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The Pigeon With a Code on Its Leg

7th grade fiction passage about a stray racing pigeon: 286 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade fiction a stray racing pigeon 286 words

The Pigeon With a Code on Its Leg

Priya found the pigeon on the balcony rail after a night of howling wind and heavy rain, and it was so exhausted that it did not fly away when she opened the door. The bird was gray with a green shimmer on its neck, and its feathers were still damp. She set out a dish of water and a handful of birdseed before she crouched down to look at it closely.

Around one of its legs was a thin plastic ring that had been stamped with letters and numbers. "That's a band," said her brother Dev. "Racing pigeons wear them, which means somebody out there is probably missing this one."

Priya copied the code into her notebook, and after supper she searched the internet until she found a club of pigeon racers in the next town. She wrote them an email that listed the code, the day, and the street where the pigeon had landed. Then she waited, which turned out to be the hardest part of the whole job.

By morning the bird looked considerably stronger, and a reply had already arrived. The code belonged to a retired mail carrier named Mr. Hollis, who had released his flock on Saturday morning. A storm had scattered the birds in every direction, and this particular one had been missing for three days.

He came at noon carrying a wooden basket, and the pigeon hopped inside as though it had always known the way. "She is a strong flier, but even strong fliers can be blown off course," he told Priya. "Thank you for taking the trouble to write that number down." Then he invited her to visit his loft on Sunday and watch the whole flock return.

Questions

  1. What did Priya find on the balcony rail? in the text

  2. What was stamped on the plastic ring around the pigeon's leg? in the text

  3. How did Priya find the pigeon's owner? in the text

  4. Who owned the pigeon? in the text

  5. Why did the pigeon end up on the balcony? think about it

  6. Why did Mr. Hollis thank Priya for writing down the number? think about it

Words to know

shimmer
a soft, shining light that seems to move
band
a small ring worn on a bird's leg to identify it
flock
a group of birds that stay together
scattered
forced to go in many different directions
loft
a house or room where pigeons are kept
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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 · 187 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

Priya found a pigeon on the balcony after a rainy night. It was gray with a green shine on its neck. It was too tired to fly away. She put out water and some birdseed.

A thin plastic ring was on one leg. It had letters and numbers on it. "That's a band," said her brother Dev. "Racing pigeons wear them. Someone is missing this bird."

Priya wrote the code in her notebook. She looked online and found a club of pigeon racers in the next town. She sent them an email with the code. Then she waited. That was the hard part.

In the morning, the bird looked strong. A reply had come. The code was for Mr. Hollis, a retired mail carrier. He had let his flock fly on Saturday. A storm had scattered the birds. This one was missing for three days.

Mr. Hollis came at noon with a basket. The pigeon hopped in. "Even good fliers get blown off course," he said. "Thank you for writing the number." He asked Priya to see his loft on Sunday and watch the flock come home.

▲ This passage · 286 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2

Priya found the pigeon on the balcony rail after a night of howling wind and heavy rain, and it was so exhausted that it did not fly away when she opened the door. The bird was gray with a green shimmer on its neck, and its feathers were still damp. She set out a dish of water and a handful of birdseed before she crouched down to look at it closely.

Around one of its legs was a thin plastic ring that had been stamped with letters and numbers. "That's a band," said her brother Dev. "Racing pigeons wear them, which means somebody out there is probably missing this one."

Priya copied the code into her notebook, and after supper she searched the internet until she found a club of pigeon racers in the next town. She wrote them an email that listed the code, the day, and the street where the pigeon had landed. Then she waited, which turned out to be the hardest part of the whole job.

By morning the bird looked considerably stronger, and a reply had already arrived. The code belonged to a retired mail carrier named Mr. Hollis, who had released his flock on Saturday morning. A storm had scattered the birds in every direction, and this particular one had been missing for three days.

He came at noon carrying a wooden basket, and the pigeon hopped inside as though it had always known the way. "She is a strong flier, but even strong fliers can be blown off course," he told Priya. "Thank you for taking the trouble to write that number down." Then he invited her to visit his loft on Sunday and watch the whole flock return.

■ Harder · 306 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 11.2

Priya discovered the pigeon perched on the balcony rail after a long night of howling wind and relentless rain, and the bird was so thoroughly exhausted that it made no attempt to escape when she quietly opened the door. Its gray feathers carried a green shimmer along the neck, although they were still damp, and she carefully set out a dish of water and a handful of birdseed before crouching down to examine it more closely.

Encircling one of its legs was a thin plastic ring stamped with an unfamiliar sequence of letters and numbers. "That's a band," explained her brother Dev. "Racing pigeons always wear them, which suggests that somebody out there is anxiously missing this particular bird."

Priya copied the entire code into her notebook, and after supper she searched the internet persistently until she located a club of pigeon racers in the neighboring town. She composed an email that listed the code, the day, and the street where the pigeon had landed, and then she waited, which turned out to be the most difficult part of the whole adventure.

By morning the bird looked considerably stronger, and a reply had already arrived. The code belonged to a retired mail carrier named Mr. Hollis, who had released his flock on Saturday morning, but a sudden storm had scattered the birds in every direction, and this one had been missing for three days.

He arrived at noon carrying a wooden basket, and the pigeon hopped inside without any hesitation, as though it had always known the way. "She is an extremely capable flier, but even capable fliers can be blown far off course," he told Priya. "Thank you for taking the trouble to write that number down." Then he invited her to visit his loft on Sunday and watch the entire flock return home together.

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 shimmer, band, flock, scattered and loft 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 "The Pigeon With a Code on Its Leg"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 286 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.2. 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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