot." Then he dropped all the squares into a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila drew "walk like a penguin" and waddled across the room, and everyone burst out laughing. Before long, a long line of kids was waiting eagerly for a turn.
When the bell rang, their teacher announced, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned, and he decided to keep the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
It rained, so recess was inside. The class groaned. There was nothing new to do. Sam looked around. Some kids were reading. Some were drawing. Some were just sighing.
Sam had an idea. He tore a sheet of paper into small squares. On each one, he wrote a silly action. One said "walk like a penguin." One said "sing like a robot." He put the squares in a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila got "walk like a penguin." She waddled across the room. Everyone laughed. Soon a long line of kids waited for a turn.
The bell rang. Their teacher said, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned. He kept the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
Questions
Why was recess inside?
What did Sam write on the squares?
Where did Sam put the squares?
What did Lila do?
Why did the class groan?
Why did Sam keep the hat on his desk?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Rainy Recess Game
It was raining, so recess was inside. The class groaned. There was nothing new to do. Sam looked around the room. Some kids were reading. Some were drawing. Some were just sighing.
Sam had an idea. He took a sheet of paper and tore it into little squares. On each square, he wrote a silly action, like "walk like a penguin" or "sing like a robot." He put the squares into a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila drew "walk like a penguin" and waddled across the room. Everyone laughed. Soon a long line of kids waited for a turn.
When the bell rang, their teacher said, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned. He decided to keep the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
Questions
Why did the class have recess inside?
What did Sam write on the paper squares?
Where did Sam put the squares?
What did Lila do?
Why did the class groan at the start?
Why did Sam keep the hat on his desk?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Rainy Recess Game
Because it was pouring outside, recess had to be held indoors, and the whole class groaned. Nobody could think of anything new to do. Sam glanced around the classroom, where some kids were reading, some were drawing, and some were simply sighing with boredom.
Suddenly Sam had an idea. He tore a sheet of paper into little squares and wrote a silly action on each one, such as "walk like a penguin" or "sing like a robot." Then he dropped all the squares into a hat.
"Pick one and act it out," he told his friends. Lila drew "walk like a penguin" and waddled across the room, and everyone burst out laughing. Before long, a long line of kids was waiting eagerly for a turn.
When the bell rang, their teacher announced, "That was the best rainy day recess ever." Sam grinned, and he decided to keep the hat on his desk for the next rainy day.
Questions
Why did recess have to be held indoors?
What did Sam write on each paper square?
Where did Sam put all of the squares?
What did Lila do when she drew her square?
Why did the class groan at the start of recess?
Why did Sam decide to keep the hat on his desk?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Rainy Recess Game
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1)
It was raining.
Silly actions, like walk like a penguin.
In a hat.
She waddled across the room like a penguin.
They were bored because they had to stay inside.
He wanted to play again on the next rainy day.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 2)
It was raining.
Silly actions, like walk like a penguin.
In a hat.
She waddled across the room like a penguin.
They were bored because they had to stay inside.
He wanted to play the game again on the next rainy day.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5)
It was pouring outside.
A silly action, such as walk like a penguin.
In a hat.
She waddled across the room like a penguin.
They were bored because they were stuck inside with nothing new to do.
He wanted to play the game again on the next rainy day.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put recess, groaned, sighing, silly and waddled 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 1 minute 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.
It was written for 3rd grade. It has 137 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. 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 1 minute 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.