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The Canyon Echo Who Heard It Wrong

5th grade fiction passage about an echo that changes words: 248 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction an echo that changes words 248 words

The Canyon Echo Who Heard It Wrong

On a hiking trip, Lila and her little brother Cam reached the edge of Whistle Canyon. A sign posted by the park announced that the canyon had the friendliest echo in the entire state, so Lila cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Hello!"

The canyon waited a moment. Then it answered, "Jell-O!"

The two of them stared at each other. Cam tried again. "Can you hear me?"

"Pear me?" said the canyon.

"I think it is not listening very well," said Lila, and they laughed until their sides hurt.

They played with the echo all morning long. "Good morning" came back as "Food and warning," and "My name is Cam" bounced back as "Spam is a clam." Cam decided that the echo had a terrible head cold and a pair of ears stuffed with pudding.

Then a problem popped up. Their dog, Biscuit, had wandered off along the rim while the children were busy giggling. Lila called for her, "Biscuit! Come back!" but the echo answered, "Whiskers! Dance, Jack!" Biscuit, who could not hear anything except the silly echo, simply ran in circles.

"The echo is confusing her," said Cam. He took a deep breath and called out as plainly as he could, "Treat!"

The echo said, "Sweet!" which was close enough. Biscuit's ears shot up, and she came bounding down the trail, wagging her entire body. Lila rewarded her with a biscuit from the pack, and the echo, with perfect manners, said, "Whisk it!"

Questions

  1. What did the canyon say when Lila shouted hello? in the text

  2. Who is Biscuit? in the text

  3. What problem happened while the children were giggling? in the text

  4. Why did the echo confuse the dog? think about it

  5. How did Cam get Biscuit to come back? in the text

  6. What does Cam's joke about a head cold and pudding suggest? think about it

Words to know

canyon
a deep valley with steep rocky sides
echo
a sound that bounces back to you
cupped
curved your hands into a bowl shape
rim
the edge of something round or deep
bounding
leaping along with big, springy steps
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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 · 198 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

Lila and her little brother Cam went hiking. They came to the edge of Whistle Canyon. A sign said the canyon had the friendliest echo in the state. Lila cupped her hands. "Hello!" she shouted.

The canyon waited. Then it said, "Jell-O!"

The two stared at each other. Cam tried. "Can you hear me?"

"Pear me?" said the canyon.

"It is not listening well," said Lila. They laughed and laughed.

They played with the echo all morning. "Good morning" came back as "Food and warning." "My name is Cam" came back as "Spam is a clam." Cam said the echo had a cold and pudding in its ears.

Then there was a problem. Their dog, Biscuit, wandered off along the rim. The children were giggling and did not see. Lila called, "Biscuit! Come back!" The echo said, "Whiskers! Dance, Jack!" Biscuit heard only the silly echo and ran in a circle.

"The echo is confusing her," said Cam. He took a big breath and called, "Treat!"

The echo said, "Sweet!" That was close enough. Biscuit's ears shot up. She ran down the trail, wagging her whole body. Lila gave her a biscuit. The echo said, "Whisk it!"

▲ This passage · 248 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.1

On a hiking trip, Lila and her little brother Cam reached the edge of Whistle Canyon. A sign posted by the park announced that the canyon had the friendliest echo in the entire state, so Lila cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Hello!"

The canyon waited a moment. Then it answered, "Jell-O!"

The two of them stared at each other. Cam tried again. "Can you hear me?"

"Pear me?" said the canyon.

"I think it is not listening very well," said Lila, and they laughed until their sides hurt.

They played with the echo all morning long. "Good morning" came back as "Food and warning," and "My name is Cam" bounced back as "Spam is a clam." Cam decided that the echo had a terrible head cold and a pair of ears stuffed with pudding.

Then a problem popped up. Their dog, Biscuit, had wandered off along the rim while the children were busy giggling. Lila called for her, "Biscuit! Come back!" but the echo answered, "Whiskers! Dance, Jack!" Biscuit, who could not hear anything except the silly echo, simply ran in circles.

"The echo is confusing her," said Cam. He took a deep breath and called out as plainly as he could, "Treat!"

The echo said, "Sweet!" which was close enough. Biscuit's ears shot up, and she came bounding down the trail, wagging her entire body. Lila rewarded her with a biscuit from the pack, and the echo, with perfect manners, said, "Whisk it!"

■ Harder · 248 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.4

During a hiking trip, Lila and her little brother Cam reached the edge of Whistle Canyon. A sign posted by the park announced that the canyon boasted the friendliest echo in the entire state, so Lila cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Hello!"

The canyon waited a long moment. Then it answered, "Jell-O!"

The two of them stared at each other in disbelief. Cam tried again. "Can you hear me?"

"Pear me?" replied the canyon.

"I think it is not listening very carefully," said Lila, and they laughed until their sides ached.

They played with the echo all morning long. "Good morning" came back as "Food and warning," and "My name is Cam" bounced back as "Spam is a clam." Cam concluded that the echo had a terrible head cold and a pair of ears stuffed with pudding.

Then a problem popped up. Their dog, Biscuit, had wandered off along the rim while the children were busy giggling. Lila called, "Biscuit! Come back!" but the echo answered, "Whiskers! Dance, Jack!" Biscuit, who could hear nothing except the silly echo, simply ran in circles.

"The echo is confusing her," said Cam. He took a deep breath and called out as plainly as he could, "Treat!"

The echo said, "Sweet!" which was close enough. Biscuit's ears shot up, and she came bounding down the trail, wagging her entire body. Lila rewarded her with a biscuit from the pack, and the echo, with perfect manners, said, "Whisk it!"

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 canyon, echo, cupped, rim and bounding 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 "The Canyon Echo Who Heard It Wrong"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 248 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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