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Mateo Gets Lost on Purpose

5th grade fiction passage about a first orienteering meet: 236 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a first orienteering meet 236 words

Mateo Gets Lost on Purpose

Mateo had never been lost on purpose before. At the orienteering meet, every runner got a map, a compass, and a card with a grid of small boxes. Hidden around the park were nine orange and white flags. Beside each flag hung a tiny punch, and the pattern it made on your card proved that you had been there.

"Walk it first, run it later," said Coach Imani. "Find north, turn the map to match, and then look for the next flag."

Mateo did not listen. He sprinted straight toward the first flag and ended up in a patch of brambles. The map said the flag stood near a boulder, but the park seemed to have a dozen boulders. His ears felt hot. The other runners were already vanishing into the trees.

So he stopped, took a long breath, and did what the coach had said. He turned the map until the red end of the needle pointed the same way as north on the paper. Suddenly the creek on the map sat on his left, just like the real creek. He picked out a stump, then a fallen log, and then a boulder with an orange flag on top.

Click went the punch.

Mateo found seven of the nine flags and finished near the back. But he had learned to read the land like a book, and he could hardly wait for the next meet.

Questions

  1. What three things did each runner get at the start? in the text

  2. How did a runner prove that he or she had visited a flag? in the text

  3. Why did Mateo end up in the brambles? in the text

  4. What did Mateo do after he stopped and took a breath? in the text

  5. Why did the creek on the map finally match the real creek? think about it

  6. Why was Mateo happy even though he finished near the back? think about it

Words to know

orienteering
a sport where you find your way with a map and compass
compass
a tool with a needle that points north
brambles
thorny bushes that grow in tangles
boulder
a very large rock
sprinted
ran as fast as possible
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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 · 199 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.2

Mateo had never been lost on purpose. At the meet, each runner got a map, a compass, and a card with boxes. Nine flags were hidden in the park. Next to each flag was a little punch. It made a mark on your card to show you had been there.

"Find north first," said Coach Imani. "Turn the map to match. Then look for the next flag."

Mateo did not listen. He ran straight for the first flag and landed in a thorny patch of bushes. The map said the flag was by a big rock. But the park had lots of big rocks. His ears felt hot. The other runners were gone into the trees.

So he stopped. He took a deep breath. He did what the coach said. He turned the map until the needle pointed north. Now the creek on the map was on his left, just like the real creek. He found a stump, then a log, then a big rock with an orange flag.

Click went the punch.

Mateo found seven flags. He came in near the back. But he had learned how to read the land, and he wanted to do it again.

▲ This passage · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4

Mateo had never been lost on purpose before. At the orienteering meet, every runner got a map, a compass, and a card with a grid of small boxes. Hidden around the park were nine orange and white flags. Beside each flag hung a tiny punch, and the pattern it made on your card proved that you had been there.

"Walk it first, run it later," said Coach Imani. "Find north, turn the map to match, and then look for the next flag."

Mateo did not listen. He sprinted straight toward the first flag and ended up in a patch of brambles. The map said the flag stood near a boulder, but the park seemed to have a dozen boulders. His ears felt hot. The other runners were already vanishing into the trees.

So he stopped, took a long breath, and did what the coach had said. He turned the map until the red end of the needle pointed the same way as north on the paper. Suddenly the creek on the map sat on his left, just like the real creek. He picked out a stump, then a fallen log, and then a boulder with an orange flag on top.

Click went the punch.

Mateo found seven of the nine flags and finished near the back. But he had learned to read the land like a book, and he could hardly wait for the next meet.

■ Harder · 267 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1

Mateo had never been lost on purpose before, and the idea made him a little uneasy. At the orienteering meet, every runner received a map, a compass, and a card printed with a grid of small boxes. Nine orange and white flags had been hidden throughout the park. Beside each flag hung a tiny punch, and the pattern it pressed into your card was proof that you had actually reached that spot.

"Walk it first, run it later," said Coach Imani. "Find north, turn the map so that it matches, and only then start looking for the next flag."

Mateo ignored her advice. He sprinted straight toward the first flag and crashed into a patch of brambles. According to the map, the flag stood near a boulder, but the park seemed to contain a dozen of them. His ears burned with embarrassment, and the other runners had already vanished among the trees.

At last he stopped, took a long, slow breath, and did exactly what the coach had suggested. He rotated the map until the red end of the needle pointed the same direction as north on the paper. Suddenly the creek drawn on the map lay on his left, just as the real creek did. He picked out a stump, then a fallen log, and finally a boulder with an orange flag perched on top.

Click went the punch.

Mateo found seven of the nine flags and finished near the back of the pack. Even so, he had discovered how to read the land like a book, and he could hardly wait for the next 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 orienteering, compass, brambles, boulder and sprinted 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 "Mateo Gets Lost on Purpose"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 236 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.0. 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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