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The Goat Who Ate the Spelling List

4th grade fiction passage about a goat and a spelling test: 207 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a goat and a spelling test 207 words

The Goat Who Ate the Spelling List

Ravi had studied his spelling list all week. On Friday morning he put it in his coat pocket and walked past the pen where his goat, Biscuit, lived. Biscuit stretched her neck through the fence and nibbled the pocket. Before Ravi could say "stop," the list was gone.

"Biscuit!" he groaned. "That was my whole list!"

Biscuit chewed slowly, looking very pleased with herself.

At school, Ravi felt his stomach sink. Then Ms. Okafor began the test. "Your first word is *because*," she said.

Ravi smiled. He could still hear himself saying the words out loud to Biscuit all week. He had made up silly tricks to remember them. Big elephants can always understand small elephants spelled *because*. For *necessary*, he thought of a shirt with one collar and two sleeves: one c and two s's.

He spelled every word right except one, and even that one he almost had.

After school, Ravi told Ms. Okafor what had happened. She laughed until she had to wipe her eyes. "Then your goat helped you more than you know," she said. "You learned the words by teaching them to her."

That evening, Ravi gave Biscuit an extra carrot. He kept the next list in a pocket with a button.

Questions

  1. What did Biscuit do to Ravi's spelling list? in the text

  2. Who gave the spelling test? in the text

  3. How did Ravi practice his words during the week? in the text

  4. What trick did Ravi use for the word necessary? in the text

  5. Why did Ms. Okafor say the goat helped Ravi? think about it

  6. Why did Ravi keep the next list in a pocket with a button? think about it

Words to know

nibbled
took small bites of something
groaned
made a low sound because of worry or trouble
necessary
something you must have or must do
collar
the part of a shirt that goes around the neck
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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 · 174 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

Ravi studied his spelling list all week. On Friday he put it in his coat pocket. He walked by the pen where his goat, Biscuit, lived. Biscuit stuck her neck through the fence. She nibbled the pocket. The list was gone!

"Biscuit!" Ravi groaned. "That was my whole list!"

Biscuit chewed. She looked very pleased.

At school, Ravi felt sick. Then Ms. Okafor began the test. "Your first word is *because*," she said.

Ravi smiled. All week he had said the words out loud to Biscuit. He had made up silly tricks to remember them. For *necessary*, he thought of a shirt with one collar and two sleeves. That is one c and two s's.

Ravi spelled every word right but one. Even that one he almost had.

After school, he told Ms. Okafor about Biscuit. She laughed and laughed. "Your goat helped you," she said. "You learned the words by teaching them to her."

That night, Ravi gave Biscuit an extra carrot. He kept the next list in a pocket with a button.

▲ This passage · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

Ravi had studied his spelling list all week. On Friday morning he put it in his coat pocket and walked past the pen where his goat, Biscuit, lived. Biscuit stretched her neck through the fence and nibbled the pocket. Before Ravi could say "stop," the list was gone.

"Biscuit!" he groaned. "That was my whole list!"

Biscuit chewed slowly, looking very pleased with herself.

At school, Ravi felt his stomach sink. Then Ms. Okafor began the test. "Your first word is *because*," she said.

Ravi smiled. He could still hear himself saying the words out loud to Biscuit all week. He had made up silly tricks to remember them. Big elephants can always understand small elephants spelled *because*. For *necessary*, he thought of a shirt with one collar and two sleeves: one c and two s's.

He spelled every word right except one, and even that one he almost had.

After school, Ravi told Ms. Okafor what had happened. She laughed until she had to wipe her eyes. "Then your goat helped you more than you know," she said. "You learned the words by teaching them to her."

That evening, Ravi gave Biscuit an extra carrot. He kept the next list in a pocket with a button.

■ Harder · 219 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.2

Ravi had been studying his spelling list diligently all week. On Friday morning he tucked it into his coat pocket and strolled past the pen where his goat, Biscuit, lived. Biscuit stretched her neck through the fence and nibbled at the pocket. Before Ravi could say "stop," the entire list had vanished.

"Biscuit!" he groaned. "That was every single word I needed!"

Biscuit chewed slowly, looking remarkably pleased with herself.

At school, Ravi's stomach sank like a stone. Then Ms. Okafor began the test. "Your first word is *because*," she announced.

Ravi smiled with relief. All week long he had recited the words aloud to Biscuit, inventing silly tricks to help himself remember them. Big elephants can always understand small elephants spelled *because*. For *necessary*, he pictured a shirt with one collar and two sleeves: one c and two s's.

He spelled every word correctly except for one, and even that one he nearly had.

After school, Ravi confessed to Ms. Okafor what had happened. She laughed until she had to wipe her eyes. "Then your goat helped you more than you realize," she said. "You mastered those words by teaching them to her."

That evening, Ravi rewarded Biscuit with an extra carrot. From then on, he kept every new list in a pocket that fastened with a button.

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 nibbled, groaned, necessary and collar 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 Goat Who Ate the Spelling List"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 207 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.4. 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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