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Grandpa's Tuesday Voicemails

4th grade fiction passage about missing someone far away: 190 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction missing someone far away 190 words

Grandpa's Tuesday Voicemails

Mina's family had moved to a new city in September. Her old house was hundreds of miles away, and so was Grandpa.

Every Tuesday at four o'clock, Grandpa left her a voicemail. He never asked her to call back. He only told her small things. One week it was about a squirrel that stole his last tomato. Another week it was about a sock he found in the freezer.

Mina saved every message, but she never answered. She could not think of anything to say. Her new school was loud, and nothing about it seemed worth telling.

One Tuesday, Mina sat on the back steps and saw a pigeon with one white feather in its tail. It strutted along the fence as if it owned the whole street. Mina laughed out loud. Then she picked up the phone.

"Grandpa, it's me," she said. "I met a pigeon today. He walks like the mayor."

Grandpa laughed so hard that he coughed. "Tell me everything," he said.

Now Mina keeps a list in her pocket. When she sees something funny, she writes it down. By Tuesday, she always has plenty to say.

Questions

  1. When did Grandpa leave Mina a voicemail? in the text

  2. What did the squirrel steal from Grandpa? in the text

  3. Did Mina answer the messages at first? in the text

  4. What did Mina see on the fence that made her laugh? in the text

  5. Why do you think Grandpa told Mina only small, silly things? think about it

  6. Why does Mina keep a list in her pocket now? think about it

Words to know

voicemail
a recorded message you can listen to later
strutted
walked in a proud, showy way
mayor
the leader of a city or town
hundreds
a very large number, more than ninety-nine
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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 · 170 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

Mina's family moved to a new city in September. Her old house was far away. Grandpa was far away too.

Every Tuesday at four o'clock, Grandpa left Mina a voicemail. He did not ask her to call back. He just told her small things. One week a squirrel took his last tomato. Another week he found a sock in the freezer.

Mina saved every message. But she never answered. She did not know what to say. Her new school was loud. Nothing seemed worth telling.

One Tuesday, Mina sat on the back steps. She saw a pigeon with one white feather in its tail. It walked along the fence like it owned the street. Mina laughed. Then she picked up the phone.

"Grandpa, it's me," she said. "I met a pigeon today. He walks like the mayor."

Grandpa laughed and coughed. "Tell me everything," he said.

Now Mina keeps a list in her pocket. When she sees something funny, she writes it down. By Tuesday, she has lots to say.

▲ This passage · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Mina's family had moved to a new city in September. Her old house was hundreds of miles away, and so was Grandpa.

Every Tuesday at four o'clock, Grandpa left her a voicemail. He never asked her to call back. He only told her small things. One week it was about a squirrel that stole his last tomato. Another week it was about a sock he found in the freezer.

Mina saved every message, but she never answered. She could not think of anything to say. Her new school was loud, and nothing about it seemed worth telling.

One Tuesday, Mina sat on the back steps and saw a pigeon with one white feather in its tail. It strutted along the fence as if it owned the whole street. Mina laughed out loud. Then she picked up the phone.

"Grandpa, it's me," she said. "I met a pigeon today. He walks like the mayor."

Grandpa laughed so hard that he coughed. "Tell me everything," he said.

Now Mina keeps a list in her pocket. When she sees something funny, she writes it down. By Tuesday, she always has plenty to say.

■ Harder · 216 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Mina's family had moved to a new city in September, and her old house, along with Grandpa, was now hundreds of miles away.

Every Tuesday at four o'clock, Grandpa left her a voicemail. He never begged her to call him back. Instead, he simply told her small, ordinary things. One week it was about a squirrel that had stolen his very last tomato. Another week it was about a lonely sock he had discovered in the freezer.

Mina saved every single message, yet she never answered one. She could not think of anything to say. Her new school was noisy and crowded, and nothing about it seemed worth reporting.

Then, one Tuesday afternoon, Mina sat on the back steps and noticed a pigeon with a single white feather in its tail. It strutted along the fence as though it owned the whole street. Mina burst out laughing, and before she could change her mind, she picked up the phone.

"Grandpa, it's me," she said. "I met a pigeon today. He walks like the mayor."

Grandpa laughed so hard that he started to cough. "Tell me everything," he said.

These days, Mina carries a list in her pocket. Whenever she spots something funny, she writes it down, so that by Tuesday she always has plenty to say.

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 voicemail, strutted, mayor and hundreds 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's Tuesday Voicemails"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 190 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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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