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The Hedgehog Who Sold Umbrellas

6th grade fiction passage about a hedgehog's umbrella shop: 235 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a hedgehog's umbrella shop 235 words

The Hedgehog Who Sold Umbrellas

A hedgehog named Burdock opened a shop at the edge of Mossgate Lane, and he sold one thing only: umbrellas. He made them from big leaves, bent twigs, and spider silk, and he was very proud of every one. The trouble was that it had not rained for three weeks, so customers walked past the display and kept going. A squirrel asked why anyone would need an umbrella when the sky was perfectly clear.

Burdock grew discouraged. His neighbor, a quiet mole named Tansy, suggested that he sell something else, like hats or fans, but Burdock shook his head and said that umbrellas were what he was good at. Instead of changing his shop, he changed his thinking. The next morning, he set up umbrellas in the sunniest part of the lane and painted a sign that read, "Shade for hot afternoons." By noon, a line of tired animals was waiting to borrow one.

When the rain finally came the following week, those same animals returned and bought their own, because they remembered the friendly hedgehog who had kept them cool in the sun. Burdock still sold only umbrellas, but he had learned that his goods could serve more than one need, and that the best shopkeepers notice what people truly want. It was not a dry umbrella in dry weather. It was comfort. Tansy smiled, and she bought a large green one for herself.

Questions

  1. What did Burdock sell in his shop? in the text

  2. Why were customers not buying umbrellas at first? in the text

  3. What did Tansy suggest Burdock do? in the text

  4. What did Burdock's new sign say? in the text

  5. Why did the animals come back and buy umbrellas when it rained? think about it

  6. What does the story suggest makes a good shopkeeper? think about it

Words to know

display
a group of items shown so people can see them
discouraged
feeling less hopeful or confident
silk
a fine, strong thread, such as the kind spiders spin
shopkeepers
people who own and run a shop
comfort
a feeling of being safe, cool, and at ease
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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 2.7

A hedgehog named Burdock opened a shop at the edge of Mossgate Lane. He sold one thing: umbrellas. He made them from big leaves, bent twigs, and spider silk. He was proud of every one.

The trouble was that it had not rained for three weeks. Customers walked past the display and kept going. "Why would I need that?" a squirrel said. "The sky is clear."

Burdock felt sad. His neighbor, a quiet mole named Tansy, said he could sell hats or fans instead. But Burdock shook his head. "I make umbrellas. That is what I am good at."

He did not change his shop. He changed his thinking. The next morning, he set up umbrellas in the sunniest part of the lane. He painted a sign: "Shade for hot afternoons." By noon, a line of tired animals waited to borrow one.

When the rain finally came the next week, those same animals came back and bought their own. They remembered the friendly hedgehog who had kept them cool.

Burdock still sold only umbrellas. But he learned that his goods could meet more than one need. The best shopkeepers notice what people truly want. In dry weather, it was not a dry umbrella. It was comfort.

Tansy smiled and bought a big green one.

▲ This passage · 235 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.7

A hedgehog named Burdock opened a shop at the edge of Mossgate Lane, and he sold one thing only: umbrellas. He made them from big leaves, bent twigs, and spider silk, and he was very proud of every one. The trouble was that it had not rained for three weeks, so customers walked past the display and kept going. A squirrel asked why anyone would need an umbrella when the sky was perfectly clear.

Burdock grew discouraged. His neighbor, a quiet mole named Tansy, suggested that he sell something else, like hats or fans, but Burdock shook his head and said that umbrellas were what he was good at. Instead of changing his shop, he changed his thinking. The next morning, he set up umbrellas in the sunniest part of the lane and painted a sign that read, "Shade for hot afternoons." By noon, a line of tired animals was waiting to borrow one.

When the rain finally came the following week, those same animals returned and bought their own, because they remembered the friendly hedgehog who had kept them cool in the sun. Burdock still sold only umbrellas, but he had learned that his goods could serve more than one need, and that the best shopkeepers notice what people truly want. It was not a dry umbrella in dry weather. It was comfort. Tansy smiled, and she bought a large green one for herself.

■ Harder · 252 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

A hedgehog named Burdock opened a small shop at the edge of Mossgate Lane. And he sold precisely one thing: umbrellas. He crafted them from enormous leaves, carefully bent twigs, and delicate spider silk. And he was extremely proud of every single one. The difficulty was that it had not rained for three entire weeks, so customers strolled past the display, glanced at it indifferently. And kept going. A squirrel remarked that nobody would possibly need an umbrella when the sky was perfectly clear.

Burdock grew discouraged. His neighbor, a quiet mole named Tansy, proposed that he sell something else, such as hats or fans, but Burdock shook his head and insisted that umbrellas were what he did best. Rather than changing his shop, he changed his thinking. The following morning, he arranged his umbrellas in the sunniest stretch of the lane and painted a sign reading "Shade for hot afternoons." By noon, a line of weary animals was waiting to borrow one.

When the rain finally arrived the following week, those same animals returned and purchased umbrellas of their own, because they remembered the friendly hedgehog who had kept them comfortable beneath the blazing sun. Burdock continued to sell only umbrellas, but he had discovered that his goods could satisfy more than one need. And that the finest shopkeepers pay attention to what people truly want. In dry weather, it was not a dry umbrella they wanted. It was comfort. Tansy smiled, and she bought a large green one for herself.

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 display, discouraged, silk, shopkeepers and comfort 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 Hedgehog Who Sold Umbrellas"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 235 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.7. 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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