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The Chess Clock Truce

6th grade fiction passage about siblings sharing one tablet: 261 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction siblings sharing one tablet 261 words

The Chess Clock Truce

Ravi and his sister Dina owned exactly one tablet, and they quarreled about it every single afternoon. Dina would shout that Ravi had been using it forever, and Ravi would shout that he was almost finished with level nine. Their parents eventually ran out of patience, and the tablet had been sitting on top of the refrigerator since Sunday.

On Thursday, Grandpa arrived carrying a dusty wooden box with an old chess clock inside. It had two faces and two big buttons, and he explained that when you press your button, your own time runs and the other player's time stops. "Give it a try," he said.

Ravi set both sides for thirty minutes and pressed his button, and the clock began to tick. It felt strange. He suddenly noticed how quickly his minutes were draining away, and he paused to think about how he really wanted to spend them.

When his half hour ended, he handed over the tablet without a fuss. Dina played during her turn, and she did not waste a single minute chatting. By the third day, something unexpected happened. Dina stopped the clock early because she was bored with her level, and she gave Ravi her last ten minutes. The next day Ravi returned the favor when he saw her working on a drawing.

Mom found the clock sitting beside the tablet one evening and shook her head in wonder. "I thought you two needed a referee," she said.

"We needed a ticking noise," said Ravi. "It's easier to be fair when you can hear it."

Questions

  1. What did Ravi and Dina argue about? in the text

  2. What did Grandpa bring? in the text

  3. How much time did Ravi set on each side of the clock? in the text

  4. What happens to your own time when you press your button? in the text

  5. Why did Ravi think more carefully about how to use his time? think about it

  6. Why did Ravi say it was easier to be fair when you can hear it? think about it

Words to know

patience
the ability to stay calm while waiting or when things are hard
draining
slowly running out or getting used up
fuss
a lot of unnecessary complaining
referee
a person who makes sure a game is played fairly
tablet
a flat computer that you hold and touch to use
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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 · 217 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

Ravi and his sister Dina had one tablet. They fought about it every afternoon. "You've had it forever!" Dina would shout. "I'm on level nine!" Ravi would shout back. Their parents ran out of patience. The tablet sat on top of the refrigerator since Sunday.

On Thursday, Grandpa came with a dusty wooden box. Inside was an old chess clock with two faces and two big buttons. "When you press your button, your time runs and the other one stops," he said. "Try it."

Ravi set both sides for thirty minutes. He pressed his button. The clock began to tick. It felt strange. He could see his time running out, so he thought about how to use it.

When his half hour ended, he handed over the tablet. He did not fuss. Dina played for her half hour. She did not waste one minute chatting.

By the third day, something odd happened. Dina stopped the clock early. "I'm bored with this level," she said. "You can have my last ten minutes." The next day Ravi did the same when he saw her drawing.

Mom found the clock beside the tablet one evening. "I thought you needed a referee," she said.

"We needed a ticking sound," said Ravi. "It's easier to be fair when you can hear it."

▲ This passage · 261 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Ravi and his sister Dina owned exactly one tablet, and they quarreled about it every single afternoon. Dina would shout that Ravi had been using it forever, and Ravi would shout that he was almost finished with level nine. Their parents eventually ran out of patience, and the tablet had been sitting on top of the refrigerator since Sunday.

On Thursday, Grandpa arrived carrying a dusty wooden box with an old chess clock inside. It had two faces and two big buttons, and he explained that when you press your button, your own time runs and the other player's time stops. "Give it a try," he said.

Ravi set both sides for thirty minutes and pressed his button, and the clock began to tick. It felt strange. He suddenly noticed how quickly his minutes were draining away, and he paused to think about how he really wanted to spend them.

When his half hour ended, he handed over the tablet without a fuss. Dina played during her turn, and she did not waste a single minute chatting. By the third day, something unexpected happened. Dina stopped the clock early because she was bored with her level, and she gave Ravi her last ten minutes. The next day Ravi returned the favor when he saw her working on a drawing.

Mom found the clock sitting beside the tablet one evening and shook her head in wonder. "I thought you two needed a referee," she said.

"We needed a ticking noise," said Ravi. "It's easier to be fair when you can hear it."

■ Harder · 268 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

Ravi and his sister Dina owned exactly one tablet, and they quarreled about it every single afternoon. Dina would shout that Ravi had been monopolizing it forever, and Ravi would shout that he was almost finished with level nine. Their parents eventually ran out of patience, and the tablet had been sitting on top of the refrigerator since Sunday.

On Thursday, Grandpa arrived carrying a dusty wooden box that held an antique chess clock. It had two faces and two enormous buttons, and he explained that when you press your button, your own time runs while the other player's time stops. "Give it a try," he said.

Ravi set both sides for thirty minutes and pressed his button, and the clock began to tick. It felt strange. He suddenly noticed how quickly his minutes were draining away, and he paused to consider how he truly wanted to spend them.

When his half hour ended, he handed over the tablet without any fuss. Dina played during her turn, and she did not waste a single minute chatting. By the third day, something completely unexpected happened. Dina stopped the clock early because she was bored with her level, and she generously offered Ravi her last ten minutes. The next day Ravi returned the favor when he noticed her working on a drawing.

Mom found the clock sitting beside the tablet one evening and shook her head in wonder. "I thought you two needed a referee," she said.

"We needed a ticking noise," said Ravi. "It turns out that it's much easier to be fair when you can actually hear 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 patience, draining, fuss, referee and tablet 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 Chess Clock Truce"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 261 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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