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The Dung Beetle Who Rolled Straight Home

4th grade fiction passage about asking for help, insects: 220 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction asking for help, insects 220 words

The Dung Beetle Who Rolled Straight Home

On the edge of the grassland, a dung beetle named Odo had made a perfect ball, and he was very proud of it. Dung beetles roll their balls away from the crowd so that no one can snatch them, and then they bury them to use as food. Odo meant to roll his ball in a straight line to a patch of soft sand.

But there were stones and roots in the way, and each time Odo pushed, the ball slid sideways until he found himself going in circles. He grew hot and tired, and he did not want anyone to see that he was lost.

An old dung beetle named Madi was passing by. "You look like you are pushing very hard," she said. "Would you like to hear a trick that helped me when I was young?"

Odo hung his head. "I can do it myself."

"Of course you can," said Madi kindly. "But I find that it helps to climb on top of the ball and look around, because then you can choose a clear path."

Odo climbed up. From there he spotted the sand, and a smooth track leading right to it. He thanked Madi, hopped down, and rolled straight home. Asking for help, he learned, did not make him small. It made the road shorter.

Questions

  1. Why do dung beetles roll their balls away from the crowd? in the text

  2. Where did Odo want to roll his ball? in the text

  3. What kept making the ball slide sideways? in the text

  4. What trick did Madi share with Odo? in the text

  5. Why did Odo first say he could do it himself? think about it

  6. What does the last sentence mean? think about it

Words to know

grassland
a wide, open place covered mostly with grass
snatch
to grab something quickly
roots
the parts of a plant that grow underground
track
a narrow path or trail
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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 · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4

At the edge of the grassland, a dung beetle named Odo made a ball. It was a perfect ball. Dung beetles roll their balls away so no one can snatch them. Then they bury them for food. Odo wanted to roll his ball in a straight line to a patch of soft sand.

But there were stones and roots in the way. Each time Odo pushed, the ball slid to the side. He went in circles. He was hot and tired. He did not want anyone to see he was lost.

An old beetle named Madi walked by. "You are pushing hard," she said. "Do you want to hear a trick?"

Odo hung his head. "I can do it myself."

"Of course," said Madi kindly. "But I climb on top of the ball and look around. Then I can pick a clear path."

Odo climbed up. He saw the sand and a smooth track. He thanked Madi and rolled straight home. Asking for help did not make him small. It made the road short.

▲ This passage · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

On the edge of the grassland, a dung beetle named Odo had made a perfect ball, and he was very proud of it. Dung beetles roll their balls away from the crowd so that no one can snatch them, and then they bury them to use as food. Odo meant to roll his ball in a straight line to a patch of soft sand.

But there were stones and roots in the way, and each time Odo pushed, the ball slid sideways until he found himself going in circles. He grew hot and tired, and he did not want anyone to see that he was lost.

An old dung beetle named Madi was passing by. "You look like you are pushing very hard," she said. "Would you like to hear a trick that helped me when I was young?"

Odo hung his head. "I can do it myself."

"Of course you can," said Madi kindly. "But I find that it helps to climb on top of the ball and look around, because then you can choose a clear path."

Odo climbed up. From there he spotted the sand, and a smooth track leading right to it. He thanked Madi, hopped down, and rolled straight home. Asking for help, he learned, did not make him small. It made the road shorter.

■ Harder · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

On the edge of the sprawling grassland, a dung beetle named Odo had fashioned a perfect ball, and he was enormously proud of it. Dung beetles roll their balls away from the crowd so that no rival can snatch them, and then they bury them to use as food. Odo intended to roll his ball in a perfectly straight line to a patch of soft sand.

Unfortunately, there were stones and tangled roots in the way, and each time Odo pushed, the ball veered sideways until he found himself traveling in circles. He grew hot and exhausted, and he did not want anyone to notice that he was lost.

An elderly dung beetle named Madi happened to be passing by. "You look as though you are pushing very hard," she said. "Would you care to hear a trick that helped me when I was young?"

Odo hung his head. "I can do it myself."

"Of course you can," said Madi kindly. "Still, I have found that it helps to climb on top of the ball and look around, because then you can choose a clear path."

Odo clambered up. From that height he spotted the sand, along with a smooth track that led right to it. He thanked Madi, hopped down, and rolled straight home. Asking for help, he learned, did not make him small. It made the road shorter.

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 grassland, snatch, roots and track 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 Dung Beetle Who Rolled Straight Home"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 220 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.8. 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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