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The Left-Shoe Shop on Maple Street

5th grade fiction passage about a shoe shop mix-up: 263 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a shoe shop mix-up 263 words

The Left-Shoe Shop on Maple Street

Gus Lindqvist had waited an entire year to open his shoe shop. When the enormous delivery truck finally arrived, he happily rolled out two hundred boxes. Then he opened the first one, and inside was a shiny brown shoe. He opened the second, and there was another shiny brown shoe. By the tenth box, Gus understood the problem: every single shoe was a left shoe.

"I am left with a big problem," he groaned. "And I was right to worry."

He put a sign in the window anyway, and it read, "Shoes for Lefties." Customers wandered in, looked at the boxes, and walked right back out again. One man tried on a shoe and then hopped around on one foot while his friend laughed loudly.

That afternoon, Gus noticed the shop across the street, which was called Ruth's Right Shoes and looked just as quiet as his own. He crossed the road and knocked on the door.

"Ruth," he said, "do you happen to have only right shoes?"

Ruth's mouth fell open. "A mix-up at the factory," she said. "Two hundred of them!"

The two shoe sellers looked at each other and began to grin. They pushed their boxes together in the middle of the street and held a tremendous sale, giving each customer a left shoe from Gus and a right shoe from Ruth. Some of the pairs did not match in color, but nobody minded. Within a week the sign above the doors read "Left and Right Shoes," and the line of shoppers went all the way down Maple Street.

Questions

  1. What was wrong with the shoes Gus received? in the text

  2. What did Gus put in his shop window? in the text

  3. Why did customers walk out of Gus's shop? think about it

  4. What did Gus learn when he visited Ruth? in the text

  5. How did the two shop owners solve their problem? in the text

  6. What is the joke in Gus saying he was left with a problem and right to worry? think about it

Words to know

delivery
bringing something to a place
customers
people who come to buy things
mix-up
a mistake where things get mixed wrongly
factory
a building where things are made
grin
to smile widely
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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 · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

Gus Lindqvist waited all year to open his shoe shop. At last the delivery truck came. Gus rolled out two hundred boxes. He opened the first box. It held a shiny brown shoe. He opened the second box. Another shiny brown shoe. By the tenth box, Gus saw the problem. Every shoe was a left shoe.

"I am left with a big problem," he groaned. "And I was right to worry."

He put a sign in the window. It said, "Shoes for Lefties." People came in. They looked at the boxes. Then they walked out. One man tried on a shoe and hopped on one foot. His friend laughed.

That afternoon, Gus looked at the shop across the street. It was Ruth's Right Shoes. It was quiet too. He crossed the road and knocked.

"Ruth," he said, "do you only have right shoes?"

Ruth's mouth fell open. "A mix-up at the factory," she said. "Two hundred of them!"

They both began to grin. They put their boxes together in the street and held a sale. Each person got a left shoe from Gus and a right shoe from Ruth. A week later the sign said "Left and Right Shoes." The line of shoppers went down Maple Street.

▲ This passage · 263 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7

Gus Lindqvist had waited an entire year to open his shoe shop. When the enormous delivery truck finally arrived, he happily rolled out two hundred boxes. Then he opened the first one, and inside was a shiny brown shoe. He opened the second, and there was another shiny brown shoe. By the tenth box, Gus understood the problem: every single shoe was a left shoe.

"I am left with a big problem," he groaned. "And I was right to worry."

He put a sign in the window anyway, and it read, "Shoes for Lefties." Customers wandered in, looked at the boxes, and walked right back out again. One man tried on a shoe and then hopped around on one foot while his friend laughed loudly.

That afternoon, Gus noticed the shop across the street, which was called Ruth's Right Shoes and looked just as quiet as his own. He crossed the road and knocked on the door.

"Ruth," he said, "do you happen to have only right shoes?"

Ruth's mouth fell open. "A mix-up at the factory," she said. "Two hundred of them!"

The two shoe sellers looked at each other and began to grin. They pushed their boxes together in the middle of the street and held a tremendous sale, giving each customer a left shoe from Gus and a right shoe from Ruth. Some of the pairs did not match in color, but nobody minded. Within a week the sign above the doors read "Left and Right Shoes," and the line of shoppers went all the way down Maple Street.

■ Harder · 273 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

Gus Lindqvist had waited an entire year to open his shoe shop. When the enormous delivery truck finally rumbled up to the curb, he happily rolled out two hundred boxes. Then he opened the first one, and inside lay a shiny brown shoe. He opened the second, and there was another shiny brown shoe. By the tenth box, Gus finally understood the unfortunate problem. Every single shoe in the enormous shipment was a left shoe.

"I am left with a serious problem," he groaned miserably, "and I was right to worry."

He hung a sign in the window that read "Shoes for Lefties" anyway. Curious customers wandered in, glanced at the boxes, and promptly departed. One man tried on a shoe and then hopped around on one foot while his friend laughed.

That afternoon, Gus noticed the shop across the street, which was called Ruth's Right Shoes and looked just as quiet as his own. He crossed the road and knocked on her door.

"Ruth," he said, "by any chance, do you have only right shoes?"

Ruth's mouth fell open. "A mix-up at the factory," she replied. "Two hundred of them!"

The two shoe sellers looked at each other and began to grin. They pushed their boxes together in the middle of the street and held a grand sale, giving each customer a left from Gus and a right from Ruth. Some of the pairs did not match in color, but nobody objected in the slightest. Within a single week the sign above the doors read "Left and Right Shoes," and the line of shoppers stretched all the way down Maple Street.

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 delivery, customers, mix-up, factory and grin 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 3 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 Left-Shoe Shop on Maple Street"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 263 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.7. 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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