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The Scarf Map That Unraveled Toward Home

6th grade fiction passage about a knitted scarf that guides you: 234 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a knitted scarf that guides you 234 words

The Scarf Map That Unraveled Toward Home

Bram's grandmother knitted a long green scarf for him every winter, and every winter it was a little longer. This year's scarf had a loose thread at one end, and she warned him not to pull it. "That thread knows the way home," she said, "but only use it if you truly need to."

Bram forgot about the warning until a gray afternoon in the hills. He had been following a sheep trail, and now the fog was thick as porridge. Every rock looked the same. Every path split into two more paths. His boots were getting damp, and the sky was turning dark.

Remembering her words, Bram took a breath and gave the loose thread one gentle tug. The scarf began to unravel in a thin green line. The line floated into the air and drifted forward like a ribbon on a breeze, leading around boulders and under a leaning pine. Bram followed it carefully, keeping his eyes on the glowing green stitches.

After about twenty minutes, the thread slipped through a gap in a stone wall and ended at his own back gate. The kitchen window was warm and yellow. Bram picked up the thread and found his scarf whole again, as long as before, with a new row of stitches shaped like a tiny door.

His grandmother only smiled when he told her, and she handed him a mug of cocoa.

Questions

  1. What did Bram's grandmother warn him about? in the text

  2. What was the weather like when Bram got lost? in the text

  3. What happened to the scarf when Bram tugged the thread? in the text

  4. Where did the thread end? in the text

  5. Why do you think the scarf looked whole again when Bram reached home? think about it

  6. What can you tell about the grandmother from the way she acts at the end? think about it

Words to know

unravel
to come apart into loose threads
porridge
a thick, soft hot cereal
boulders
very large rocks
stitches
loops of yarn in knitting
trail
a narrow path through open land
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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 · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

Bram's grandmother knitted him a long green scarf each winter. Each year it was a little longer. This year's scarf had a loose thread at one end. She told him not to pull it. "That thread knows the way home," she said. "Use it only if you truly need to."

Bram forgot her words until a gray afternoon in the hills. He had been on a sheep trail. Now the fog was thick as porridge. Every rock looked the same. Every path split into two more paths. His boots were damp, and the sky was getting dark.

He remembered what she said. He took a breath and gave the loose thread one gentle tug. The scarf began to unravel in a thin green line. The line floated forward like a ribbon in the wind. It led him around big rocks and under a leaning pine. Bram followed the glowing green stitches.

After about twenty minutes, the thread slipped through a gap in a stone wall. It ended at his own back gate. The kitchen window was warm and yellow. Bram picked up the thread. His scarf was whole again, as long as before. It had a new row of stitches shaped like a tiny door.

His grandmother only smiled when he told her. She gave him a mug of cocoa.

▲ This passage · 234 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.5

Bram's grandmother knitted a long green scarf for him every winter, and every winter it was a little longer. This year's scarf had a loose thread at one end, and she warned him not to pull it. "That thread knows the way home," she said, "but only use it if you truly need to."

Bram forgot about the warning until a gray afternoon in the hills. He had been following a sheep trail, and now the fog was thick as porridge. Every rock looked the same. Every path split into two more paths. His boots were getting damp, and the sky was turning dark.

Remembering her words, Bram took a breath and gave the loose thread one gentle tug. The scarf began to unravel in a thin green line. The line floated into the air and drifted forward like a ribbon on a breeze, leading around boulders and under a leaning pine. Bram followed it carefully, keeping his eyes on the glowing green stitches.

After about twenty minutes, the thread slipped through a gap in a stone wall and ended at his own back gate. The kitchen window was warm and yellow. Bram picked up the thread and found his scarf whole again, as long as before, with a new row of stitches shaped like a tiny door.

His grandmother only smiled when he told her, and she handed him a mug of cocoa.

■ Harder · 252 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.1

Bram's grandmother knitted him a long green scarf every winter, and every winter it grew a little longer. This year's scarf had a loose thread dangling from one end, and she cautioned him never to pull it. "That thread knows the way home," she said, "but you must use it only if you truly need to."

Bram forgot the warning until a gray afternoon in the hills. He had been following a sheep trail, and now the fog had thickened to the consistency of porridge. Every rock looked identical to the last, and every path divided into two more paths. His boots were soaked through, and the sky was darkening rapidly.

Remembering her words, Bram drew a deep breath and gave the loose thread one gentle tug. The scarf began to unravel in a slender green line. The line rose into the air and drifted ahead like a ribbon on a breeze, leading him around enormous boulders and beneath a leaning pine. Bram followed carefully, never taking his eyes off the glowing green stitches.

After about twenty minutes, the thread slipped through a gap in a stone wall and came to an end at his own back gate. The kitchen window glowed warm and yellow. Bram gathered up the thread and discovered his scarf whole again, just as long as before, with a brand new row of stitches shaped like a tiny door.

His grandmother merely smiled when he told her the story, and she handed him a mug of steaming cocoa.

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 unravel, porridge, boulders, stitches and trail 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 Scarf Map That Unraveled Toward Home"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 234 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.5. 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 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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