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The Ferry Bench Riddle

4th grade fiction passage about a riddle on a boat: 196 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a riddle on a boat 196 words

The Ferry Bench Riddle

Every Saturday, Hana and her twin brother Kenji rode the island ferry to visit their cousins. They always sat on the same wooden bench at the back of the boat. One morning, Kenji ran his finger along the armrest and felt scratches.

"Hana, look. Somebody wrote a riddle here."

Small letters, faded by salt and sunshine, spelled out: "I have a face but no eyes, hands but no arms. Find me where the seagulls dock, and you will learn what time it is."

They stared at the words. Hana was good at puzzles. "A clock has a face and hands," she said slowly. "But where do seagulls dock?"

Kenji pointed through the window at the harbor. A tall post stood at the end of the pier, and on top of it sat a white seagull, preening. Below the bird, mounted on the post, was a round brass clock.

"That is the answer!" Hana said. "The clock on the seagull post."

When the ferry landed, they hurried to the clock. Taped underneath was a small card: "Well done, riddle-solvers. The ferry captain thanks you." The twins laughed, and carried the card home to show their cousins.

Questions

  1. Who rode the ferry every Saturday? in the text

  2. Where did Kenji find the riddle? in the text

  3. What has a face but no eyes, and hands but no arms? in the text

  4. What was taped under the clock? in the text

  5. Why were the letters hard to read? think about it

  6. Who most likely left the riddle and the card? think about it

Words to know

ferry
a boat that carries people across water
armrest
the part of a seat where you rest your arm
harbor
a sheltered place where boats stay
preening
smoothing and cleaning its feathers
pier
a long platform that reaches out over water
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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 · 169 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

Each Saturday, Hana and her twin brother Kenji rode the island ferry. They went to see their cousins. They sat on the same wooden bench at the back of the boat. One day, Kenji felt scratches on the armrest.

"Hana, look. Someone wrote a riddle."

The small letters were faded by salt and sun. They said, "I have a face but no eyes. I have hands but no arms. Find me where the seagulls dock, and you will learn what time it is."

Hana was good at puzzles. "A clock has a face and hands," she said. "But where do seagulls dock?"

Kenji pointed at the harbor. A tall post stood at the end of the pier. A white seagull sat on top. Under the bird was a round brass clock.

"That is it!" Hana said.

When the ferry landed, they ran to the clock. A small card was taped under it. "Well done, riddle-solvers. The ferry captain thanks you." The twins laughed and took the card home.

▲ This passage · 196 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

Every Saturday, Hana and her twin brother Kenji rode the island ferry to visit their cousins. They always sat on the same wooden bench at the back of the boat. One morning, Kenji ran his finger along the armrest and felt scratches.

"Hana, look. Somebody wrote a riddle here."

Small letters, faded by salt and sunshine, spelled out: "I have a face but no eyes, hands but no arms. Find me where the seagulls dock, and you will learn what time it is."

They stared at the words. Hana was good at puzzles. "A clock has a face and hands," she said slowly. "But where do seagulls dock?"

Kenji pointed through the window at the harbor. A tall post stood at the end of the pier, and on top of it sat a white seagull, preening. Below the bird, mounted on the post, was a round brass clock.

"That is the answer!" Hana said. "The clock on the seagull post."

When the ferry landed, they hurried to the clock. Taped underneath was a small card: "Well done, riddle-solvers. The ferry captain thanks you." The twins laughed, and carried the card home to show their cousins.

■ Harder · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

Every Saturday, Hana and her twin brother Kenji rode the island ferry to visit their cousins. They always settled onto the same wooden bench at the back of the boat. One morning, Kenji ran his finger along the armrest and discovered a series of scratches.

"Hana, look at this. Somebody carved a riddle here."

The small letters, faded by salt and sunshine, spelled out: "I have a face but no eyes, and hands but no arms. Find me where the seagulls dock, and you will discover what time it is."

They stared at the words for a long while. Hana, who was exceptionally good at puzzles, said slowly, "A clock has a face and hands. But where do seagulls dock?"

Kenji pointed through the window toward the harbor. A tall post stood at the far end of the pier, and perched on top of it was a white seagull, preening its feathers. Below the bird, mounted on the post, was a round brass clock.

"That is the answer!" Hana exclaimed.

As soon as the ferry landed, they hurried to the clock. Taped underneath was a small card: "Well done, riddle-solvers. The ferry captain thanks you." The twins laughed and carried the card home to show their cousins.

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 ferry, armrest, harbor, preening and pier 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 Ferry Bench Riddle"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 196 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.1. 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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