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The Arctic Tern Who Took the Long Way

8th grade fiction passage about a seabird on a huge journey: 268 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a seabird on a huge journey 268 words

The Arctic Tern Who Took the Long Way

A young Arctic tern named Wick hatched on a gravel beach near the top of the world, where the summer sun barely set. When autumn came and the days began to shorten, the adult terns lifted into the sky and turned south, and Wick followed them, although he grumbled about it the whole way.

He complained to an old tern named Marrow that it was absurd to fly past warm beaches and fat, silver fish and keep going regardless, and he demanded to know why they had to travel to the very bottom of the planet. Marrow did not answer directly. She told him only to keep flying and to watch carefully what he passed.

Wick watched. He saw whales rise through foam, long coasts glowing at sunrise, and storms that rolled across the open ocean like gray mountains. He rested on rolling swells and fed on little fishes where cold currents met warm ones, and as weeks turned into months, his wings grew stronger with every mile.

At last, the terns reached the far southern waters, where the summer sun was shining and food was everywhere. Wick realized that the beaches he had passed would have been bare and frozen by now, and that the whole long route had carried him from one season of plenty to another.

"You were right," he told Marrow, a little sheepishly.

"I rarely say it," she replied, "but a long way is not always a wasted way. Sometimes the journey is the thing that makes the bird."

When spring returned, Wick turned north with new confidence, eager to see everything again.

Questions

  1. Where did Wick hatch? in the text

  2. What did Wick complain about? in the text

  3. What did Wick see during the journey? in the text

  4. What did the terns find in the far southern waters? in the text

  5. Why would the warm beaches he passed have been a poor choice? think about it

  6. What does Marrow mean by the last thing she says? think about it

Words to know

absurd
silly or against all common sense
swells
long, rolling waves on the open sea
currents
steady flows of water moving in one direction
plenty
a large supply, more than enough
sheepishly
in an embarrassed way, after being wrong
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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 · 249 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

A young Arctic tern named Wick hatched on a gravel beach near the top of the world. There, the summer sun barely set. When autumn came, the days grew short. The adult terns rose into the sky and turned south. Wick followed, but he grumbled the whole way.

"This is silly," he said to an old tern named Marrow. "We fly past warm beaches. We fly past fat, silver fish. We keep going. Why must we fly to the bottom of the planet?"

Marrow did not answer right away. "Keep flying," she said. "Watch what you pass."

Wick watched. He saw whales rise through the foam. He saw long coasts glow at sunrise. He saw storms roll over the open sea like gray mountains. He rested on the swells and ate little fish where cold water met warm. Weeks turned into months, and his wings grew stronger with every mile.

At last, they reached the far south. The summer sun was shining there, and food was everywhere. Wick saw that the beaches he had passed would be bare and frozen by now. The long route had carried him from one season of plenty to another.

"You were right," he told Marrow, a little shyly.

"I do not say it often," she said, "but a long way is not always a wasted way. Sometimes the trip is what makes the bird."

When spring came, Wick turned north. He felt sure of himself and was eager to see it all again.

▲ This passage · 268 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

A young Arctic tern named Wick hatched on a gravel beach near the top of the world, where the summer sun barely set. When autumn came and the days began to shorten, the adult terns lifted into the sky and turned south, and Wick followed them, although he grumbled about it the whole way.

He complained to an old tern named Marrow that it was absurd to fly past warm beaches and fat, silver fish and keep going regardless, and he demanded to know why they had to travel to the very bottom of the planet. Marrow did not answer directly. She told him only to keep flying and to watch carefully what he passed.

Wick watched. He saw whales rise through foam, long coasts glowing at sunrise, and storms that rolled across the open ocean like gray mountains. He rested on rolling swells and fed on little fishes where cold currents met warm ones, and as weeks turned into months, his wings grew stronger with every mile.

At last, the terns reached the far southern waters, where the summer sun was shining and food was everywhere. Wick realized that the beaches he had passed would have been bare and frozen by now, and that the whole long route had carried him from one season of plenty to another.

"You were right," he told Marrow, a little sheepishly.

"I rarely say it," she replied, "but a long way is not always a wasted way. Sometimes the journey is the thing that makes the bird."

When spring returned, Wick turned north with new confidence, eager to see everything again.

■ Harder · 295 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.1

A young Arctic tern named Wick hatched on a gravel beach near the very top of the world, where the summer sun scarcely set at all. When autumn arrived and the days began to shorten noticeably, the adult terns lifted into the sky and turned toward the south, and Wick followed them, although he grumbled about the whole enterprise for the entire journey.

He complained to an elderly tern named Marrow that it was absolutely absurd to fly past warm beaches and fat, silver fish and to keep going regardless, and he demanded to know why they had to travel all the way to the very bottom of the planet. Marrow did not answer him directly. She told him only to keep flying and to watch carefully everything that he passed.

Wick watched. He saw whales rise through the foam, long coastlines glowing at sunrise, and storms that rolled across the open ocean like enormous gray mountains. He rested on the rolling swells and fed on little fishes at the places where cold currents met warm ones, and as weeks turned into months, his wings grew stronger with every passing mile.

At last, the terns reached the far southern waters, where the summer sun was shining and food was abundant everywhere. Wick realized that the beaches he had passed would have been bare and frozen by now, and that the whole long route had carried him from one season of plenty to another.

"You were right," he told Marrow, a little sheepishly.

"I rarely say it," she replied, "but a long way is not always a wasted way. Sometimes the journey itself is the thing that makes the bird."

When spring returned, Wick turned north with fresh confidence, eager to see everything all over again.

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 absurd, swells, currents, plenty and sheepishly 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 Arctic Tern Who Took the Long Way"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 268 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.6. 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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