Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Pumpkin That Crossed the Fence

4th grade fiction passage about neighbors sharing a pumpkin: 206 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction neighbors sharing a pumpkin 206 words

The Pumpkin That Crossed the Fence

In late summer, a green vine crept out of Dara's garden, squeezed through a gap in the fence, and began to spread across Wes's lawn. On the end of the vine, a small pumpkin swelled up, and by October it was as big as a beach ball.

"That's my pumpkin," said Dara. "The vine comes from my garden. I planted the seeds."

"It's sitting on my lawn," said Wes. "My sprinkler has watered it all month."

Neither one would budge. They stood on opposite sides of the fence and glared. The pumpkin sat in the middle like a fat orange judge.

Wes's grandmother leaned out of the kitchen window. "Seems to me," she said, "this pumpkin had help from both of you. Your seeds got it started, Dara. Your sprinkler helped it grow, Wes."

Wes looked at Dara. Dara looked at Wes. It was hard to argue with that.

They carved it together on a picnic table, with Wes drawing the face and Dara scooping the inside. At dusk, they set the glowing pumpkin right at the gap in the fence, so its crooked grin faced both houses. Then they roasted the seeds and split them in half, one pile for each side of the fence.

Questions

  1. How did the pumpkin vine get onto Wes's lawn? in the text

  2. Why did Dara think the pumpkin was hers? in the text

  3. Why did Wes think the pumpkin was his? in the text

  4. Who helped the two neighbors stop arguing? in the text

  5. Why does the story say the pumpkin sat like a fat orange judge? think about it

  6. Why was it a good idea to set the pumpkin in the gap in the fence? think about it

Words to know

vine
a plant with a long stem that creeps along the ground
swelled
grew bigger and rounder
budge
to move or change your mind
glared
stared at someone in an angry way
Share

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 · 185 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.4

In late summer, a green vine crept out of Dara's garden. It went through a gap in the fence. It spread across Wes's lawn. At the end of the vine, a small pumpkin grew. By October, it was as big as a beach ball.

"That's my pumpkin," said Dara. "The vine is from my garden. I planted the seeds."

"It's on my lawn," said Wes. "My sprinkler watered it all month."

Neither one would move. They stood on each side of the fence and glared. The pumpkin sat in the middle like a fat orange judge.

Wes's grandmother leaned out of the kitchen window. "I think both of you helped this pumpkin," she said. "Your seeds got it started, Dara. Your sprinkler helped it grow, Wes."

Wes looked at Dara. Dara looked at Wes. They could not argue with that.

They carved it together on a picnic table. Wes drew the face. Dara scooped out the inside. At dusk, they set the glowing pumpkin at the gap in the fence. Its grin faced both houses. Then they roasted the seeds and split them in half.

▲ This passage · 206 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

In late summer, a green vine crept out of Dara's garden, squeezed through a gap in the fence, and began to spread across Wes's lawn. On the end of the vine, a small pumpkin swelled up, and by October it was as big as a beach ball.

"That's my pumpkin," said Dara. "The vine comes from my garden. I planted the seeds."

"It's sitting on my lawn," said Wes. "My sprinkler has watered it all month."

Neither one would budge. They stood on opposite sides of the fence and glared. The pumpkin sat in the middle like a fat orange judge.

Wes's grandmother leaned out of the kitchen window. "Seems to me," she said, "this pumpkin had help from both of you. Your seeds got it started, Dara. Your sprinkler helped it grow, Wes."

Wes looked at Dara. Dara looked at Wes. It was hard to argue with that.

They carved it together on a picnic table, with Wes drawing the face and Dara scooping the inside. At dusk, they set the glowing pumpkin right at the gap in the fence, so its crooked grin faced both houses. Then they roasted the seeds and split them in half, one pile for each side of the fence.

■ Harder · 218 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

In late summer, a green vine crept out of Dara's garden, wriggled through a gap in the fence, and began to sprawl across Wes's lawn. On the tip of the vine, a small pumpkin slowly swelled. By October, it had grown as big as a beach ball.

"That's my pumpkin," declared Dara. "The vine comes from my garden, and I planted the seeds myself."

"It's sitting on my lawn," Wes replied. "My sprinkler has watered it every day for a month."

Neither one would budge. They stood on opposite sides of the fence and glared at each other, while the pumpkin sat in the middle like a fat orange judge.

Wes's grandmother leaned out of the kitchen window. "Seems to me," she said, "that this pumpkin had help from both of you. Your seeds got it started, Dara. Your sprinkler helped it grow, Wes."

Wes looked at Dara. Dara looked at Wes. It was difficult to argue with that.

Together they carved it at a picnic table, with Wes drawing the face and Dara scooping out the inside. At dusk, they placed the glowing pumpkin right in the gap in the fence, so that its crooked grin faced both houses. Afterward, they roasted the seeds and divided them in half, one pile for each side of the fence.

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 vine, swelled, budge and glared 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 Pumpkin That Crossed the Fence"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 206 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.8. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.