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The Tuba Case Card Table

4th grade fiction passage about sharing a crowded bus seat: 196 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction sharing a crowded bus seat 196 words

The Tuba Case Card Table

Marcus played the tuba, and the tuba had a case the size of a small refrigerator. Every morning on Bus 9, the case took up almost a whole seat. Marcus squeezed into the last few inches by the window.

Nobody wanted to sit next to him. "There is no room," the kids said. Marcus pretended he did not hear.

One Thursday, Hana got on the bus late, and the only empty spot was beside Marcus and the tuba. She sighed and sat down. The case pressed against her knees.

"Sorry," said Marcus. "It does not fit anywhere."

Hana looked at the case. Its lid was flat and wide. Then she pulled a deck of cards out of her backpack. "Hey," she said, "it is a table."

They laid the cards on the lid and played a game all the way to school. The bus bumped, and the cards slid, but they did not care. Hana won twice. Marcus won once, and he laughed so loudly that the driver looked in her mirror.

The next morning, Hana saved him a seat. Soon two more kids asked to join, and the back seat became the busiest place on Bus 9.

Questions

  1. What instrument did Marcus play? in the text

  2. Why did nobody want to sit next to Marcus? in the text

  3. What did Hana pull out of her backpack? in the text

  4. What did Hana use as a table? in the text

  5. Why did Marcus pretend he did not hear the kids? think about it

  6. How did the back seat change by the end of the story? think about it

Words to know

tuba
a very large brass instrument that plays low notes
squeezed
pushed into a small space
sighed
let out a long breath, often when tired or sad
deck
a full set of playing cards
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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 · 190 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

Marcus played the tuba. The tuba had a case the size of a small refrigerator. Every morning on Bus 9, the case took up almost a whole seat. Marcus squeezed into the last few inches by the window.

Nobody wanted to sit next to him. "There is no room," the kids said. Marcus pretended he did not hear.

One Thursday, Hana got on the bus late. The only empty spot was next to Marcus and the tuba. She sighed and sat down. The case pressed on her knees.

"Sorry," said Marcus. "It does not fit anywhere."

Hana looked at the case. Its lid was flat and wide. She pulled a deck of cards out of her backpack. "Hey," she said, "it is a table."

They put the cards on the lid and played a game all the way to school. The bus bumped. The cards slid. They did not care. Hana won twice. Marcus won once. He laughed so loud that the driver looked in her mirror.

The next morning, Hana saved him a seat. Soon two more kids asked to play. The back seat became the busiest place on Bus 9.

▲ This passage · 196 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Marcus played the tuba, and the tuba had a case the size of a small refrigerator. Every morning on Bus 9, the case took up almost a whole seat. Marcus squeezed into the last few inches by the window.

Nobody wanted to sit next to him. "There is no room," the kids said. Marcus pretended he did not hear.

One Thursday, Hana got on the bus late, and the only empty spot was beside Marcus and the tuba. She sighed and sat down. The case pressed against her knees.

"Sorry," said Marcus. "It does not fit anywhere."

Hana looked at the case. Its lid was flat and wide. Then she pulled a deck of cards out of her backpack. "Hey," she said, "it is a table."

They laid the cards on the lid and played a game all the way to school. The bus bumped, and the cards slid, but they did not care. Hana won twice. Marcus won once, and he laughed so loudly that the driver looked in her mirror.

The next morning, Hana saved him a seat. Soon two more kids asked to join, and the back seat became the busiest place on Bus 9.

■ Harder · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

Marcus played the tuba, and the tuba came with a case the size of a small refrigerator. Every morning on Bus 9, that enormous case claimed almost an entire seat, and Marcus wedged himself into the last few inches beside the window.

Nobody wanted to sit next to him. "There is no room," the other kids complained. Marcus pretended he did not hear them.

One Thursday, Hana boarded the bus late, and the only empty spot was beside Marcus and his tuba. She sighed and sat down, with the case pressing against her knees.

"Sorry," said Marcus. "It does not fit anywhere."

Hana studied the case. Its lid was flat and wide. Then she pulled a deck of cards out of her backpack. "Hey," she said, "it is a table."

They laid the cards on the lid and played a game all the way to school. The bus bumped and the cards slid, but neither of them cared. Hana won twice, and Marcus won once, and he laughed so loudly that the driver glanced into her mirror.

The next morning, Hana saved him a seat. Before long, two more kids asked to join, and the back seat turned into the busiest spot on Bus 9.

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 tuba, squeezed, sighed and deck 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 Tuba Case Card Table"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 196 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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