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Ezra's Hiccup Moved the Barn

6th grade fiction passage about a tall tale about a mighty hiccup: 239 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a tall tale about a mighty hiccup 239 words

Ezra's Hiccup Moved the Barn

Out in the flat country, folks tell of a farm boy named Ezra Cobb who once got the biggest case of hiccups in history. It began after breakfast on a Tuesday, and at first Ezra hiccupped quietly, like any other boy. By noon, however, each hiccup had the power of a small earthquake.

With the first big hiccup, the pig pen shifted three feet to the left. With the second, the chicken coop hopped over the fence, and by supper, the red barn had scooted a full yard across the pasture, while the cows stood in a line, wondering where their house had gone.

Ezra's grandmother tried all the usual cures. She asked him to hold his breath, and the next hiccup knocked the clock off the wall. She asked him to stand on his head, and he hiccupped so hard that he landed in the hay.

At last, his little sister Pearl brought a cup of cold water and a slow, steady idea. "Count backward from twenty," she said, "and take a sip between every number."

Ezra tried it. Seventeen, sip. Twelve, sip. By the time he reached three, his hiccups had faded to a single small squeak.

The barn never moved back. It sat beside the pond, with a better view and shade from the willow tree, and Ezra's grandmother said it was the finest spot on the farm, and she thanked the hiccup for finding it.

Questions

  1. What happened to the pig pen with the first big hiccup? in the text

  2. What cures did Ezra's grandmother try? in the text

  3. What cure finally worked? in the text

  4. Where did the barn end up? in the text

  5. Why did the cows stand in a line looking puzzled? think about it

  6. Why was Pearl's cure different from the grandmother's? think about it

Words to know

hiccup
a quick, jerky sound made by the chest and throat
earthquake
a shaking of the ground
pasture
a field where animals eat grass
cures
ways to make a problem go away
steady
calm and even, not jumpy
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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 · 224 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

Out in the flat country, people tell of a farm boy named Ezra Cobb. He once had the biggest hiccups in history. It began after breakfast on a Tuesday. At first Ezra hiccupped quietly, like any boy. By noon each hiccup had the power of a small earthquake.

With the first big hiccup, the pig pen shifted three feet to the left. With the second, the chicken coop hopped over the fence. By supper the red barn had scooted a whole yard across the pasture. The cows stood in a line. They wondered where their house had gone.

Ezra's grandmother tried the usual cures. She asked him to hold his breath. The next hiccup knocked the clock off the wall. She asked him to stand on his head. He hiccupped so hard he landed in the hay.

At last his little sister Pearl brought a cup of cold water and a slow idea. "Count backward from twenty," she said. "Take a sip between each number."

Ezra tried it. Seventeen, sip. Twelve, sip. When he got to three, his hiccups had faded to one small squeak.

The barn never moved back. It sat beside the pond. It had a better view and shade from the willow tree. Ezra's grandmother said it was the best spot on the farm. She thanked the hiccup for finding it.

▲ This passage · 239 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.4

Out in the flat country, folks tell of a farm boy named Ezra Cobb who once got the biggest case of hiccups in history. It began after breakfast on a Tuesday, and at first Ezra hiccupped quietly, like any other boy. By noon, however, each hiccup had the power of a small earthquake.

With the first big hiccup, the pig pen shifted three feet to the left. With the second, the chicken coop hopped over the fence, and by supper, the red barn had scooted a full yard across the pasture, while the cows stood in a line, wondering where their house had gone.

Ezra's grandmother tried all the usual cures. She asked him to hold his breath, and the next hiccup knocked the clock off the wall. She asked him to stand on his head, and he hiccupped so hard that he landed in the hay.

At last, his little sister Pearl brought a cup of cold water and a slow, steady idea. "Count backward from twenty," she said, "and take a sip between every number."

Ezra tried it. Seventeen, sip. Twelve, sip. By the time he reached three, his hiccups had faded to a single small squeak.

The barn never moved back. It sat beside the pond, with a better view and shade from the willow tree, and Ezra's grandmother said it was the finest spot on the farm, and she thanked the hiccup for finding it.

■ Harder · 247 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Out in the flat country, folks tell the tale of a farm boy named Ezra Cobb, who once suffered the most colossal case of hiccups in history. It began after breakfast on a Tuesday, and at first Ezra hiccupped quietly, like any ordinary boy. By noon, however, each hiccup carried the force of a small earthquake.

With the first enormous hiccup, the pig pen shifted three feet to the left. With the second, the chicken coop hopped clean over the fence, and by supper, the red barn had scooted a full yard across the pasture, while the bewildered cows stood in a line, wondering where their house had gone.

Ezra's grandmother attempted all of the traditional cures. She asked him to hold his breath, and the very next hiccup knocked the clock off the wall. She asked him to stand on his head, and he hiccupped so violently that he landed in the hay.

At last, his little sister Pearl arrived with a cup of cold water and a slow, steady idea. "Count backward from twenty," she suggested, "and take a sip between every number."

Ezra tried it. Seventeen, sip. Twelve, sip. By the time he reached three, his hiccups had dwindled to a single small squeak.

The barn never moved back. It settled beside the pond, with a better view and welcome shade from the willow tree, and Ezra's grandmother declared it the finest spot on the farm, and she thanked the hiccup for discovering it.

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 hiccup, earthquake, pasture, cures and steady 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 "Ezra's Hiccup Moved the Barn"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 239 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.4. 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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