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The Whistle in Grandpa's Ear

3rd grade fiction passage about a grandfather's hearing aid at a concert: 194 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade fiction a grandfather's hearing aid at a concert 194 words

The Whistle in Grandpa's Ear

Grandpa wore a tiny hearing aid in his left ear. When he hugged someone, it sometimes let out a thin, high whistle. Cleo loved Grandpa, but she hoped that the whistle would stay home on the night of the school concert.

Cleo was playing a flute solo. She had practiced for weeks. She peeked from behind the curtain and saw Grandpa in the third row. He gave her a big wave.

Her song began. The room grew very quiet during the soft part. Then, from the third row, came a thin, high whistle.

Some kids giggled. Cleo's cheeks burned. For a moment she lost her place in the music.

Then she noticed that the whistle was almost the same note as the one she was playing. It sounded like it was playing along. Cleo grinned behind her flute. She kept going, and she played the last notes loud and clear.

After the concert, Grandpa wrapped her up in a hug. His ear whistled again.

"Sorry about that, sweet pea," he said.

"Don't be," said Cleo. "We played a duet."

Grandpa laughed so hard that his hearing aid whistled all the way to the car.

Questions

  1. Which ear did Grandpa wear his hearing aid in? in the text

  2. What was Cleo playing at the concert? in the text

  3. Where was Grandpa sitting during the concert? in the text

  4. When did the whistle happen during her song? in the text

  5. Why did Cleo hope the whistle would stay home? think about it

  6. What made Cleo stop being upset about the whistle? think about it

Words to know

hearing aid
a small device that helps a person hear better
solo
a song played or sung by one person alone
giggled
laughed in a silly, quiet way
duet
a song played by two people together
peeked
took a quick look, often from a hiding place
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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 · 166 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

Grandpa wore a tiny hearing aid in his left ear. When he hugged someone, it sometimes made a thin, high whistle. Cleo loved Grandpa. But she hoped the whistle would stay home on the night of the school concert.

Cleo had a flute solo. She had practiced for weeks. She peeked from behind the curtain. Grandpa sat in the third row. He gave a big wave.

Her song began. The room was quiet during the soft part. Then from the third row came a thin, high whistle.

Some kids giggled. Cleo's cheeks burned. She lost her place in the music.

Then she heard it. The whistle was almost the same note as hers. It sounded like it was playing along. Cleo grinned. She kept going. She played the last notes loud and clear.

After the concert, Grandpa gave her a hug. His ear whistled again.

"Sorry, sweet pea," he said.

"Don't be," said Cleo. "We played a duet."

Grandpa laughed all the way to the car.

▲ This passage · 194 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

Grandpa wore a tiny hearing aid in his left ear. When he hugged someone, it sometimes let out a thin, high whistle. Cleo loved Grandpa, but she hoped that the whistle would stay home on the night of the school concert.

Cleo was playing a flute solo. She had practiced for weeks. She peeked from behind the curtain and saw Grandpa in the third row. He gave her a big wave.

Her song began. The room grew very quiet during the soft part. Then, from the third row, came a thin, high whistle.

Some kids giggled. Cleo's cheeks burned. For a moment she lost her place in the music.

Then she noticed that the whistle was almost the same note as the one she was playing. It sounded like it was playing along. Cleo grinned behind her flute. She kept going, and she played the last notes loud and clear.

After the concert, Grandpa wrapped her up in a hug. His ear whistled again.

"Sorry about that, sweet pea," he said.

"Don't be," said Cleo. "We played a duet."

Grandpa laughed so hard that his hearing aid whistled all the way to the car.

■ Harder · 210 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Grandpa wore a tiny hearing aid in his left ear, and whenever he hugged someone, it sometimes let out a thin, high whistle. Cleo adored her grandfather, but she secretly hoped that the whistle would stay at home on the night of the school concert.

Cleo was performing a flute solo that she had practiced for weeks. She peeked out from behind the curtain and spotted Grandpa in the third row, where he gave her an enormous wave.

Her song began. During the soft part, the whole auditorium fell silent, and then, from the third row, came a thin, high whistle.

A few children giggled. Cleo's cheeks burned, and for a moment she lost her place in the music.

Then she realized that the whistle was nearly the same note as the one she was playing. It sounded as though it were playing along with her. Cleo grinned behind her flute, carried on, and played the final notes loud and clear.

After the concert, Grandpa wrapped her in a tremendous hug, and his ear whistled once more.

"I am sorry about that, sweet pea," he said.

"Please don't be," said Cleo. "We played a duet."

Grandpa laughed so hard that his hearing aid whistled all the way to the car.

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 hearing aid, solo, giggled, duet and peeked 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 Whistle in Grandpa's Ear"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 194 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 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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