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Captain Pennywhistle's Very Short Ocean Voyage

7th grade fiction passage about a tall tale sailing a pond: 268 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade fiction a tall tale sailing a pond 268 words

Captain Pennywhistle's Very Short Ocean Voyage

Captain Barnaby Pennywhistle liked to say that he had sailed the seven seas, outrun three typhoons, and once wrestled a whale to a draw. In truth, he lived beside Muddlewick Pond, which was about as wide as a football field, and his ship was a washtub with a sail made from a bedsheet.

The pond's two youngest residents, Wilma and Otis, knew all this. They also loved listening to him. Every afternoon they sat on the dock while the captain told another gigantic story, and every afternoon he added one more impossible detail.

On Saturday, the captain decided to prove his bravery by crossing the entire ocean, which was his name for the pond. "Stand back, mates," he called. "The great voyage begins!" He climbed into the washtub, raised his sail, and pushed off the dock with a pole.

Halfway across, the washtub started to wobble. Water trickled in through a crack the captain had never noticed. "Sea monster!" he shouted, pointing at a pair of orange feet paddling just under the surface. A goose waddled out of the reeds, looked at him, and honked.

Wilma and Otis exchanged a glance. Wilma grabbed a bucket from the dock, and Otis tossed a rope across the water. "Captain," Otis called, "hold on to your ship!" They pulled the washtub back to shore, where Wilma bailed out the water and Otis patched the crack with a strip of tape.

The captain was quiet for a long minute. Then he declared, "It was the finest, most terrifying voyage of my career." The goose honked again, which Wilma decided meant he agreed.

Questions

  1. What did Captain Pennywhistle claim he had done? in the text

  2. What was the captain's ship really? in the text

  3. What did the captain call the pond? in the text

  4. What did the captain think the sea monster was? think about it

  5. How did Wilma and Otis help the captain? in the text

  6. Why do you think the captain called the trip terrifying? think about it

Words to know

typhoons
very strong storms with powerful winds over the sea
residents
people or animals that live in a place
trickled
flowed in a thin, slow stream
waddled
walked with short steps that rock from side to side
bailed
scooped water out of a boat
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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 · 253 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.6

Captain Barnaby Pennywhistle liked to say that he had sailed the seven seas. He said he had outrun three storms and once wrestled a whale to a draw. The truth was that he lived beside Muddlewick Pond. It was about as wide as a football field. His ship was a washtub with a sail made from a bedsheet.

Wilma and Otis, two young kids, knew all this. They also loved listening to him. Each afternoon they sat on the dock while the captain told a giant story. Each afternoon he added one more impossible detail.

On Saturday, the captain decided to prove his bravery. He would cross the whole ocean, which was his name for the pond. "Stand back, mates," he called. "The great voyage begins!" He climbed into the washtub, raised his sail, and pushed off the dock with a pole.

Halfway across, the washtub began to wobble. Water trickled in through a crack. "Sea monster!" the captain shouted. He pointed at two orange feet paddling under the water. A goose waddled out of the reeds, looked at him, and honked.

Wilma and Otis looked at each other. Wilma grabbed a bucket. Otis tossed a rope. "Captain," Otis called, "hold on to your ship!" They pulled the washtub to shore. Wilma scooped out the water, and Otis patched the crack with tape.

The captain was quiet for a minute. Then he said, "It was the finest, most terrifying voyage of my career." The goose honked again. Wilma decided that meant he agreed.

▲ This passage · 268 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.9

Captain Barnaby Pennywhistle liked to say that he had sailed the seven seas, outrun three typhoons, and once wrestled a whale to a draw. In truth, he lived beside Muddlewick Pond, which was about as wide as a football field, and his ship was a washtub with a sail made from a bedsheet.

The pond's two youngest residents, Wilma and Otis, knew all this. They also loved listening to him. Every afternoon they sat on the dock while the captain told another gigantic story, and every afternoon he added one more impossible detail.

On Saturday, the captain decided to prove his bravery by crossing the entire ocean, which was his name for the pond. "Stand back, mates," he called. "The great voyage begins!" He climbed into the washtub, raised his sail, and pushed off the dock with a pole.

Halfway across, the washtub started to wobble. Water trickled in through a crack the captain had never noticed. "Sea monster!" he shouted, pointing at a pair of orange feet paddling just under the surface. A goose waddled out of the reeds, looked at him, and honked.

Wilma and Otis exchanged a glance. Wilma grabbed a bucket from the dock, and Otis tossed a rope across the water. "Captain," Otis called, "hold on to your ship!" They pulled the washtub back to shore, where Wilma bailed out the water and Otis patched the crack with a strip of tape.

The captain was quiet for a long minute. Then he declared, "It was the finest, most terrifying voyage of my career." The goose honked again, which Wilma decided meant he agreed.

■ Harder · 277 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.5

Captain Barnaby Pennywhistle liked to proclaim that he had sailed the seven seas, outrun three typhoons, and once wrestled a whale to a draw. In truth, he lived beside Muddlewick Pond, which was scarcely wider than a football field, and his vessel was a washtub fitted with a sail sewn from a bedsheet.

The pond's two youngest residents, Wilma and Otis, understood all this perfectly well. They also adored listening to him. Every afternoon they perched on the dock while the captain spun another gigantic yarn, and every afternoon he tacked on one more impossible detail.

On Saturday, the captain resolved to prove his bravery by crossing the entire ocean, which was his grand name for the pond. "Stand back, mates," he bellowed. "The great voyage begins!" He climbed into the washtub, hoisted his sail, and shoved off from the dock with a long pole.

Halfway across, the washtub started to wobble. Water trickled in through a crack that the captain had never noticed. "Sea monster!" he shrieked, pointing at a pair of orange feet paddling just beneath the surface. A goose waddled out of the reeds, regarded him with disdain, and honked.

Wilma and Otis exchanged a glance. Wilma seized a bucket from the dock, and Otis hurled a rope across the water. "Captain," Otis called, "hold on to your ship!" They hauled the washtub back to shore, where Wilma bailed out the water and Otis patched the crack with a strip of tape.

The captain was silent for a long minute. Then he declared, "It was the finest, most terrifying voyage of my entire career." The goose honked again, which Wilma decided meant he agreed.

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 typhoons, residents, trickled, waddled and bailed 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 4 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 "Captain Pennywhistle's Very Short Ocean Voyage"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 268 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.9. 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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