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The Town Clock That Chimed Thirteen

4th grade fiction passage about a clock mystery: 188 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a clock mystery 188 words

The Town Clock That Chimed Thirteen

On Tuesday at noon, the old clock on the library tower did something strange. It chimed thirteen times. Nina was eating lunch on the steps, and she counted every bong twice to be sure.

"Clocks do not make mistakes," said the librarian. "Somebody must have changed it."

Nina did not think so. She looked at the tower door, and it was locked tight. So she climbed the narrow stairs with the librarian's key and went inside. The gears turned slowly, clicking and humming. Near the big bell, Nina noticed a few dry twigs stuck between two wheels.

She looked up and saw a small nest tucked in a corner. A sparrow sat on the edge, watching her. The bird had been carrying twigs in through a broken window, and one had fallen into the machinery.

Nina pulled out the twigs with a long wooden spoon from her lunch bag. The gears clicked back into their proper rhythm. Then she asked the librarian to cover the window with a bit of wire, leaving a little gap for the sparrow's front door.

At one o'clock the clock chimed exactly once.

Questions

  1. How many times did the clock chime at noon on Tuesday? in the text

  2. Where was Nina when she heard the clock? in the text

  3. What did Nina find between the wheels? in the text

  4. What did Nina use to pull out the twigs? in the text

  5. Why did Nina ask for a gap to be left in the wire? think about it

  6. Why did the librarian first think somebody had changed the clock? think about it

Words to know

chimed
rang out with a bell sound
gears
wheels with teeth that turn together inside a machine
tower
a tall, narrow part of a building
machinery
the moving parts of a machine
rhythm
a steady, repeating beat
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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 · 145 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

At noon on Tuesday, the old clock on the library tower chimed thirteen times. Nina was eating lunch on the steps. She counted each bong two times.

"Clocks do not make mistakes," said the librarian. "Somebody must have changed it."

Nina did not think so. She took the librarian's key and went up the stairs. Inside, the gears turned and clicked. Nina saw dry twigs stuck between two wheels.

A small nest sat in the corner. A sparrow sat on its edge. The bird had come in through a broken window. One twig had fallen into the gears.

Nina used a long wooden spoon from her lunch bag. She pulled out the twigs. The gears ran right again. Then she asked the librarian to cover the window with wire. They left a small gap for the sparrow.

At one o'clock, the clock chimed one time.

▲ This passage · 188 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.2

On Tuesday at noon, the old clock on the library tower did something strange. It chimed thirteen times. Nina was eating lunch on the steps, and she counted every bong twice to be sure.

"Clocks do not make mistakes," said the librarian. "Somebody must have changed it."

Nina did not think so. She looked at the tower door, and it was locked tight. So she climbed the narrow stairs with the librarian's key and went inside. The gears turned slowly, clicking and humming. Near the big bell, Nina noticed a few dry twigs stuck between two wheels.

She looked up and saw a small nest tucked in a corner. A sparrow sat on the edge, watching her. The bird had been carrying twigs in through a broken window, and one had fallen into the machinery.

Nina pulled out the twigs with a long wooden spoon from her lunch bag. The gears clicked back into their proper rhythm. Then she asked the librarian to cover the window with a bit of wire, leaving a little gap for the sparrow's front door.

At one o'clock the clock chimed exactly once.

■ Harder · 199 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3

On Tuesday at noon, the venerable clock atop the library tower did something peculiar, because it chimed thirteen times. Nina was eating her lunch on the front steps, and she counted every single bong twice to be absolutely certain.

"Clocks do not make mistakes," declared the librarian. "Somebody must have tampered with it."

Nina was not convinced. The tower door was locked tight, so she borrowed the librarian's key and climbed the narrow, winding stairs. Inside, the enormous gears turned slowly, clicking and humming. Near the great bell, Nina noticed a handful of dry twigs wedged between two wheels.

When she glanced upward, she spotted a small nest tucked into a corner, and a sparrow perched on its rim, watching her closely. The bird had been carrying twigs in through a broken window, and one of them had tumbled into the machinery.

Nina removed the twigs with the long wooden spoon she had packed in her lunch bag, and the gears settled back into their proper rhythm. Afterward, she asked the librarian to cover the window with sturdy wire, leaving a small gap that would serve as the sparrow's front door.

At one o'clock, the clock chimed exactly once.

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 chimed, gears, tower, machinery and rhythm 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 Town Clock That Chimed Thirteen"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 188 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.2. 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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