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Backwards Tuesday in Room 12

6th grade fiction passage about a school day done in reverse: 233 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a school day done in reverse 233 words

Backwards Tuesday in Room 12

Mrs. Abara adored wordplay, so on the last Tuesday of September, she announced that Room 12 would hold a Backwards Day. "Everything today happens in reverse," she explained. "Even this announcement. Class dismissed!"

Confused, the students stood up and walked toward the door, until Mrs. Abara chuckled and called them back. "In a backwards day, we say goodbye first and hello last," she said.

So they said goodbye to each other and sat down. They wrote the date at the bottom of the page and the title at the top, and Eli tried to read his book from the last page to the first, which spoiled the ending for him.

At nine o'clock, Mrs. Abara wrote a list of palindromes on the board, which are words that read the same forward and backward. "Racecar," she said. "Level. Kayak." Noor added "noon," and Theo proudly offered "madam" before realizing that he had used the wrong number of letters, and the class howled with laughter.

For lunch, they ate dessert first. The cafeteria staff served cookies, then sandwiches, then a single sad carrot, and Eli declared it the best lunch of his life, except for the carrot.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Abara said, "Good morning, everyone." The students yawned, stretched, and answered, "Good morning," as they walked home in the afternoon sun. Nobody forgot that day, and nobody ever got tired of palindromes.

Questions

  1. What happened on Backwards Day in Room 12? in the text

  2. What is a palindrome? in the text

  3. Which palindromes did the class find? in the text

  4. What did the students eat first at lunch? in the text

  5. Why did Eli spoil the ending for himself? think about it

  6. Why did Mrs. Abara say good morning at the end of the day? think about it

Words to know

wordplay
clever or funny use of words
reverse
the opposite way or order
dismissed
told to leave or go home
palindromes
words that read the same forward and backward
cafeteria
a school room where students eat meals
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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 · 213 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

Mrs. Abara loved wordplay. On the last Tuesday of September, she said Room 12 would have a Backwards Day. "Everything today happens in reverse," she said. "Even this announcement. Class dismissed!"

The students were confused. They stood up and walked toward the door. Mrs. Abara chuckled and called them back. "In a backwards day, we say goodbye first and hello last," she said.

So they said goodbye to each other and sat down. They wrote the date at the bottom of the page and the title at the top. Eli tried to read his book from the last page to the first. He spoiled the ending for himself.

At nine o'clock, Mrs. Abara wrote palindromes on the board. These are words that read the same forward and backward. "Racecar," she said. "Level. Kayak." Noor added "noon." Theo offered "madam" but had the wrong number of letters. The class howled.

For lunch they ate dessert first. The staff served cookies, then sandwiches, then one sad carrot. Eli said it was the best lunch of his life, except for the carrot.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Abara said, "Good morning, everyone." The students yawned and said, "Good morning." They walked home in the afternoon sun. Nobody forgot that day. Nobody got tired of palindromes.

▲ This passage · 233 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.7

Mrs. Abara adored wordplay, so on the last Tuesday of September, she announced that Room 12 would hold a Backwards Day. "Everything today happens in reverse," she explained. "Even this announcement. Class dismissed!"

Confused, the students stood up and walked toward the door, until Mrs. Abara chuckled and called them back. "In a backwards day, we say goodbye first and hello last," she said.

So they said goodbye to each other and sat down. They wrote the date at the bottom of the page and the title at the top, and Eli tried to read his book from the last page to the first, which spoiled the ending for him.

At nine o'clock, Mrs. Abara wrote a list of palindromes on the board, which are words that read the same forward and backward. "Racecar," she said. "Level. Kayak." Noor added "noon," and Theo proudly offered "madam" before realizing that he had used the wrong number of letters, and the class howled with laughter.

For lunch, they ate dessert first. The cafeteria staff served cookies, then sandwiches, then a single sad carrot, and Eli declared it the best lunch of his life, except for the carrot.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Abara said, "Good morning, everyone." The students yawned, stretched, and answered, "Good morning," as they walked home in the afternoon sun. Nobody forgot that day, and nobody ever got tired of palindromes.

■ Harder · 235 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Mrs. Abara adored wordplay, so on the last Tuesday of September, she announced that Room 12 would celebrate a Backwards Day. "Everything today happens in reverse," she explained. "Even this announcement. Class dismissed!"

Bewildered, the students stood up and marched toward the door, until Mrs. Abara chuckled and summoned them back. "On a backwards day, we say goodbye first and hello last," she said.

So they said goodbye to one another and sat down again. They wrote the date at the bottom of the page and the title at the top, and Eli attempted to read his book from the last page to the first, which spoiled the ending for him.

At nine o'clock, Mrs. Abara wrote a list of palindromes on the board, which are words that read the same forward and backward. "Racecar," she said. "Level. Kayak." Noor contributed "noon," and Theo proudly offered "madam" before realizing that he had used the wrong number of letters, and the entire class howled with laughter.

For lunch, they ate dessert first. The cafeteria staff served cookies, then sandwiches, then a single sad carrot, and Eli declared it the best lunch of his life, except for the carrot.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Abara said, "Good morning, everyone." The students yawned, stretched, and answered, "Good morning," as they strolled home in the afternoon sun. Nobody forgot that day, and nobody ever grew tired of palindromes.

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 wordplay, reverse, dismissed, palindromes and cafeteria 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 "Backwards Tuesday in Room 12"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 233 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.7. 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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