Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Tuba Player's Missing Mouthpiece

4th grade fiction passage about a band room search: 185 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a band room search 185 words

The Tuba Player's Missing Mouthpiece

Twenty minutes before the school parade, Gabe opened his tuba case and froze. The mouthpiece was gone. Without it, his huge golden tuba could not make a single note.

"Don't panic," said Ms. Okafor, the band director. "Think. When did you last have it?"

Gabe thought hard. After yesterday's practice, he had wiped the mouthpiece with a cloth. Then he had been talking to his friend Tess about her new flute. He remembered putting something into his jacket pocket, but he had worn a different jacket this morning.

He raced to the coat closet and found his gray jacket hanging in the back. He checked the right pocket and found nothing. In the left pocket, his fingers closed around something cool and round. It was the mouthpiece, wrapped in the soft cloth.

He ran back to the band room with two minutes to spare. Ms. Okafor gave him a thumbs-up.

When the parade began, Gabe marched near the front, and his deep, rumbling notes made the crowd cheer. After that day, he taped a small label inside his case that read, "Mouthpiece goes HERE."

Questions

  1. What was missing from Gabe's tuba case? in the text

  2. Who is Ms. Okafor? in the text

  3. Which pocket held the mouthpiece? in the text

  4. What was the mouthpiece wrapped in? in the text

  5. Why did Gabe not find the mouthpiece in his case? think about it

  6. Why did Gabe tape a label inside his case? think about it

Words to know

mouthpiece
the part of a horn that you blow into
director
the person who leads a group
parade
a line of people marching to celebrate something
rumbling
making a low, rolling sound
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 · 159 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.2

Twenty minutes before the school parade, Gabe opened his tuba case. The mouthpiece was gone. Without it, his big tuba could not play one note.

"Do not panic," said Ms. Okafor, the band director. "Think. When did you last have it?"

Gabe thought hard. After practice, he had wiped the mouthpiece with a cloth. Then he had talked with his friend Tess about her new flute. He put something in his jacket pocket. But today he wore a different jacket.

He ran to the coat closet. His gray jacket hung in the back. The right pocket was empty. In the left pocket, he felt something cool and round. It was the mouthpiece, wrapped in the cloth.

He ran back with two minutes to spare. Ms. Okafor gave him a thumbs-up.

In the parade, Gabe marched near the front. His deep notes made the crowd cheer. Later, he taped a label inside his case. It said, "Mouthpiece goes HERE."

▲ This passage · 185 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

Twenty minutes before the school parade, Gabe opened his tuba case and froze. The mouthpiece was gone. Without it, his huge golden tuba could not make a single note.

"Don't panic," said Ms. Okafor, the band director. "Think. When did you last have it?"

Gabe thought hard. After yesterday's practice, he had wiped the mouthpiece with a cloth. Then he had been talking to his friend Tess about her new flute. He remembered putting something into his jacket pocket, but he had worn a different jacket this morning.

He raced to the coat closet and found his gray jacket hanging in the back. He checked the right pocket and found nothing. In the left pocket, his fingers closed around something cool and round. It was the mouthpiece, wrapped in the soft cloth.

He ran back to the band room with two minutes to spare. Ms. Okafor gave him a thumbs-up.

When the parade began, Gabe marched near the front, and his deep, rumbling notes made the crowd cheer. After that day, he taped a small label inside his case that read, "Mouthpiece goes HERE."

■ Harder · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

Twenty minutes before the school parade was due to begin, Gabe opened his tuba case and froze. The mouthpiece had disappeared. Without it, his enormous golden tuba could not produce a single note.

"Do not panic," advised Ms. Okafor, the band director. "Think carefully. When did you last have it?"

Gabe racked his brain. After yesterday's practice, he had polished the mouthpiece with a soft cloth. Then he had chatted with his friend Tess about her brand-new flute. He remembered slipping something into his jacket pocket, but he had worn a different jacket this morning.

He dashed to the coat closet and found his gray jacket hanging at the very back. The right pocket was empty. In the left pocket, however, his fingers closed around something cool and round. It was the mouthpiece, still wrapped in the cloth.

He sprinted back to the band room with two minutes to spare, and Ms. Okafor gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

When the parade began, Gabe marched near the front, and his deep, rumbling notes made the crowd cheer. Afterward, he taped a small label inside his case that read, "Mouthpiece goes HERE."

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 mouthpiece, director, parade and rumbling 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 Player's Missing Mouthpiece"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 185 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.8. 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.