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The Third Chair at the Lunch Table

3rd grade fiction passage about a friend with a new friend: 192 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a friend with a new friend 192 words

The Third Chair at the Lunch Table

Mia and Zoe had sat together at lunch since first grade. They always saved two seats and shared one bag of pretzels.

One Monday, Zoe brought a new girl named Hana to the table. Hana had a bright green lunch box. She told funny jokes about her little dog. Zoe laughed and laughed. Mia sat very still and chewed her sandwich. She felt like a spare shoe.

On Tuesday, Mia ate at the far end of the table by herself. Zoe noticed. After lunch, she walked over. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

Mia's face felt hot. "You laughed more with her than with me," she said.

"I am sorry," said Zoe. "I wanted Hana to feel welcome, and I forgot about you."

"Next time, tell me the plan first," said Mia.

On Wednesday, Zoe pointed at the table. "Today we have three chairs," she said. "I saved one for each of us."

Mia smiled and slid the pretzels to the middle. Hana held up her green lunch box. "I have one dog joke for each of you," she said. A laugh bubbled up in Mia before she could stop it.

Questions

  1. Who did Zoe bring to the lunch table on Monday? in the text

  2. What did Hana joke about? in the text

  3. Where did Mia eat on Tuesday? in the text

  4. What did Mia ask Zoe to do next time? in the text

  5. Why did Mia feel like a spare shoe on Monday? think about it

  6. How did Zoe show she cared about Mia on Wednesday? think about it

Words to know

pretzels
crunchy, salty snacks that are often twisted
spare
extra, not needed right now
noticed
saw or became aware of something
welcome
treated kindly when you arrive
bubbled
rose up like bubbles in a drink
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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 · 150 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.5

Mia and Zoe sat together at lunch. They had done it since first grade. They shared a bag of pretzels.

One Monday, Zoe brought a new girl to the table. Her name was Hana. Hana had a green lunch box. She told jokes about her dog. Zoe laughed a lot. Mia sat still. She felt like a spare shoe.

On Tuesday, Mia sat alone at the end. Zoe saw her. After lunch, Zoe walked over. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

"You laughed more with her than with me," said Mia.

"I am sorry," said Zoe. "I wanted Hana to feel welcome. I forgot you."

"Next time, tell me the plan," said Mia.

On Wednesday, Zoe said, "We have three chairs today. One for each of us."

Mia smiled. She put the pretzels in the middle. Hana said, "I have a dog joke for each of you." Mia laughed.

▲ This passage · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

Mia and Zoe had sat together at lunch since first grade. They always saved two seats and shared one bag of pretzels.

One Monday, Zoe brought a new girl named Hana to the table. Hana had a bright green lunch box. She told funny jokes about her little dog. Zoe laughed and laughed. Mia sat very still and chewed her sandwich. She felt like a spare shoe.

On Tuesday, Mia ate at the far end of the table by herself. Zoe noticed. After lunch, she walked over. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

Mia's face felt hot. "You laughed more with her than with me," she said.

"I am sorry," said Zoe. "I wanted Hana to feel welcome, and I forgot about you."

"Next time, tell me the plan first," said Mia.

On Wednesday, Zoe pointed at the table. "Today we have three chairs," she said. "I saved one for each of us."

Mia smiled and slid the pretzels to the middle. Hana held up her green lunch box. "I have one dog joke for each of you," she said. A laugh bubbled up in Mia before she could stop it.

■ Harder · 233 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

Mia and Zoe had been sitting together at lunch ever since the first grade. They always saved two seats side by side and shared a single bag of pretzels between them.

One Monday, Zoe arrived at the table with a new girl named Hana. Hana carried a bright green lunch box and told hilarious jokes about her little dog. Zoe laughed and laughed, while Mia sat perfectly still and chewed her sandwich, feeling like a spare shoe that nobody needed.

On Tuesday, Mia ate at the far end of the table all by herself. Zoe noticed, and as soon as lunch was over, she walked across the cafeteria to find her. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked gently.

Mia's face felt hot. "You laughed more with her than you ever do with me," she said.

"I am truly sorry," said Zoe. "I was so busy trying to make Hana feel welcome that I forgot about you."

"Next time, please tell me the plan before it happens," said Mia.

On Wednesday, Zoe pointed proudly at the table. "Today we have three chairs," she said. "I saved one for each of us."

Mia smiled and slid the pretzels to the middle of the table. Hana held up her green lunch box and announced, "I brought one dog joke for each of you." A laugh bubbled up inside Mia before she could possibly stop it.

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 pretzels, spare, noticed, welcome and bubbled 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 Third Chair at the Lunch Table"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 192 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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