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The Sloth Who Raced the Rain

3rd grade fiction passage about a slow sloth beats the storm: 182 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a slow sloth beats the storm 182 words

The Sloth Who Raced the Rain

Sully the sloth lived high in a rainforest tree. One day he wanted to visit his cousin on the next tree over. It was a short trip, but Sully was slow.

"Storm clouds are coming," said a parrot. "You should hurry."

"I can't hurry," said Sully. "I only know how to go slowly."

He reached for the first branch, and then he reached for the next. A drop of rain landed on his nose, and then another one landed on his back.

The parrot flapped overhead. "Rush! Rush!"

But Sully kept to his own pace. He did not slip, and he did not stop, because his long claws held tight to each branch.

Soon the rain poured down. Sully was nearly there. The big leaves overhead made a roof, and he crept beneath them, one slow step at a time.

At last he reached his cousin's tree. He was a little wet, but he was safe.

The parrot, who had flown off in a panic, got soaked to the feathers. "How did you beat me?" she asked.

"I never rushed," said Sully.

Questions

  1. Where did Sully live? in the text

  2. Who did Sully want to visit? in the text

  3. What did the parrot tell Sully to do? in the text

  4. What made a roof over Sully as the rain poured? in the text

  5. Who got soaked to the feathers? in the text

  6. Why did Sully not slip on the wet branches? think about it

  7. What lesson does the story teach? think about it

Words to know

sloth
a slow animal that hangs from tree branches
rainforest
a thick forest where a lot of rain falls
pace
how fast you move
panic
a sudden, wild fear
soaked
very wet all the way through
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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 · 163 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.2

Sully the sloth lived high in a rainforest tree. One day he wanted to visit his cousin in the next tree. It was a short trip. But Sully was slow.

"Storm clouds are coming," said a parrot. "Hurry up."

"I can't hurry," said Sully. "I go slowly."

He reached for one branch. Then he reached for the next. A drop of rain hit his nose. Then one hit his back.

The parrot flapped above. "Rush! Rush!"

But Sully kept his own pace. He did not slip. He did not stop. His long claws held each branch.

Soon the rain poured down. Sully was nearly there. Big leaves made a roof. He crept under them, one slow step at a time.

At last he got to his cousin's tree. He was a bit wet, but he was safe.

The parrot had flown off in a panic. She got soaked to the feathers. "How did you beat me?" she asked.

"I never rushed," said Sully.

▲ This passage · 182 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Sully the sloth lived high in a rainforest tree. One day he wanted to visit his cousin on the next tree over. It was a short trip, but Sully was slow.

"Storm clouds are coming," said a parrot. "You should hurry."

"I can't hurry," said Sully. "I only know how to go slowly."

He reached for the first branch, and then he reached for the next. A drop of rain landed on his nose, and then another one landed on his back.

The parrot flapped overhead. "Rush! Rush!"

But Sully kept to his own pace. He did not slip, and he did not stop, because his long claws held tight to each branch.

Soon the rain poured down. Sully was nearly there. The big leaves overhead made a roof, and he crept beneath them, one slow step at a time.

At last he reached his cousin's tree. He was a little wet, but he was safe.

The parrot, who had flown off in a panic, got soaked to the feathers. "How did you beat me?" she asked.

"I never rushed," said Sully.

■ Harder · 188 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Sully the sloth lived high in the branches of a rainforest tree. One morning he decided to visit his cousin, who lived in the very next tree. It was only a short trip, but Sully was famously slow.

"Storm clouds are gathering," warned a parrot. "You really should hurry."

"I cannot hurry," said Sully. "I only know how to travel slowly."

He reached for the first branch, and then he reached for the next. A single drop of rain landed on his nose, and then another landed on his back.

The parrot flapped frantically overhead. "Rush! Rush!"

But Sully kept to his own pace. He did not slip, and he did not stop. His long claws gripped each branch firmly.

Soon the rain poured down in sheets. Sully was almost there. The enormous leaves overhead formed a roof, and he crept beneath them, one slow step at a time.

At last he reached his cousin's tree, a little damp but perfectly safe.

The parrot, who had flown off in a panic, was soaked to the feathers. "How did you beat me?" she asked.

"I never rushed," said Sully.

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 sloth, rainforest, pace, panic and soaked 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 Sloth Who Raced the Rain"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 182 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.8. 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 seven. 5 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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