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The Gutter Scoop Contest

4th grade fiction passage about a chore turned into a game: 220 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a chore turned into a game 220 words

The Gutter Scoop Contest

Every October, the Hartwell family cleaned the leaves out of their back-porch gutter. Wills and his twin sister Posy dreaded it. The leaves were wet and slimy, and they smelled like old pond water.

This year, Dad stood on the ground and held the ladder steady. Wills climbed up first with a garden trowel and a bucket. He scooped out one clump of leaves and dropped it with a splat. Posy, at the bottom, groaned.

"This takes forever," Wills said. "And it is boring."

Posy folded her arms and looked at the pile of soggy leaves. Then she grinned. "What if we make it a contest?"

They invented rules on the spot. Each scoop counted as a point. An extra-big scoop was worth three points. If a scoop landed in the bucket, it got a bonus point. Dad would keep score on the back of an envelope.

Suddenly the chore went much faster. Wills scooped like a machine, and Posy kept the bucket under the spout. Dad laughed so hard that he lost count twice.

By the end of the afternoon, the gutter was clean, and water ran freely through it again. The final score was forty-one to thirty-nine.

"Same time next October?" Dad asked. Both twins said yes, and each one swore they would win.

Questions

  1. What chore did the Hartwell family do every October? in the text

  2. Why did Wills and Posy dread the chore? in the text

  3. What was Dad's job while Wills climbed the ladder? in the text

  4. Whose idea was it to turn the chore into a contest? in the text

  5. How could a scoop earn a bonus point? in the text

  6. Why did the chore go faster once it became a contest? think about it

  7. What does the ending tell you about how the twins felt about the chore? think about it

Words to know

gutter
a channel along a roof that carries rainwater away
trowel
a small hand shovel
dreaded
felt worried or unhappy about something coming
soggy
soaked with 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 · 184 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

Each October, the Hartwell family cleaned the leaves out of the gutter. Wills and his twin sister Posy dreaded it. The leaves were wet and slimy. They smelled like old pond water.

This year, Dad stood on the ground and held the ladder. Wills climbed up with a trowel and a bucket. He scooped a clump of leaves and dropped it. Splat! Posy groaned.

"This takes forever," Wills said. "It is boring."

Posy looked at the soggy pile. Then she grinned. "What if we make it a contest?"

They made up rules. Each scoop was one point. A big scoop was three points. A scoop that landed in the bucket got a bonus point. Dad kept score on an envelope.

The chore went much faster. Wills scooped like a machine. Posy kept the bucket under the spout. Dad laughed so hard he lost count twice.

By the end of the day, the gutter was clean. Water ran through it again. The score was forty-one to thirty-nine.

"Same time next October?" Dad asked. Both twins said yes. Each one said they would win.

▲ This passage · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Every October, the Hartwell family cleaned the leaves out of their back-porch gutter. Wills and his twin sister Posy dreaded it. The leaves were wet and slimy, and they smelled like old pond water.

This year, Dad stood on the ground and held the ladder steady. Wills climbed up first with a garden trowel and a bucket. He scooped out one clump of leaves and dropped it with a splat. Posy, at the bottom, groaned.

"This takes forever," Wills said. "And it is boring."

Posy folded her arms and looked at the pile of soggy leaves. Then she grinned. "What if we make it a contest?"

They invented rules on the spot. Each scoop counted as a point. An extra-big scoop was worth three points. If a scoop landed in the bucket, it got a bonus point. Dad would keep score on the back of an envelope.

Suddenly the chore went much faster. Wills scooped like a machine, and Posy kept the bucket under the spout. Dad laughed so hard that he lost count twice.

By the end of the afternoon, the gutter was clean, and water ran freely through it again. The final score was forty-one to thirty-nine.

"Same time next October?" Dad asked. Both twins said yes, and each one swore they would win.

■ Harder · 235 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

Every October, the Hartwell family cleared the leaves out of the gutter above their back porch. Wills and his twin sister Posy dreaded the job. The leaves were wet and slimy, and they smelled like stagnant pond water.

This year, Dad stood on the ground and held the ladder steady while Wills climbed up carrying a garden trowel and a bucket. He scooped out one clump of leaves and let it fall with a loud splat. Posy, standing at the bottom, groaned.

"This takes forever," Wills complained. "And it is completely boring."

Posy folded her arms and studied the pile of soggy leaves. Then a grin spread across her face. "What if we turn it into a contest?"

They invented the rules on the spot. Each scoop earned a point, and an especially large scoop was worth three. If a scoop landed inside the bucket, it earned a bonus point. Dad would keep score on the back of an envelope.

Suddenly the chore sped along. Wills scooped like a machine while Posy kept the bucket positioned beneath the spout, and Dad laughed so hard that he lost count twice.

By the end of the afternoon, the gutter was spotless, and rainwater could run freely through it once more. The final score was forty-one to thirty-nine.

"Same time next October?" Dad asked. Both twins agreed at once, and each of them vowed to win.

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 gutter, trowel, dreaded and soggy 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 6 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 Gutter Scoop Contest"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 220 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.6. 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 seven. 5 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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