Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Mailbox Mix-Up on Pudding Lane

5th grade fiction passage about letters delivered to wrong houses: 240 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction letters delivered to wrong houses 240 words

The Mailbox Mix-Up on Pudding Lane

Pudding Lane had four neighbors with nearly the same name. Mr. Fink lived at number one. Ms. Finch lived at number two. Mrs. Funk lived at number three, and old Mr. Fenk lived at number four. When Otis became the new mail carrier, he read the names very fast and made a mess.

On Monday, Mr. Fink opened a package of bird seed. He did not own a single bird. Ms. Finch, who owned eleven birds, received a letter from a dentist about a cavity in a tooth she did not have. Mrs. Funk got a seed catalog, and Mr. Fenk found a birthday card with a picture of a pony and a note that said, "Happy birthday, Fenny!"

"Who is Fenny?" Mr. Fenk asked the empty room.

Everyone marched outside on Tuesday. They stood in the road, holding the wrong mail, and they began to swap. "Here is your bird seed," said Mr. Fink to Ms. Finch. "Here is your dentist," said Mrs. Funk, handing over the letter.

Otis felt dreadful. "I will do better," he said. That night, he painted a tiny picture on every mailbox. A fish for Fink, a finch bird for Finch, a funny face for Funk, and a fern for Fenk.

The mix-ups stopped, and the neighbors began meeting on the road every week. They called it Swap Day, and they brought pudding, because the street had been named for it long ago.

Questions

  1. Why did the four neighbors get each other's mail? in the text

  2. What did Mr. Fink receive on Monday? in the text

  3. Why was the bird seed useless to Mr. Fink? in the text

  4. How did the neighbors fix things on Tuesday? in the text

  5. How did Otis stop future mix-ups? in the text

  6. Why do you think Swap Day became a weekly habit? think about it

Words to know

carrier
a person who brings the mail to homes
cavity
a small hole in a tooth
catalog
a booklet that shows things you can order
swap
to trade one thing for another
dreadful
very bad
Share

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 · 210 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1

Four neighbors on Pudding Lane had nearly the same name. Mr. Fink lived at number one. Ms. Finch lived at number two. Mrs. Funk lived at number three. Old Mr. Fenk lived at number four. Otis was the new mail carrier. He read the names fast and made a mess.

On Monday, Mr. Fink got a package of bird seed. He had no birds. Ms. Finch had eleven birds. She got a letter from a dentist about a tooth she did not have. Mrs. Funk got a seed catalog. Mr. Fenk got a birthday card with a pony on it. It said, "Happy birthday, Fenny!"

"Who is Fenny?" Mr. Fenk asked the empty room.

On Tuesday everyone stood in the road with the wrong mail. They began to swap. "Here is your bird seed," said Mr. Fink to Ms. Finch. "Here is your dentist," said Mrs. Funk.

Otis felt bad. "I will do better," he said. That night he painted a tiny picture on each mailbox. A fish for Fink. A finch for Finch. A funny face for Funk. A fern for Fenk.

The mix-ups stopped. The neighbors met in the road each week. They called it Swap Day. They brought pudding, since the street was named for it.

▲ This passage · 240 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Pudding Lane had four neighbors with nearly the same name. Mr. Fink lived at number one. Ms. Finch lived at number two. Mrs. Funk lived at number three, and old Mr. Fenk lived at number four. When Otis became the new mail carrier, he read the names very fast and made a mess.

On Monday, Mr. Fink opened a package of bird seed. He did not own a single bird. Ms. Finch, who owned eleven birds, received a letter from a dentist about a cavity in a tooth she did not have. Mrs. Funk got a seed catalog, and Mr. Fenk found a birthday card with a picture of a pony and a note that said, "Happy birthday, Fenny!"

"Who is Fenny?" Mr. Fenk asked the empty room.

Everyone marched outside on Tuesday. They stood in the road, holding the wrong mail, and they began to swap. "Here is your bird seed," said Mr. Fink to Ms. Finch. "Here is your dentist," said Mrs. Funk, handing over the letter.

Otis felt dreadful. "I will do better," he said. That night, he painted a tiny picture on every mailbox. A fish for Fink, a finch bird for Finch, a funny face for Funk, and a fern for Fenk.

The mix-ups stopped, and the neighbors began meeting on the road every week. They called it Swap Day, and they brought pudding, because the street had been named for it long ago.

■ Harder · 254 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1

Pudding Lane was home to four neighbors whose names were nearly identical. Mr. Fink lived at number one, Ms. Finch lived at number two, Mrs. Funk lived at number three, and old Mr. Fenk lived at number four. When Otis became the new mail carrier, he skimmed the names far too quickly and created an enormous mess.

On Monday, Mr. Fink opened a package of bird seed, even though he did not own a single bird. Ms. Finch, who owned eleven birds, received a letter from a dentist about a cavity in a tooth she did not have. Mrs. Funk was sent a seed catalog, and Mr. Fenk discovered a birthday card decorated with a pony and a note that said, "Happy birthday, Fenny!"

"Who is Fenny?" Mr. Fenk asked the empty room.

On Tuesday, everyone marched outside and stood in the road holding the wrong mail, and they began to trade. "Here is your bird seed," said Mr. Fink to Ms. Finch. "And here is your dentist," said Mrs. Funk, handing over the letter.

Otis felt dreadful about the whole affair. "I will do much better," he promised. That night, he painted a tiny picture on every mailbox: a fish for Fink, a finch for Finch, a funny face for Funk, and a fern for Fenk.

The mix-ups stopped for good, and the neighbors began gathering on the road every week. They called the gathering Swap Day, and they always brought pudding, because the street had been named for it long ago.

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 carrier, cavity, catalog, swap and dreadful 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 6 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 Mailbox Mix-Up on Pudding Lane"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 240 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. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.