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The Mudskipper Who Would Not Swim

4th grade fiction passage about being different, mud flats: 190 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction being different, mud flats 190 words

The Mudskipper Who Would Not Swim

A mudskipper is a fish that can climb out of the water and hop across the mud. Pogo was a mudskipper who lived in a mangrove swamp, and he loved the mud best of all. When the tide went out, he propped himself up on his front fins and watched the world from the shore.

The other fish teased him. "A real fish swims," said a little silver minnow. "You are only half a fish."

Pogo wanted to prove them wrong. He dove in and swam hard all afternoon, up and down the creek. By evening he was worn out, and his gills felt dry and sore. He had tried so hard to be like the minnows that he had forgotten who he was.

At sunset the tide dropped again. The minnows were trapped in a shallow puddle, and a hungry heron was walking toward them. Pogo hopped out onto the mud, flopped beside the puddle, and wriggled loudly. The heron turned toward the noise, and the minnows slipped through a gap into the deep creek.

"Thank you," whispered the silver minnow. "Hopping is a fine thing for a fish."

Questions

  1. What can a mudskipper do that most fish cannot? in the text

  2. What did the minnow say about Pogo at first? in the text

  3. Why did Pogo swim all afternoon? in the text

  4. What danger did the minnows face at sunset? in the text

  5. How did Pogo help the minnows? think about it

  6. What lesson does the story teach? think about it

Words to know

mangrove
a tree that grows in salty water near the coast
tide
the rising and falling of the sea along the shore
teased
made fun of someone in an unkind way
wriggled
twisted and squirmed from side to side
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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 · 165 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

A mudskipper is a fish that can hop on the mud. Pogo was a mudskipper. He lived in a mangrove swamp. He loved the mud best of all. When the tide went out, he sat up on his front fins and watched the shore.

The other fish teased him. "A real fish swims," said a little silver minnow. "You are only half a fish."

Pogo wanted to show them. He swam hard all afternoon. By evening he was worn out. His gills felt dry and sore. He had tried so hard to be like the minnows that he forgot who he was.

At sunset the tide went out again. The minnows were stuck in a shallow puddle. A hungry heron walked toward them. Pogo hopped onto the mud and wriggled by the puddle. He made a lot of noise. The heron turned toward him, and the minnows slipped into the deep creek.

"Thank you," said the minnow. "Hopping is a fine thing for a fish."

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

A mudskipper is a fish that can climb out of the water and hop across the mud. Pogo was a mudskipper who lived in a mangrove swamp, and he loved the mud best of all. When the tide went out, he propped himself up on his front fins and watched the world from the shore.

The other fish teased him. "A real fish swims," said a little silver minnow. "You are only half a fish."

Pogo wanted to prove them wrong. He dove in and swam hard all afternoon, up and down the creek. By evening he was worn out, and his gills felt dry and sore. He had tried so hard to be like the minnows that he had forgotten who he was.

At sunset the tide dropped again. The minnows were trapped in a shallow puddle, and a hungry heron was walking toward them. Pogo hopped out onto the mud, flopped beside the puddle, and wriggled loudly. The heron turned toward the noise, and the minnows slipped through a gap into the deep creek.

"Thank you," whispered the silver minnow. "Hopping is a fine thing for a fish."

■ Harder · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2

A mudskipper is a remarkable fish that can climb out of the water and hop across the mud. Pogo was a mudskipper who lived in a mangrove swamp, and he loved the mud more than anything else. Whenever the tide went out, he propped himself up on his front fins and observed the world from the shore.

The other fish teased him relentlessly. "A real fish swims," said a little silver minnow. "You are only half a fish."

Pogo was determined to prove them wrong. He dove in and swam hard all afternoon, up and down the creek. By evening he was completely worn out, and his gills felt dry and sore. He had tried so desperately to be like the minnows that he had forgotten who he really was.

At sunset the tide dropped once again. The minnows were trapped in a shallow puddle, and a hungry heron was stalking steadily toward them. Pogo hopped out onto the mud, flopped beside the puddle, and wriggled as noisily as he could. The heron turned toward the commotion, and the minnows slipped through a gap into the deep creek.

"Thank you," whispered the silver minnow. "Hopping is a fine thing for a fish."

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 mangrove, tide, teased and wriggled 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 Mudskipper Who Would Not Swim"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 190 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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