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The Tapir and the Borrowed River Voice

4th grade fiction passage about honesty, rainforest animals: 201 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction honesty, rainforest animals 201 words

The Tapir and the Borrowed River Voice

In a rainforest by a wide brown river lived a tapir named Bruno. Tapirs are shy animals with short, bendy noses, and they are very quiet. Bruno often wished he were bold and loud like the howler monkeys, who shouted from the treetops and always seemed to be admired.

One evening Bruno noticed that the river made a deep, low rumble as it passed the rocks. He pushed his nose into the water and made a sound that matched it. It was a grand roar. Bruno felt wonderful.

From then on, whenever the animals gathered, Bruno stood at the edge of the river and made the great rumble. "I am the loudest animal in the forest," he said. The monkeys were impressed, and the parrots clapped their wings.

But in the dry season, the water sank low, and the river went quiet. When the animals asked Bruno to roar, only a small squeak came out. The monkeys tilted their heads.

Bruno took a long breath. "That voice was never mine," he said. "It belonged to the river. I am sorry I pretended."

To his surprise, the parrots laughed kindly. "We like quiet Bruno," one said. "He is the one who listens."

Questions

  1. What kind of animal is Bruno? in the text

  2. Why did Bruno wish he were like the howler monkeys? in the text

  3. Where did Bruno get his grand roar? in the text

  4. What happened in the dry season? in the text

  5. Why did Bruno say he was sorry? think about it

  6. Why did the parrots say they liked quiet Bruno? think about it

Words to know

tapir
a shy animal with a short, bendy nose and a round body
admired
thought well of and looked up to
rumble
a deep, rolling sound
pretended
acted as if something false were true
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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 · 166 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

A tapir named Bruno lived in a rainforest by a wide river. Tapirs are shy animals with short, bendy noses. They are very quiet. Bruno wished he were loud like the howler monkeys. They shouted from the treetops, and everyone liked them.

One evening Bruno heard the river rumble past the rocks. It was a deep, low sound. He put his nose in the water and made the same sound. It was a grand roar! Bruno felt wonderful.

After that, whenever the animals met, Bruno stood by the river and rumbled. "I am the loudest animal in the forest," he said. The monkeys were amazed.

But in the dry season the river sank low and went quiet. When the animals asked Bruno to roar, only a squeak came out.

Bruno took a deep breath. "That voice was not mine," he said. "It was the river's. I am sorry I pretended."

The parrots laughed kindly. "We like quiet Bruno," one said. "He is the one who listens."

▲ This passage · 201 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

In a rainforest by a wide brown river lived a tapir named Bruno. Tapirs are shy animals with short, bendy noses, and they are very quiet. Bruno often wished he were bold and loud like the howler monkeys, who shouted from the treetops and always seemed to be admired.

One evening Bruno noticed that the river made a deep, low rumble as it passed the rocks. He pushed his nose into the water and made a sound that matched it. It was a grand roar. Bruno felt wonderful.

From then on, whenever the animals gathered, Bruno stood at the edge of the river and made the great rumble. "I am the loudest animal in the forest," he said. The monkeys were impressed, and the parrots clapped their wings.

But in the dry season, the water sank low, and the river went quiet. When the animals asked Bruno to roar, only a small squeak came out. The monkeys tilted their heads.

Bruno took a long breath. "That voice was never mine," he said. "It belonged to the river. I am sorry I pretended."

To his surprise, the parrots laughed kindly. "We like quiet Bruno," one said. "He is the one who listens."

■ Harder · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.9

In a lush rainforest beside a wide brown river lived a tapir named Bruno. Tapirs are shy animals with short, bendy noses, and they are famously quiet. Bruno often longed to be bold and loud like the howler monkeys, who bellowed from the treetops and were always admired by everyone who heard them.

One evening Bruno noticed that the river made a deep, low rumble as it tumbled past the rocks. He pushed his nose into the water and produced a sound that matched it exactly. It was a magnificent roar, and Bruno felt wonderful.

From then on, whenever the animals gathered, Bruno stood at the edge of the river and made the great rumble. "I am the loudest animal in the entire forest," he boasted. The monkeys were impressed, and the parrots applauded with their wings.

During the dry season, however, the water sank low and the river fell silent. When the animals asked Bruno to roar, only a tiny squeak escaped. The monkeys tilted their heads in confusion.

Bruno drew a long breath. "That voice was never mine," he confessed. "It belonged to the river, and I am sorry that I pretended."

To his surprise, the parrots laughed kindly. "We like quiet Bruno," one of them said. "He is the one who listens."

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 tapir, admired, rumble and pretended 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 "The Tapir and the Borrowed River Voice"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 201 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.2. 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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