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The Goose Face That Stopped the Hiccups

4th grade fiction passage about a new baby brother: 204 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a new baby brother 204 words

The Goose Face That Stopped the Hiccups

Noor had been an only child for nine years, but then her baby brother Idris came home and the whole house changed, because everyone whispered and tiptoed and nobody had time to hear about her spelling test.

One evening, Idris got the hiccups, and his whole body bounced in Mom's arms with every hic. His face scrunched up and turned pink while Mom patted his back and Dad hummed a lullaby. Nothing helped, and soon the baby was crying.

Noor stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, until she remembered something important. When she got the hiccups, her grandmother always made her laugh until they went away.

Noor crossed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, wiggled her ears, and made a sound like a goose with a cold.

Idris stared at her for a moment, and then he made a little gurgle that was almost a laugh. Hic... and then no more.

"How did you do that?" asked Dad.

"I'm his big sister," said Noor. "I know things."

Mom smiled at her over the baby's head. "Yes," she said softly. "You do."

Noor stood up a little taller. Maybe having a brother was not so bad. Maybe he needed someone who knew things.

Questions

  1. How long had Noor been an only child? in the text

  2. What happened to Idris one evening? in the text

  3. What did Noor remember about her grandmother? in the text

  4. What silly things did Noor do to make the baby laugh? in the text

  5. Why did Noor feel left out at first? think about it

  6. Why did Noor stand up a little taller at the end? think about it

Words to know

tiptoed
walked quietly on the tips of the toes
hiccups
little jumps in the chest that make a quick sound
scrunched
squeezed or wrinkled up
lullaby
a soft, gentle song for a baby
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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 · 175 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1

Noor had been an only child for nine years. Then her baby brother Idris came home. The whole house changed. Everyone whispered. Everyone tiptoed. Nobody had time to hear about her spelling test.

One evening, Idris got the hiccups. Hic! His body bounced in Mom's arms. Hic! His face turned pink. Mom patted his back. Dad hummed a song. Nothing helped. Soon the baby was crying.

Noor stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. Then she remembered something. When she had the hiccups, her grandmother made her laugh. The hiccups went away.

Noor crossed her eyes. She stuck out her tongue. She wiggled her ears. She made a sound like a goose with a cold.

Idris stared at her. He made a little gurgle. It was almost a laugh. Hic... and then no more.

"How did you do that?" asked Dad.

"I'm his big sister," said Noor. "I know things."

Mom smiled at her. "Yes," she said softly. "You do."

Noor stood up a little taller. Maybe having a brother was not so bad.

▲ This passage · 204 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

Noor had been an only child for nine years, but then her baby brother Idris came home and the whole house changed, because everyone whispered and tiptoed and nobody had time to hear about her spelling test.

One evening, Idris got the hiccups, and his whole body bounced in Mom's arms with every hic. His face scrunched up and turned pink while Mom patted his back and Dad hummed a lullaby. Nothing helped, and soon the baby was crying.

Noor stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, until she remembered something important. When she got the hiccups, her grandmother always made her laugh until they went away.

Noor crossed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, wiggled her ears, and made a sound like a goose with a cold.

Idris stared at her for a moment, and then he made a little gurgle that was almost a laugh. Hic... and then no more.

"How did you do that?" asked Dad.

"I'm his big sister," said Noor. "I know things."

Mom smiled at her over the baby's head. "Yes," she said softly. "You do."

Noor stood up a little taller. Maybe having a brother was not so bad. Maybe he needed someone who knew things.

■ Harder · 227 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Noor had been an only child for nine whole years, but then her baby brother Idris came home, and the entire household was transformed, because everyone whispered and tiptoed and nobody seemed to have a spare moment to hear about her spelling test.

One evening, Idris came down with the hiccups, and his whole body bounced in Mom's arms with every single hic. His tiny face scrunched up and turned pink while Mom patted his back and Dad hummed a lullaby, but nothing helped, and before long the baby was wailing.

Noor stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, until she suddenly remembered something remarkable: whenever she had the hiccups, her grandmother used to make her laugh until they disappeared.

Noor crossed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, wiggled her ears, and produced a sound like a goose with a terrible head cold.

Idris stared at her in astonishment for a moment, and then he let out a small gurgle that was almost a laugh. Hic... and then, miraculously, no more.

"How on earth did you do that?" asked Dad.

"I'm his big sister," said Noor. "I know things."

Mom smiled at her over the baby's head. "Yes," she said softly. "You do."

Noor stood up a little taller. Perhaps having a brother was not so bad after all. Perhaps he needed someone who knew things.

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 tiptoed, hiccups, scrunched and lullaby 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 Goose Face That Stopped the Hiccups"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 204 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.0. 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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