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The Gap in the Tomato Fence

6th grade fiction passage about two neighbors and a shared garden fence: 251 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction two neighbors and a shared garden fence 251 words

The Gap in the Tomato Fence

Wes and Lila lived next door to each other, and each of them kept a garden along the same weathered wooden fence. They were not exactly friends. They were more like rivals, and the rivalry had started in April over a single question: whose tomatoes would ripen first?

Lila grew her tomato plants on her own side, where the afternoon sun was strongest, while Wes grew green beans on tall poles on his side. By July, the bean vines had climbed to the very tops of the poles and begun leaning across the fence, which cast a long, cool shadow over Lila's tomatoes. Lila yelled that his beans were stealing her sun, and Wes yelled back that her plants were crowding his beans.

That evening, Wes's older sister suggested a different way to look at the problem. She pointed out that tomatoes need plenty of sun, while beans only need something tall to climb, so perhaps they should swap places for the vines.

The next morning, Wes carried two poles to the far end of Lila's garden, where the fence cast a shadow of its own. Lila trimmed several of the leaning vines and tied them to the new poles. Her tomatoes had full sun once more, and Wes's beans had a proper place to grow.

In August they traded baskets over the fence: a bag of beans for a bag of tomatoes. "I still say mine ripened first," Lila said. "Then I demand a rematch next year," Wes replied, grinning.

Questions

  1. What started the rivalry between Wes and Lila? in the text

  2. What did Wes grow on his side of the fence? in the text

  3. Why was Lila upset in July? in the text

  4. What did Wes carry to the far end of Lila's garden? in the text

  5. Why was the new spot good for the bean vines? think about it

  6. Why do you think they traded baskets in August? think about it

Words to know

rivals
people who try to do better than each other
ripen
to become ready to eat
vines
long, thin plant stems that climb or creep
trimmed
cut away a little bit to make something neater
rematch
a second contest between the same people
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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 · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

Wes and Lila lived next door to each other. Each had a garden along the same wooden fence. They were not quite friends. They were more like rivals. It began in April with one question: whose tomatoes would ripen first?

Lila grew tomatoes on her side, where the afternoon sun was strongest. Wes grew green beans on poles on his side. By July, the bean vines had reached the tops of the poles. They began to lean over the fence. They gave Lila's tomatoes a long, cool shadow.

"Your beans are stealing my sun!" Lila yelled over the fence.

"Your plants are crowding my beans!" Wes yelled back.

That evening, Wes's older sister had an idea. "Tomatoes need lots of sun," she said. "Beans need something tall to climb. What if you swapped spots for the vines?"

The next morning, Wes carried two poles to the far end of Lila's garden. The fence made a shadow of its own there. Lila trimmed a few leaning vines and tied them to the new poles. Her tomatoes had full sun again. Wes's beans had a place to grow.

In August they traded bags over the fence: beans for tomatoes. "I still say mine ripened first," Lila said.

"Then I want a rematch next year," Wes said, grinning.

▲ This passage · 251 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.3

Wes and Lila lived next door to each other, and each of them kept a garden along the same weathered wooden fence. They were not exactly friends. They were more like rivals, and the rivalry had started in April over a single question: whose tomatoes would ripen first?

Lila grew her tomato plants on her own side, where the afternoon sun was strongest, while Wes grew green beans on tall poles on his side. By July, the bean vines had climbed to the very tops of the poles and begun leaning across the fence, which cast a long, cool shadow over Lila's tomatoes. Lila yelled that his beans were stealing her sun, and Wes yelled back that her plants were crowding his beans.

That evening, Wes's older sister suggested a different way to look at the problem. She pointed out that tomatoes need plenty of sun, while beans only need something tall to climb, so perhaps they should swap places for the vines.

The next morning, Wes carried two poles to the far end of Lila's garden, where the fence cast a shadow of its own. Lila trimmed several of the leaning vines and tied them to the new poles. Her tomatoes had full sun once more, and Wes's beans had a proper place to grow.

In August they traded baskets over the fence: a bag of beans for a bag of tomatoes. "I still say mine ripened first," Lila said. "Then I demand a rematch next year," Wes replied, grinning.

■ Harder · 255 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Wes and Lila lived next door to each other, and each of them tended a garden along the same weathered wooden fence. They were not exactly friends. They were more like rivals, and the rivalry had started in April over a single, stubborn question: whose tomatoes would ripen first?

Lila grew her tomato plants on her own side, where the afternoon sun was strongest, while Wes grew green beans on tall poles on his side. By July, the bean vines had climbed to the very tops of the poles and begun leaning across the fence, which cast a long, cool shadow over Lila's tomatoes. Lila yelled that his beans were stealing her sunshine, and Wes yelled back that her enormous plants were crowding his beans.

That evening, Wes's older sister suggested a completely different way to look at the problem. She pointed out that tomatoes require plenty of sun, while beans merely need something tall to climb, so perhaps they should swap places for the vines.

The next morning, Wes carried two poles to the far end of Lila's garden, where the fence cast a shadow of its own. Lila trimmed several of the leaning vines and tied them to the new poles. Her tomatoes enjoyed full sun once more, and Wes's beans had a proper place to flourish.

In August they traded baskets over the fence: a bag of beans for a bag of tomatoes. "I still insist that mine ripened first," Lila said. "Then I demand a rematch next year," Wes replied, grinning.

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 rivals, ripen, vines, trimmed and rematch 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 Gap in the Tomato Fence"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 251 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.3. 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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