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The Pickle Jam Switcheroo at the County Fair

7th grade fiction passage about a mixed-up fair contest: 302 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade fiction a mixed-up fair contest 302 words

The Pickle Jam Switcheroo at the County Fair

Dot Abernathy had spent the whole summer perfecting her strawberry jam, and Hobart Quill had spent it perfecting his dill pickles. On the morning of the county fair, both of them carried a single jar to the judges' table and set it down beside a neatly printed label.

What neither of them noticed was a sudden gust of wind. It swept across the table and flipped the labels over. Then it dropped them back in the wrong places. The jar of jam now announced DILL PICKLES, while the jar of pickles proudly proclaimed STRAWBERRY JAM.

The head judge, a very serious woman named Mrs. Flinch, wore a crisp white apron and carried a silver spoon. She read the label on the first jar and spread some on a cracker. Then she took a dignified bite. Her eyebrows rose, and they kept rising until they nearly escaped her forehead. "This is the sweetest pickle I have ever tasted," she said slowly, "and it has no crunch at all."

The second judge opened the other jar, speared a long green slice, and chewed with growing alarm. "This is the crunchiest jam in the entire county," he gasped, "and it tastes like a salty swimming pool."

When Dot and Hobart finally understood the problem, they dashed over to explain. The judges listened, chuckled, and returned the labels to their proper jars. By then, however, a small crowd had gathered, and a boy near the front suggested, "Why not try the jam and the pickle together?"

Mrs. Flinch hesitated, then balanced a pickle slice on a jam-covered cracker and took a cautious bite. The crowd leaned closer. She chewed, swallowed, and murmured, "Well, I never." The surprising snack earned a special ribbon, and the line for it stretched all the way to the Ferris wheel.

Questions

  1. What did Dot and Hobart each bring to the judges' table? in the text

  2. What caused the labels to end up on the wrong jars? in the text

  3. Why was Mrs. Flinch's reaction to the first jar so strange? think about it

  4. How did the second judge describe the pickles he thought were jam? in the text

  5. Who suggested trying the jam and the pickle together? in the text

  6. How did the story turn out well for Dot and Hobart? think about it

Words to know

perfecting
working to make something as good as it can be
gust
a sudden, strong rush of wind
speared
poked and picked up with something pointed
hesitated
paused because you are not sure
cautious
careful to avoid a problem
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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 · 234 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.4

Dot Abernathy spent all summer making her strawberry jam. Hobart Quill spent it making his dill pickles. On the morning of the county fair, each of them brought a jar to the judges' table. Each jar sat beside a paper label.

Neither of them saw the wind. A gust blew across the table. It flipped the labels and dropped them in the wrong places. The jar of jam now said DILL PICKLES. The jar of pickles said STRAWBERRY JAM.

The head judge was Mrs. Flinch. She wore a white apron and held a silver spoon. She read the first label, spread the jar on a cracker, and took a bite. Her eyebrows went up and up. "This is the sweetest pickle I ever tasted," she said, "and it has no crunch."

The second judge opened the other jar and ate a long green slice. "This is the crunchiest jam in the county," he gasped. "It tastes like a salty pool."

Dot and Hobart saw the problem and ran over. The judges listened and laughed. They swapped the labels back. A small crowd had gathered. A boy said, "Wait. Try the jam and the pickle together."

Mrs. Flinch stacked a pickle slice on a jam cracker. She took a careful bite. The crowd leaned in. "Well, I never," she said. The new snack won a special ribbon. The line for it reached the Ferris wheel.

▲ This passage · 302 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.4

Dot Abernathy had spent the whole summer perfecting her strawberry jam, and Hobart Quill had spent it perfecting his dill pickles. On the morning of the county fair, both of them carried a single jar to the judges' table and set it down beside a neatly printed label.

What neither of them noticed was a sudden gust of wind. It swept across the table and flipped the labels over. Then it dropped them back in the wrong places. The jar of jam now announced DILL PICKLES, while the jar of pickles proudly proclaimed STRAWBERRY JAM.

The head judge, a very serious woman named Mrs. Flinch, wore a crisp white apron and carried a silver spoon. She read the label on the first jar and spread some on a cracker. Then she took a dignified bite. Her eyebrows rose, and they kept rising until they nearly escaped her forehead. "This is the sweetest pickle I have ever tasted," she said slowly, "and it has no crunch at all."

The second judge opened the other jar, speared a long green slice, and chewed with growing alarm. "This is the crunchiest jam in the entire county," he gasped, "and it tastes like a salty swimming pool."

When Dot and Hobart finally understood the problem, they dashed over to explain. The judges listened, chuckled, and returned the labels to their proper jars. By then, however, a small crowd had gathered, and a boy near the front suggested, "Why not try the jam and the pickle together?"

Mrs. Flinch hesitated, then balanced a pickle slice on a jam-covered cracker and took a cautious bite. The crowd leaned closer. She chewed, swallowed, and murmured, "Well, I never." The surprising snack earned a special ribbon, and the line for it stretched all the way to the Ferris wheel.

■ Harder · 304 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.1

Dot Abernathy had devoted her entire summer to perfecting her strawberry jam, and Hobart Quill had devoted his to perfecting his dill pickles. On the morning of the county fair, both of them carried a single jar to the judges' table and set it down beside a neat paper label.

What neither of them noticed was a sudden gust of wind. It swept across the table, flipped the labels over, and deposited them back in the wrong places. The jar of jam now announced DILL PICKLES, while the jar of pickles proudly proclaimed STRAWBERRY JAM.

The head judge, a formidable woman named Mrs. Flinch, wore a crisp white apron and carried a silver spoon. She read the label on the first jar, spread a generous layer on a cracker, and took a dignified bite. Her eyebrows rose, and they continued to rise until they nearly left her forehead. "This is the sweetest pickle I have ever tasted," she said slowly, "and it has absolutely no crunch."

The second judge opened the other jar, speared a long green slice, and chewed with growing alarm. "This is the crunchiest jam in the entire county," he gasped, "and it tastes like a salty swimming pool."

Dot and Hobart finally realized what had happened and dashed over to explain. The judges listened, chuckled, and restored the labels to their proper jars. By then, however, a small crowd had gathered, and a boy near the front piped up, "Wait. Why not try the jam and the pickle together?"

Mrs. Flinch hesitated, then balanced a pickle slice on a jam-covered cracker and took a cautious bite. The crowd leaned closer. She chewed, swallowed, and murmured, "Well, I never." The surprising new snack earned a special ribbon, and the line for it stretched all the way to the Ferris wheel.

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 perfecting, gust, speared, hesitated and cautious 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 3 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 Pickle Jam Switcheroo at the County Fair"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 302 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.4. 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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