4th grade fiction passage about planning ahead, burrows: 181 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
4th gradefictionplanning ahead, burrows181 words
The Wombat Who Dug a Door Too Small
Winnie the wombat loved digging. Her strong claws could scoop out a tunnel faster than any other animal in the bush. One spring she decided to dig the cleverest burrow ever made. She wanted the doorway to be round and snug, so that no rain or wind could get inside.
She worked for many days. The doorway came out just right. It was exactly as wide as Winnie herself, and she could slip through it like a cork in a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong came to visit, with a basket of seeds for supper. Kit was able to squeeze inside. But behind her came a bandicoot with a loaf of seed bread, and then a little echidna carrying a jar of honey. Neither of them fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm. She had planned for the weather, but she had never planned for friends.
The next morning she dug the doorway wider. It was still a good door that kept out the rain, but now there was room for a whole party of guests.
Questions
What was Winnie best at doing? in the text
Why did Winnie want a round, snug doorway? in the text
How wide was the doorway Winnie dug? in the text
Which guests could not fit through the door? in the text
What did Winnie mean when she thought she had never planned for friends? think about it
How did Winnie fix her problem? in the text
Words to know
burrow
a home that an animal digs underground
snug
fitting closely in a cozy way
squeeze
to push through a tight space
echidna
a spiny animal with a long snout that eats ants
Name ____________________________ Date ______________
The Wombat Who Dug a Door Too Small
4th grade reading passage
Winnie the wombat loved digging. Her strong claws could scoop out a tunnel faster than any other animal in the bush. One spring she decided to dig the cleverest burrow ever made. She wanted the doorway to be round and snug, so that no rain or wind could get inside.
She worked for many days. The doorway came out just right. It was exactly as wide as Winnie herself, and she could slip through it like a cork in a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong came to visit, with a basket of seeds for supper. Kit was able to squeeze inside. But behind her came a bandicoot with a loaf of seed bread, and then a little echidna carrying a jar of honey. Neither of them fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm. She had planned for the weather, but she had never planned for friends.
The next morning she dug the doorway wider. It was still a good door that kept out the rain, but now there was room for a whole party of guests.
Questions
What was Winnie best at doing?
Why did Winnie want a round, snug doorway?
How wide was the doorway Winnie dug?
Which guests could not fit through the door?
What did Winnie mean when she thought she had never planned for friends?
How did Winnie fix her problem?
Words to know
burrow: a home that an animal digs underground
snug: fitting closely in a cozy way
squeeze: to push through a tight space
echidna: a spiny animal with a long snout that eats ants
Free at teach.peabody.kids/passages/4/wombat-who-dug-a-door-too-small
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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 · 148 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1
Winnie the wombat loved to dig. Her strong claws could make a tunnel fast. One spring she dug a new burrow. She wanted the door to be round and snug. Then no rain or wind could get in.
She worked for many days. The door came out just right. It was as wide as Winnie. She could slip through it like a cork in a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong came to visit. Kit had a basket of seeds. She could squeeze inside. Next came a bandicoot with seed bread, and a little echidna with a jar of honey. They did not fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm. She had planned for the weather. She had not planned for friends.
The next morning she dug the door wider. It still kept out the rain. Now there was room for a whole party.
▲ This passage · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4
Winnie the wombat loved digging. Her strong claws could scoop out a tunnel faster than any other animal in the bush. One spring she decided to dig the cleverest burrow ever made. She wanted the doorway to be round and snug, so that no rain or wind could get inside.
She worked for many days. The doorway came out just right. It was exactly as wide as Winnie herself, and she could slip through it like a cork in a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong came to visit, with a basket of seeds for supper. Kit was able to squeeze inside. But behind her came a bandicoot with a loaf of seed bread, and then a little echidna carrying a jar of honey. Neither of them fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm. She had planned for the weather, but she had never planned for friends.
The next morning she dug the doorway wider. It was still a good door that kept out the rain, but now there was room for a whole party of guests.
■ Harder · 202 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8
Winnie the wombat absolutely loved digging. Her powerful claws could scoop out a tunnel faster than any other animal in the whole bush. One spring she resolved to dig the cleverest burrow that anyone had ever made, and she wanted the doorway to be perfectly round and snug so that neither rain nor wind could possibly creep inside.
She labored for many days, and at last the doorway came out exactly right. It was precisely as wide as Winnie herself, and she could slip through it like a cork sliding into a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong arrived for a visit, carrying a basket of seeds for supper. Kit managed to squeeze inside. Right behind her, however, came a bandicoot with a loaf of seed bread, followed by a small echidna who was carrying a jar of honey. Neither of them could possibly fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. She had thoughtfully planned for the weather, but she had never once planned for her friends.
The next morning she dug the doorway wider. It remained a sturdy door that kept out the rain, but now there was room for an entire party of guests.
Winnie the wombat loved to dig. Her strong claws could make a tunnel fast. One spring she dug a new burrow. She wanted the door to be round and snug. Then no rain or wind could get in.
She worked for many days. The door came out just right. It was as wide as Winnie. She could slip through it like a cork in a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong came to visit. Kit had a basket of seeds. She could squeeze inside. Next came a bandicoot with seed bread, and a little echidna with a jar of honey. They did not fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm. She had planned for the weather. She had not planned for friends.
The next morning she dug the door wider. It still kept out the rain. Now there was room for a whole party.
Questions
What was Winnie best at doing?
Why did Winnie want a round, snug door?
How wide was the door Winnie dug?
Which guests did not fit through the door?
What did Winnie mean when she said she had not planned for friends?
How did Winnie fix the problem?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________▲
The Wombat Who Dug a Door Too Small
Winnie the wombat loved digging. Her strong claws could scoop out a tunnel faster than any other animal in the bush. One spring she decided to dig the cleverest burrow ever made. She wanted the doorway to be round and snug, so that no rain or wind could get inside.
She worked for many days. The doorway came out just right. It was exactly as wide as Winnie herself, and she could slip through it like a cork in a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong came to visit, with a basket of seeds for supper. Kit was able to squeeze inside. But behind her came a bandicoot with a loaf of seed bread, and then a little echidna carrying a jar of honey. Neither of them fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm. She had planned for the weather, but she had never planned for friends.
The next morning she dug the doorway wider. It was still a good door that kept out the rain, but now there was room for a whole party of guests.
Questions
What was Winnie best at doing?
Why did Winnie want a round, snug doorway?
How wide was the doorway Winnie dug?
Which guests could not fit through the door?
What did Winnie mean when she thought she had never planned for friends?
How did Winnie fix her problem?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Name ____________________■
The Wombat Who Dug a Door Too Small
Winnie the wombat absolutely loved digging. Her powerful claws could scoop out a tunnel faster than any other animal in the whole bush. One spring she resolved to dig the cleverest burrow that anyone had ever made, and she wanted the doorway to be perfectly round and snug so that neither rain nor wind could possibly creep inside.
She labored for many days, and at last the doorway came out exactly right. It was precisely as wide as Winnie herself, and she could slip through it like a cork sliding into a bottle.
Then her friend Kit the bettong arrived for a visit, carrying a basket of seeds for supper. Kit managed to squeeze inside. Right behind her, however, came a bandicoot with a loaf of seed bread, followed by a small echidna who was carrying a jar of honey. Neither of them could possibly fit through the door.
Winnie felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. She had thoughtfully planned for the weather, but she had never once planned for her friends.
The next morning she dug the doorway wider. It remained a sturdy door that kept out the rain, but now there was room for an entire party of guests.
Questions
What was Winnie best at doing in the whole bush?
Why did Winnie want her doorway to be round and snug?
How wide was the doorway that Winnie dug?
Which of the guests could not get through the door?
What did Winnie realize when she thought she had never planned for friends?
How did Winnie solve her problem the next morning?
Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key: The Wombat Who Dug a Door Too Small
● Easier (Flesch-Kincaid grade 1)
Digging tunnels with her strong claws.
So that no rain or wind could get in.
As wide as Winnie herself.
The bandicoot and the echidna.
She made the door for herself and forgot that guests would come.
She dug the door wider.
▲ This passage (Flesch-Kincaid grade 4)
Digging tunnels with her strong claws.
So that no rain or wind could get inside.
Exactly as wide as Winnie herself.
The bandicoot and the echidna.
She made the door only for herself and forgot that guests would come.
She dug the doorway wider.
■ Harder (Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8)
Digging tunnels with her powerful claws.
So that neither rain nor wind could creep inside.
Precisely as wide as Winnie herself.
The bandicoot and the echidna.
She had built the door only for herself and had forgotten that guests would visit.
She dug the doorway wider.
Free at teach.peabody.kids
How to use it
Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
Before reading, put burrow, snug, squeeze and echidna 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.
What reading level is "The Wombat Who Dug a Door Too Small"?
It was written for 4th grade. It has 181 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.0. 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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?
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