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The Chore Wheel Rebellion

5th grade fiction passage about fair chores for three siblings: 218 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction fair chores for three siblings 218 words

The Chore Wheel Rebellion

The chore wheel hung on the refrigerator, and it was a disaster. Every Monday, Bo, Lucia, and their little brother Pip spun the arrow to see who would take out the trash, who would feed the cat, and who would set the table. Every Monday, Bo seemed to land on the trash.

"This wheel is rigged," Bo announced. "It hates me."

"It's a piece of cardboard," said Lucia, who had gotten the table, which was easy.

Bo did not give up. He borrowed a ruler and tracked the spins for a month. At the end, he showed his results at dinner, drawn in a neat chart. He had taken out the trash eleven times, and Lucia had done it only twice.

Their mother raised her eyebrows. "Well, that is not very fair."

Lucia looked at the chart for a long moment. Then she sighed. "I may have been moving the arrow when I spin," she admitted. "A little."

Bo's mouth fell open, and Pip burst out laughing.

They threw the old wheel away and made a new one together. This time, the three of them took turns spinning, and each person's name rotated one step every week. Bo got his first Monday off, and Lucia carried the trash cheerfully. She even said it smelled a little like justice.

Questions

  1. What was the chore wheel used for? in the text

  2. How did Bo collect proof that the wheel was unfair? in the text

  3. How many times did Bo take out the trash? in the text

  4. What did Lucia admit? in the text

  5. Why did the family make a new wheel? think about it

  6. Why might Lucia say the trash smelled like justice? think about it

Words to know

rigged
set up unfairly so that one result is more likely
tracked
kept a record of something over time
admitted
said that something was true, even though it was hard to say
rotated
moved around in turns
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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 · 207 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

The chore wheel hung on the fridge, and it was a mess. Every Monday, Bo, Lucia, and their little brother Pip spun the arrow. It said who would take out the trash, who would feed the cat, and who would set the table. Every Monday, Bo seemed to get the trash.

"This wheel is rigged," Bo said. "It hates me."

"It's a piece of cardboard," said Lucia. She had gotten the table, which was easy.

Bo did not give up. He used a ruler and a pen to keep track of the spins for a month. Then he showed everyone at dinner in a neat chart. He had taken out the trash eleven times. Lucia had done it only twice.

Their mother raised her eyebrows. "Well, that is not fair."

Lucia looked at the chart for a long time. Then she sighed. "I may have moved the arrow when I spin," she said. "A little."

Bo's mouth fell open. Pip burst out laughing.

They threw the old wheel away. They made a new one together. This time, each name moved one step every week. Bo got his first Monday off. Lucia took out the trash with a smile. She even said it smelled a little like justice.

▲ This passage · 218 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

The chore wheel hung on the refrigerator, and it was a disaster. Every Monday, Bo, Lucia, and their little brother Pip spun the arrow to see who would take out the trash, who would feed the cat, and who would set the table. Every Monday, Bo seemed to land on the trash.

"This wheel is rigged," Bo announced. "It hates me."

"It's a piece of cardboard," said Lucia, who had gotten the table, which was easy.

Bo did not give up. He borrowed a ruler and tracked the spins for a month. At the end, he showed his results at dinner, drawn in a neat chart. He had taken out the trash eleven times, and Lucia had done it only twice.

Their mother raised her eyebrows. "Well, that is not very fair."

Lucia looked at the chart for a long moment. Then she sighed. "I may have been moving the arrow when I spin," she admitted. "A little."

Bo's mouth fell open, and Pip burst out laughing.

They threw the old wheel away and made a new one together. This time, the three of them took turns spinning, and each person's name rotated one step every week. Bo got his first Monday off, and Lucia carried the trash cheerfully. She even said it smelled a little like justice.

■ Harder · 235 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.3

The chore wheel hung on the refrigerator door, and it had become a disaster. Every Monday, Bo, Lucia, and their little brother Pip gathered to spin the arrow, which decided who would take out the trash, who would feed the cat, and who would set the table. Every Monday, Bo somehow landed on the trash.

"This wheel is rigged," Bo announced. "It has a grudge against me."

"It's a piece of cardboard," said Lucia, who had been assigned the table, which was easy.

Bo refused to give up. He borrowed a ruler and a pen and carefully tracked every spin for an entire month. At the end, he presented his results at dinner, arranged in a tidy chart. He had taken out the trash eleven times, while Lucia had done it only twice.

Their mother raised her eyebrows. "Well, that certainly does not seem fair."

Lucia studied the chart for a long moment. Then she sighed deeply. "I may have been nudging the arrow whenever I spun it," she admitted. "Just a little."

Bo's mouth fell open, and Pip burst into giggles.

They threw the old wheel away and built a new one together. This time, the three of them took turns spinning, and every person's name rotated one step each week. Bo enjoyed his first Monday off, and Lucia carried the trash out cheerfully. She even remarked that it smelled a little like justice.

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 rigged, tracked, admitted and rotated 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 Chore Wheel Rebellion"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 218 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.8. 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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