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Grandpa Orrin's Lighthouse Snore

4th grade fiction passage about a tall tale about a loud snore: 209 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a tall tale about a loud snore 209 words

Grandpa Orrin's Lighthouse Snore

When my grandpa Orrin kept the lighthouse at Gull Point, he snored so loudly that fish popped to the surface to see what was wrong. Some folks say the sound rolled across the bay like thunder. I say it was louder.

One foggy night, the lighthouse bulb burned out. Grandpa Orrin went to bed that night feeling blue, because ships would not see the light. He pulled up his quilt and fell asleep anyway.

Out on the water, Captain Marsh was steering her little boat through the fog. She could not see a thing. Then she heard it: a deep, rumbling *HONK-shoo, HONK-shoo* coming from the shore.

"That is no foghorn," she said. "But it is the best sound I've ever heard."

She steered toward the snore. The boat slid past the rocks and landed softly at the dock. Captain Marsh climbed the stairs and found Grandpa Orrin snoring with his mouth open and his socks on.

In the morning, she thanked him with a basket of blueberry muffins. Grandpa Orrin blinked. "I only sleep," he said.

"Keep doing it," she said.

From then on, every foggy night, the whole coast leaned on Grandpa Orrin's snore. It was never late, and it never ran out of batteries.

Questions

  1. What happened to the lighthouse bulb? in the text

  2. What did fish do when Grandpa Orrin snored? in the text

  3. How did Captain Marsh find the shore? in the text

  4. What gift did Captain Marsh bring in the morning? in the text

  5. Why did Captain Marsh say the snore was better than a foghorn that night? think about it

  6. How can you tell this is a tall tale? think about it

Words to know

lighthouse
a tall tower with a bright light that guides ships
bay
a curve of the sea that reaches into the land
foghorn
a loud horn that warns ships in thick fog
quilt
a thick blanket sewn from many pieces of cloth
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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 · 199 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

When my grandpa Orrin kept the lighthouse at Gull Point, he snored so loudly that fish popped up to see what was wrong. Some folks say the sound rolled across the bay like thunder. I say it was louder.

One foggy night, the lighthouse bulb burned out. Grandpa Orrin went to bed feeling blue. Ships would not see the light. He pulled up his quilt and fell asleep anyway.

Out on the water, Captain Marsh steered her little boat through the fog. She could not see a thing. Then she heard a deep, rumbling *HONK-shoo, HONK-shoo* from the shore.

"That is no foghorn," she said. "But it is the best sound ever."

She steered toward the snore. The boat slid past the rocks and landed softly at the dock. Captain Marsh climbed the stairs. She found Grandpa Orrin snoring with his mouth open and his socks on.

In the morning, she thanked him with a basket of blueberry muffins. Grandpa Orrin blinked. "I only sleep," he said.

"Keep doing it," she said.

After that, on every foggy night, the whole coast listened for Grandpa Orrin's snore. It was never late, and it never ran out of batteries.

▲ This passage · 209 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

When my grandpa Orrin kept the lighthouse at Gull Point, he snored so loudly that fish popped to the surface to see what was wrong. Some folks say the sound rolled across the bay like thunder. I say it was louder.

One foggy night, the lighthouse bulb burned out. Grandpa Orrin went to bed that night feeling blue, because ships would not see the light. He pulled up his quilt and fell asleep anyway.

Out on the water, Captain Marsh was steering her little boat through the fog. She could not see a thing. Then she heard it: a deep, rumbling *HONK-shoo, HONK-shoo* coming from the shore.

"That is no foghorn," she said. "But it is the best sound I've ever heard."

She steered toward the snore. The boat slid past the rocks and landed softly at the dock. Captain Marsh climbed the stairs and found Grandpa Orrin snoring with his mouth open and his socks on.

In the morning, she thanked him with a basket of blueberry muffins. Grandpa Orrin blinked. "I only sleep," he said.

"Keep doing it," she said.

From then on, every foggy night, the whole coast leaned on Grandpa Orrin's snore. It was never late, and it never ran out of batteries.

■ Harder · 221 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

When my grandpa Orrin kept the lighthouse at Gull Point, he snored so ferociously that fish bobbed to the surface to investigate. Some folks claim the sound rolled across the bay like thunder. I maintain it was louder.

One foggy night, the lighthouse bulb burned out. Grandpa Orrin went to bed feeling gloomy, because passing ships would not be able to see the light. He pulled up his quilt and drifted off to sleep anyway.

Out on the water, Captain Marsh was steering her little boat through the thick fog. She could not see a thing. Then she heard it: a deep, rumbling *HONK-shoo, HONK-shoo* echoing from the shore.

"That is no foghorn," she said. "But it is the finest sound I have ever heard."

She steered straight toward the snore. The boat slipped past the rocks and glided gently up to the dock. Captain Marsh climbed the stairs and found Grandpa Orrin snoring with his mouth wide open and his socks still on.

In the morning, she thanked him with a basket of blueberry muffins. Grandpa Orrin blinked sleepily. "I only sleep," he said.

"Then keep on doing it," she replied.

From then on, whenever fog rolled in, the entire coast relied on Grandpa Orrin's snore. It was always on time, and it never ran out of batteries.

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 lighthouse, bay, foghorn and quilt 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 "Grandpa Orrin's Lighthouse Snore"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 209 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.2. 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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