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Wen and the Backward Flip Turn

4th grade fiction passage about a swimming turn that scares: 226 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction a swimming turn that scares 226 words

Wen and the Backward Flip Turn

At swim practice, Coach Ruiz taught everyone the flip turn. You swim toward the wall, tuck into a somersault underwater, push off with your feet, and keep going without stopping. Wen's friends made it look easy.

When Wen tried it, he forgot which way was up, so he bumped the wall with his knee and swallowed a mouthful of pool water. He came up coughing, and the swimmers in the lane next to him laughed.

For three days, Wen just touched the wall with his hand and turned around the slow way, because he told himself that flip turns were only for other swimmers.

On the fourth day, Coach Ruiz knelt by the pool edge. "Try it in pieces," she said. "Stop in the middle of the pool, in the deep water, and practice only the somersault. There is no wall out there to worry about."

Wen felt silly, but he tried. He tucked, rolled, and straightened out, and then he did it again. With no wall to worry about, his body started to remember the shape of the move.

On Friday, he swam toward the wall and counted strokes in his head. One, two, three. He tucked, rolled, and planted both feet. Whoosh! He shot away from the wall like a rocket.

Wen popped up and grinned. Nobody laughed this time. His whole lane cheered.

Questions

  1. What is a flip turn? in the text

  2. What went wrong when Wen first tried it? in the text

  3. What did Wen do for the next three days instead? in the text

  4. What did Coach Ruiz tell him to practice? in the text

  5. Why did practicing away from the wall help Wen? think about it

  6. What did Wen count to know when to tuck? in the text

  7. How did Wen feel at the end of the story? think about it

Words to know

somersault
a roll where your body turns over in a ball
tuck
to pull your arms and legs in close to your body
lane
a narrow strip of a pool for one swimmer
planted
set firmly in place
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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 · 183 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.4

At swim practice, Coach Ruiz taught the flip turn. You swim to the wall. You tuck into a roll under the water. You push off with your feet and keep going. Wen's friends made it look easy.

When Wen tried it, he forgot which way was up. He bumped the wall with his knee. He swallowed pool water. He came up coughing. The next lane laughed.

For three days, Wen touched the wall with his hand and turned the slow way. He told himself flip turns were for other kids.

On day four, Coach Ruiz knelt at the pool edge. "Try just half," she said. "Stop in the middle of the pool. Practice only the roll. No wall."

Wen felt silly, but he tried. Tuck, roll, and straighten. He did it again and again. With no wall, his body began to learn the move.

On Friday, he swam to the wall and counted strokes. One, two, three. He tucked, rolled, and planted both feet. Whoosh! He shot off the wall like a rocket.

Wen came up and grinned. Nobody laughed. His lane cheered.

▲ This passage · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

At swim practice, Coach Ruiz taught everyone the flip turn. You swim toward the wall, tuck into a somersault underwater, push off with your feet, and keep going without stopping. Wen's friends made it look easy.

When Wen tried it, he forgot which way was up, so he bumped the wall with his knee and swallowed a mouthful of pool water. He came up coughing, and the swimmers in the lane next to him laughed.

For three days, Wen just touched the wall with his hand and turned around the slow way, because he told himself that flip turns were only for other swimmers.

On the fourth day, Coach Ruiz knelt by the pool edge. "Try it in pieces," she said. "Stop in the middle of the pool, in the deep water, and practice only the somersault. There is no wall out there to worry about."

Wen felt silly, but he tried. He tucked, rolled, and straightened out, and then he did it again. With no wall to worry about, his body started to remember the shape of the move.

On Friday, he swam toward the wall and counted strokes in his head. One, two, three. He tucked, rolled, and planted both feet. Whoosh! He shot away from the wall like a rocket.

Wen popped up and grinned. Nobody laughed this time. His whole lane cheered.

■ Harder · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

At swim practice, Coach Ruiz taught everyone the flip turn. As you approach the wall, you tuck into a somersault beneath the surface, plant your feet against the tiles, push off hard, and keep swimming without pausing. Wen's teammates made the whole maneuver look effortless.

When Wen attempted it, however, he completely lost track of which way was up. His knee banged against the wall, he swallowed a mouthful of pool water, and he surfaced coughing while the swimmers in the neighboring lane laughed at him.

For three days afterward, Wen simply touched the wall with his hand and turned around the slow way. He convinced himself that flip turns were meant for other swimmers.

On the fourth day, Coach Ruiz knelt at the edge of the pool. "Try it in pieces," she suggested. "Stop in the middle of the pool, in the deep water, and practice only the somersault. There is no wall to worry about out there."

Wen felt a little foolish, but he gave it a try. Tuck, roll, and stretch out straight. He repeated it again and again, and without a wall in the way, his body gradually began to remember the shape of the movement.

On Friday, he swam toward the wall, counting his strokes silently. One, two, three. He tucked, rolled, and planted both feet firmly. Whoosh! He shot away from the wall like a rocket.

Wen popped up grinning. Nobody laughed this time. His whole lane erupted in cheers.

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 somersault, tuck, lane and planted 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 "Wen and the Backward Flip Turn"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 226 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.1. 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 seven. 5 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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