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The Robot That Rolled Sideways

7th grade fiction passage about robots and teamwork: 289 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade fiction robots and teamwork 289 words

The Robot That Rolled Sideways

The robotics club had only one week left before the regional contest, and their robot, Biscuit, had a serious problem. Every time it was instructed to roll straight forward, it drifted toward the left, as if some invisible force were nudging it along. By Tuesday afternoon, it had bumped into the same wall four separate times.

Devon, the club captain, stared at the code on his laptop and insisted that he had read every line without finding a single mistake. Priya, who usually stayed quiet during meetings, suggested that perhaps the code was fine and the robot itself was the trouble. She crouched beside Biscuit and spun each wheel with her finger. The right wheel turned smoothly, but the left wheel made a faint scratching sound and stopped much sooner.

"Something is rubbing," she said.

Devon frowned. He had been so certain that the problem was his programming that he had never examined the machine itself, and he felt a little embarrassed. Even so, he handed Priya the screwdriver.

She removed the wheel and discovered a long strand of hair wrapped around the axle, wound so tightly that it dragged against every turn. It took her less than one minute to cut it free.

They placed Biscuit at the starting line and pressed the button. The robot rolled forward in a perfectly straight line and stopped an inch from the wall.

Devon laughed and admitted that he had spent three whole days repairing the wrong thing. Priya reminded him that his code was the reason the robot moved so precisely once the wheel was fixed, because the team had needed both. On Saturday, they traveled to the contest together, with Biscuit riding carefully in a box on Priya's lap.

Questions

  1. What was the problem with the robot, Biscuit? in the text

  2. What did Priya notice when she spun the wheels? in the text

  3. What did Priya find wrapped around the axle? in the text

  4. Why had Devon not found the problem sooner? think about it

  5. Why did the robot drift to the left? think about it

  6. What does Priya mean when she says, "We needed both"? think about it

Words to know

regional
having to do with one large area
contest
a competition in which people try to win
drifted
moved slowly in a direction without being steered
axle
the rod that a wheel turns around
embarrassed
feeling awkward or ashamed in front of others
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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 · 264 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

The robotics club had one week left before the regional contest. Their robot, Biscuit, had a big problem. When it was told to roll straight, it drifted left. It was as if something invisible was pushing it. By Tuesday it had hit the same wall four times.

Devon was the club captain. He stared at the code on his laptop. He said he had read every line and found no mistake. Priya usually kept quiet at meetings. She said maybe the code was fine and the robot was the problem. She crouched by Biscuit and spun each wheel with her finger. The right wheel turned well. The left wheel made a faint scratching sound and stopped sooner.

"Something is rubbing," she said.

Devon frowned. He had been so sure it was a coding problem. He had never looked at the robot itself. He felt a little embarrassed. But he gave Priya the screwdriver.

She took off the wheel. A long strand of hair was wrapped around the axle. It was wound so tight that it dragged on every turn. She cut it free in less than one minute.

They set Biscuit at the starting line and pressed the button. The robot rolled forward in a straight line. It stopped an inch from the wall.

Devon laughed. He said he had spent three days fixing the wrong thing. Priya said his code was why the robot moved so well once the wheel was fixed. The team had needed both. On Saturday, they rode to the contest together. Biscuit rode in a box on Priya's lap.

▲ This passage · 289 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.4

The robotics club had only one week left before the regional contest, and their robot, Biscuit, had a serious problem. Every time it was instructed to roll straight forward, it drifted toward the left, as if some invisible force were nudging it along. By Tuesday afternoon, it had bumped into the same wall four separate times.

Devon, the club captain, stared at the code on his laptop and insisted that he had read every line without finding a single mistake. Priya, who usually stayed quiet during meetings, suggested that perhaps the code was fine and the robot itself was the trouble. She crouched beside Biscuit and spun each wheel with her finger. The right wheel turned smoothly, but the left wheel made a faint scratching sound and stopped much sooner.

"Something is rubbing," she said.

Devon frowned. He had been so certain that the problem was his programming that he had never examined the machine itself, and he felt a little embarrassed. Even so, he handed Priya the screwdriver.

She removed the wheel and discovered a long strand of hair wrapped around the axle, wound so tightly that it dragged against every turn. It took her less than one minute to cut it free.

They placed Biscuit at the starting line and pressed the button. The robot rolled forward in a perfectly straight line and stopped an inch from the wall.

Devon laughed and admitted that he had spent three whole days repairing the wrong thing. Priya reminded him that his code was the reason the robot moved so precisely once the wheel was fixed, because the team had needed both. On Saturday, they traveled to the contest together, with Biscuit riding carefully in a box on Priya's lap.

■ Harder · 295 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.7

The robotics club had merely one week remaining before the regional contest, and their robot, Biscuit, suffered from a perplexing defect. Whenever it was commanded to travel straight ahead, it veered toward the left, as though some invisible force were steadily nudging it off course. By Tuesday afternoon, it had collided with the same wall on four separate occasions.

Devon, the club captain, stared at the code on his laptop and insisted that he had examined every line without discovering a single error. Priya, who generally remained silent during meetings, suggested that perhaps the code was perfectly sound and the robot itself was to blame. She crouched beside Biscuit and spun each wheel with her fingertip. The right wheel rotated smoothly, but the left wheel produced a faint scratching noise and halted much sooner.

"Something is rubbing," she announced.

Devon frowned. He had been so convinced that the fault lay in his programming that he had never inspected the machine itself, and he felt a twinge of embarrassment. Nevertheless, he handed Priya the screwdriver.

She removed the wheel and uncovered a long strand of hair wrapped around the axle, wound so tightly that it dragged against every rotation. It took her less than a minute to cut it free.

They positioned Biscuit at the starting line and pressed the button. The robot rolled forward in a perfectly straight line and came to rest an inch from the wall.

Devon laughed and acknowledged that he had wasted three entire days repairing the wrong component. Priya countered that his code was precisely why the robot moved so accurately once the wheel was repaired, since the team had required both. On Saturday, they traveled to the contest together, with Biscuit riding carefully in a box on Priya's lap.

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 regional, contest, drifted, axle and embarrassed 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 "The Robot That Rolled Sideways"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 289 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.4. 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. 3 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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