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The Tape Line Down the Middle

4th grade fiction passage about sisters sharing a bedroom: 214 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction sisters sharing a bedroom 214 words

The Tape Line Down the Middle

When Grandma moved into the spare room, Ellie and Joy had to share a bedroom. Ellie did not like the idea. "Let's make a line," she said. She ran a strip of blue tape down the middle of the floor. "My side, your side. No crossing without asking."

Joy had the window side. Ellie had the door and the closet. For a few days, it felt fair.

Then the problems began. The only outlet in the room was on Ellie's side, and Joy needed it to charge her reading light. Every evening, she had to knock on the air and ask, "May I cross?" Ellie rolled her eyes every time.

Meanwhile, Ellie's little cactus needed sunshine, and the only sunny spot was the windowsill on Joy's side. Now Ellie had to ask, too.

One night, after the fourth "May I cross?" in a row, Joy started to giggle. "Our line is silly," she said.

Ellie tried not to smile, but she lost. "Very silly," she agreed.

They peeled up most of the tape, but they left one small square of it in the middle of the room. They called it the Meeting Zone. It was the spot where they did puzzles, and the only rule was that both of them had to sit there.

Questions

  1. Why did Ellie and Joy have to share a bedroom? in the text

  2. What did Ellie put down the middle of the floor? in the text

  3. Why did Joy need to cross to Ellie's side? in the text

  4. Why did Ellie need to cross to Joy's side? in the text

  5. Why did Joy start to giggle? think about it

  6. What does the Meeting Zone show about the sisters? think about it

Words to know

outlet
a place in the wall where you plug in a cord
windowsill
the ledge at the bottom of a window
giggle
to laugh in a quiet, silly way
cactus
a prickly plant that grows in dry places
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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 · 199 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

When Grandma moved into the spare room, Ellie and Joy had to share a bedroom. Ellie did not like it. "Let's make a line," she said. She put a strip of blue tape down the middle of the floor. "My side, your side. No crossing without asking."

Joy had the window side. Ellie had the door and the closet. For a few days, it felt fair.

Then the problems began. The only outlet in the room was on Ellie's side. Joy needed it to charge her reading light. Every evening, she had to ask, "May I cross?" Ellie rolled her eyes every time.

Ellie's little cactus needed sun. The only sunny spot was the windowsill on Joy's side. Now Ellie had to ask, too.

One night, after the fourth "May I cross?" in a row, Joy started to giggle. "Our line is silly," she said.

Ellie tried not to smile, but she lost. "Very silly," she said.

They peeled up most of the tape. They left one small square in the middle of the room. They called it the Meeting Zone. It was where they did puzzles. The only rule was that both of them had to sit there.

▲ This passage · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

When Grandma moved into the spare room, Ellie and Joy had to share a bedroom. Ellie did not like the idea. "Let's make a line," she said. She ran a strip of blue tape down the middle of the floor. "My side, your side. No crossing without asking."

Joy had the window side. Ellie had the door and the closet. For a few days, it felt fair.

Then the problems began. The only outlet in the room was on Ellie's side, and Joy needed it to charge her reading light. Every evening, she had to knock on the air and ask, "May I cross?" Ellie rolled her eyes every time.

Meanwhile, Ellie's little cactus needed sunshine, and the only sunny spot was the windowsill on Joy's side. Now Ellie had to ask, too.

One night, after the fourth "May I cross?" in a row, Joy started to giggle. "Our line is silly," she said.

Ellie tried not to smile, but she lost. "Very silly," she agreed.

They peeled up most of the tape, but they left one small square of it in the middle of the room. They called it the Meeting Zone. It was the spot where they did puzzles, and the only rule was that both of them had to sit there.

■ Harder · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

When Grandma moved into the spare room, Ellie and Joy were forced to share a bedroom, and Ellie was not pleased about it. "Let's make a line," she announced. She stretched a strip of blue tape down the middle of the floor. "My side, your side. No crossing without asking."

Joy took the window side, while Ellie kept the door and the closet. For a few days, the arrangement seemed perfectly fair.

Then the complications began. The only outlet in the room was on Ellie's side, and Joy needed it to charge her reading light. Every evening, she had to knock on the empty air and ask, "May I cross?" Ellie rolled her eyes each time.

Meanwhile, Ellie's little cactus needed sunshine, and the only sunny spot was the windowsill on Joy's side. Now Ellie had to ask permission, too.

One night, after the fourth "May I cross?" in a row, Joy began to giggle. "Our line is silly," she said.

Ellie tried not to smile, but she failed. "Very silly," she agreed.

They peeled up most of the tape, but they left one small square in the middle of the room. They named it the Meeting Zone. It became the place where they worked on puzzles, and its only rule was that both of them had to sit there.

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 outlet, windowsill, giggle and cactus 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 Tape Line Down the Middle"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 214 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.0. 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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