4th grade fiction passage about sharing, mountain animals: 198 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradefictionsharing, mountain animals198 words
The Pika Who Shared Her Haypile
High on a rocky mountainside lived a small pika named Tamsin. All summer she ran back and forth between the flower meadows and her home in the rocks. Each trip she carried a mouthful of grass and blossoms, and she spread them in the sun to dry. By autumn her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake all winter, so Tamsin knew she would need every stem.
One cold morning a young pika named Oro crept up to her door. A hard rain had washed his haypile down the slope. "I was too slow to gather enough," he said, and his ears drooped.
Tamsin looked at her neat pile and felt a worry in her chest. If she gave some away, would there be enough? Then she thought about the long winter alone under the snow. A full pile would not feel so full without a friend nearby.
"Come help me turn the hay," she said. "Then take a share for yourself."
They worked side by side until the sun dropped behind the peaks. All winter the two pikas called to each other through the cracks in the rocks, and neither one ever felt alone.
Questions
What did Tamsin carry from the meadows to her home? in the text
Why did Tamsin need so much hay? in the text
What happened to Oro's haypile? in the text
What did Tamsin do after she thought about the long winter? in the text
Why did Tamsin feel a worry in her chest? think about it
What lesson does this story teach? think about it
Words to know
pika
a small furry animal that lives high in the mountains
blossoms
flowers on a plant
drooped
hung down because of feeling sad or tired
slope
the slanted side of a hill or mountain
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Pika Who Shared Her Haypile
4th grade reading passage
High on a rocky mountainside lived a small pika named Tamsin. All summer she ran back and forth between the flower meadows and her home in the rocks. Each trip she carried a mouthful of grass and blossoms, and she spread them in the sun to dry. By autumn her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake all winter, so Tamsin knew she would need every stem.
One cold morning a young pika named Oro crept up to her door. A hard rain had washed his haypile down the slope. "I was too slow to gather enough," he said, and his ears drooped.
Tamsin looked at her neat pile and felt a worry in her chest. If she gave some away, would there be enough? Then she thought about the long winter alone under the snow. A full pile would not feel so full without a friend nearby.
"Come help me turn the hay," she said. "Then take a share for yourself."
They worked side by side until the sun dropped behind the peaks. All winter the two pikas called to each other through the cracks in the rocks, and neither one ever felt alone.
Questions
What did Tamsin carry from the meadows to her home?
Why did Tamsin need so much hay?
What happened to Oro's haypile?
What did Tamsin do after she thought about the long winter?
Why did Tamsin feel a worry in her chest?
What lesson does this story teach?
Words to know
pika: a small furry animal that lives high in the mountains
blossoms: flowers on a plant
drooped: hung down because of feeling sad or tired
slope: the slanted side of a hill or mountain
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/pika-who-shared-her-haypile
Share
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 · 149 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8
A small pika named Tamsin lived high on a rocky mountain. All summer she ran to the meadows. She brought back grass and flowers in her mouth. She spread them in the sun to dry. By fall her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake all winter, so she needed every stem.
One cold morning a young pika named Oro came to her door. A hard rain had washed his haypile down the hill. "I was too slow," he said. His ears drooped.
Tamsin looked at her pile. She felt a worry. Would she have enough if she gave some away? Then she thought of the long winter alone under the snow.
"Come and help me turn the hay," she said. "Then take a share."
They worked side by side. All winter the two pikas called to each other through the rocks. Neither one felt alone.
▲ This passage · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9
High on a rocky mountainside lived a small pika named Tamsin. All summer she ran back and forth between the flower meadows and her home in the rocks. Each trip she carried a mouthful of grass and blossoms, and she spread them in the sun to dry. By autumn her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake all winter, so Tamsin knew she would need every stem.
One cold morning a young pika named Oro crept up to her door. A hard rain had washed his haypile down the slope. "I was too slow to gather enough," he said, and his ears drooped.
Tamsin looked at her neat pile and felt a worry in her chest. If she gave some away, would there be enough? Then she thought about the long winter alone under the snow. A full pile would not feel so full without a friend nearby.
"Come help me turn the hay," she said. "Then take a share for yourself."
They worked side by side until the sun dropped behind the peaks. All winter the two pikas called to each other through the cracks in the rocks, and neither one ever felt alone.
■ Harder · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6
High on a steep and rocky mountainside lived a small pika named Tamsin. Throughout the whole summer she scurried back and forth between the flower meadows and her home among the boulders. On every trip she carried a mouthful of grass and blossoms, which she spread out in the sun to dry. By the time autumn arrived, her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake through the entire winter, so Tamsin understood that she would need every last stem.
One bitterly cold morning, a young pika named Oro crept up to her doorway. A heavy rain had washed his haypile all the way down the slope. "I was too slow to gather enough," he said, and his ears drooped sadly.
Tamsin studied her neat pile and felt a worry tighten in her chest. If she gave some away, would there still be enough for her? Then she pictured the long, silent winter alone beneath the snow, and she realized that even a full pile would feel empty without a friend nearby.
"Come and help me turn the hay," she said. "Afterward you may take a share for yourself."
They worked side by side until the sun sank behind the peaks. Through the whole winter the two pikas called to one another through the cracks in the rocks, and neither one ever felt alone.
A small pika named Tamsin lived high on a rocky mountain. All summer she ran to the meadows. She brought back grass and flowers in her mouth. She spread them in the sun to dry. By fall her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake all winter, so she needed every stem.
One cold morning a young pika named Oro came to her door. A hard rain had washed his haypile down the hill. "I was too slow," he said. His ears drooped.
Tamsin looked at her pile. She felt a worry. Would she have enough if she gave some away? Then she thought of the long winter alone under the snow.
"Come and help me turn the hay," she said. "Then take a share."
They worked side by side. All winter the two pikas called to each other through the rocks. Neither one felt alone.
Questions
What did Tamsin bring from the meadows?
Why did Tamsin need a lot of hay?
What happened to Oro's haypile?
What did Tamsin do after she thought about winter?
Why did Tamsin feel worried?
What does this story teach?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Pika Who Shared Her Haypile
High on a rocky mountainside lived a small pika named Tamsin. All summer she ran back and forth between the flower meadows and her home in the rocks. Each trip she carried a mouthful of grass and blossoms, and she spread them in the sun to dry. By autumn her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake all winter, so Tamsin knew she would need every stem.
One cold morning a young pika named Oro crept up to her door. A hard rain had washed his haypile down the slope. "I was too slow to gather enough," he said, and his ears drooped.
Tamsin looked at her neat pile and felt a worry in her chest. If she gave some away, would there be enough? Then she thought about the long winter alone under the snow. A full pile would not feel so full without a friend nearby.
"Come help me turn the hay," she said. "Then take a share for yourself."
They worked side by side until the sun dropped behind the peaks. All winter the two pikas called to each other through the cracks in the rocks, and neither one ever felt alone.
Questions
What did Tamsin carry from the meadows to her home?
Why did Tamsin need so much hay?
What happened to Oro's haypile?
What did Tamsin do after she thought about the long winter?
Why did Tamsin feel a worry in her chest?
What lesson does this story teach?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Pika Who Shared Her Haypile
High on a steep and rocky mountainside lived a small pika named Tamsin. Throughout the whole summer she scurried back and forth between the flower meadows and her home among the boulders. On every trip she carried a mouthful of grass and blossoms, which she spread out in the sun to dry. By the time autumn arrived, her haypile was as tall as a boot. Pikas stay awake through the entire winter, so Tamsin understood that she would need every last stem.
One bitterly cold morning, a young pika named Oro crept up to her doorway. A heavy rain had washed his haypile all the way down the slope. "I was too slow to gather enough," he said, and his ears drooped sadly.
Tamsin studied her neat pile and felt a worry tighten in her chest. If she gave some away, would there still be enough for her? Then she pictured the long, silent winter alone beneath the snow, and she realized that even a full pile would feel empty without a friend nearby.
"Come and help me turn the hay," she said. "Afterward you may take a share for yourself."
They worked side by side until the sun sank behind the peaks. Through the whole winter the two pikas called to one another through the cracks in the rocks, and neither one ever felt alone.
Questions
What did Tamsin carry from the flower meadows to her home?
Why did Tamsin understand that she would need so much hay?
What happened to the haypile that belonged to Oro?
What did Tamsin do after she pictured the long winter?
Why did a worry tighten in Tamsin's chest?
What lesson can a reader take from this story?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Pika Who Shared Her Haypile
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8)
Grass and flowers in her mouth.
Pikas stay awake all winter and need food.
A hard rain washed it down the hill.
She asked Oro to help and gave him a share of the hay.
She was afraid she would not have enough hay if she gave some away.
Sharing with a friend can matter more than keeping everything.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9)
Mouthfuls of grass and blossoms.
Pikas stay awake all winter and need food.
A hard rain washed it down the slope.
She asked Oro to help turn the hay and gave him a share.
She was afraid that giving some hay away would leave her without enough.
Sharing with a friend can matter more than keeping everything for yourself.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6)
Mouthfuls of grass and blossoms.
Pikas stay awake through the whole winter and need food.
A heavy rain washed it all the way down the slope.
She asked Oro to help turn the hay and offered him a share.
She feared that giving some hay away might leave her without enough.
A friend's company and sharing can be worth more than keeping everything for yourself.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put pika, blossoms, drooped and slope 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.
What reading level is "The Pika Who Shared Her Haypile"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 198 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.9. 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?
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