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Arrows Left of the Gold

8th grade fiction passage about learning archery: 314 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction learning archery 314 words

Arrows Left of the Gold

For six Saturdays in a row, Calloway's arrows landed in the same patch of the target, just to the left of the gold circle. The gold was only about the size of a dinner plate, and the target stood on a bale of straw twenty meters away. The pattern bothered him far more than any random miss would have, because a scattered shot could be blamed on luck, whereas a tight cluster in the wrong place felt like a message that he was unable to read.

Instructor Pell watched him shoot an entire round and said nothing until the last arrow was gone, and then she told him that his aim was perfectly fine but that his release was the real problem, since his fingers flicked outward when he let go of the string. The arrow simply followed them. Calloway suggested that he could simply aim farther to the right to make up for it. But she explained that such a change would fix the symptom without touching the cause.

She handed him a thin leather tab and showed him how to let the string slip away from his fingers instead of throwing it. He was to keep his hand relaxed against his jaw and imagine his fingers opening like a door on a slow hinge. The next three rounds were humbling, because his arrows scattered wildly and one buried itself in the dirt a full meter short of the straw. Calloway felt his patience fraying. But he kept practicing the slow hinge, and on the fourth round the string rolled away smoothly and his arrow struck the ring just beside the gold.

Pell nodded and told him to do it again, and then fifty times more. By the end of the month his arrows were landing everywhere in the middle of the target. One afternoon, to his astonishment, one finally pierced the gold.

Questions

  1. Where did Calloway's arrows keep landing on the target? in the text

  2. According to Instructor Pell, what was the real problem? in the text

  3. What did Pell give Calloway to help his release? in the text

  4. What happened to his shots right after he changed his release? in the text

  5. Why did Calloway find a tight cluster more bothering than random misses? think about it

  6. What does Pell mean by fixing the symptom instead of the cause? think about it

Words to know

release
the way an archer lets go of the string
cluster
a group of things close together
symptom
a sign that shows something is wrong, but is not the real cause
humbling
making you feel less sure of yourself
astonishment
great surprise
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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 · 243 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.9

For six Saturdays in a row, Calloway's arrows hit the same spot on the target. It was just left of the gold. The gold circle was only the size of a dinner plate. The target stood on a bale of straw twenty meters away. The pattern bothered him. A random miss could be blamed on luck. A tight group in the wrong place was like a message he could not read.

Instructor Pell watched a full round. Then she spoke. "Your aim is fine," she said. "Your release is the problem. When you let go of the string, your fingers flick out. The arrow follows them."

Calloway frowned. "So I should aim farther right?"

"You could. But that fixes the symptom, not the cause." She gave him a thin leather tab. "Let the string slip off your fingers. Do not throw it. Keep your hand relaxed against your jaw. Think of your fingers opening like a door on a slow hinge."

The next three rounds were hard. His arrows went everywhere. One landed in the dirt a full meter short. He felt his patience wear thin, but he kept using the slow hinge. On the fourth round, the string rolled away smoothly. His arrow hit the ring right beside the gold.

Pell nodded. "Closer. Do it again. Then fifty times more."

By the end of the month, his arrows landed all over the middle. One afternoon, to his surprise, one hit the gold.

▲ This passage · 314 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.1

For six Saturdays in a row, Calloway's arrows landed in the same patch of the target, just to the left of the gold circle. The gold was only about the size of a dinner plate, and the target stood on a bale of straw twenty meters away. The pattern bothered him far more than any random miss would have, because a scattered shot could be blamed on luck, whereas a tight cluster in the wrong place felt like a message that he was unable to read.

Instructor Pell watched him shoot an entire round and said nothing until the last arrow was gone, and then she told him that his aim was perfectly fine but that his release was the real problem, since his fingers flicked outward when he let go of the string. The arrow simply followed them. Calloway suggested that he could simply aim farther to the right to make up for it. But she explained that such a change would fix the symptom without touching the cause.

She handed him a thin leather tab and showed him how to let the string slip away from his fingers instead of throwing it. He was to keep his hand relaxed against his jaw and imagine his fingers opening like a door on a slow hinge. The next three rounds were humbling, because his arrows scattered wildly and one buried itself in the dirt a full meter short of the straw. Calloway felt his patience fraying. But he kept practicing the slow hinge, and on the fourth round the string rolled away smoothly and his arrow struck the ring just beside the gold.

Pell nodded and told him to do it again, and then fifty times more. By the end of the month his arrows were landing everywhere in the middle of the target. One afternoon, to his astonishment, one finally pierced the gold.

■ Harder · 315 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.4

For six Saturdays in a row, Calloway's arrows landed in the same patch of the target, just to the left of the gold circle. The gold was only about the size of a dinner plate, and the target stood on a bale of straw twenty meters away. The pattern troubled him far more than any random miss would have, because a scattered shot could be blamed on luck, whereas a tight cluster in the wrong place felt like a message that he was unable to read.

Instructor Pell watched him shoot an entire round and said nothing until the last arrow was gone, and then she told him that his aim was perfectly sound but that his release was the real problem, since his fingers flicked outward when he let go of the string. The arrow merely followed them. Calloway suggested that he could aim farther to the right to make up for it, but she explained that such a change would fix the symptom without touching the cause.

She handed him a thin leather tab and showed him how to let the string slip away from his fingers instead of throwing it. He was to keep his hand relaxed against his jaw and imagine his fingers opening like a door on a slow hinge. The next three rounds were humbling, because his arrows scattered wildly and one buried itself in the dirt a full meter short of the straw, and Calloway felt his patience fraying. But he persisted in practicing the slow hinge, and on the fourth round the string rolled away smoothly and his arrow struck the ring just beside the gold.

Pell nodded and told him to do it again, and then fifty times more. By the end of the month his arrows were landing everywhere in the middle of the target. One afternoon, to his astonishment, one finally pierced the gold.

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 release, cluster, symptom, humbling and astonishment 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 "Arrows Left of the Gold"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 314 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.1. 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 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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