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Wendell and the Slippery Idioms

4th grade fiction passage about idioms taken the wrong way: 202 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade fiction idioms taken the wrong way 202 words

Wendell and the Slippery Idioms

Wendell Birch took everything people said exactly as they said it. His family had a name for it: "Wendell words."

On moving day, Dad called, "Wendell, give us a hand!" Wendell stood in the doorway holding out his own hand, wondering who wanted it. Mom laughed. "I mean help us carry this box."

Later, she said, "Hold your horses, honey." Wendell ran to his toy shelf and held a plastic horse in each fist.

"This is no piece of cake," said Dad, wrestling a couch through the door. Wendell looked around. There was no cake anywhere. He felt a little sad about it.

That night, Wendell began to feel silly. Why did grown-ups say such strange things? Mom sat on the edge of his bed with a book of sayings called *Idioms Explained*. "An idiom is a group of words that means something different from the words themselves," she said. "Like *a piece of cake* means something is easy."

Wendell grinned. The next morning, he found Dad staring at an empty paint can.

"Feeling blue?" asked Wendell.

Dad blinked. "Wendell, that was an idiom! Nice job!"

"I thought so," said Wendell. "Now stop pulling my leg, and pass me the brush."

Questions

  1. What did Wendell do when Dad said, "Give us a hand"? in the text

  2. What did Wendell hold when Mom said, "Hold your horses"? in the text

  3. What did Wendell look for when Dad said the couch was no piece of cake? in the text

  4. What is an idiom, according to Mom? in the text

  5. Why did Wendell begin to feel silly at night? think about it

  6. How can you tell Wendell now understood idioms? think about it

Words to know

idiom
a saying whose meaning is different from its words
doorway
the open space where a door is
wrestling
pushing and pulling with great effort
grinned
smiled very widely
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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 · 185 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

Wendell Birch took everything people said exactly as they said it. His family called these "Wendell words."

On moving day, Dad called, "Wendell, give us a hand!" Wendell stood in the doorway and held out his own hand. He wondered who wanted it. Mom laughed. "I mean help us carry this box."

Later, she said, "Hold your horses, honey." Wendell ran to his toy shelf. He held a plastic horse in each fist.

"This is no piece of cake," said Dad, as he pushed a couch through the door. Wendell looked around. There was no cake. He felt a little sad.

That night, Wendell felt silly. Why did grown-ups say such strange things? Mom sat on his bed with a book called *Idioms Explained*. "An idiom is a group of words that means something else," she said. "A piece of cake means something is easy."

Wendell grinned. The next morning, Dad stared at an empty paint can.

"Feeling blue?" asked Wendell.

Dad blinked. "That was an idiom! Nice job!"

"I thought so," said Wendell. "Now stop pulling my leg and pass me the brush."

▲ This passage · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

Wendell Birch took everything people said exactly as they said it. His family had a name for it: "Wendell words."

On moving day, Dad called, "Wendell, give us a hand!" Wendell stood in the doorway holding out his own hand, wondering who wanted it. Mom laughed. "I mean help us carry this box."

Later, she said, "Hold your horses, honey." Wendell ran to his toy shelf and held a plastic horse in each fist.

"This is no piece of cake," said Dad, wrestling a couch through the door. Wendell looked around. There was no cake anywhere. He felt a little sad about it.

That night, Wendell began to feel silly. Why did grown-ups say such strange things? Mom sat on the edge of his bed with a book of sayings called *Idioms Explained*. "An idiom is a group of words that means something different from the words themselves," she said. "Like *a piece of cake* means something is easy."

Wendell grinned. The next morning, he found Dad staring at an empty paint can.

"Feeling blue?" asked Wendell.

Dad blinked. "Wendell, that was an idiom! Nice job!"

"I thought so," said Wendell. "Now stop pulling my leg, and pass me the brush."

■ Harder · 216 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Wendell Birch took everything people said in exactly the way they said it. His family had even invented a name for the habit: "Wendell words."

On moving day, Dad called out, "Wendell, give us a hand!" Wendell stood in the doorway holding out his own hand, wondering who wanted it. Mom laughed. "I mean help us carry this box."

Later, she said, "Hold your horses, honey." Wendell dashed to his toy shelf and clutched a plastic horse in each fist.

"This is no piece of cake," groaned Dad, as he wrestled a couch through the door. Wendell looked all around the room. There was no cake anywhere, and he felt rather disappointed about it.

That night, Wendell began to feel foolish. Why did grown-ups say such peculiar things? Mom perched on the edge of his bed with a book of sayings called *Idioms Explained*. "An idiom is a group of words that means something quite different from the words themselves," she said. "A piece of cake, for instance, means that something is easy."

Wendell grinned. The next morning, he found Dad staring into an empty paint can.

"Feeling blue?" asked Wendell.

Dad blinked. "Wendell, that was an idiom! Nicely done!"

"I thought so," said Wendell. "Now stop pulling my leg, and hand me the brush."

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 idiom, doorway, wrestling and grinned 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 "Wendell and the Slippery Idioms"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 202 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 2.8. 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.

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