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The Umbrella That Waited for Puddles

3rd grade fiction passage about an umbrella that loves puddles: 162 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction an umbrella that loves puddles 162 words

The Umbrella That Waited for Puddles

Calder bought a yellow umbrella at a yard sale. It looked ordinary, but it had one odd habit. It would not open for rain. Not a drop would make it budge.

On the first wet day, Calder pushed the button. Click, nothing. He shook it. He begged. His coat got soaked, and he walked home grumpy.

Then he stepped in a puddle, and the umbrella popped open all by itself. Above him, a small cloud puffed out of the top. The cloud shaded his head and drizzled gently on the puddle.

"You like puddles!" Calder laughed.

From then on, he hunted for the biggest puddles in town. Wherever he stood, the umbrella opened, and the little cloud floated overhead. His friends crowded under it, and the cloud grew a little each time.

One day, the puddles dried up in the sun. Calder missed the cloud. So he filled a washtub with water and stood in it, in the sunshine, with his friends.

Questions

  1. Where did Calder get the umbrella? in the text

  2. What odd habit did the umbrella have? in the text

  3. What made the umbrella pop open? in the text

  4. What came out of the top of the umbrella? in the text

  5. Why did Calder stand in a washtub of water on a sunny day? think about it

  6. How did Calder feel on the first wet day? in the text

Words to know

umbrella
a cover held overhead to keep off rain
ordinary
plain and normal, not special
budge
to move even a little bit
washtub
a large basin used for washing
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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 · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

Calder bought a yellow umbrella at a yard sale. It looked plain, but it had one odd habit. It would not open for rain. Not one drop could make it move.

On the first wet day, Calder pushed the button. Click, nothing. He shook it. He begged. His coat got soaked. He walked home, grumpy.

Then he stepped in a puddle. The umbrella popped open by itself! A small cloud puffed out of the top. The cloud shaded his head. It drizzled softly on the puddle.

"You like puddles!" Calder laughed.

After that, he looked for the biggest puddles in town. Where he stood, the umbrella opened. The little cloud floated over him. His friends crowded under it. The cloud grew a bit each time.

One day, the sun dried up the puddles. Calder missed the cloud. So he filled a washtub with water. He stood in it, in the sunshine, with his friends.

▲ This passage · 162 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Calder bought a yellow umbrella at a yard sale. It looked ordinary, but it had one odd habit. It would not open for rain. Not a drop would make it budge.

On the first wet day, Calder pushed the button. Click, nothing. He shook it. He begged. His coat got soaked, and he walked home grumpy.

Then he stepped in a puddle, and the umbrella popped open all by itself. Above him, a small cloud puffed out of the top. The cloud shaded his head and drizzled gently on the puddle.

"You like puddles!" Calder laughed.

From then on, he hunted for the biggest puddles in town. Wherever he stood, the umbrella opened, and the little cloud floated overhead. His friends crowded under it, and the cloud grew a little each time.

One day, the puddles dried up in the sun. Calder missed the cloud. So he filled a washtub with water and stood in it, in the sunshine, with his friends.

■ Harder · 176 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7

Calder bought a yellow umbrella at a yard sale. It appeared perfectly ordinary, but it had one peculiar habit: it absolutely refused to open for rain. Not a single drop could make it budge.

On the first wet day, Calder pushed the button. Click, and nothing happened. He shook the umbrella and he begged it. His coat got soaked, and he trudged home feeling grumpy.

Then he stepped into a puddle, and the umbrella popped open all by itself. Above him, a small cloud puffed out of the top. It shaded his head and drizzled gently onto the puddle.

"You like puddles!" Calder laughed.

From then on, he searched the town for the biggest puddles he could find. Wherever he stood, the umbrella opened and the little cloud floated overhead. His friends crowded underneath, and the cloud grew a little bigger each time.

One day, the hot sun dried up every puddle. Calder missed the cloud terribly. So he filled a washtub with water and stood in it, in the bright sunshine, surrounded by his friends.

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 umbrella, ordinary, budge and washtub 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 Umbrella That Waited for Puddles"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 162 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.6. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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