Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Mortimer the Parrot Shouts Overdue

5th grade fiction passage about a parrot in a quiet library: 230 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a parrot in a quiet library 230 words

Mortimer the Parrot Shouts Overdue

The Elm Street Library had one big rule, and that rule was silence. Then Mrs. Hobb, the head librarian, adopted a green parrot named Mortimer. After that, silence was a thing of the past.

Mortimer could repeat whatever he heard, and he always did it at the worst moment. When the mayor came in to borrow a cookbook, Mortimer squawked, "Overdue! Overdue!" He had heard Mrs. Hobb say it to someone else that morning. The mayor turned bright red. He checked his pockets for a book he had returned a month ago.

When a boy tiptoed past the reading corner, Mortimer boomed, "Shhh!" Three people jumped. When a sleepy grandfather dozed over a newspaper, Mortimer yelled, "Fire!" and the grandfather nearly fell off his chair. It was only a word from a story about a dragon, but the whole room scrambled anyway.

Mrs. Hobb decided that something had to change. She did not want to send Mortimer away, because he was good company on rainy days. So she spent a week teaching him one friendly word. Each morning she stood by the door and said, "Welcome." Mortimer got a sunflower seed every time he said it back.

By Friday, Mortimer greeted every visitor with a cheerful "Welcome!" The mayor laughed. The grandfather smiled. The boy tiptoed in with a grin. Mortimer became the best greeter the library had ever had.

Questions

  1. What was the most important rule at the Elm Street Library? in the text

  2. Why did Mortimer shout overdue at the mayor? in the text

  3. What did Mortimer yell at the sleepy grandfather? in the text

  4. Why did Mortimer's words cause so much trouble? think about it

  5. How did Mrs. Hobb teach Mortimer a new word? in the text

  6. Why was Welcome a good word for Mortimer to learn? think about it

Words to know

librarian
a person who takes care of a library
adopted
took in and made part of the family or group
squawked
made a loud, harsh cry like a bird
dozed
slept lightly for a short time
greeter
a person who welcomes visitors
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 · 208 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

The Elm Street Library had one big rule. The rule was silence. Then Mrs. Hobb, the head librarian, got a green parrot named Mortimer. After that, the library was not silent.

Mortimer could repeat what he heard. He always did it at the wrong time. When the mayor came in to borrow a cookbook, Mortimer squawked, "Overdue! Overdue!" He had heard Mrs. Hobb say it to someone else that morning. The mayor turned red. He checked his pockets for the book he had returned a month ago.

When a boy tiptoed by, Mortimer boomed, "Shhh!" Three people jumped. When a sleepy grandfather dozed over his paper, Mortimer yelled, "Fire!" The grandfather nearly fell off his chair. It was only a word from a dragon story. But the room scrambled anyway.

Mrs. Hobb had to fix this. She did not want to send Mortimer away. He was good company on rainy days. So she taught him one friendly word. Each morning she stood by the door and said, "Welcome." Each time Mortimer said it, he got a sunflower seed.

By Friday, Mortimer said "Welcome!" to every visitor. The mayor laughed. The grandfather smiled. The boy tiptoed in with a grin. Mortimer was the best greeter the library ever had.

▲ This passage · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

The Elm Street Library had one big rule, and that rule was silence. Then Mrs. Hobb, the head librarian, adopted a green parrot named Mortimer. After that, silence was a thing of the past.

Mortimer could repeat whatever he heard, and he always did it at the worst moment. When the mayor came in to borrow a cookbook, Mortimer squawked, "Overdue! Overdue!" He had heard Mrs. Hobb say it to someone else that morning. The mayor turned bright red. He checked his pockets for a book he had returned a month ago.

When a boy tiptoed past the reading corner, Mortimer boomed, "Shhh!" Three people jumped. When a sleepy grandfather dozed over a newspaper, Mortimer yelled, "Fire!" and the grandfather nearly fell off his chair. It was only a word from a story about a dragon, but the whole room scrambled anyway.

Mrs. Hobb decided that something had to change. She did not want to send Mortimer away, because he was good company on rainy days. So she spent a week teaching him one friendly word. Each morning she stood by the door and said, "Welcome." Mortimer got a sunflower seed every time he said it back.

By Friday, Mortimer greeted every visitor with a cheerful "Welcome!" The mayor laughed. The grandfather smiled. The boy tiptoed in with a grin. Mortimer became the best greeter the library had ever had.

■ Harder · 274 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.8

The Elm Street Library had one rule that mattered considerably more than all the others, and that rule was silence. Then Mrs. Hobb, the head librarian, adopted a green parrot named Mortimer, and from that moment on silence became a thing of the past.

Mortimer possessed a remarkable talent for repeating whatever he overheard, and he invariably repeated it at the worst possible moment. When the mayor walked in to borrow a cookbook, Mortimer squawked, "Overdue! Overdue!" because he had heard Mrs. Hobb say the word to someone else earlier that morning. The mayor turned bright red and anxiously checked his pockets for a book that he had returned a month before.

When a boy tiptoed past the reading corner, Mortimer boomed, "Shhh!" so loudly that three people jumped and a whole shelf of dictionaries trembled. When a sleepy grandfather dozed over his newspaper, Mortimer yelled, "Fire!" and the poor man nearly tumbled off his chair. It was merely a word that Mortimer had picked up from a story about a dragon, but the entire room scrambled anyway.

Mrs. Hobb concluded that something had to change. She had no wish to send Mortimer away, since he was wonderful company on rainy afternoons, so she devoted a week to teaching him a single friendly word. Every morning she stood beside the door and said "Welcome" in her warmest voice, rewarding Mortimer with a sunflower seed each time he repeated it.

By Friday, Mortimer greeted every visitor with a cheerful "Welcome!" The mayor laughed, the grandfather smiled, and the boy tiptoed in with a grin. Mortimer had become the best greeter the library had ever known.

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 librarian, adopted, squawked, dozed and greeter 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 "Mortimer the Parrot Shouts Overdue"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 230 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.3. 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 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.