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Odessa and the Last Face of the Cube

5th grade fiction passage about solving a puzzle cube: 238 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction solving a puzzle cube 238 words

Odessa and the Last Face of the Cube

Odessa's cousin could solve a puzzle cube in less time than it took to brush his teeth. So when he left a spare cube at her house, she decided she would learn to do it too.

She twisted the cube for an hour and finished one side, and when she turned proudly to the next side, the first side fell to pieces. She groaned, finished that side again, and watched the same thing happen. Three days went by like that.

On the fourth day, Odessa had an idea. Instead of twisting at random, she wrote down every set of turns that seemed to work, and in her notebook she drew little arrows for each move. One page showed how to slide a piece into place without wrecking the rest, and another showed how to turn a corner piece.

Now when she made a mistake, she did not start over. She checked the notebook and tried a different set of turns. The cube still fought her, but it began to lose.

After two weeks, Odessa sat on the porch with the cube in her hands. She twisted and twisted. Then she looked down and saw six faces, each one a single, bright color.

She did not break any records. She did not even smile right away. She just held the cube up to the light, the way you might hold a trophy, and let out a long, happy breath.

Questions

  1. Why did Odessa decide to learn how to solve a cube? in the text

  2. What kept happening when Odessa finished a second side? in the text

  3. What did Odessa write in her notebook? in the text

  4. How long did it take her to solve the cube? in the text

  5. Why did the notebook help her not start over after a mistake? think about it

  6. Why did Odessa hold up the cube like a trophy? think about it

Words to know

random
done without any plan
corner
the place where two sides meet
wrecking
ruining or breaking apart
trophy
a prize you win to show you did well
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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 · 211 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.1

Odessa's cousin could solve a puzzle cube faster than he could brush his teeth. When he left a spare cube at her house, she decided to learn too.

She twisted the cube for an hour and got one side right. Proud, she turned to the next side. The first side fell apart. She groaned. She fixed it again, and the same thing happened. Three days went by like that.

On the fourth day, Odessa had an idea. She stopped twisting at random. She wrote down each set of turns that worked. In her notebook she drew little arrows for each move. One page showed how to slide a piece into place without wrecking the rest. Another showed how to turn a corner piece.

Now when she made a mistake, she did not start over. She checked her notebook and tried other turns. The cube still fought her, but it began to lose.

After two weeks, Odessa sat on the porch with the cube. She twisted and twisted. Then she looked down. She saw six faces, and each was one bright color.

She did not break any records. She did not smile right away. She held the cube up to the light like a trophy and let out a long, happy breath.

▲ This passage · 238 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

Odessa's cousin could solve a puzzle cube in less time than it took to brush his teeth. So when he left a spare cube at her house, she decided she would learn to do it too.

She twisted the cube for an hour and finished one side, and when she turned proudly to the next side, the first side fell to pieces. She groaned, finished that side again, and watched the same thing happen. Three days went by like that.

On the fourth day, Odessa had an idea. Instead of twisting at random, she wrote down every set of turns that seemed to work, and in her notebook she drew little arrows for each move. One page showed how to slide a piece into place without wrecking the rest, and another showed how to turn a corner piece.

Now when she made a mistake, she did not start over. She checked the notebook and tried a different set of turns. The cube still fought her, but it began to lose.

After two weeks, Odessa sat on the porch with the cube in her hands. She twisted and twisted. Then she looked down and saw six faces, each one a single, bright color.

She did not break any records. She did not even smile right away. She just held the cube up to the light, the way you might hold a trophy, and let out a long, happy breath.

■ Harder · 258 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.6

Odessa's cousin could solve a puzzle cube in less time than it took him to brush his teeth. So when he left a spare cube at her house after a visit, she resolved that she would learn to do it too.

She twisted the cube for an entire hour and managed to finish one side. Proud of herself, she turned to the next side, and the first side promptly fell to pieces. She groaned, finished that side again, and watched the same thing happen. Three days passed in exactly that way.

On the fourth day, Odessa had an idea. Instead of twisting at random, she began to record every set of turns that seemed to work. In her notebook she drew little arrows to show each move. One page explained how to slide a piece into place without wrecking everything around it, and another showed how to rotate a corner piece.

From then on, when she made a mistake, she did not start over from the beginning. She consulted her notebook and tried a different sequence of turns. The cube still fought her stubbornly, but it slowly began to lose.

After two weeks, Odessa sat on the porch with the cube in her hands, twisting and twisting. Then she looked down and saw six faces, each one a single, bright color.

She did not break any records, and she did not even smile right away. She simply held the cube up to the light, the way you might hold a trophy, and let out a long, happy breath.

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 random, corner, wrecking and trophy 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 "Odessa and the Last Face of the Cube"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 238 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 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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