Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Aunt Dorcas and the Zucchini Canoe

4th grade fiction passage about a tall tale about a huge zucchini: 212 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a tall tale about a huge zucchini 212 words

Aunt Dorcas and the Zucchini Canoe

Aunt Dorcas grew vegetables, and she grew them big. Her carrots could hold up a tent. Her pumpkins made fine hats for barns. But her zucchini was the talk of three counties.

It started as a small green seed in the spring. By June, the zucchini had stretched down the garden path. By July, it had crossed the road. The neighbors began to worry that it would grow into their kitchens.

"What am I supposed to do with all this zucchini?" Aunt Dorcas asked her dog, Pudding. Pudding wagged his tail. He did not have an idea.

On a hot August morning, Aunt Dorcas noticed that the zucchini was long, smooth, and shaped almost exactly like a canoe. She grabbed her biggest spoon and scooped out the inside until it was hollow. She made two paddles from garden rakes. Then she pushed the whole thing into Lily Pond.

It floated beautifully. Aunt Dorcas and Pudding paddled out into the middle, where the cool water splashed their toes. All the neighbors came to see.

"Best boat I ever rode," Aunt Dorcas declared.

That night, she made zucchini bread from the scooped-out parts, enough to feed the whole town. The canoe is still on Lily Pond, though ducks have started to nibble it.

Questions

  1. How big did Aunt Dorcas's carrots grow? in the text

  2. What did Aunt Dorcas notice about the zucchini in August? in the text

  3. What did she use to make paddles? in the text

  4. What did she make from the scooped-out parts? in the text

  5. Why did the neighbors worry about the zucchini in July? think about it

  6. Why do ducks nibble the canoe? think about it

Words to know

zucchini
a long green summer squash
hollow
empty on the inside
paddles
flat tools used to push a boat through water
declared
said in a strong, sure voice
Share

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 · 199 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Aunt Dorcas grew vegetables, and she grew them big. Her carrots could hold up a tent. Her pumpkins made fine hats for barns. But her zucchini was the talk of three counties.

It started as a small green seed in spring. By June, the zucchini had stretched down the garden path. By July, it had crossed the road. The neighbors worried. Would it grow into their kitchens?

"What do I do with all this zucchini?" Aunt Dorcas asked her dog, Pudding. Pudding wagged his tail. He had no idea.

On a hot August morning, Aunt Dorcas saw that the zucchini was long and smooth. It was shaped just like a canoe. She grabbed her biggest spoon and scooped out the inside. She made two paddles from garden rakes. Then she pushed it into Lily Pond.

It floated well. Aunt Dorcas and Pudding paddled to the middle. The cool water splashed their toes. All the neighbors came to see.

"Best boat I ever rode," said Aunt Dorcas.

That night, she made zucchini bread from the scooped-out parts. It was enough for the whole town. The canoe is still on Lily Pond, but the ducks have started to nibble it.

▲ This passage · 212 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Aunt Dorcas grew vegetables, and she grew them big. Her carrots could hold up a tent. Her pumpkins made fine hats for barns. But her zucchini was the talk of three counties.

It started as a small green seed in the spring. By June, the zucchini had stretched down the garden path. By July, it had crossed the road. The neighbors began to worry that it would grow into their kitchens.

"What am I supposed to do with all this zucchini?" Aunt Dorcas asked her dog, Pudding. Pudding wagged his tail. He did not have an idea.

On a hot August morning, Aunt Dorcas noticed that the zucchini was long, smooth, and shaped almost exactly like a canoe. She grabbed her biggest spoon and scooped out the inside until it was hollow. She made two paddles from garden rakes. Then she pushed the whole thing into Lily Pond.

It floated beautifully. Aunt Dorcas and Pudding paddled out into the middle, where the cool water splashed their toes. All the neighbors came to see.

"Best boat I ever rode," Aunt Dorcas declared.

That night, she made zucchini bread from the scooped-out parts, enough to feed the whole town. The canoe is still on Lily Pond, though ducks have started to nibble it.

■ Harder · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Aunt Dorcas grew vegetables, and she grew them enormous. Her carrots could hold up a tent, and her pumpkins made fine hats for barns. But her zucchini was the talk of three counties.

It began as a small green seed in the spring. By June, the zucchini had stretched all the way down the garden path. By July, it had sprawled across the road, and the neighbors began to fret that it might grow right into their kitchens.

"What on earth am I supposed to do with all this zucchini?" Aunt Dorcas asked her dog, Pudding. Pudding wagged his tail, but he offered no suggestions.

On a sweltering August morning, Aunt Dorcas noticed that the zucchini was long, smooth, and shaped almost exactly like a canoe. She grabbed her biggest spoon and scooped out the insides until the shell was hollow. She fashioned two paddles from garden rakes. Then she shoved the whole creation into Lily Pond.

It floated beautifully. Aunt Dorcas and Pudding paddled out to the middle, where the cool water splashed their toes. All the neighbors gathered to watch.

"Best boat I ever rode," Aunt Dorcas declared.

That night, she baked zucchini bread from the scooped-out parts, enough to feed the entire town. The canoe still floats on Lily Pond, although the ducks have begun to nibble 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 zucchini, hollow, paddles and declared 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 "Aunt Dorcas and the Zucchini Canoe"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 212 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.6. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.