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Anouk Crosses the Gym Wall Sideways

5th grade fiction passage about a first climbing wall traverse: 239 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a first climbing wall traverse 239 words

Anouk Crosses the Gym Wall Sideways

The climbing wall in the gym was painted to look like a mountain, with colored plastic grips scattered over it like candy. Anouk had been on the wall once and had made it exactly two steps before looking down and freezing.

This time the instructor, Ms. Delgado, had a different plan. "We're going sideways today," she said. "It's called a traverse. You stay low, and your feet are never more than an arm's length from the mats."

Anouk strapped on her harness and checked her knots with Ms. Delgado. Then she put her left hand on a blue grip and her right foot on a yellow one. Her heart thumped like a drum. She slid a hand along to a green grip. Then a foot. Then the other hand.

"Look at your feet," called Ms. Delgado. "Don't look at the whole wall. Look at where your foot goes next."

That made it small. Instead of one enormous mountain, there was only a yellow grip, then a red one, then a bumpy white one. Her fingers began to ache a little, but her fear faded to a quiet hum.

When Anouk reached the far end of the wall, she touched the painted flag that marked the finish. She let go, dropped softly to the mat, and spun around to look back at the long line of grips she had crossed.

"That's a mountain," said Ms. Delgado, grinning, "for one afternoon."

Questions

  1. What happened the first time Anouk tried the climbing wall? in the text

  2. What is a traverse? in the text

  3. What did Ms. Delgado tell Anouk to look at? in the text

  4. What was the finish line of the traverse? in the text

  5. Why did looking at only the next grip make Anouk less afraid? think about it

  6. What did Ms. Delgado mean by saying it was a mountain for one afternoon? think about it

Words to know

traverse
to move sideways across something
harness
straps worn to keep a climber safe
grips
small holds that a climber's hands and feet use
instructor
a person who teaches a skill
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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 · 233 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

The climbing wall in the gym was painted to look like a mountain. Colored plastic grips were spread over it like candy. Anouk had tried the wall once. She had made it two steps. Then she looked down and froze.

This time the instructor, Ms. Delgado, had a new plan. "We're going sideways today," she said. "It's called a traverse. You stay low. Your feet are never more than an arm's length from the mats."

Anouk put on her harness and checked her knots with Ms. Delgado. She put her left hand on a blue grip and her right foot on a yellow one. Her heart thumped like a drum. She slid a hand to a green grip. Then a foot. Then the other hand.

"Look at your feet," called Ms. Delgado. "Don't look at the whole wall. Look at where your foot goes next."

That made it small. It was not one huge mountain. It was a yellow grip, then a red one, then a bumpy white one. Her fingers began to ache a bit, but her fear faded to a quiet hum.

At the far end, Anouk touched the painted flag that marked the finish. She let go and dropped softly to the mat. She spun around and looked back at the long line of grips she had crossed.

"That's a mountain," said Ms. Delgado with a grin, "for one afternoon."

▲ This passage · 239 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

The climbing wall in the gym was painted to look like a mountain, with colored plastic grips scattered over it like candy. Anouk had been on the wall once and had made it exactly two steps before looking down and freezing.

This time the instructor, Ms. Delgado, had a different plan. "We're going sideways today," she said. "It's called a traverse. You stay low, and your feet are never more than an arm's length from the mats."

Anouk strapped on her harness and checked her knots with Ms. Delgado. Then she put her left hand on a blue grip and her right foot on a yellow one. Her heart thumped like a drum. She slid a hand along to a green grip. Then a foot. Then the other hand.

"Look at your feet," called Ms. Delgado. "Don't look at the whole wall. Look at where your foot goes next."

That made it small. Instead of one enormous mountain, there was only a yellow grip, then a red one, then a bumpy white one. Her fingers began to ache a little, but her fear faded to a quiet hum.

When Anouk reached the far end of the wall, she touched the painted flag that marked the finish. She let go, dropped softly to the mat, and spun around to look back at the long line of grips she had crossed.

"That's a mountain," said Ms. Delgado, grinning, "for one afternoon."

■ Harder · 248 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

The climbing wall in the gym had been painted to resemble a mountain, with colored plastic grips scattered across it like pieces of candy. Anouk had tried the wall once before, and she had managed exactly two steps before she glanced down and froze.

This time the instructor, Ms. Delgado, had devised a different plan. "We're going sideways today," she announced. "It's called a traverse. You stay low, and your feet are never more than an arm's length above the mats."

Anouk strapped on her harness and checked her knots with Ms. Delgado. Then she placed her left hand on a blue grip and her right foot on a yellow one, while her heart thumped like a drum. She slid one hand along to a green grip, then a foot, then the other hand.

"Look at your feet," called Ms. Delgado. "Don't stare at the whole wall. Just look at where your foot is going next."

That made the climb seem small. Instead of one enormous mountain, there was merely a yellow grip, then a red one, then a bumpy white one. Her fingers began to ache a little, but her fear faded into a quiet hum.

When Anouk reached the far end of the wall, she touched the painted flag that marked the finish. She let go, dropped softly onto the mat, and spun around to look back at the long line of grips she had crossed.

"That's a mountain," said Ms. Delgado, grinning, "for one afternoon."

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 traverse, harness, grips and instructor 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 "Anouk Crosses the Gym Wall Sideways"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 239 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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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