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Tavi Reads the Morning Announcements

5th grade fiction passage about reading names on the school intercom: 234 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction reading names on the school intercom 234 words

Tavi Reads the Morning Announcements

When Ms. Greer picked Tavi to read the morning announcements, Tavi felt proud. Then she looked at the list. The first line said, "Congratulations to Ngozichukwu Adebayo-Szymanski for winning the art prize."

Tavi's stomach flipped. She had once heard a substitute teacher mangle a name in front of the class, and the poor boy had gone red to his ears. She did not want to do that to anyone.

On Monday morning, she practiced in the hallway and got the name wrong four times. Her friend Penn laughed, and then felt bad about laughing. "Why not just ask her?" he said.

It was such an obvious idea that Tavi was embarrassed. At recess she found the girl with the art prize and said, "Can you teach me to say your name? I want to get it exactly right."

The girl grinned. She said the name slowly, one piece at a time, and Tavi wrote the sounds in marker on her hand: en-GO-zee-CHOO-koo. She repeated it until it felt natural.

The next morning, Tavi pressed the button on the intercom. Her voice shook for the first few words, and then it steadied. When she reached the long name, she said it clearly, with every piece in place.

After lunch, the girl stopped her in the hall. She did not say anything. She just smiled like someone who had been heard.

Questions

  1. What job did Ms. Greer give Tavi? in the text

  2. Why was Tavi nervous when she saw the list? in the text

  3. What idea did Penn give her? in the text

  4. How did Tavi remember the sounds of the name? in the text

  5. Why did Tavi feel embarrassed about Penn's idea? think about it

  6. Why did the girl smile at Tavi without saying anything? think about it

Words to know

announcements
news that is shared out loud with a group
mangle
to say or do something badly
intercom
a system for speaking to rooms through speakers
natural
easy and not forced
steadied
became calm and even
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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 · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Ms. Greer picked Tavi to read the morning announcements, and Tavi felt proud. Then she looked at the list. The first line said, "Congratulations to Ngozichukwu Adebayo-Szymanski for winning the art prize."

Tavi's stomach flipped. Once a substitute teacher had said a boy's name wrong in front of the class. The boy had gone red to his ears. Tavi did not want to do that to anyone.

On Monday morning, she practiced in the hall. She got the name wrong four times. Her friend Penn laughed, and then felt bad. "Why not just ask her?" he said.

It was such an easy idea that Tavi felt silly. At recess she found the girl with the art prize. "Can you teach me to say your name?" she asked. "I want to get it right."

The girl grinned. She said the name slowly, one piece at a time. Tavi wrote the sounds on her hand in marker: en-GO-zee-CHOO-koo. She said it again and again until it felt easy.

The next morning, Tavi pushed the button on the intercom. Her voice shook at first. Then it got steady. When she came to the long name, she said it clearly, with every piece in place.

After lunch, the girl stopped her in the hall. She did not say a word. She just smiled like someone who had been heard.

▲ This passage · 234 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

When Ms. Greer picked Tavi to read the morning announcements, Tavi felt proud. Then she looked at the list. The first line said, "Congratulations to Ngozichukwu Adebayo-Szymanski for winning the art prize."

Tavi's stomach flipped. She had once heard a substitute teacher mangle a name in front of the class, and the poor boy had gone red to his ears. She did not want to do that to anyone.

On Monday morning, she practiced in the hallway and got the name wrong four times. Her friend Penn laughed, and then felt bad about laughing. "Why not just ask her?" he said.

It was such an obvious idea that Tavi was embarrassed. At recess she found the girl with the art prize and said, "Can you teach me to say your name? I want to get it exactly right."

The girl grinned. She said the name slowly, one piece at a time, and Tavi wrote the sounds in marker on her hand: en-GO-zee-CHOO-koo. She repeated it until it felt natural.

The next morning, Tavi pressed the button on the intercom. Her voice shook for the first few words, and then it steadied. When she reached the long name, she said it clearly, with every piece in place.

After lunch, the girl stopped her in the hall. She did not say anything. She just smiled like someone who had been heard.

■ Harder · 256 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7

When Ms. Greer chose Tavi to read the morning announcements, Tavi felt enormously proud. Then she glanced down at the list. The first line read, "Congratulations to Ngozichukwu Adebayo-Szymanski for winning the art prize."

Tavi's stomach flipped. She had once heard a substitute teacher mangle a name in front of the whole class, and the poor boy had turned red to the tips of his ears. She did not want to do that to anyone.

On Monday morning, she rehearsed in the hallway and got the name wrong four times in a row. Her friend Penn laughed and then immediately felt guilty about it. "Why don't you just ask her?" he suggested.

It was such an obvious idea that Tavi was embarrassed she had not thought of it. At recess she tracked down the girl with the art prize and said, "Could you teach me to say your name? I want to pronounce it exactly right."

The girl grinned. She said the name slowly, one piece at a time, and Tavi wrote the sounds in marker across her palm: en-GO-zee-CHOO-koo. She repeated them until they felt completely natural.

The next morning, Tavi pressed the button on the intercom. Her voice trembled for the first few words, and then it steadied. When she reached the long name, she said it clearly, with every piece in place.

After lunch, the girl stopped her in the hallway. She did not say anything at all. She simply smiled like someone who had finally been heard.

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 announcements, mangle, intercom, natural and steadied 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 "Tavi Reads the Morning Announcements"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 234 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.7. 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 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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