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The Lemon Tree Swap

5th grade fiction passage about neighbors who share: 236 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction neighbors who share 236 words

The Lemon Tree Swap

Nora's family had a lemon tree in the backyard, and this summer it was loaded with so much fruit that the branches bent low. Nora's mother made lemonade, lemon cake, and lemon rice, but the tree still seemed full.

"We cannot eat all of these," said Nora, "and they will rot on the ground before anyone can use them." She looked over the fence at the yard next door, where Mrs. Kim had a vegetable garden. Nora could see tomatoes turning red and long green beans hanging from the vines.

An idea popped into her head. Nora filled a basket with ripe lemons and knocked on Mrs. Kim's door. "We have more lemons than we can use," she said. "Would you like some?"

Mrs. Kim's face lit up. "Thank you, Nora! I love lemons. Wait just a moment." She disappeared into the garden and came back with a bag of tomatoes and beans. "Here is a little something from my yard."

Soon the idea spread. The man across the street offered a jar of honey from his bees. A girl down the block brought over a loaf of banana bread. Nora painted a sign that read "Swap Table" and set it on the sidewalk with a basket of lemons.

By the end of the summer, the whole street was trading. Nora learned that sharing what she had left over could bring back more than she gave.

Questions

  1. What was the problem at the start of the story? in the text

  2. What did Mrs. Kim give Nora in return for lemons? in the text

  3. What did Nora write on her sign? in the text

  4. Why did Nora knock on Mrs. Kim's door? think about it

  5. What lesson did Nora learn? think about it

Words to know

loaded
carrying a very large amount
ripe
fully grown and ready to eat
vines
long, thin plant stems that climb or spread
swap
to trade one thing for another
offered
held out something for someone to take
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 · 222 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Nora's family had a lemon tree in the backyard. This summer it was full of fruit. There were so many lemons that the branches bent low. Nora's mother made lemonade, lemon cake, and lemon rice. But the tree still seemed full.

"We cannot eat all of these," said Nora. "They will rot on the ground." She looked over the fence at the yard next door. Mrs. Kim had a vegetable garden. Nora could see red tomatoes and long green beans on the vines.

Then Nora had an idea. She filled a basket with ripe lemons. She knocked on Mrs. Kim's door. "We have more lemons than we can use," she said. "Would you like some?"

Mrs. Kim's face lit up. "Thank you, Nora! I love lemons. Wait a moment." She went into the garden. She came back with a bag of tomatoes and beans. "Here is a little something from my yard."

Soon the idea spread. The man across the street gave a jar of honey from his bees. A girl down the block brought a loaf of banana bread. Nora painted a sign that said "Swap Table." She set it on the sidewalk with a basket of lemons.

By the end of summer, the whole street was trading. Nora learned that sharing extra things can bring back more than you give.

▲ This passage · 236 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

Nora's family had a lemon tree in the backyard, and this summer it was loaded with so much fruit that the branches bent low. Nora's mother made lemonade, lemon cake, and lemon rice, but the tree still seemed full.

"We cannot eat all of these," said Nora, "and they will rot on the ground before anyone can use them." She looked over the fence at the yard next door, where Mrs. Kim had a vegetable garden. Nora could see tomatoes turning red and long green beans hanging from the vines.

An idea popped into her head. Nora filled a basket with ripe lemons and knocked on Mrs. Kim's door. "We have more lemons than we can use," she said. "Would you like some?"

Mrs. Kim's face lit up. "Thank you, Nora! I love lemons. Wait just a moment." She disappeared into the garden and came back with a bag of tomatoes and beans. "Here is a little something from my yard."

Soon the idea spread. The man across the street offered a jar of honey from his bees. A girl down the block brought over a loaf of banana bread. Nora painted a sign that read "Swap Table" and set it on the sidewalk with a basket of lemons.

By the end of the summer, the whole street was trading. Nora learned that sharing what she had left over could bring back more than she gave.

■ Harder · 243 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7

Nora's family owned a lemon tree in the backyard, and this summer it was heavily loaded with fruit. There were so many lemons that the branches sagged toward the ground. Nora's mother had made lemonade, lemon cake, and lemon rice, yet the tree still appeared to be overflowing.

"We cannot possibly eat all of these," said Nora. "They will rot on the ground." She gazed over the fence at the yard next door. Mrs. Kim tended a vegetable garden, and Nora could see tomatoes ripening to red and long green beans dangling from the vines.

An idea popped into her head. Nora filled a basket with ripe lemons and knocked on Mrs. Kim's door. "We have more lemons than we can use," she explained. "Would you like some?"

Mrs. Kim's face brightened. "Thank you, Nora! I adore lemons. Wait just a moment." She vanished into the garden and returned with a bag of tomatoes and beans. "Here is a little something from my yard."

Soon the idea spread throughout the neighborhood. The man across the street offered a jar of honey from his bees, and a girl down the block delivered a loaf of banana bread. Nora painted a sign that read "Swap Table" and placed it on the sidewalk beside a basket of lemons.

By the end of the summer, the entire street was trading. Nora had discovered that sharing what she had left over could bring back more than she gave.

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 loaded, ripe, vines, swap and offered 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 "The Lemon Tree Swap"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 236 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 five. 3 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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