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Dot Dobbins and the Wandering Hiccup

5th grade fiction passage about a hiccup that hops between people: 251 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a hiccup that hops between people 251 words

Dot Dobbins and the Wandering Hiccup

It began with a tiny "hic" at the bakery. Dot Dobbins, who was buying muffins, covered her mouth, but the hiccup had already hopped out of her and into the baker. "Hic!" said the baker. He passed it to the paperboy, and the paperboy passed it to the mayor.

By noon the hiccup had visited half the town of Little Plum. It never stayed in one person for long. A policeman said "hic" and the cat on his shoulder said "mrow-hic." Even the town clock gave a tiny hiccup and chimed thirteen.

"We must catch it," said Dot, who loved a good problem. She took out a notebook and began to take careful notes. The hiccup always came after a surprise. It jumped to the next person whenever someone laughed.

"So it likes noise," Dot decided. "And it likes company."

She stood on a crate in the town square and spoke quietly, so that nobody laughed. "Everyone, please sit down and sip some cold water, slowly. Then hold still and count to twenty without making a sound."

The square went silent. A bird chirped. The hiccup looked around for someone to bounce to, and found only a quiet crowd with nothing to laugh at. It gave a tiny sigh, floated up into the clock tower, and vanished.

The clock struck twelve properly at last. Dot closed her notebook and bought her muffins, which were slightly cold. "Next time," she told the baker, "a hiccup will have to book a table."

Questions

  1. Where did the hiccup first appear? in the text

  2. What was odd about the hiccup? in the text

  3. What did Dot notice about when the hiccup jumped? in the text

  4. Why did Dot ask everyone to be quiet? think about it

  5. What did the town do to get rid of the hiccup? in the text

  6. Why did the town clock chime thirteen? think about it

Words to know

mayor
the leader of a town or city
chimed
made a ringing sound, like a bell
square
an open space in the middle of a town
crate
a strong box made of wooden slats
vanished
disappeared suddenly
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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 · 228 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

It began with a tiny "hic" at the bakery. Dot Dobbins was buying muffins. She covered her mouth, but the hiccup hopped out of her and into the baker. "Hic!" said the baker. He passed it to the paperboy. The paperboy passed it to the mayor.

By noon the hiccup had visited half of Little Plum. It never stayed long. A policeman said "hic," and the cat on his shoulder said "mrow-hic." Even the town clock gave a tiny hiccup and chimed thirteen.

"We must catch it," said Dot. She loved a good problem. She took out a notebook and wrote down what she saw. The hiccup came after a surprise. It jumped to the next person when someone laughed.

"So it likes noise," Dot said. "And it likes company."

She stood on a crate in the square. She spoke quietly so nobody would laugh. "Please sit down. Sip cold water, slowly. Then hold still and count to twenty without a sound."

The square went silent. A bird chirped. The hiccup looked for someone to bounce to. It found only a quiet crowd. It gave a tiny sigh, floated up to the clock tower, and vanished.

The clock struck twelve at last. Dot closed her notebook and bought her muffins. They were a little cold. "Next time," she told the baker, "a hiccup must book a table."

▲ This passage · 251 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

It began with a tiny "hic" at the bakery. Dot Dobbins, who was buying muffins, covered her mouth, but the hiccup had already hopped out of her and into the baker. "Hic!" said the baker. He passed it to the paperboy, and the paperboy passed it to the mayor.

By noon the hiccup had visited half the town of Little Plum. It never stayed in one person for long. A policeman said "hic" and the cat on his shoulder said "mrow-hic." Even the town clock gave a tiny hiccup and chimed thirteen.

"We must catch it," said Dot, who loved a good problem. She took out a notebook and began to take careful notes. The hiccup always came after a surprise. It jumped to the next person whenever someone laughed.

"So it likes noise," Dot decided. "And it likes company."

She stood on a crate in the town square and spoke quietly, so that nobody laughed. "Everyone, please sit down and sip some cold water, slowly. Then hold still and count to twenty without making a sound."

The square went silent. A bird chirped. The hiccup looked around for someone to bounce to, and found only a quiet crowd with nothing to laugh at. It gave a tiny sigh, floated up into the clock tower, and vanished.

The clock struck twelve properly at last. Dot closed her notebook and bought her muffins, which were slightly cold. "Next time," she told the baker, "a hiccup will have to book a table."

■ Harder · 269 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6

It all began with a tiny "hic" at the bakery. Dot Dobbins, who was buying muffins, clapped a hand over her mouth, but the hiccup had already hopped out of her and into the baker. "Hic!" said the baker, and he promptly passed it to the paperboy, who in turn passed it along to the mayor.

By noon, the hiccup had visited half the residents of Little Plum, and it never lingered in any one person for long. A policeman said "hic," and the cat perched on his shoulder said "mrow-hic." Even the town clock produced a tiny hiccup and chimed thirteen.

"We must catch it," declared Dot, who adored a good problem. She took out a notebook and began recording careful observations. The hiccup always arrived after a surprise, and it leaped to the next person whenever somebody laughed.

"So it likes noise," Dot concluded, "and it likes company."

She climbed onto a crate in the town square and spoke softly, so that nobody would be tempted to laugh. "Everyone, please sit down and sip some cold water, slowly. Then hold perfectly still and count to twenty without making a sound."

The square fell silent. A single bird chirped. The hiccup searched for someone to bounce to, but it found only a hushed crowd with nothing to laugh about. It gave a tiny sigh, drifted up into the clock tower, and vanished.

The clock struck twelve properly at last. Dot closed her notebook and finally bought her muffins, which had grown slightly cold. "Next time," she told the baker, "a hiccup will have to book a table."

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 mayor, chimed, square, crate and vanished 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 3 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 "Dot Dobbins and the Wandering Hiccup"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 251 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 3 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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