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Reading Glasses for a Nearsighted Dragon

4th grade fiction passage about a dragon who cannot see up close: 170 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a dragon who cannot see up close 170 words

Reading Glasses for a Nearsighted Dragon

Embra the dragon loved to read, but lately the letters in her books looked like smudged ants. She held a book out at arm's length, then close to her nose. Nothing helped.

"I think you need glasses," said Corbin, the young blacksmith who lived near her cave.

"Dragons do not wear glasses," Embra said gruffly. But that night she could not finish her favorite chapter, and she felt sad.

The next morning, Corbin brought two round pieces of clear glass he had made in his workshop. He bent a thin wire around each one to make a frame, and he shaped two curved arms to rest behind her ears. Her ears were huge, so he gave the arms a loop at the end.

Embra slid them on. The words jumped out sharp and clear. "Oh!" she gasped. "That is a verb!"

She read for three days straight. Corbin got a very large thank-you, plus a very warm hug, which he said was perhaps a little too warm for comfort.

Questions

  1. What trouble was Embra having with books? in the text

  2. Who suggested that Embra needed glasses? in the text

  3. How did Embra feel about glasses at first? in the text

  4. What did Corbin use to make the frames? in the text

  5. Why did Embra change her mind about glasses? think about it

  6. What happened when Embra put the glasses on? in the text

Words to know

smudged
blurry or messy, as if rubbed
gruffly
in a rough, grumpy voice
workshop
a room where things are built or fixed
frame
the part that holds the lenses of glasses
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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 · 152 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

Embra the dragon loved to read. But lately the letters in her books looked like smudged ants. She held a book far away. She held it close to her nose. Nothing helped.

"I think you need glasses," said Corbin, the young blacksmith who lived near her cave.

"Dragons do not wear glasses," Embra said gruffly. But that night she could not finish her favorite chapter, and she felt sad.

The next morning, Corbin brought two round pieces of clear glass. He bent thin wire around each one to make frames. He made two curved arms to rest behind her ears. Her ears were huge, so he gave each arm a loop.

Embra put them on. The words looked sharp and clear. "Oh!" she gasped. "That is a verb!"

She read for three days. Corbin got a big thank-you and a very warm hug. It was a little too warm, he said.

▲ This passage · 170 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Embra the dragon loved to read, but lately the letters in her books looked like smudged ants. She held a book out at arm's length, then close to her nose. Nothing helped.

"I think you need glasses," said Corbin, the young blacksmith who lived near her cave.

"Dragons do not wear glasses," Embra said gruffly. But that night she could not finish her favorite chapter, and she felt sad.

The next morning, Corbin brought two round pieces of clear glass he had made in his workshop. He bent a thin wire around each one to make a frame, and he shaped two curved arms to rest behind her ears. Her ears were huge, so he gave the arms a loop at the end.

Embra slid them on. The words jumped out sharp and clear. "Oh!" she gasped. "That is a verb!"

She read for three days straight. Corbin got a very large thank-you, plus a very warm hug, which he said was perhaps a little too warm for comfort.

■ Harder · 182 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Embra the dragon adored reading, but lately the letters in her books had begun to look like smudged ants. She held a book out at arm's length, then pressed it right up against her nose, and nothing improved.

"I believe you need glasses," suggested Corbin, the young blacksmith who lived near her cave.

"Dragons do not wear glasses," Embra replied gruffly. But that night she could not finish her favorite chapter, and a heavy sadness settled over her.

The following morning, Corbin arrived with two round pieces of clear glass that he had made in his workshop. He bent a thin wire around each one to form a frame, and he shaped two curved arms to rest behind her ears. Because her ears were enormous, he added a loop at the end of each arm.

Embra slid them on. The words leaped out sharp and clear. "Oh!" she gasped. "That is a verb!"

She read for three days straight. Corbin received a tremendous thank-you, along with a very warm hug, which he admitted was perhaps a little too warm for comfort.

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 smudged, gruffly, workshop and frame 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 "Reading Glasses for a Nearsighted Dragon"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 170 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.7. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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