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The Soup Thermos Trade

5th grade fiction passage about sharing different lunches: 215 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction sharing different lunches 215 words

The Soup Thermos Trade

Anselm unscrewed his thermos at lunch, and a rich, spicy steam rose up toward the cafeteria ceiling. His grandfather had made lentil soup the night before, with garlic and lemon. At home, it was his favorite meal in the world. At school, it felt like a flag that said, "Look at me!"

At the next seat, Kiki watched him from behind her sandwich. "What is that?" she asked. She did not sound unkind, because she sounded extremely curious.

Anselm shrugged and tried to cover the thermos with his arm. "Just soup. It's weird."

"It smells amazing," Kiki said. "Mine is peanut butter, again. My dad makes it the same way every single day."

Anselm hesitated. Then he poured a little soup into the thermos lid and slid it carefully across the table. "Try it," he said. "Careful, it's hot."

Kiki sipped, and her eyes went wide. "Whoa. Can I have more?"

The next day, she brought a small container of her own, which held crispy rice crackers that her aunt had sent from far away. She split them with Anselm, and soon the whole table was trading bites. Someone brought dumplings, and someone else brought sweet bread.

When Anselm went home, his grandfather asked how lunch had gone. "Perfect," said Anselm. "Next time, make extra."

Questions

  1. What kind of soup did Anselm's grandfather make? in the text

  2. Why did the soup feel like a flag at school? in the text

  3. What was Kiki's lunch? in the text

  4. What did Kiki bring the next day? in the text

  5. Why did Anselm hide his thermos at first? think about it

  6. Why did Anselm ask his grandfather to make extra? think about it

Words to know

lentil
a small, round bean that is cooked in soups
curious
wanting to know or learn about something
hesitated
paused because you were not sure
dumplings
small pockets of dough filled with food
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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 · 192 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Anselm opened his thermos at lunch. A rich, spicy steam rose up. His grandfather had made lentil soup the night before, with garlic and lemon. At home, it was his favorite meal. At school, it felt like a flag that said, "Look at me!"

In the next seat, Kiki watched him from behind her sandwich. "What is that?" she asked. She did not sound mean. She sounded curious.

Anselm shrugged and tried to cover the thermos with his arm. "Just soup. It's weird."

"It smells amazing," Kiki said. "Mine is peanut butter, again. My dad makes it the same way every day."

Anselm paused. Then he poured a little soup into the lid and slid it across the table. "Try it," he said. "Careful, it's hot."

Kiki sipped, and her eyes went wide. "Whoa. Can I have more?"

The next day, she brought a small box of her own. It held crispy rice crackers from her aunt. She split them with Anselm. Soon the whole table was trading bites. Someone brought dumplings. Someone else brought sweet bread.

At home, his grandfather asked how lunch went. "Perfect," said Anselm. "Next time, make extra."

▲ This passage · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Anselm unscrewed his thermos at lunch, and a rich, spicy steam rose up toward the cafeteria ceiling. His grandfather had made lentil soup the night before, with garlic and lemon. At home, it was his favorite meal in the world. At school, it felt like a flag that said, "Look at me!"

At the next seat, Kiki watched him from behind her sandwich. "What is that?" she asked. She did not sound unkind, because she sounded extremely curious.

Anselm shrugged and tried to cover the thermos with his arm. "Just soup. It's weird."

"It smells amazing," Kiki said. "Mine is peanut butter, again. My dad makes it the same way every single day."

Anselm hesitated. Then he poured a little soup into the thermos lid and slid it carefully across the table. "Try it," he said. "Careful, it's hot."

Kiki sipped, and her eyes went wide. "Whoa. Can I have more?"

The next day, she brought a small container of her own, which held crispy rice crackers that her aunt had sent from far away. She split them with Anselm, and soon the whole table was trading bites. Someone brought dumplings, and someone else brought sweet bread.

When Anselm went home, his grandfather asked how lunch had gone. "Perfect," said Anselm. "Next time, make extra."

■ Harder · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.9

Anselm unscrewed his thermos at lunchtime, and a rich, spicy steam drifted upward. His grandfather had prepared lentil soup the night before, flavored with garlic and lemon. At home, it was his favorite meal in the world. At school, however, it felt like a flag that announced, "Look at me!"

At the next seat, Kiki watched him from behind her sandwich. "What is that?" she asked. She did not sound unkind. She sounded genuinely curious.

Anselm shrugged and tried to hide the thermos behind his arm. "Just soup. It's weird."

"It smells amazing," Kiki said. "Mine is peanut butter, again. My dad makes it exactly the same way every single day."

Anselm hesitated for a moment. Then he poured a little soup into the thermos lid and slid it across the table. "Try it," he said. "Careful, it's hot."

Kiki took a sip, and her eyes widened. "Whoa. Can I have more?"

The following day, she brought a small container of her own, filled with crispy rice crackers that her aunt had sent. She split them with Anselm, and before long, the whole table was trading bites. Someone contributed dumplings, and someone else brought sweet bread.

When Anselm arrived home, his grandfather asked how lunch had gone. "Perfect," said Anselm. "Next time, please make extra."

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 lentil, curious, hesitated and dumplings 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 Soup Thermos Trade"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 215 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.5. 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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