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Aunt Bea's Backward Birthday

5th grade fiction passage about a birthday done backward: 236 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a birthday done backward 236 words

Aunt Bea's Backward Birthday

When Aunt Bea turned forty, she announced that her party would be backward. "Everything," she said, "will happen in the wrong order, and I will love it."

My cousin Tess and I arrived at six in the evening and said, "Goodbye!" Aunt Bea said, "Hello" at the exact same moment, and we all laughed so hard that Uncle Roy dropped the pretzels.

Dinner came first, and it was a cake the size of a hatbox. Next came the main course, which was spaghetti. Then, at seven o'clock sharp, we ate breakfast. Aunt Bea wore her coat inside out and her hat on her chin. She walked backward to the table and sat down facing the wall.

Then I remembered something awful. I had forgotten to bring a present. Tess had not brought one either. We whispered in the hallway, trying to think of something.

"Backward," Tess said suddenly. "She wants everything backward. So we can write her a card that goes backward!"

We grabbed paper and wrote a poem, but we wrote it with every letter flipped, the way it looks in a mirror. Then we held the card up to the hallway mirror and read it aloud while Aunt Bea watched over her shoulder. The poem said she was the best aunt in the whole world.

"Best gift ever," said Aunt Bea, wiping her eyes. "And you gave it before I even opened the door."

Questions

  1. How old was Aunt Bea turning? in the text

  2. What did the family do first at the party? in the text

  3. What problem did the narrator and Tess have? in the text

  4. Why did Tess think of a backward card? think about it

  5. How did they read the card? in the text

  6. Why was it funny that the party began with goodbye? think about it

Words to know

announced
said something so everyone could hear
backward
turned toward the back or in reverse order
hatbox
a round box used to hold a hat
mirror
a glass that shows your reflection
aloud
out loud, in a voice others can hear
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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 · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2

Aunt Bea turned forty. She said her party would be backward. "Everything will be in the wrong order," she said, "and I will love it."

My cousin Tess and I came at six in the evening. We said, "Goodbye!" At the same time Aunt Bea said, "Hello." We laughed so hard that Uncle Roy dropped the pretzels.

First we ate cake for dinner. Then we ate spaghetti. At seven o'clock we ate breakfast. Aunt Bea wore her coat inside out. Her hat sat on her chin. She walked backward to the table and sat facing the wall.

Then I remembered something. I had no present. Tess had none either. We whispered in the hall.

"Backward," said Tess. "She wants everything backward. We can make a backward card!"

We wrote a poem with every letter flipped, like in a mirror. Then we held the card up to the mirror in the hall and read it out loud. Aunt Bea watched over her shoulder. The poem said she was the best aunt in the world.

"Best gift ever," said Aunt Bea. She wiped her eyes. "And you gave it before I opened the door."

▲ This passage · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1

When Aunt Bea turned forty, she announced that her party would be backward. "Everything," she said, "will happen in the wrong order, and I will love it."

My cousin Tess and I arrived at six in the evening and said, "Goodbye!" Aunt Bea said, "Hello" at the exact same moment, and we all laughed so hard that Uncle Roy dropped the pretzels.

Dinner came first, and it was a cake the size of a hatbox. Next came the main course, which was spaghetti. Then, at seven o'clock sharp, we ate breakfast. Aunt Bea wore her coat inside out and her hat on her chin. She walked backward to the table and sat down facing the wall.

Then I remembered something awful. I had forgotten to bring a present. Tess had not brought one either. We whispered in the hallway, trying to think of something.

"Backward," Tess said suddenly. "She wants everything backward. So we can write her a card that goes backward!"

We grabbed paper and wrote a poem, but we wrote it with every letter flipped, the way it looks in a mirror. Then we held the card up to the hallway mirror and read it aloud while Aunt Bea watched over her shoulder. The poem said she was the best aunt in the whole world.

"Best gift ever," said Aunt Bea, wiping her eyes. "And you gave it before I even opened the door."

■ Harder · 261 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

When Aunt Bea turned forty, she announced with great cheer that her birthday party would be entirely backward. "Everything," she declared, "will happen in the wrong order, and I intend to love every minute of it."

My cousin Tess and I arrived at six in the evening and called out, "Goodbye!" At the exact same moment, Aunt Bea called, "Hello," and we all laughed so hard that Uncle Roy dropped the entire bowl of pretzels.

Dinner came first, and it was a cake the size of a hatbox. Next came the main course, which was spaghetti, and then, at seven o'clock sharp, we sat down to breakfast. Aunt Bea wore her coat inside out and her hat on her chin, and she marched backward to the table and sat down facing the wall.

Then I remembered something awful: I had forgotten to bring a present. Tess had not brought one either, so we huddled in the hallway and whispered, desperately trying to think of something.

"Backward," Tess said suddenly. "She wants everything backward, so we can write her a card that goes backward!"

We grabbed some paper and composed a poem, but we wrote it with every letter flipped, the way writing looks in a mirror. Then we held the card up to the hallway mirror and read it aloud while Aunt Bea watched over her shoulder. The poem declared that she was the best aunt in the whole world.

"Best gift ever," said Aunt Bea, wiping her eyes. "And you gave it to me before I even opened the door."

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 announced, backward, hatbox, mirror and aloud 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 4 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 "Aunt Bea's Backward Birthday"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 236 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.1. 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 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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