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The Parrot Who Sounded Like Mr. Finch

4th grade fiction passage about a parrot copying the principal: 202 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a parrot copying the principal 202 words

The Parrot Who Sounded Like Mr. Finch

Mr. Finch, the principal of Larkspur School, had a deep, rumbly voice. Everyone knew it. So when the voice said, "Attention, students. Go outside for a surprise," on a rainy Tuesday, the whole school stood up.

"Wait," said Ms. Duran, looking out the window. "It is pouring."

The voice came again, from the hallway: "Attention, students. Surprise. Surprise."

Ms. Duran tiptoed out. There, on top of the coat rack, sat a green parrot with a feather out of place. Mr. Finch's brother had brought the bird, named Pickles, to the school office that morning. Pickles had been listening to the speaker announcements for hours.

"Attention," said Pickles. "Walk. Don't run."

The real Mr. Finch hurried down the hall, quite red in the face. "Is that my voice?" he asked.

"Attention, students," said the parrot, in a perfect copy.

The children could not stop laughing. Mr. Finch started to laugh too. Then he had a plan. Every morning after that, Pickles stood on his shoulder and said, "Good morning, Larkspur!" It was Mr. Finch's idea that the students should teach the parrot new, kind sayings. By spring, Pickles could say "Please" and "Thank you," and nobody ever went out in the rain again.

Questions

  1. What did the voice tell students to do on the rainy Tuesday? in the text

  2. Where did Ms. Duran find the parrot? in the text

  3. What was the parrot's name? in the text

  4. How had Pickles learned to sound like the principal? in the text

  5. Why did Ms. Duran say, "It is pouring"? think about it

  6. How did Mr. Finch turn the mix-up into something good? think about it

Words to know

principal
the person in charge of a school
rumbly
low and deep, like a soft rumble
announcements
messages spoken to a whole group
tiptoed
walked quietly on the tips of the toes
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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 · 183 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

Mr. Finch was the principal of Larkspur School. He had a deep, rumbly voice. Everyone knew it. So on a rainy Tuesday, a voice said, "Attention, students. Go outside for a surprise." The whole school stood up.

"Wait," said Ms. Duran, looking out the window. "It is pouring."

The voice came again from the hallway: "Attention, students. Surprise. Surprise."

Ms. Duran tiptoed out. On top of the coat rack sat a green parrot. Mr. Finch's brother had brought the bird to the office that morning. The parrot was named Pickles. He had listened to the speaker announcements for hours.

"Attention," said Pickles. "Walk. Don't run."

The real Mr. Finch hurried down the hall, red in the face. "Is that my voice?" he asked.

"Attention, students," said the parrot. It was a perfect copy.

The children laughed and laughed. Mr. Finch laughed too. Then he had a plan. Each morning, Pickles stood on his shoulder and said, "Good morning, Larkspur!" The students taught the parrot kind sayings. By spring, Pickles could say "Please" and "Thank you." And nobody went out in the rain again.

▲ This passage · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

Mr. Finch, the principal of Larkspur School, had a deep, rumbly voice. Everyone knew it. So when the voice said, "Attention, students. Go outside for a surprise," on a rainy Tuesday, the whole school stood up.

"Wait," said Ms. Duran, looking out the window. "It is pouring."

The voice came again, from the hallway: "Attention, students. Surprise. Surprise."

Ms. Duran tiptoed out. There, on top of the coat rack, sat a green parrot with a feather out of place. Mr. Finch's brother had brought the bird, named Pickles, to the school office that morning. Pickles had been listening to the speaker announcements for hours.

"Attention," said Pickles. "Walk. Don't run."

The real Mr. Finch hurried down the hall, quite red in the face. "Is that my voice?" he asked.

"Attention, students," said the parrot, in a perfect copy.

The children could not stop laughing. Mr. Finch started to laugh too. Then he had a plan. Every morning after that, Pickles stood on his shoulder and said, "Good morning, Larkspur!" It was Mr. Finch's idea that the students should teach the parrot new, kind sayings. By spring, Pickles could say "Please" and "Thank you," and nobody ever went out in the rain again.

■ Harder · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.6

Mr. Finch, the principal of Larkspur School, possessed a deep, rumbly voice that everyone recognized. So when that voice announced, "Attention, students. Go outside for a surprise," on a rainy Tuesday, the entire school rose from their desks.

"Wait," said Ms. Duran, glancing out the window. "It is pouring."

The voice came again from the hallway: "Attention, students. Surprise. Surprise."

Ms. Duran tiptoed out to investigate. There, perched on top of the coat rack, sat a green parrot with one feather out of place. Mr. Finch's brother had delivered the bird, named Pickles, to the school office that morning. Pickles had spent hours listening to the speaker announcements.

"Attention," said Pickles. "Walk. Don't run."

The real Mr. Finch hurried down the hall, quite red in the face. "Is that my voice?" he asked.

"Attention, students," said the parrot, in a flawless imitation.

The children could not stop laughing, and soon Mr. Finch was laughing along with them. Then he came up with a plan. Every morning after that, Pickles rode on his shoulder and greeted everyone with, "Good morning, Larkspur!" The students taught the parrot new, kinder phrases, and by spring Pickles could say "Please" and "Thank you." Nobody was ever sent out into the rain again.

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 principal, rumbly, announcements and tiptoed 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 Parrot Who Sounded Like Mr. Finch"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 202 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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