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The Borrowed Bicycle Bell

5th grade fiction passage about returning a broken thing to a friend: 227 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction returning a broken thing to a friend 227 words

The Borrowed Bicycle Bell

Marguerite's bicycle bell was the loudest on the block. It had a bright, silver ring that echoed down the street, and she had saved her allowance for three months to buy it. So when her friend Hiro asked to borrow it for the weekend parade, she hesitated.

"I'll be careful," Hiro promised. "I'll treat it like glass."

But on Sunday afternoon, a pothole bounced his bike, and the bell flew off and hit the curb. When Hiro picked it up, the little dome was dented, and the ring had changed into a dull clunk.

All evening, Hiro felt sick. He thought about hiding the bell in a drawer and saying he had lost it. Instead, he walked to Marguerite's house with the bell wrapped in a sock.

"I broke it," he said, and he handed it over. "I'm really sorry. I'll pay for a new one, even if it takes all summer."

Marguerite held the dented bell. She was upset, and she did not pretend that she wasn't. But she also noticed that Hiro had not run away from the problem.

"Thank you for telling me the truth," she said finally. "We'll fix it together. My uncle has a workshop."

On Saturday, her uncle tapped out the dent. The ring was not quite the same, but it was friendly, and it sounded a little like a laugh.

Questions

  1. Why did Marguerite hesitate before lending her bell? in the text

  2. How did the bell get broken? in the text

  3. How did Hiro bring the bell back to Marguerite? in the text

  4. Who helped fix the bell? in the text

  5. Why do you think Hiro told the truth instead of hiding the bell? think about it

  6. Why did Marguerite thank Hiro even though she was upset? think about it

Words to know

hesitated
waited because you were not sure what to do
pothole
a hole in the surface of a road
dented
pushed in, with a dip in the surface
workshop
a room with tools for making or fixing things
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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 · 218 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Marguerite's bike bell was the loudest on the block. It had a bright, silver ring that echoed down the street. She had saved her allowance for three months to buy it. So when her friend Hiro asked to borrow it for the weekend parade, she paused.

"I'll be careful," Hiro said. "I'll treat it like glass."

But on Sunday, a pothole bounced his bike. The bell flew off and hit the curb. When Hiro picked it up, the little dome had a dent, and the ring was a dull clunk.

All evening, Hiro felt sick. He thought about hiding the bell in a drawer and saying he lost it. Instead, he wrapped it in a sock and walked to Marguerite's house.

"I broke it," he said, and he handed it over. "I'm so sorry. I'll pay for a new one, even if it takes all summer."

Marguerite held the dented bell. She was upset, and she did not pretend she wasn't. But she saw that Hiro had not run away from the problem.

"Thank you for telling me the truth," she said. "We'll fix it together. My uncle has a workshop."

On Saturday, her uncle tapped out the dent. The ring was not quite the same. But it was friendly, and it sounded a little like a laugh.

▲ This passage · 227 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

Marguerite's bicycle bell was the loudest on the block. It had a bright, silver ring that echoed down the street, and she had saved her allowance for three months to buy it. So when her friend Hiro asked to borrow it for the weekend parade, she hesitated.

"I'll be careful," Hiro promised. "I'll treat it like glass."

But on Sunday afternoon, a pothole bounced his bike, and the bell flew off and hit the curb. When Hiro picked it up, the little dome was dented, and the ring had changed into a dull clunk.

All evening, Hiro felt sick. He thought about hiding the bell in a drawer and saying he had lost it. Instead, he walked to Marguerite's house with the bell wrapped in a sock.

"I broke it," he said, and he handed it over. "I'm really sorry. I'll pay for a new one, even if it takes all summer."

Marguerite held the dented bell. She was upset, and she did not pretend that she wasn't. But she also noticed that Hiro had not run away from the problem.

"Thank you for telling me the truth," she said finally. "We'll fix it together. My uncle has a workshop."

On Saturday, her uncle tapped out the dent. The ring was not quite the same, but it was friendly, and it sounded a little like a laugh.

■ Harder · 243 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.9

Marguerite's bicycle bell was the loudest on the entire block. It produced a bright, silvery ring that echoed down the street, and she had saved her allowance for three whole months to buy it. So when her friend Hiro asked to borrow it for the weekend parade, she hesitated.

"I'll be extremely careful," Hiro promised. "I'll treat it like glass."

But on Sunday afternoon, a pothole jolted his bike, and the bell flew off and struck the curb. When Hiro picked it up, the little dome was dented, and the cheerful ring had turned into a dull clunk.

All evening, Hiro felt sick to his stomach. He considered hiding the bell in a drawer and claiming he had lost it. Instead, he wrapped it carefully in a sock and walked all the way to Marguerite's house.

"I broke it," he said, handing it over. "I'm truly sorry. I'll pay for a new one, even if it takes me the entire summer."

Marguerite held the dented bell in her palm. She was upset, and she did not pretend otherwise. But she also noticed that Hiro had not run away from the problem.

"Thank you for telling me the truth," she said at last. "We'll repair it together. My uncle has a workshop."

On Saturday, her uncle gently tapped out the dent. The ring was not quite the same as before, but it was warm and friendly, and it sounded a little like a laugh.

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 hesitated, pothole, dented and workshop 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 "The Borrowed Bicycle Bell"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 227 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.9. 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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