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A Map of My Old Street

5th grade fiction passage about sharing a favorite place after moving: 226 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction sharing a favorite place after moving 226 words

A Map of My Old Street

After the move, Soren could not stop thinking about the street where he used to live. There was a bakery on the corner that gave away broken cookies. There was a stone wall where he and his friends rode their scooters. There was a tree with a branch that bent so low that it made a bench.

At his new school, nobody knew about any of it. When Soren tried to explain, his words came out flat. "It was just a good street," he said, and he could see it did not mean anything to the other kids.

So one evening he got out a big sheet of paper and drew everything. He labeled the bakery, the wall, the bench tree, and even the crack in the sidewalk shaped like a lightning bolt. He drew tiny scooters, and little stars where the best things had happened.

The next day, he taped the map to the wall near his desk. Karim, who sat behind him, leaned over. "Is that real?"

"Every bit of it," said Soren.

"Where does the lightning crack go?"

Soon, three kids had gathered around, asking about the stars. Soren told one story after another, and the old street seemed to come back, a little at a time.

That afternoon, Karim asked if Soren wanted to draw a map of the new neighborhood together.

Questions

  1. What did the bakery on Soren's old street give away? in the text

  2. What made the tree on the old street special? in the text

  3. Why did Soren's first explanation fall flat? in the text

  4. What did Soren do to explain his old street better? in the text

  5. What do the stars on the map probably show? think about it

  6. Why did Karim's last question mean something to Soren? think about it

Words to know

labeled
wrote a name on something to show what it is
neighborhood
the area around where you live
gathered
came together in one place
sidewalk
a path for walking beside a street
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 · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

After the move, Soren could not stop thinking about his old street. A bakery on the corner gave away broken cookies. A stone wall was the place where he and his friends rode scooters. A tree had a branch that bent so low that it made a bench.

At his new school, nobody knew any of it. When Soren tried to explain, his words came out flat. "It was just a good street," he said. The other kids did not seem to care.

So one evening he got a big sheet of paper and drew it all. He labeled the bakery, the wall, the bench tree, and even the crack in the sidewalk shaped like a lightning bolt. He drew tiny scooters. He drew stars where the best things had happened.

The next day, he taped the map to the wall by his desk. Karim, who sat behind him, leaned over. "Is that real?"

"Every bit," said Soren.

"Where does the lightning crack go?"

Soon three kids stood around, asking about the stars. Soren told one story after another. The old street seemed to come back, a little at a time.

That afternoon, Karim asked if Soren wanted to draw a map of the new neighborhood together.

▲ This passage · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

After the move, Soren could not stop thinking about the street where he used to live. There was a bakery on the corner that gave away broken cookies. There was a stone wall where he and his friends rode their scooters. There was a tree with a branch that bent so low that it made a bench.

At his new school, nobody knew about any of it. When Soren tried to explain, his words came out flat. "It was just a good street," he said, and he could see it did not mean anything to the other kids.

So one evening he got out a big sheet of paper and drew everything. He labeled the bakery, the wall, the bench tree, and even the crack in the sidewalk shaped like a lightning bolt. He drew tiny scooters, and little stars where the best things had happened.

The next day, he taped the map to the wall near his desk. Karim, who sat behind him, leaned over. "Is that real?"

"Every bit of it," said Soren.

"Where does the lightning crack go?"

Soon, three kids had gathered around, asking about the stars. Soren told one story after another, and the old street seemed to come back, a little at a time.

That afternoon, Karim asked if Soren wanted to draw a map of the new neighborhood together.

■ Harder · 245 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

After the move, Soren could not stop thinking about the street where he used to live. A bakery on the corner gave away its broken cookies for free. A long stone wall was where he and his friends rode their scooters every afternoon. Best of all, there was a tree with a branch that bent so low that it made a natural bench.

At his new school, nobody knew about any of it. When Soren tried to explain, his words came out flat and lifeless. "It was just a good street," he said, and he could tell that it meant nothing to the other kids.

So one evening he spread out a large sheet of paper and drew everything he remembered. He labeled the bakery, the wall, the bench tree, and even the crack in the sidewalk that was shaped like a lightning bolt. He sketched tiny scooters, and he added little stars in the places where the best things had happened.

The next morning, he taped the map to the wall near his desk. Karim, who sat directly behind him, leaned forward. "Is that real?"

"Every single bit of it," said Soren.

"Where does the lightning crack lead?"

Before long, three kids had gathered around, asking about the stars. Soren told one story after another, and the old street seemed to return, a little at a time.

That afternoon, Karim asked whether Soren would like to draw a map of the new neighborhood together.

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 labeled, neighborhood, gathered and sidewalk 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 "A Map of My Old Street"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 226 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.3. 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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