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Sticky Notes Along Grandpa's Garden Path

4th grade fiction passage about a puzzle trail: 193 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a puzzle trail 193 words

Sticky Notes Along Grandpa's Garden Path

When Mateo arrived at his grandfather's house, a yellow sticky note was waiting on the gate. It said, "I am green in spring, gold in fall, and I have no feet, but I walk across the lawn."

Mateo read it three times. Then he grinned. A leaf could not walk, but wind could push it across the grass. He found the next note stuck to the biggest maple tree.

That note was harder. "Count the steps from the tree to the bird bath, then take away the number of your age." Mateo was nine. He counted fourteen steps, and fourteen minus nine is five. He walked five more steps toward the shed.

There he found a small clay pot with a tag tied to it. Inside the pot was a packet of seeds and a final note. "Every good puzzle ends with something that grows. Plant these, and watch them for me."

Grandpa stepped out from behind the shed, smiling. "I made that trail last night," he said. "I wanted you to know my garden before we plant it together."

Mateo hugged him. The first bean seed went into the soil that afternoon.

Questions

  1. Where was the first sticky note? in the text

  2. What was stuck to the biggest maple tree? in the text

  3. How old was Mateo? in the text

  4. What was inside the clay pot? in the text

  5. Why did Grandpa make the trail? think about it

  6. What did the first riddle describe? think about it

Words to know

riddle
a puzzle that asks you to guess an answer
maple
a kind of tree with wide, pointed leaves
packet
a small paper envelope that holds something
trail
a path or line of clues to follow
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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 1.3

Mateo came to his grandfather's house. A yellow note was stuck to the gate. It said, "I am green in spring and gold in fall. I have no feet, but I walk across the lawn."

Mateo read it three times. Then he smiled. A leaf cannot walk, but the wind can push it. The next note was on the big maple tree.

That note was harder. "Count the steps from the tree to the bird bath. Take away your age." Mateo was nine. He counted fourteen steps. Fourteen take away nine is five. He took five more steps toward the shed.

He found a clay pot with a tag. Inside were seeds and a last note. "Every good puzzle ends with something that grows. Plant these for me."

Grandpa came out from behind the shed. "I made this trail last night," he said. "I wanted you to know my garden before we plant it."

Mateo hugged him. That day, the first bean seed went into the soil.

▲ This passage · 193 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

When Mateo arrived at his grandfather's house, a yellow sticky note was waiting on the gate. It said, "I am green in spring, gold in fall, and I have no feet, but I walk across the lawn."

Mateo read it three times. Then he grinned. A leaf could not walk, but wind could push it across the grass. He found the next note stuck to the biggest maple tree.

That note was harder. "Count the steps from the tree to the bird bath, then take away the number of your age." Mateo was nine. He counted fourteen steps, and fourteen minus nine is five. He walked five more steps toward the shed.

There he found a small clay pot with a tag tied to it. Inside the pot was a packet of seeds and a final note. "Every good puzzle ends with something that grows. Plant these, and watch them for me."

Grandpa stepped out from behind the shed, smiling. "I made that trail last night," he said. "I wanted you to know my garden before we plant it together."

Mateo hugged him. The first bean seed went into the soil that afternoon.

■ Harder · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

When Mateo arrived at his grandfather's house, a bright yellow sticky note was waiting for him on the gate. It read, "I am green in spring, gold in autumn, and although I have no feet, I walk across the lawn."

Mateo studied it three times before he grinned. A leaf could not truly walk, but the wind could certainly push one across the grass. He found the second note attached to the largest maple tree in the yard.

That clue was considerably trickier. "Count the steps from the tree to the bird bath, then subtract the number of years you have lived." Mateo was nine. He counted fourteen steps, and fourteen minus nine is five, so he walked five more steps in the direction of the shed.

There he discovered a small clay pot with a tag tied around its rim. Inside were a packet of seeds and a final note. "Every worthwhile puzzle ends with something that grows. Plant these, and watch over them for me."

Grandpa stepped out from behind the shed, smiling broadly. "I built that trail last night," he said. "I wanted you to get to know my garden before we plant it together."

Mateo hugged him tightly, and by late afternoon, the first bean seed was tucked into the soil.

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 riddle, maple, packet and trail 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 "Sticky Notes Along Grandpa's Garden Path"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 193 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. 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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