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The Goat That Ate the Mayor's Speech

6th grade fiction passage about a goat and a lost speech: 263 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a goat and a lost speech 263 words

The Goat That Ate the Mayor's Speech

Mayor Odell Brisk had practiced her speech for a whole week, and it was fourteen pages long, because she wanted to welcome the new bridge to the town of Little Mudge in a truly memorable way. On the morning of the ribbon cutting, she laid the pages on a table behind the stage and went to shake hands with the enormous crowd.

Nobody noticed Biscuit, the mischievous goat who belonged to the bakery next door. Biscuit had slipped his rope again, and since paper smelled a little like toast to him, he wandered over and began to munch. By the time the mayor stepped up to the microphone, the table was bare except for one corner of page one.

"Friends," she began, and then she looked down at her empty hands. The crowd waited patiently while a small boy in the front row giggled. The mayor felt a wave of panic, but something else came out of her mouth. "I had a long speech," she said, "but it seems this bridge has a critic, and he found my words very tasty."

The audience roared with laughter, and Mayor Brisk kept going. She explained that a good bridge, like a good speech, should be short enough to cross before lunch. Then she cut the ribbon, and Biscuit, who had wandered onto the stage, ate that too.

Everyone agreed it was the best speech Little Mudge had ever heard. The following year, the town presented Biscuit with a tiny medal and a bucket of oats, and the mayor never wrote more than one page again.

Questions

  1. What was the mayor's speech supposed to welcome? in the text

  2. Who owned Biscuit the goat? in the text

  3. Why did Biscuit eat the paper? in the text

  4. What did the mayor do when she saw her empty hands? in the text

  5. Why did the crowd enjoy such a short speech? think about it

  6. Why did the mayor never write more than one page again? think about it

Words to know

ribbon
a long strip of cloth that is cut to open something new
microphone
a tool that makes a voice louder
panic
a sudden feeling of fear that is hard to control
critic
a person who judges and talks about the work of others
audience
the people who gather to watch or listen
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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 · 214 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.6

Mayor Odell Brisk worked on her speech for a week. It had fourteen pages. She wanted to welcome the new bridge in the town of Little Mudge. On the day of the ribbon cutting, she put the pages on a table behind the stage. Then she went to greet the crowd.

Nobody saw Biscuit. He was a goat from the bakery next door. He had slipped his rope again. Paper smelled a bit like toast to him, so he ate it. When the mayor came to the microphone, only one corner of page one was left.

"Friends," she said. Then she looked at her empty hands. The crowd waited. A little boy giggled. The mayor felt scared, but a joke came out. "I had a long speech," she said, "but this bridge has a critic. He liked my words. They were tasty."

Everyone laughed. The mayor kept going. She said a good bridge, like a good speech, should be short. You should cross it before lunch. Then she cut the ribbon. Biscuit walked onto the stage and ate that too.

Everyone said it was the best speech ever in Little Mudge. Next year the town gave Biscuit a small medal and a bucket of oats. The mayor never wrote more than one page again.

▲ This passage · 263 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

Mayor Odell Brisk had practiced her speech for a whole week, and it was fourteen pages long, because she wanted to welcome the new bridge to the town of Little Mudge in a truly memorable way. On the morning of the ribbon cutting, she laid the pages on a table behind the stage and went to shake hands with the enormous crowd.

Nobody noticed Biscuit, the mischievous goat who belonged to the bakery next door. Biscuit had slipped his rope again, and since paper smelled a little like toast to him, he wandered over and began to munch. By the time the mayor stepped up to the microphone, the table was bare except for one corner of page one.

"Friends," she began, and then she looked down at her empty hands. The crowd waited patiently while a small boy in the front row giggled. The mayor felt a wave of panic, but something else came out of her mouth. "I had a long speech," she said, "but it seems this bridge has a critic, and he found my words very tasty."

The audience roared with laughter, and Mayor Brisk kept going. She explained that a good bridge, like a good speech, should be short enough to cross before lunch. Then she cut the ribbon, and Biscuit, who had wandered onto the stage, ate that too.

Everyone agreed it was the best speech Little Mudge had ever heard. The following year, the town presented Biscuit with a tiny medal and a bucket of oats, and the mayor never wrote more than one page again.

■ Harder · 283 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.6

Mayor Odell Brisk had rehearsed her address for an entire week, and by the end it had grown to fourteen pages, because she hoped to welcome the new bridge into the town of Little Mudge in a truly unforgettable fashion. On the morning of the ribbon cutting, she arranged the pages on a table behind the stage and set off to shake hands with the enormous, cheerful crowd.

What nobody noticed was Biscuit, the mischievous goat who belonged to the bakery next door. Biscuit had slipped his rope yet again, and since paper smelled faintly of toast to him, he wandered over and began to munch contentedly. By the time the mayor stepped up to the microphone, nothing remained on the table except a single corner of page one.

"Friends," she began, and then she glanced down at her empty hands. The crowd waited patiently while a small boy in the front row giggled. A wave of panic washed over the mayor, yet something entirely different escaped from her mouth. "I had a long speech," she said, "but it appears this bridge has a critic, and he found my words delicious."

The audience erupted in laughter, and Mayor Brisk carried on with new confidence. She explained that a good bridge, like a good speech, ought to be short enough to cross before lunch. Then she cut the ribbon, and Biscuit, who had wandered onto the stage by then, devoured that as well.

Everyone agreed that it was the finest speech Little Mudge had ever heard. The following year, the grateful town presented Biscuit with a tiny medal and a bucket of oats, and the mayor never again wrote more than a single page.

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 ribbon, microphone, panic, critic and audience 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 Goat That Ate the Mayor's Speech"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 263 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.0. 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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