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Voice Memos From the Bakery Shift

6th grade fiction passage about a parent who works at night: 254 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a parent who works at night 254 words

Voice Memos From the Bakery Shift

Amara's father baked bread, and he did it while the rest of the town was asleep. He left for the bakery at ten o'clock every night and came home at dawn, just as Amara was eating her breakfast, and by then he was so exhausted that he mostly mumbled a greeting and went to bed. Amara missed him more than she wanted to admit, because at dinner there was an empty chair and at bedtime there was only a note stuck to the refrigerator.

One night she woke up thirsty and found her phone glowing on the kitchen counter. It held a voice memo, and when she pressed play, her father's voice said, quiet and warm, "Hello from the oven. I just pulled out forty loaves, and the whole bakery smells like toast. Tell me one funny thing that happened at school."

Amara grinned in the dark kitchen. She held the phone close and whispered a story about a substitute teacher who had called the class hamster Gerald, when its name was really Gertrude.

After that, they traded memos every night. He described the clouds of flour and the sleepy delivery driver, and she described spelling tests and the boy who sneezed in the middle of the pledge. In the morning, each of them played the other's message over breakfast, and the house felt a little less empty.

On Saturday, Amara found a final memo waiting. "I'm off tonight," her father said. "Come help me shape a loaf, and we'll talk face to face."

Questions

  1. What time did Amara's father leave for the bakery? in the text

  2. Why was her father mostly mumbling when he came home? in the text

  3. What did Amara find glowing on the counter? in the text

  4. What was the funny story Amara told? in the text

  5. Why did the house feel less empty after the memos began? think about it

  6. Why do you think her father invited her to help make a loaf on his night off? think about it

Words to know

mumbled
spoke in a low, unclear voice
dawn
the time in the morning when the sun first comes up
substitute
a person who takes the place of the usual one
pledge
a promise that people say together
memo
a short message sent for someone to read or hear later
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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 · 216 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

Amara's father baked bread. He worked while the rest of the town slept. He left for the bakery at ten each night. He came home at dawn, just as Amara ate breakfast. By then he was so tired that he mumbled and went to bed.

Amara missed him. At dinner there was an empty chair. At bedtime there was only a note on the fridge.

One night she woke up thirsty. Her phone was glowing on the counter. It had a voice memo. "Hello from the oven," said her father, quiet and warm. "I just took out forty loaves. The whole place smells like toast. Tell me one funny thing that happened at school."

Amara grinned in the dark kitchen. She held the phone close and whispered a story. A substitute teacher had called the class hamster Gerald. Its name was Gertrude.

After that, they sent memos every night. He told about the flour clouds and the sleepy delivery driver. She told about spelling tests and the kid who sneezed during the pledge. In the morning, each of them played the other's message at breakfast. The house felt a little less empty.

On Saturday, Amara found one last memo. "I'm off tonight," he said. "Come help me make a loaf, and we'll talk face to face."

▲ This passage · 254 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

Amara's father baked bread, and he did it while the rest of the town was asleep. He left for the bakery at ten o'clock every night and came home at dawn, just as Amara was eating her breakfast, and by then he was so exhausted that he mostly mumbled a greeting and went to bed. Amara missed him more than she wanted to admit, because at dinner there was an empty chair and at bedtime there was only a note stuck to the refrigerator.

One night she woke up thirsty and found her phone glowing on the kitchen counter. It held a voice memo, and when she pressed play, her father's voice said, quiet and warm, "Hello from the oven. I just pulled out forty loaves, and the whole bakery smells like toast. Tell me one funny thing that happened at school."

Amara grinned in the dark kitchen. She held the phone close and whispered a story about a substitute teacher who had called the class hamster Gerald, when its name was really Gertrude.

After that, they traded memos every night. He described the clouds of flour and the sleepy delivery driver, and she described spelling tests and the boy who sneezed in the middle of the pledge. In the morning, each of them played the other's message over breakfast, and the house felt a little less empty.

On Saturday, Amara found a final memo waiting. "I'm off tonight," her father said. "Come help me shape a loaf, and we'll talk face to face."

■ Harder · 263 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.9

Amara's father baked bread, and he did it while the rest of the town was fast asleep. He departed for the bakery at ten o'clock every night and returned home at dawn, just as Amara was finishing her breakfast, and by then he was so exhausted that he mostly mumbled a greeting and stumbled off to bed. Amara missed him more than she cared to admit, because at dinner there was an empty chair at the table and at bedtime there was only a note stuck to the refrigerator.

One night she woke up thirsty and discovered her phone glowing on the kitchen counter. It held a voice memo, and when she pressed play, her father's voice said, quiet and warm, "Hello from the oven. I just pulled out forty loaves, and the entire bakery smells like toast. Tell me one funny thing that happened at school today."

Amara grinned in the dark kitchen. She held the phone close and whispered a story about a substitute teacher who had accidentally called the class hamster Gerald, when its actual name was Gertrude.

After that, they traded memos every night. He described the enormous clouds of flour and the sleepy delivery driver, and she described spelling tests and the boy who sneezed in the middle of the pledge. In the morning, each of them played the other's message over breakfast, and the house felt a little less empty.

On Saturday, Amara discovered a final memo waiting. "I'm off tonight," her father said. "Come help me shape a loaf, and we'll finally talk face to face."

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 mumbled, dawn, substitute, pledge and memo 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 "Voice Memos From the Bakery Shift"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 254 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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