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Seat 14B and the Missing Ticket

4th grade fiction passage about a train trip problem: 190 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a train trip problem 190 words

Seat 14B and the Missing Ticket

Lucia and her aunt were riding the morning train to the coast. Halfway there, a conductor in a blue cap came down the aisle and asked for tickets. Aunt Rosa handed hers over, then patted her pockets. Lucia's ticket was missing.

"I put it in my jacket," Lucia said, and her cheeks grew hot. "I am sure of it."

The conductor smiled kindly. "Take your time," he said. "I will come back in ten minutes."

Lucia retraced her morning. She remembered the platform, where she had bought a hot pretzel. She remembered holding the ticket in one hand and the pretzel in the other, and then sliding the ticket into something for safekeeping.

Then she looked at her book. She had been reading a story about a lighthouse, and she had tucked the ticket inside as a bookmark!

She flipped to page sixty-one, and there it was. When the conductor returned, she showed him the ticket with a proud smile.

"A clever place to hide it," he said, and punched a tiny hole. After that, Lucia kept her ticket in her pocket and used a leaf for a bookmark.

Questions

  1. Where were Lucia and her aunt going? in the text

  2. What did Lucia buy on the platform? in the text

  3. Where did Lucia find her ticket? in the text

  4. What did the conductor do when he saw the ticket? in the text

  5. Why did Lucia's cheeks grow hot? think about it

  6. Why did Lucia stop using her ticket as a bookmark? think about it

Words to know

conductor
the worker who checks tickets on a train
aisle
the walkway between rows of seats
retraced
went back over the same steps again
platform
the raised place where people wait for a train
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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 2.1

Lucia and her aunt rode the morning train to the coast. Halfway there, a conductor in a blue cap walked down the aisle. He asked for tickets. Aunt Rosa gave hers. Then Lucia looked for hers. It was gone.

"I put it in my jacket," Lucia said. Her cheeks felt hot.

The conductor smiled. "Take your time," he said. "I will come back in ten minutes."

Lucia thought about her morning. She had bought a hot pretzel on the platform. She had held the ticket in one hand and the pretzel in the other. Then she had put the ticket somewhere safe.

She looked at her book. She had been reading about a lighthouse. She had used the ticket as a bookmark!

She turned to page sixty-one. There it was. The conductor came back. She showed him the ticket and smiled.

"A clever place," he said. He punched a small hole in it. After that, Lucia kept her ticket in her pocket and used a leaf as a bookmark.

▲ This passage · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6

Lucia and her aunt were riding the morning train to the coast. Halfway there, a conductor in a blue cap came down the aisle and asked for tickets. Aunt Rosa handed hers over, then patted her pockets. Lucia's ticket was missing.

"I put it in my jacket," Lucia said, and her cheeks grew hot. "I am sure of it."

The conductor smiled kindly. "Take your time," he said. "I will come back in ten minutes."

Lucia retraced her morning. She remembered the platform, where she had bought a hot pretzel. She remembered holding the ticket in one hand and the pretzel in the other, and then sliding the ticket into something for safekeeping.

Then she looked at her book. She had been reading a story about a lighthouse, and she had tucked the ticket inside as a bookmark!

She flipped to page sixty-one, and there it was. When the conductor returned, she showed him the ticket with a proud smile.

"A clever place to hide it," he said, and punched a tiny hole. After that, Lucia kept her ticket in her pocket and used a leaf for a bookmark.

■ Harder · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.8

Lucia and her aunt were traveling on the morning train to the coast. Halfway through the journey, a conductor in a blue cap strolled down the aisle and requested tickets. Aunt Rosa handed hers over promptly, then Lucia patted her pockets in alarm. Her ticket had vanished.

"I put it in my jacket," Lucia insisted, and her cheeks grew hot. "I am absolutely sure of it."

The conductor smiled kindly. "Take your time," he said. "I will come back in ten minutes."

Lucia carefully retraced her morning. She remembered the station platform, where she had bought a warm pretzel. She remembered holding the ticket in one hand and the pretzel in the other, and then sliding the ticket into something for safekeeping.

Suddenly she glanced at her book. She had been reading a story about a lighthouse, and she had tucked the ticket inside it as a bookmark!

She flipped to page sixty-one, and there it was. When the conductor returned, she presented the ticket with a proud smile.

"What a clever hiding place," he said, and he punched a tiny hole in it. From then on, Lucia kept her ticket in her pocket and used a leaf as her bookmark.

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 conductor, aisle, retraced and platform 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 "Seat 14B and the Missing Ticket"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 190 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.6. 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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