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The Waiter Who Swapped His Sounds

4th grade fiction passage about a waiter who mixes up sounds: 224 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a waiter who mixes up sounds 224 words

The Waiter Who Swapped His Sounds

Fitz was the new waiter at the Sunny Spoon Diner, and he had one small problem. When he got nervous, he swapped the first sounds of his words.

"Welcome," Fitz told the first family. "May I take your order? Our special today is a bowl of peas and carrots."

What came out was: "May I bake your torder? Our special today is a *pole of beas* and *parrots*."

The family stared at him. A little girl named Dot giggled. "Do you have any belly jeans?" she asked. She meant jelly beans.

Fitz felt his ears turn hot, because he knew that everyone could hear his mistakes. "Sorry," he said. "I mean, *dorry*."

Dot tugged her mother's sleeve and explained that the waiter was only mixing the sounds up, like a word game. Then she grinned at Fitz and suggested that he say each word slowly, breathe in, and think of the first sound before he spoke.

Fitz took a big breath and tried again. "Would you like some peas and carrots?"

The words came out just right, and the family clapped. Dot was so proud that she made a sign for the diner window: "Ask Fitz for a *fish dandwich*." Now people come from all over town to order from Fitz, and when he swaps a sound, the whole diner laughs along with him.

Questions

  1. What was Fitz's job? in the text

  2. What happened to Fitz's words when he got nervous? in the text

  3. What did Dot mean when she asked for belly jeans? in the text

  4. What advice did Dot give Fitz? in the text

  5. How did Dot help make Fitz feel better? think about it

  6. Why do people come to the diner now? think about it

Words to know

diner
a small, casual restaurant
nervous
feeling worried or jumpy
special
a meal a restaurant offers for that day
suggested
offered an idea
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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 · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1

Fitz was the new waiter at the Sunny Spoon Diner. He had one small problem. When he got nervous, he swapped the first sounds of his words.

"Welcome," Fitz told the first family. "May I take your order? Our special is a bowl of peas and carrots."

What came out was: "May I bake your torder? Our special is a *pole of beas* and *parrots*."

The family stared. A little girl named Dot giggled. "Do you have any belly jeans?" she asked. She meant jelly beans.

Fitz felt his ears turn hot. "Sorry," he said. "I mean, *dorry*."

Dot tugged her mother's sleeve. "He is mixing up the sounds, Mom. It's a game."

Dot grinned at Fitz. "Say it slowly," she said. "Take a breath. Think of the first sound. Then say the word."

Fitz took a big breath and tried again. "Would you like some peas and carrots?"

It came out just right. The family clapped. Dot made a sign for the window: "Ask Fitz for a *fish dandwich*." Now people come from all over town to order from Fitz. When he swaps a sound, the whole diner laughs with him.

▲ This passage · 224 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Fitz was the new waiter at the Sunny Spoon Diner, and he had one small problem. When he got nervous, he swapped the first sounds of his words.

"Welcome," Fitz told the first family. "May I take your order? Our special today is a bowl of peas and carrots."

What came out was: "May I bake your torder? Our special today is a *pole of beas* and *parrots*."

The family stared at him. A little girl named Dot giggled. "Do you have any belly jeans?" she asked. She meant jelly beans.

Fitz felt his ears turn hot, because he knew that everyone could hear his mistakes. "Sorry," he said. "I mean, *dorry*."

Dot tugged her mother's sleeve and explained that the waiter was only mixing the sounds up, like a word game. Then she grinned at Fitz and suggested that he say each word slowly, breathe in, and think of the first sound before he spoke.

Fitz took a big breath and tried again. "Would you like some peas and carrots?"

The words came out just right, and the family clapped. Dot was so proud that she made a sign for the diner window: "Ask Fitz for a *fish dandwich*." Now people come from all over town to order from Fitz, and when he swaps a sound, the whole diner laughs along with him.

■ Harder · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Fitz was the newest waiter at the Sunny Spoon Diner, and he had one peculiar problem. Whenever he grew nervous, he swapped the first sounds of his words.

"Welcome," Fitz told the first family. "May I take your order? Our special today is a bowl of peas and carrots."

What actually came out was: "May I bake your torder? Our special today is a *pole of beas* and *parrots*."

The family stared at him in astonishment. A little girl named Dot giggled. "Do you have any belly jeans?" she asked. She meant jelly beans.

Fitz felt his ears burn. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I mean, *dorry*."

Dot tugged on her mother's sleeve. "He is mixing the sounds up, Mom. It's like a game."

She turned to Fitz with an encouraging grin. "Try saying it slowly," she suggested. "Breathe in. Think about the first sound. Then say the word."

Fitz took an enormous breath and tried again. "Would you like some peas and carrots?"

The words came out perfectly, and the family applauded. Dot was so proud that she painted a sign for the diner window: "Ask Fitz for a *fish dandwich*." Now people travel from all over town to order from Fitz, and whenever he swaps a sound, the entire diner laughs along with him.

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 diner, nervous, special and suggested 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 Waiter Who Swapped His Sounds"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 224 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.2. 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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