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The Squirrel Who Hid Too Many Acorns

3rd grade fiction passage about a squirrel forgets her acorn stash: 177 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a squirrel forgets her acorn stash 177 words

The Squirrel Who Hid Too Many Acorns

Sunny the squirrel loved acorns. All autumn she buried them in the ground. She hid one under a log, one beside a rock, and one by the old oak. She hid hundreds in all.

When winter came, Sunny was hungry. She went to the log and dug. Nothing. She went to the rock and dug. Nothing again.

"Oh no," said Sunny. "I forgot where I put them!"

A chipmunk named Chip watched her scratch at the snow. "I have a store of seeds in my burrow," he said. "Would you like some?"

Sunny felt embarrassed. She had not saved one for the future, and he had.

"Thank you," she said, and she ate every seed.

In spring, something strange happened. Tiny green shoots poked up all over the forest floor. They were baby oak trees, grown from the acorns Sunny had forgotten.

"Look at that," said Chip. "Your mistake planted a whole new forest."

Sunny laughed. This year, she would make a map of her hiding spots. But she would leave a few acorns behind on purpose.

Questions

  1. What did Sunny bury all autumn? in the text

  2. What happened when Sunny dug by the log and the rock? in the text

  3. Who offered Sunny some seeds? in the text

  4. What grew all over the forest floor in spring? in the text

  5. What did Sunny plan to make this year? in the text

  6. Why did Sunny feel embarrassed in front of Chip? think about it

  7. How did Sunny's mistake help the forest? think about it

Words to know

acorns
the nuts that grow on oak trees
buried
put under the ground and covered with dirt
embarrassed
feeling shy or silly about a mistake
shoots
new young plants just starting to grow
store
a supply of things saved for later
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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 · 168 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1

Sunny the squirrel loved acorns. All fall she buried them in the ground. She hid one under a log. She hid one by a rock. She hid one by the old oak. She hid hundreds.

When winter came, Sunny was hungry. She went to the log and dug. Nothing. She went to the rock and dug. Nothing.

"Oh no," said Sunny. "I forgot where I put them!"

A chipmunk named Chip watched her dig in the snow. "I have a store of seeds in my burrow," he said. "Do you want some?"

Sunny felt embarrassed. She had not kept track. He had.

"Thank you," she said. She ate every seed.

In spring, something odd happened. Tiny green shoots came up all over the forest floor. They were baby oak trees. They grew from the acorns Sunny forgot.

"Look," said Chip. "Your mistake planted a new forest."

Sunny laughed. This year she would make a map of her hiding spots. But she would leave a few acorns on purpose.

▲ This passage · 177 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

Sunny the squirrel loved acorns. All autumn she buried them in the ground. She hid one under a log, one beside a rock, and one by the old oak. She hid hundreds in all.

When winter came, Sunny was hungry. She went to the log and dug. Nothing. She went to the rock and dug. Nothing again.

"Oh no," said Sunny. "I forgot where I put them!"

A chipmunk named Chip watched her scratch at the snow. "I have a store of seeds in my burrow," he said. "Would you like some?"

Sunny felt embarrassed. She had not saved one for the future, and he had.

"Thank you," she said, and she ate every seed.

In spring, something strange happened. Tiny green shoots poked up all over the forest floor. They were baby oak trees, grown from the acorns Sunny had forgotten.

"Look at that," said Chip. "Your mistake planted a whole new forest."

Sunny laughed. This year, she would make a map of her hiding spots. But she would leave a few acorns behind on purpose.

■ Harder · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

Sunny the squirrel adored acorns. Throughout the entire autumn she buried them in the ground. She hid one beneath a log, another beside a rock, and a third near the old oak. In all, she hid hundreds of them.

When winter arrived, Sunny was ravenous. She hurried to the log and dug. Nothing. She hurried to the rock and dug. Nothing again.

"Oh no," said Sunny. "I forgot exactly where I put them!"

A chipmunk named Chip watched her scratch frantically at the snow. "I have a store of seeds in my burrow," he said kindly. "Would you like some?"

Sunny felt embarrassed. She had failed to keep track of her supply for the future, and he had not.

"Thank you," she said, and she ate every last seed.

In spring, something remarkable happened. Tiny green shoots poked up all over the forest floor. They were baby oak trees, grown from the acorns that Sunny had forgotten.

"Look at that," said Chip. "Your mistake planted an entire new forest."

Sunny laughed. This year, she would draw a map of her hiding spots. But she would leave a few acorns behind on purpose.

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 acorns, buried, embarrassed, shoots and store 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 Squirrel Who Hid Too Many Acorns"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 177 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.9. 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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