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The Staircase With Thirteen and a Half Steps

4th grade fiction passage about a house staircase with a secret step: 170 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a house staircase with a secret step 170 words

The Staircase With Thirteen and a Half Steps

The stairs in Ravi's new house had thirteen steps. He counted them each night on the way to bed. But on the first stormy evening, he counted fourteen, and the fourteenth was only half as tall as the rest.

The half step was at the very bottom, tucked under the first one. When Ravi stepped on it, it gave a soft chime, like a spoon on a glass. The wall beside it slid open a crack.

Behind it was a closet the size of a bookshelf. It held a lantern, a ball of yarn, and a small note. The note said, "Whoever finds the half step may borrow the lantern, but must put it back by morning."

Ravi took the lantern upstairs to read under his blanket. It glowed a warm orange and never got hot. He read three chapters.

At sunrise he carried it down and set it exactly where he had found it. The half step chimed once, as if saying thank you, and then it was gone.

Questions

  1. How many steps did the staircase usually have? in the text

  2. What was different about the extra step? in the text

  3. What was hidden behind the wall? in the text

  4. What did the note say Ravi could do? in the text

  5. What did Ravi do with the lantern? in the text

  6. Why do you think the half step chimed at the end? think about it

Words to know

chime
a clear, ringing musical sound
tucked
pushed into a small hidden space
lantern
a lamp with a handle that you can carry
exactly
in just the right way, with no change
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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 · 146 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

The stairs in Ravi's new house had thirteen steps. He counted them each night. But on a stormy evening, he counted fourteen. The fourteenth was only half as tall as the rest.

It was at the bottom, tucked under the first step. When Ravi stepped on it, it gave a soft chime, like a spoon on a glass. The wall beside it slid open a crack.

Behind it was a closet the size of a bookshelf. It held a lantern, a ball of yarn, and a note. The note said, "You may borrow the lantern. Put it back by morning."

Ravi took the lantern upstairs and read under his blanket. It glowed orange and never got hot. He read three chapters.

At sunrise he set it back where he found it. The half step chimed once, as if to say thank you. Then it was gone.

▲ This passage · 170 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

The stairs in Ravi's new house had thirteen steps. He counted them each night on the way to bed. But on the first stormy evening, he counted fourteen, and the fourteenth was only half as tall as the rest.

The half step was at the very bottom, tucked under the first one. When Ravi stepped on it, it gave a soft chime, like a spoon on a glass. The wall beside it slid open a crack.

Behind it was a closet the size of a bookshelf. It held a lantern, a ball of yarn, and a small note. The note said, "Whoever finds the half step may borrow the lantern, but must put it back by morning."

Ravi took the lantern upstairs to read under his blanket. It glowed a warm orange and never got hot. He read three chapters.

At sunrise he carried it down and set it exactly where he had found it. The half step chimed once, as if saying thank you, and then it was gone.

■ Harder · 178 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

The staircase in Ravi's new house had thirteen steps, and he counted them every night on the way to bed. On the first stormy evening, however, he counted fourteen, and the fourteenth was only half as tall as all the others.

The half step sat at the very bottom, tucked beneath the first full one. When Ravi stepped onto it, it gave a soft chime, like a spoon tapping a glass, and the wall beside it slid open a crack.

Behind the wall was a closet the size of a bookshelf. Inside were a lantern, a ball of yarn, and a small folded note. The note read, "Whoever finds the half step may borrow the lantern, but must return it by morning."

Ravi carried the lantern upstairs to read beneath his blanket. It glowed a warm orange and never grew hot. He finished three chapters before he fell asleep.

At sunrise he carried it down and placed it exactly where he had found it. The half step chimed once, as if offering its thanks, and then it vanished.

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 chime, tucked, lantern and exactly 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 Staircase With Thirteen and a Half Steps"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 170 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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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