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Biscuit and the Missing Shoes

4th grade fiction passage about pets and mysteries: 174 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction pets and mysteries 174 words

Biscuit and the Missing Shoes

Every morning, the Rivera family had the same problem. Someone could not find a shoe. On Monday, Dad's left sneaker disappeared. On Tuesday, it was one of Lucia's rain boots. On Wednesday, a slipper vanished, and Mom said she was starting to think the house had a ghost.

Lucia decided to solve the mystery. That night, she sat quietly on the stairs with a flashlight. After a while, she heard soft padding on the floor. It was Biscuit, the family's dog. He picked up a sandal by the front door, trotted down the hall, and slipped behind the couch.

Lucia crept after him. Behind the couch was a cozy pile of shoes, and Biscuit was circling on top of it like a bird in a nest.

"So you are the shoe thief," Lucia whispered. Biscuit wagged his tail.

The next day, Lucia gave Biscuit a basket of his own and filled it with old stuffed toys. From then on, Biscuit carried the toys to the basket instead, and the shoes stayed by the door.

Questions

  1. What problem did the Rivera family have every morning? in the text

  2. What did Mom think might be happening? in the text

  3. How did Lucia solve the mystery? in the text

  4. Where were the shoes hiding? in the text

  5. Why did Lucia give Biscuit a basket of toys? think about it

  6. Why was Biscuit wagging his tail when Lucia found him? think about it

Words to know

mystery
something strange that nobody can explain at first
vanished
disappeared suddenly
trotted
moved at a steady quick walk
cozy
warm, soft, and comfortable
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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 3.2

Every morning, the Rivera family had the same problem. Someone could not find a shoe. On Monday, Dad's left sneaker was gone. On Tuesday, it was one of Lucia's rain boots. On Wednesday, a slipper vanished. Mom said she was starting to think the house had a ghost.

Lucia decided to solve the mystery. That night, she sat on the stairs with a flashlight. After a while, she heard soft steps. It was Biscuit, the family's dog. He picked up a sandal by the front door. He trotted down the hall and slipped behind the couch.

Lucia crept after him. Behind the couch was a cozy pile of shoes. Biscuit was circling on top of it like a bird in a nest.

"So you are the shoe thief," Lucia whispered. Biscuit wagged his tail.

The next day, Lucia gave Biscuit a basket of his own and filled it with old stuffed toys. From then on, Biscuit took the toys to the basket. The shoes stayed by the door.

▲ This passage · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.5

Every morning, the Rivera family had the same problem. Someone could not find a shoe. On Monday, Dad's left sneaker disappeared. On Tuesday, it was one of Lucia's rain boots. On Wednesday, a slipper vanished, and Mom said she was starting to think the house had a ghost.

Lucia decided to solve the mystery. That night, she sat quietly on the stairs with a flashlight. After a while, she heard soft padding on the floor. It was Biscuit, the family's dog. He picked up a sandal by the front door, trotted down the hall, and slipped behind the couch.

Lucia crept after him. Behind the couch was a cozy pile of shoes, and Biscuit was circling on top of it like a bird in a nest.

"So you are the shoe thief," Lucia whispered. Biscuit wagged his tail.

The next day, Lucia gave Biscuit a basket of his own and filled it with old stuffed toys. From then on, Biscuit carried the toys to the basket instead, and the shoes stayed by the door.

■ Harder · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4

Every morning, the Rivera family faced the same frustrating problem. Somebody could not find a shoe. On Monday, Dad's left sneaker disappeared. On Tuesday, it was one of Lucia's rain boots. On Wednesday, a slipper vanished without a trace, and Mom declared that she was beginning to suspect the house had a ghost.

Lucia decided to solve the mystery. That night, she sat quietly on the staircase with a flashlight. After a while, she heard soft padding across the floor. It was Biscuit, the family's dog. He picked up a sandal near the front door, trotted down the hall, and slipped behind the couch.

Lucia crept after him. Behind the couch was a cozy heap of shoes, and Biscuit was circling on top of it like a bird settling into a nest.

"So you are the shoe thief," Lucia whispered. Biscuit wagged his tail happily.

The next day, Lucia gave Biscuit a basket of his own and filled it with old stuffed toys. From then on, Biscuit carried the toys to the basket instead, and the shoes remained by the door.

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 mystery, vanished, trotted and cozy 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 "Biscuit and the Missing Shoes"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 174 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.5. 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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