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The Casserole Dish That Never Came Home

6th grade fiction passage about neighbors passing a dish around: 270 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction neighbors passing a dish around 270 words

The Casserole Dish That Never Came Home

In the apartment building on Alder Street, a glass casserole dish with a blue lid had mysteriously disappeared. Priya noticed the empty space in the cupboard on Monday, when her mother frowned and explained that she had lent it to Mr. Ferris upstairs three weeks earlier. Priya volunteered to retrieve it, so she climbed to the third floor and knocked on his door.

Mr. Ferris looked embarrassed. He admitted that he had filled the dish with cornbread and carried it down to Mrs. Quan, whose knee had been giving her trouble. Priya went down to the second floor, where Mrs. Quan smiled and said that she had passed the dish along with noodles for the family in 4B, who had just brought a new baby home.

At 4B a tired father held the dish and confessed that they had meant to return it, but the baby had been crying all evening. Besides, it was now full of cookies for the neighbor downstairs, who had watered their plants while they were away.

Priya counted on her fingers. The dish had visited five kitchens, and each time it had traveled with a kind note taped under the lid. She felt a little dizzy with surprise, and when she finally reached the ground floor, she did not take the dish home. Instead she wrote "Next, please" on a scrap of paper, tucked it under the lid, filled the dish with warm rice from her own kitchen, and knocked on the nearest door.

Her mother only laughed when Priya came back with empty hands. "Good," she said. "A dish like that should keep working."

Questions

  1. What was missing from Priya's mother's cupboard? in the text

  2. Why did Mr. Ferris take cornbread to Mrs. Quan? in the text

  3. Why did Mrs. Quan fill the dish with noodles for the family in 4B? in the text

  4. What was taped under the lid each time the dish traveled? in the text

  5. Why did Priya feel dizzy with surprise? think about it

  6. Why did Priya's mother say the dish should keep working? think about it

Words to know

casserole
a dish of food baked and served in the same pan
volunteered
offered to do something without being asked
embarrassed
feeling shy or uncomfortable about something
admitted
said that something was true, even if it was hard to say
tucked
pushed something into a small space so it stays put
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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 · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3

In the apartment building on Alder Street, a glass dish with a blue lid was gone. Priya saw the empty spot in the cupboard on Monday. Her mother frowned. "I lent it to Mr. Ferris upstairs," she said. "That was three weeks ago."

Priya went to get it. She climbed to the third floor and knocked. Mr. Ferris looked shy. "I put cornbread in it for Mrs. Quan," he said. "Her knee was bad."

So Priya went to the second floor. Mrs. Quan smiled. "I filled it with noodles for the family in 4B. They just brought a new baby home."

At 4B a tired father held the dish. "We meant to return it," he said, "but the baby was crying. And now it is full of cookies for the neighbor downstairs. She watered our plants."

Priya counted on her fingers. The dish had been in five kitchens. Each time, a kind note had been taped under the lid. She felt a little dizzy.

At the ground floor, she did not take the dish home. She wrote, "Next, please," on a piece of paper. She tucked it under the lid. She filled the dish with warm rice from her kitchen and knocked on the nearest door.

Her mother laughed when Priya came back with empty hands. "Good," she said. "A dish like that should keep working."

▲ This passage · 270 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

In the apartment building on Alder Street, a glass casserole dish with a blue lid had mysteriously disappeared. Priya noticed the empty space in the cupboard on Monday, when her mother frowned and explained that she had lent it to Mr. Ferris upstairs three weeks earlier. Priya volunteered to retrieve it, so she climbed to the third floor and knocked on his door.

Mr. Ferris looked embarrassed. He admitted that he had filled the dish with cornbread and carried it down to Mrs. Quan, whose knee had been giving her trouble. Priya went down to the second floor, where Mrs. Quan smiled and said that she had passed the dish along with noodles for the family in 4B, who had just brought a new baby home.

At 4B a tired father held the dish and confessed that they had meant to return it, but the baby had been crying all evening. Besides, it was now full of cookies for the neighbor downstairs, who had watered their plants while they were away.

Priya counted on her fingers. The dish had visited five kitchens, and each time it had traveled with a kind note taped under the lid. She felt a little dizzy with surprise, and when she finally reached the ground floor, she did not take the dish home. Instead she wrote "Next, please" on a scrap of paper, tucked it under the lid, filled the dish with warm rice from her own kitchen, and knocked on the nearest door.

Her mother only laughed when Priya came back with empty hands. "Good," she said. "A dish like that should keep working."

■ Harder · 276 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

In the apartment building on Alder Street, a glass casserole dish with a blue lid had mysteriously disappeared. Priya noticed the empty space in the cupboard on Monday, when her mother frowned and explained that she had lent it to Mr. Ferris upstairs about three weeks earlier. Priya volunteered to retrieve it, so she climbed to the third floor and knocked on his door.

Mr. Ferris looked embarrassed. He admitted that he had filled the dish with cornbread and carried it down to Mrs. Quan, whose knee had been giving her considerable trouble. Priya descended to the second floor, where Mrs. Quan smiled warmly and said that she had passed the dish along, filled with noodles, to the family in 4B, who had just brought a new baby home.

At 4B a weary father held the dish and confessed that they had fully intended to return it, but the baby had been crying all evening. Besides, it was now packed with cookies for the neighbor downstairs, who had generously watered their plants while the family was away.

Priya counted on her fingers. The dish had visited five different kitchens, and each time it had traveled with a thoughtful note taped beneath the lid. She felt a little dizzy with astonishment, and when she finally reached the ground floor, she did not carry the dish home. Instead she wrote "Next, please" on a scrap of paper, tucked it under the lid, filled the dish with warm rice from her own kitchen, and knocked on the nearest door.

Her mother only laughed when Priya returned empty-handed. "Good," she said. "A dish like that ought to keep working."

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 casserole, volunteered, embarrassed, admitted and tucked 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 3 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 Casserole Dish That Never Came Home"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 270 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.5. 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 3 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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