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The Hum Inside the Flour Bin

4th grade fiction passage about a noise mystery: 187 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a noise mystery 187 words

The Hum Inside the Flour Bin

For two days, a quiet buzzing sound floated through Priya's kitchen. It came and went, and no one could find it. Her little brother said it was a ghost. Her father said it was the refrigerator.

Priya decided to be a detective. She took a notebook and wrote down when the buzzing happened. It always came in short bursts, a few seconds apart, and always when the house was calm.

First she put her ear against the refrigerator. Nothing. Then she checked the window, the toaster, and the old radio on the shelf. Still nothing. But when she walked toward the pantry, the sound grew louder.

Priya opened the pantry door and followed the hum to a large flour bin. She lifted the lid, dug carefully into the soft white flour, and pulled out a flat, gray rectangle. It was her father's phone! It buzzed once more in her hand.

Her father had dropped it there while reaching for a bag of sugar and had never noticed. He laughed and thanked her. Priya wiped off the flour and wrote one last line in her notebook: "Case closed."

Questions

  1. How long had the buzzing sound been in the kitchen? in the text

  2. What did Priya write in her notebook? in the text

  3. Where did Priya finally find the sound? in the text

  4. What was making the buzzing? in the text

  5. How did Priya's notebook help her solve the mystery? think about it

  6. How did the phone end up in the flour? think about it

Words to know

detective
a person who looks for clues to solve a mystery
pantry
a small room or cupboard where food is kept
bursts
short, sudden bits of something
rectangle
a flat shape with four corners and two long sides
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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 · 154 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.3

For two days, a soft buzz was in Priya's kitchen. It came and went. No one could find it. Her little brother said it was a ghost. Her father said it was the fridge.

Priya wanted to be a detective. She took a notebook. She wrote down when the buzz came. It came in short bursts. It came when the house was quiet.

She put her ear on the fridge. Nothing. She checked the window, the toaster, and the radio. Nothing. Then she walked to the pantry. The sound got louder.

Priya opened the pantry door. The hum led her to a big flour bin. She dug into the white flour. She pulled out a flat gray thing. It was her father's phone! It buzzed in her hand.

Her father had dropped it there by mistake. He did not know. He laughed and said thanks. Priya wiped off the flour. She wrote, "Case closed."

▲ This passage · 187 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

For two days, a quiet buzzing sound floated through Priya's kitchen. It came and went, and no one could find it. Her little brother said it was a ghost. Her father said it was the refrigerator.

Priya decided to be a detective. She took a notebook and wrote down when the buzzing happened. It always came in short bursts, a few seconds apart, and always when the house was calm.

First she put her ear against the refrigerator. Nothing. Then she checked the window, the toaster, and the old radio on the shelf. Still nothing. But when she walked toward the pantry, the sound grew louder.

Priya opened the pantry door and followed the hum to a large flour bin. She lifted the lid, dug carefully into the soft white flour, and pulled out a flat, gray rectangle. It was her father's phone! It buzzed once more in her hand.

Her father had dropped it there while reaching for a bag of sugar and had never noticed. He laughed and thanked her. Priya wiped off the flour and wrote one last line in her notebook: "Case closed."

■ Harder · 201 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

For two entire days, a faint buzzing sound drifted through Priya's kitchen. It came and went mysteriously, and nobody could locate it. Her little brother insisted that it was a ghost, while her father was certain it was the refrigerator.

Priya decided to become a detective. Armed with a notebook, she recorded exactly when the buzzing occurred. It always arrived in short bursts, a few seconds apart, and always when the house was calm.

First she pressed her ear against the refrigerator, but heard nothing unusual. Then she inspected the window, the toaster, and the old radio on the shelf, with the same result. However, as she walked toward the pantry, the sound grew steadily louder.

Priya opened the pantry door and followed the hum to a large flour bin. She lifted the lid, carefully dug through the soft white flour, and pulled out a flat gray rectangle. It was her father's phone, and it buzzed once more in her hand!

Her father had dropped it into the bin while reaching for a bag of sugar and had never noticed. He laughed and thanked her warmly. Priya brushed off the flour and wrote one final line in her notebook: "Case closed."

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 detective, pantry, bursts and rectangle 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 Hum Inside the Flour Bin"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 187 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.

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