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Seventeen Pages of Sourdough

4th grade fiction passage about baking bread from a starter: 208 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction baking bread from a starter 208 words

Seventeen Pages of Sourdough

Marisol's grandmother gave her a jar of sticky, bubbly dough called a starter. "Feed it flour and water every day," Grandma said, "and it will make bread rise."

Marisol wrote everything in a notebook. On the first try, she forgot to feed the starter for two days. The loaf came out flat and hard, like a brick. Her brother knocked on it and said, "Anyone home?"

On the second try, the dough was so wet that it slid off the counter. On the third, she baked it too long, and the bottom turned black.

By the seventeenth page of her notebook, Marisol was tired. She almost wrote "I quit" at the top of the next page.

Instead, she read her notes from the beginning. She noticed something. The best bubbles always came on the days when the kitchen was warm. On cold days, the starter just sat there and did nothing.

So on the eighteenth try, she set the dough near the sunny window. She waited all afternoon. When she opened the oven, the loaf was tall and golden, and it smelled wonderful.

Her brother knocked on it again. This time it made a hollow, happy sound. "Someone's home," he said, and he asked for a second slice.

Questions

  1. What did Marisol's grandmother give her? in the text

  2. Why was the first loaf flat and hard? in the text

  3. What went wrong with the third loaf? in the text

  4. Where did Marisol keep all her records? in the text

  5. What pattern did Marisol find when she read her notes? in the text

  6. How did reading her old notes help her? think about it

  7. What did the hollow sound of the last loaf tell her brother? think about it

Words to know

starter
a mix of flour and water that helps bread rise
rise
to puff up and grow bigger
hollow
empty inside, like a drum
noticed
saw or realized something
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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 · 167 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.5

Marisol's grandmother gave her a jar of bubbly dough. It is called a starter. "Feed it flour and water each day," Grandma said. "It will make bread rise."

Marisol wrote in a notebook. The first time, she forgot to feed the starter for two days. The bread was flat and hard like a brick. Her brother knocked on it. "Anyone home?" he asked.

The second time, the dough was too wet. It slid off the counter. The third time, she baked it too long. The bottom turned black.

By page seventeen, Marisol was tired. She almost wrote "I quit."

Instead, she read her old notes. She saw a pattern. The best bubbles came on warm days. On cold days, the starter did nothing.

On try number eighteen, she put the dough by the sunny window. She waited all afternoon. The loaf came out tall and golden. It smelled great.

Her brother knocked on it. It made a hollow sound. "Someone's home," he said. He asked for more.

▲ This passage · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Marisol's grandmother gave her a jar of sticky, bubbly dough called a starter. "Feed it flour and water every day," Grandma said, "and it will make bread rise."

Marisol wrote everything in a notebook. On the first try, she forgot to feed the starter for two days. The loaf came out flat and hard, like a brick. Her brother knocked on it and said, "Anyone home?"

On the second try, the dough was so wet that it slid off the counter. On the third, she baked it too long, and the bottom turned black.

By the seventeenth page of her notebook, Marisol was tired. She almost wrote "I quit" at the top of the next page.

Instead, she read her notes from the beginning. She noticed something. The best bubbles always came on the days when the kitchen was warm. On cold days, the starter just sat there and did nothing.

So on the eighteenth try, she set the dough near the sunny window. She waited all afternoon. When she opened the oven, the loaf was tall and golden, and it smelled wonderful.

Her brother knocked on it again. This time it made a hollow, happy sound. "Someone's home," he said, and he asked for a second slice.

■ Harder · 243 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.9

Marisol's grandmother presented her with a jar of sticky, bubbling dough known as a starter. "Feed it a little flour and water every single day," Grandma explained, "and it will teach your bread to rise."

Marisol recorded everything in a notebook. On her first attempt, she neglected to feed the starter for two whole days, and the loaf emerged flat and hard as a brick. Her brother rapped his knuckles on it and asked, "Anyone home?"

On the second attempt, the dough was so wet that it slid right off the counter. On the third, she left the bread in the oven for too long, and the bottom turned completely black.

By the seventeenth page of her notebook, Marisol was exhausted and discouraged. She very nearly wrote the words "I quit" at the top of the next page.

Instead, she decided to reread her notes from the very beginning, and she noticed a pattern. The liveliest bubbles always appeared on days when the kitchen was warm, while on cold days the starter merely sat there, doing nothing at all.

So on her eighteenth try, she placed the dough beside the sunny window and waited patiently through the afternoon. When she finally opened the oven door, the loaf was tall and golden, and the whole kitchen smelled wonderful.

Her brother knocked on it once more. This time it made a hollow, cheerful sound. "Someone's home," he declared, and he asked for a second slice.

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 starter, rise, hollow and noticed 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 6 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 "Seventeen Pages of Sourdough"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 208 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.7. 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 seven. 5 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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