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Breakfast for Dinner on Dad's Night Shift

5th grade fiction passage about a parent who works nights: 211 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a parent who works nights 211 words

Breakfast for Dinner on Dad's Night Shift

Ruth's father worked nights at a bakery, so their family clock ran backward. When Ruth ate cereal at seven in the morning, Dad was just coming home, tired and covered in flour. When Ruth sat down to dinner at six, Dad was only waking up.

For a long time, Ruth thought this was unfair. They hardly ever ate a meal together.

Then she had an idea. On Saturdays, Dad's day off, she would not wait for dinner. She pulled out her mother's old recipe cards and made a plan.

"We're having breakfast for dinner," she announced. "But we're doing it at nine in the evening, when you're awake and I'm still allowed to stay up."

Dad blinked. "That's very late for a Saturday dinner."

"That's the point," said Ruth.

They made pancakes shaped like lopsided stars. Ruth flipped most of them, and Dad kept the pan from smoking. They ate slowly, with syrup on the table and the radio playing low.

"I like our backward clock," Dad said.

"Me too," said Ruth.

Now every Saturday night, their kitchen is the only one on the street with its lights on and a stack of pancakes in the middle. Their family clock still runs backward, but now it has a place to meet.

Questions

  1. Where did Ruth's father work? in the text

  2. Why did the family hardly ever eat a meal together? in the text

  3. What time did Ruth choose for the special meal? in the text

  4. What shape were the pancakes? in the text

  5. Why did Ruth choose Saturday for the plan? think about it

  6. What does Ruth mean when she says their clock now has a place to meet? think about it

Words to know

bakery
a place where bread and cakes are baked
backward
turned the opposite way from usual
lopsided
uneven, with one side bigger or lower
recipe
directions for how to make food
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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 · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Ruth's father worked nights at a bakery, so their family clock ran backward. When Ruth ate cereal at seven in the morning, Dad was just coming home, tired and covered in flour. When Ruth sat down to dinner at six, Dad was only waking up.

For a long time, Ruth thought this was unfair. They hardly ever ate a meal together.

Then she had an idea. Saturday was Dad's day off. She would not wait for dinner. She pulled out her mother's old recipe cards and made a plan.

"We're having breakfast for dinner," she said. "But at nine in the evening. You'll be awake, and I'm allowed to stay up."

Dad blinked. "That's very late for dinner."

"That's the point," said Ruth.

They made pancakes shaped like lopsided stars. Ruth flipped most of them. Dad kept the pan from smoking. They ate slowly, with syrup on the table and the radio playing low.

"I like our backward clock," Dad said.

"Me too," said Ruth.

Now every Saturday night, their kitchen is the only one on the street with its lights on. A stack of pancakes sits in the middle. Their clock still runs backward, but now it has a place to meet.

▲ This passage · 211 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Ruth's father worked nights at a bakery, so their family clock ran backward. When Ruth ate cereal at seven in the morning, Dad was just coming home, tired and covered in flour. When Ruth sat down to dinner at six, Dad was only waking up.

For a long time, Ruth thought this was unfair. They hardly ever ate a meal together.

Then she had an idea. On Saturdays, Dad's day off, she would not wait for dinner. She pulled out her mother's old recipe cards and made a plan.

"We're having breakfast for dinner," she announced. "But we're doing it at nine in the evening, when you're awake and I'm still allowed to stay up."

Dad blinked. "That's very late for a Saturday dinner."

"That's the point," said Ruth.

They made pancakes shaped like lopsided stars. Ruth flipped most of them, and Dad kept the pan from smoking. They ate slowly, with syrup on the table and the radio playing low.

"I like our backward clock," Dad said.

"Me too," said Ruth.

Now every Saturday night, their kitchen is the only one on the street with its lights on and a stack of pancakes in the middle. Their family clock still runs backward, but now it has a place to meet.

■ Harder · 245 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Ruth's father worked the night shift at a bakery, so the family's clock ran entirely backward. When Ruth ate her cereal at seven in the morning, Dad was only just arriving home, exhausted and dusted with flour. When Ruth sat down to dinner at six, Dad was only beginning to wake up.

For a long time, Ruth considered this arrangement unfair. The two of them hardly ever shared a meal.

Then she came up with an idea. Saturday was Dad's day off, and she would not wait around for an ordinary dinner. She pulled out her mother's old recipe cards and drew up a plan.

"We're having breakfast for dinner," she announced. "But we're doing it at nine in the evening, when you're awake and I'm still allowed to stay up."

Dad blinked at her. "That's a very late hour for a Saturday dinner."

"That's the whole point," said Ruth.

Together they made pancakes shaped like lopsided stars. Ruth flipped most of them, while Dad made sure the pan did not smoke. They ate slowly, with syrup on the table and the radio playing softly in the background.

"I like our backward clock," Dad said.

"Me too," said Ruth.

Now, every Saturday night, theirs is the only kitchen on the street with its lights still glowing and a tall stack of pancakes in the middle of the table. Their family clock still runs backward, but now it has a place where the hands can meet.

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 bakery, backward, lopsided and recipe 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 "Breakfast for Dinner on Dad's Night Shift"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 211 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.6. 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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