Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Echo That Talked Back at Gull Point

7th grade fiction passage about a lighthouse echo mystery: 272 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade fiction a lighthouse echo mystery 272 words

The Echo That Talked Back at Gull Point

Every morning, Marlow Finch climbed the spiral stairs of Gull Point Lighthouse, stepped onto the balcony, and shouted, "Good morning, cliffs!" Every morning, the cliffs across the bay shouted the same thing right back. Marlow liked this very much. It was the only conversation he had before breakfast that never turned into an argument.

Then, one Tuesday, the echo changed. Marlow called, "Good morning, cliffs!" and the cliffs answered, "Good morning, Marlow! You forgot the tea again!"

Marlow nearly dropped his binoculars. An echo is supposed to repeat what you say, not add opinions. He tried again with a simple question. "Is anyone there?" The cliffs replied, "Anyone there! Anyone there!" and then, rather rudely, "Hurry up!"

That afternoon, Marlow rowed across the bay with a flashlight and a plan. He found a shallow cave in the cliff, and at the back of it sat a gray parrot with one crooked tail feather. The bird tilted his head, squinted at the flashlight, and squawked, "Good morning, Marlow!"

The mystery was solved. The parrot, whose name turned out to be Admiral, had once belonged to a fishing captain who moved inland. Admiral had lived in the cave ever since, and he had spent years listening to the keeper's shouts. He had learned every word.

Marlow laughed so hard that the little boat rocked. He could not leave a talkative bird alone in a damp cave, so he carried Admiral home in a basket. Now the parrot sits beside the kettle each morning and reminds Marlow about the tea, and Marlow has to admit that the arguments are better than the echo ever was.

Questions

  1. What did Marlow shout from the balcony every morning? in the text

  2. What did the echo say on Tuesday that was different? in the text

  3. Where did Marlow find the source of the voice? in the text

  4. Who had really been answering Marlow? in the text

  5. How did the parrot know so many of Marlow's words? think about it

  6. Why did Marlow like the echo before it changed? think about it

  7. Why did Marlow bring Admiral back to the lighthouse? in the text

Words to know

spiral
winding around and around like a coil
echo
a sound that bounces back after hitting a surface
binoculars
a pair of tubes you look through to see far away
shallow
not very deep
squawked
made a loud, harsh cry
Share

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 · 233 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

Every morning, Marlow Finch went up the stairs of Gull Point Lighthouse. He stood on the balcony and shouted, "Good morning, cliffs!" Every morning, the cliffs across the bay shouted it right back. Marlow liked that. It was the only talk he had before breakfast that never turned into an argument.

Then one Tuesday, the echo changed. Marlow called, "Good morning, cliffs!" The cliffs answered, "Good morning, Marlow! You forgot the tea again!"

Marlow nearly dropped his binoculars. An echo should only repeat your words. He asked, "Is anyone there?" The cliffs said, "Anyone there! Anyone there!" Then they said, "Hurry up!" That was rude.

That afternoon, Marlow rowed across the bay with a flashlight. He found a small cave in the cliff. At the back sat a gray parrot with one crooked tail feather. The bird squawked, "Good morning, Marlow!"

Now Marlow knew. The parrot was named Admiral. He had belonged to a fishing captain who moved away. Admiral had lived in the cave since then. For years he had listened to the keeper shout, and he had learned every word.

Marlow laughed so hard that the boat rocked. He did not want to leave a talking bird in a damp cave. He took Admiral home in a basket. Now the parrot sits by the kettle each morning and reminds Marlow about the tea. Marlow likes the arguments better than the echo.

▲ This passage · 272 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.7

Every morning, Marlow Finch climbed the spiral stairs of Gull Point Lighthouse, stepped onto the balcony, and shouted, "Good morning, cliffs!" Every morning, the cliffs across the bay shouted the same thing right back. Marlow liked this very much. It was the only conversation he had before breakfast that never turned into an argument.

Then, one Tuesday, the echo changed. Marlow called, "Good morning, cliffs!" and the cliffs answered, "Good morning, Marlow! You forgot the tea again!"

Marlow nearly dropped his binoculars. An echo is supposed to repeat what you say, not add opinions. He tried again with a simple question. "Is anyone there?" The cliffs replied, "Anyone there! Anyone there!" and then, rather rudely, "Hurry up!"

That afternoon, Marlow rowed across the bay with a flashlight and a plan. He found a shallow cave in the cliff, and at the back of it sat a gray parrot with one crooked tail feather. The bird tilted his head, squinted at the flashlight, and squawked, "Good morning, Marlow!"

The mystery was solved. The parrot, whose name turned out to be Admiral, had once belonged to a fishing captain who moved inland. Admiral had lived in the cave ever since, and he had spent years listening to the keeper's shouts. He had learned every word.

Marlow laughed so hard that the little boat rocked. He could not leave a talkative bird alone in a damp cave, so he carried Admiral home in a basket. Now the parrot sits beside the kettle each morning and reminds Marlow about the tea, and Marlow has to admit that the arguments are better than the echo ever was.

■ Harder · 309 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

Every morning without fail, Marlow Finch climbed the spiral staircase of Gull Point Lighthouse, stepped onto the windswept balcony, and bellowed, "Good morning, cliffs!" Every morning, the cliffs on the far side of the bay bellowed the identical greeting right back. Marlow treasured this ritual. It was the only conversation he had before breakfast that had never deteriorated into an argument.

Then, on a drizzly Tuesday, the echo changed its habits. Marlow called, "Good morning, cliffs!" and the cliffs replied, "Good morning, Marlow! You forgot the tea again!"

Marlow nearly dropped his binoculars into the surf. An echo is supposed to repeat what you say, not offer opinions about your breakfast routine. He tried again with a simple question. "Is anyone there?" The cliffs returned, "Anyone there! Anyone there!" and then, with considerable rudeness, "Hurry up!"

That afternoon, Marlow rowed across the bay armed with a flashlight and a plan. He discovered a shallow cave carved into the cliff, and at the very back of it perched a gray parrot with one crooked tail feather. The bird tilted his head, squinted into the beam, and squawked, "Good morning, Marlow!"

The mystery dissolved at once. The parrot, whose name turned out to be Admiral, had once belonged to a fishing captain who had retired inland. Admiral had lived in the cave ever since, and over the years he had listened carefully to the keeper's daily shouts until he had memorized every word.

Marlow laughed so hard that the little boat rocked from side to side. He could not bring himself to abandon such a talkative bird in a damp cave, so he carried Admiral home in a wicker basket. Now the parrot sits beside the kettle every morning and reminds Marlow about the tea, and Marlow has to admit that the arguments are far better than the echo ever was.

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 spiral, echo, binoculars, shallow and squawked 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 Echo That Talked Back at Gull Point"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 272 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.7. 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 seven. 5 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.