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The Treehouse Sign

4th grade fiction passage about sharing and teamwork: 189 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction sharing and teamwork 189 words

The Treehouse Sign

Dev and his cousin Rosa built a treehouse in the backyard with some help from Dad. When it was finally finished, they both wanted to make a sign for the door, and they could not agree on a name. Dev wanted it to say "Dev's Fort." Rosa wanted it to say "Rosa's Castle."

"It is called a fort," said Dev. "It is a castle," said Rosa. Before long, they were not speaking to each other at all. They sat on opposite sides of the tree with their arms crossed, and the new treehouse sat empty.

Dad climbed up the ladder and looked at the two sulking cousins for a moment. "This treehouse took both of you to build," he said. "Maybe the sign should show that." Then he went back down and left them to think.

After a while, Rosa spoke first. "We could use both names," she said. "What about Fort Castle?" Dev laughed. "Rosa and Dev's Fort Castle," he said. They painted the sign together, with one name on each side of the door. When it dried, they hung it up, climbed inside, and played until dark.

Questions

  1. Who helped Dev and Rosa build the treehouse? in the text

  2. What did Dev want the sign to say? What did Rosa want? in the text

  3. What happened to the treehouse after the argument? in the text

  4. What did Dad hope the cousins would think about? think about it

  5. How did Dev and Rosa solve the problem? in the text

  6. Why was the treehouse a happier place at the end? think about it

Words to know

cousin
the child of your aunt or uncle
fort
a strong building made for safety or play
sulking
staying quiet and grumpy because you are upset
ladder
a set of steps used for climbing up or down
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 · 167 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

Dev and his cousin Rosa built a treehouse in the backyard. Dad helped. When it was done, they both wanted to make a sign for the door. Dev wanted it to say "Dev's Fort." Rosa wanted it to say "Rosa's Castle."

"It is called a fort," said Dev. "It is a castle," said Rosa. Soon they were not speaking at all. They sat on opposite sides of the tree with their arms crossed. The treehouse sat empty.

Dad climbed up the ladder and saw the two grumpy cousins. "It took both of you to build this treehouse," he said. "Maybe the sign should show that." Then he went back down so they could think.

After a while, Rosa spoke first. "We could use both names," she said. "What about Fort Castle?" Dev laughed. "Rosa and Dev's Fort Castle," he said. They painted the sign together, with one name on each side of the door. When it dried, they hung it up, climbed inside, and played until dark.

▲ This passage · 189 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Dev and his cousin Rosa built a treehouse in the backyard with some help from Dad. When it was finally finished, they both wanted to make a sign for the door, and they could not agree on a name. Dev wanted it to say "Dev's Fort." Rosa wanted it to say "Rosa's Castle."

"It is called a fort," said Dev. "It is a castle," said Rosa. Before long, they were not speaking to each other at all. They sat on opposite sides of the tree with their arms crossed, and the new treehouse sat empty.

Dad climbed up the ladder and looked at the two sulking cousins for a moment. "This treehouse took both of you to build," he said. "Maybe the sign should show that." Then he went back down and left them to think.

After a while, Rosa spoke first. "We could use both names," she said. "What about Fort Castle?" Dev laughed. "Rosa and Dev's Fort Castle," he said. They painted the sign together, with one name on each side of the door. When it dried, they hung it up, climbed inside, and played until dark.

■ Harder · 191 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Dev and his cousin Rosa built a treehouse in the backyard with some help from Dad. When it was finally finished, they both wanted to make a sign for the door. Dev insisted that it should say "Dev's Fort," while Rosa insisted that it should say "Rosa's Castle," and neither one was willing to give in.

"It is called a fort," said Dev. "It is a castle," said Rosa. Before long, they had stopped speaking altogether. They sat on opposite sides of the tree with their arms crossed, and the beautiful new treehouse sat completely empty.

Dad climbed up the ladder and looked at the two sulking cousins. "This treehouse took both of you to build," he said. "Maybe the sign should show that." Then he went back down and left them to think it over.

After a while, Rosa spoke first. "We could use both names," she said. "What about Fort Castle?" Dev burst out laughing. "Rosa and Dev's Fort Castle," he said. They painted the sign together, with one name on each side of the door. When it dried, they hung it up, climbed inside, and played until dark.

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 cousin, fort, sulking and ladder 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 4 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 Treehouse Sign"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 189 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.6. 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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