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The Garden Plot Swap

7th grade fiction passage about friendship and gardens: 290 words, seven questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade fiction friendship and gardens 290 words

The Garden Plot Swap

The community garden gave every family a square plot, and Marisol's was number twelve, beside the fence. For three weeks she had watered it, pulled out every weed, and waited for her bean seeds to sprout. Nothing had come up. Meanwhile, the plot next to hers belonged to an elderly neighbor named Mr. Okafor, and it had become a thick green tangle of tomato vines and squash leaves.

On Saturday she stood over her bare dirt, feeling more discouraged than ever. Mr. Okafor looked up from his hoe and remarked that she was frowning at the soil as if it owed her money. Marisol admitted that nothing would grow, even though she followed every instruction on the seed packet.

He walked over, knelt down, and pushed a finger into her plot, and then into his own. He invited her to feel the difference. His soil was dark and crumbly. Hers was pale and hard, packed so tightly that water ran off the surface instead of soaking in.

He explained that her corner of the garden used to be a parking space, and that the weight of cars had squeezed the ground flat. Plant roots cannot push through soil that tight. Marisol felt her cheeks grow warm as she realized that the problem had never been her fault.

Mr. Okafor suggested a trade. He would give her some of his rich compost if she helped him harvest his squash that afternoon. Together they loosened her soil with a garden fork and mixed in the compost. Then Marisol planted a fresh row of beans and watered them gently.

Ten days later, a tiny green loop pushed up through the dirt. She laughed out loud and hurried next door to tell Mr. Okafor.

Questions

  1. What was wrong in Marisol's garden at the start of the story? in the text

  2. How did Mr. Okafor show Marisol the difference between the two plots? in the text

  3. What had the corner of the garden been used for before? in the text

  4. What did Mr. Okafor trade for Marisol's help? in the text

  5. Why did the water run off the top of Marisol's soil? think about it

  6. Why did Marisol feel her cheeks grow warm when she heard the explanation? think about it

  7. How did Marisol's feelings change from the beginning of the story to the end? think about it

Words to know

plot
a small piece of land set aside for a purpose
discouraged
feeling that you have lost hope
tangle
a messy mass of twisted things
compost
rotted plant matter that makes soil richer
crumbly
easily broken into small pieces
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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 · 273 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.7

The community garden gave each family a square plot. Marisol's was number twelve, beside the fence. For three weeks she had watered it and pulled every weed. She waited for her bean seeds to sprout. Nothing came up. The plot next to hers was Mr. Okafor's. He was an older neighbor. His plot was a thick green tangle of tomato vines and squash leaves.

On Saturday, Marisol stood over her bare dirt. She felt very discouraged. Mr. Okafor looked up from his hoe. He said she was frowning at the soil as if it owed her money. Marisol said nothing would grow. She did everything the seed packet said.

He walked over and knelt down. He pushed a finger into her plot, and then into his own. He asked her to feel the difference. His soil was dark and crumbly. Hers was pale and hard. It was packed so tight that water ran off the top and did not soak in.

He told her that her corner used to be a parking space. The weight of cars had squeezed the ground flat. Plant roots cannot push through soil that tight. Marisol felt her cheeks get warm. The problem had never been her fault.

Mr. Okafor made a deal. He would give her some rich compost. In return, she would help him pick his squash that afternoon. They loosened her soil with a garden fork. They mixed in the compost. Marisol planted a fresh row of beans and watered them.

Ten days later, a tiny green loop pushed up through the dirt. She laughed out loud. She ran next door to tell Mr. Okafor.

▲ This passage · 290 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.1

The community garden gave every family a square plot, and Marisol's was number twelve, beside the fence. For three weeks she had watered it, pulled out every weed, and waited for her bean seeds to sprout. Nothing had come up. Meanwhile, the plot next to hers belonged to an elderly neighbor named Mr. Okafor, and it had become a thick green tangle of tomato vines and squash leaves.

On Saturday she stood over her bare dirt, feeling more discouraged than ever. Mr. Okafor looked up from his hoe and remarked that she was frowning at the soil as if it owed her money. Marisol admitted that nothing would grow, even though she followed every instruction on the seed packet.

He walked over, knelt down, and pushed a finger into her plot, and then into his own. He invited her to feel the difference. His soil was dark and crumbly. Hers was pale and hard, packed so tightly that water ran off the surface instead of soaking in.

He explained that her corner of the garden used to be a parking space, and that the weight of cars had squeezed the ground flat. Plant roots cannot push through soil that tight. Marisol felt her cheeks grow warm as she realized that the problem had never been her fault.

Mr. Okafor suggested a trade. He would give her some of his rich compost if she helped him harvest his squash that afternoon. Together they loosened her soil with a garden fork and mixed in the compost. Then Marisol planted a fresh row of beans and watered them gently.

Ten days later, a tiny green loop pushed up through the dirt. She laughed out loud and hurried next door to tell Mr. Okafor.

■ Harder · 304 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10

The community garden had assigned every family a square plot, and Marisol's, number twelve, lay alongside the fence. For three weeks she had watered it faithfully, plucked out every weed, and waited with growing anxiety for her bean seeds to sprout, yet nothing had emerged. Meanwhile, the adjoining plot, which belonged to an elderly neighbor named Mr. Okafor, had become an exuberant green tangle of tomato vines and squash leaves.

On Saturday she stood over her barren dirt, feeling more discouraged than ever, until Mr. Okafor glanced up from his hoe and observed that she was frowning at the soil as if it owed her money. Marisol confessed that nothing would grow, even though she followed every instruction printed on the seed packet.

He strolled over, knelt down, and pressed a finger into her plot and then into his own, inviting her to feel the difference. His soil was dark and crumbly, whereas hers was pale and hard, packed so densely that water slid off the surface instead of soaking in.

He explained that her corner of the garden had once been a parking space and that the weight of cars had compressed the ground until it was completely flat. Plant roots simply cannot penetrate soil that firm. Marisol felt her cheeks flush with warmth as she realized that the trouble had never been her fault.

Mr. Okafor proposed an exchange: he would give her some of his rich compost if she assisted him with harvesting his squash that afternoon. Together they broke up her soil with a garden fork and blended in the compost, after which Marisol planted a fresh row of beans and watered them gently.

Ten days later, a tiny green loop pushed through the dirt. She laughed aloud and hurried next door to share the wonderful news with Mr. Okafor.

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 plot, discouraged, tangle, compost and crumbly 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 Garden Plot Swap"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 290 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.1. 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. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 3 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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