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The Dragon Who Paid Off Overdue Library Books

6th grade fiction passage about a dragon with a library fine: 229 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a dragon with a library fine 229 words

The Dragon Who Paid Off Overdue Library Books

Ember the dragon had borrowed a book about volcanoes, and he had kept it for ninety-one days. When he finally flew down to the Maplewick Library, he held it in both claws like a sleeping bird.

"That comes to forty-five coins in fines," said Ms. Adeyemi, the librarian, after checking her ledger.

Ember's tail drooped. Dragons love treasure, and his hoard was his whole pride. He peeked at the pile of coins in his satchel and sighed. Then he noticed a stack of soggy books on a cart near the door. A pipe had leaked over the weekend, and the pages were wrinkled and damp.

"Excuse me," Ember said. "If I breathe warm air very gently, I might dry those without burning them. Could that count toward my fine?"

Ms. Adeyemi raised her eyebrows. She was not certain, but she agreed to try one book. Ember crouched low and let out a slow, steady breath, as soft as a summer breeze. The pages flattened and stiffened, and the library smelled of toast and old paper.

He dried the whole cart that afternoon without singeing a single cover. At closing time Ms. Adeyemi crossed out the fine in her ledger and offered him a library card of his own. Ember kept most of his coins, and he came back every Friday to dry the books and borrow another.

Questions

  1. What was the book Ember borrowed about? in the text

  2. How much was the fine in coins? in the text

  3. Why were the books on the cart damp? in the text

  4. How did Ember dry the books without damaging them? in the text

  5. Why did Ember's tail droop when he heard the fine? think about it

  6. Why was Ms. Adeyemi careful to try just one book first? think about it

Words to know

librarian
a person who takes care of a library and its books
ledger
a book where money amounts are written down
hoard
a secret pile of treasure
satchel
a bag carried over the shoulder
singeing
burning slightly at the edges
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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 · 219 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2

Ember the dragon had borrowed a book about volcanoes. He kept it for ninety-one days. At last he flew to the Maplewick Library. He held the book in both claws like a sleeping bird.

"That is forty-five coins in fines," said Ms. Adeyemi, the librarian. She looked in her ledger.

Ember's tail drooped. Dragons love treasure. His hoard was his pride. He peeked at the coins in his bag and sighed. Then he saw a stack of wet books on a cart by the door. A pipe had leaked over the weekend. The pages were wrinkled and damp.

"Excuse me," Ember said. "If I breathe warm air very gently, I might dry those books. I would not burn them. Could that pay for my fine?"

Ms. Adeyemi raised her eyebrows. She was not sure. But she said he could try one book. Ember crouched low. He let out a slow, soft breath like a summer breeze. The pages flattened and dried. The library smelled like toast and old paper.

He dried the whole cart that afternoon. He did not burn a single cover. At closing time Ms. Adeyemi crossed out the fine. She gave him a library card. Ember kept most of his coins. He came back every Friday to dry books and borrow a new one.

▲ This passage · 229 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1

Ember the dragon had borrowed a book about volcanoes, and he had kept it for ninety-one days. When he finally flew down to the Maplewick Library, he held it in both claws like a sleeping bird.

"That comes to forty-five coins in fines," said Ms. Adeyemi, the librarian, after checking her ledger.

Ember's tail drooped. Dragons love treasure, and his hoard was his whole pride. He peeked at the pile of coins in his satchel and sighed. Then he noticed a stack of soggy books on a cart near the door. A pipe had leaked over the weekend, and the pages were wrinkled and damp.

"Excuse me," Ember said. "If I breathe warm air very gently, I might dry those without burning them. Could that count toward my fine?"

Ms. Adeyemi raised her eyebrows. She was not certain, but she agreed to try one book. Ember crouched low and let out a slow, steady breath, as soft as a summer breeze. The pages flattened and stiffened, and the library smelled of toast and old paper.

He dried the whole cart that afternoon without singeing a single cover. At closing time Ms. Adeyemi crossed out the fine in her ledger and offered him a library card of his own. Ember kept most of his coins, and he came back every Friday to dry the books and borrow another.

■ Harder · 255 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Ember the dragon had borrowed a book about volcanoes, and he had then kept it for a full ninety-one days. When he finally flew down to the Maplewick Library, he carried the book in both claws as carefully as if it were a sleeping bird.

"That comes to forty-five coins in fines," announced Ms. Adeyemi, the librarian, after consulting her ledger.

Ember's tail drooped to the floor. Dragons adore treasure, and his hoard was the great pride of his life. He peeked at the pile of coins in his satchel and sighed heavily. Then he noticed a stack of soggy books on a cart near the door. A pipe had leaked over the weekend, and every page was wrinkled and damp.

"Excuse me," Ember said politely. "If I breathe warm air very gently, I might be able to dry those without burning them. Could that count toward my fine?"

Ms. Adeyemi raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was far from certain, but she agreed to let him try a single book. Ember crouched low and released a slow, steady breath, as soft as a summer breeze. The pages flattened and stiffened, and the whole library smelled of toast and old paper.

He dried the entire cart that afternoon without singeing a single cover. At closing time Ms. Adeyemi crossed the fine out of her ledger and presented him with a library card of his own. Ember kept most of his coins, and he returned every Friday to dry the books and borrow another.

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 librarian, ledger, hoard, satchel and singeing 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 "The Dragon Who Paid Off Overdue Library Books"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 229 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.1. 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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