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The Jar of Ugly Buttons

4th grade fiction passage about fixing a mistake with a friend: 210 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction fixing a mistake with a friend 210 words

The Jar of Ugly Buttons

Lou kept a jar of buttons on her desk. Some were shiny and some were plain, but a few were truly odd: one was shaped like a tooth, one was chipped and orange, and one was gray with two crooked holes.

One morning, while Lou was at the library, her friend Pia decided to help. She sorted the whole jar and threw the ugliest buttons into the classroom recycling bin. "Now it looks neat," she thought.

When Lou came back, she looked at the jar, and her face went very still. "Where is my tooth button?" she asked.

"I got rid of the ugly ones," said Pia proudly.

"Those were my favorites," said Lou. She walked away.

Pia felt her stomach sink. After school, she dug through the bin before the custodian came to empty it. She found all six buttons, a little sticky from a yogurt cup. She washed them in the sink. That night, she glued them onto a wooden frame around a photo of the two friends.

The next morning, Pia handed it over. "I am sorry. I thought ugly meant bad. But ugly just means they are yours."

Lou smiled. She hung the frame above her desk, and the tooth button grinned from the top corner.

Questions

  1. What did Pia do with the ugliest buttons? in the text

  2. Where was Lou when Pia sorted the jar? in the text

  3. How did Pia get the buttons back? in the text

  4. What did Pia make with the buttons? in the text

  5. Why did Lou walk away after Pia spoke? think about it

  6. What did Pia learn about the word ugly? think about it

Words to know

crooked
bent or not straight
custodian
a person who cleans and takes care of a building
sorted
put things into groups or an order
frame
a border that goes around a picture
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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 · 193 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1

Lou kept a jar of buttons on her desk. Some were shiny. Some were plain. A few were odd. One was shaped like a tooth. One was chipped and orange. One was gray with two crooked holes.

One morning, Lou went to the library. Her friend Pia decided to help. She sorted the jar. She threw the ugliest buttons into the recycling bin. "Now it looks neat," she thought.

Lou came back. She looked at the jar. Her face went still. "Where is my tooth button?" she asked.

"I got rid of the ugly ones," said Pia proudly.

"Those were my favorites," said Lou. She walked away.

Pia felt her stomach sink. After school, she dug through the bin. The custodian had not come yet. She found all six buttons. They were a little sticky from a yogurt cup. She washed them in the sink. That night, she glued them onto a wooden frame around a photo of the two friends.

The next morning, Pia gave it to Lou. "I am sorry. I thought ugly meant bad. But ugly just means they are yours."

Lou smiled. She hung the frame above her desk.

▲ This passage · 210 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Lou kept a jar of buttons on her desk. Some were shiny and some were plain, but a few were truly odd: one was shaped like a tooth, one was chipped and orange, and one was gray with two crooked holes.

One morning, while Lou was at the library, her friend Pia decided to help. She sorted the whole jar and threw the ugliest buttons into the classroom recycling bin. "Now it looks neat," she thought.

When Lou came back, she looked at the jar, and her face went very still. "Where is my tooth button?" she asked.

"I got rid of the ugly ones," said Pia proudly.

"Those were my favorites," said Lou. She walked away.

Pia felt her stomach sink. After school, she dug through the bin before the custodian came to empty it. She found all six buttons, a little sticky from a yogurt cup. She washed them in the sink. That night, she glued them onto a wooden frame around a photo of the two friends.

The next morning, Pia handed it over. "I am sorry. I thought ugly meant bad. But ugly just means they are yours."

Lou smiled. She hung the frame above her desk, and the tooth button grinned from the top corner.

■ Harder · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Lou kept a jar of buttons on her desk. Some were glossy and some were plain, but a few were downright peculiar. One was shaped like a tooth. One was chipped and orange. One was gray, with two crooked holes that did not quite line up.

One morning, while Lou was away at the library, her friend Pia decided to be helpful. She sorted the entire jar and tossed the ugliest buttons into the classroom recycling bin. "Now it looks much neater," she thought.

When Lou returned, she stared at the jar, and her face went very still. "Where is my tooth button?" she asked.

"I got rid of all the ugly ones," Pia announced proudly.

"Those were my favorites," said Lou, and she walked away.

Pia felt her stomach sink. After school, she dug through the bin before the custodian arrived to empty it. She found all six buttons, a little sticky from a yogurt cup. She washed them in the sink, and that night she glued them onto a wooden frame surrounding a photo of the two friends.

The next morning, Pia handed it over. "I am truly sorry. I thought ugly meant bad. But ugly only means that they are yours."

Lou smiled. She hung the frame above her desk, and the tooth button grinned from the top corner.

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 crooked, custodian, sorted and frame 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 Jar of Ugly Buttons"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 210 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.9. 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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