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The Cuttlefish Who Could Not Hide His Mood

8th grade fiction passage about a color-changing sea animal: 270 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a color-changing sea animal 270 words

The Cuttlefish Who Could Not Hide His Mood

Along a rocky reef, a young cuttlefish named Sepi had a problem that he considered terrible. Like all cuttlefish, his skin could change color in an instant, and his colors seemed to tell everyone exactly how he felt. When he was nervous, ripples of gray washed over his body, when he was excited, bright stripes flashed along his sides, and when he was embarrassed, he blushed a deep, blotchy red.

Sepi complained to a hermit crab that he wished he could keep his feelings private, because everyone on the reef could read him like a sign. The crab tilted his shell thoughtfully and asked whether that was really so bad.

Sepi decided that it was, and he spent weeks trying to stay a calm, steady brown, which exhausted him. Whenever a shy young shrimp swam by, Sepi's effort to hide his friendly stripes made him look stern and unwelcoming, and the shrimp hurried away.

One evening, a school of tiny fish drifted into the reef, searching for a safe place to rest. They did not know which crevices were guarded by hungry eels. Sepi, spotting the danger, forgot his careful brown and flushed a vivid, urgent red, flashing a warning across his whole body. The little fish understood at once and darted away from the hiding place.

Sepi was astonished. His open colors had said what words never could. The next morning, when the shrimp passed again, he let his friendly stripes ripple freely, and the shrimp stayed to chat. He had learned that being easy to read can be a gift to the friends who need to understand you.

Questions

  1. What did Sepi's skin do when he was nervous? in the text

  2. Why did Sepi try to stay brown? in the text

  3. What happened when Sepi hid his friendly stripes? in the text

  4. How did Sepi warn the tiny fish? in the text

  5. Why did the tiny fish understand Sepi at once? think about it

  6. What lesson does the story teach? think about it

Words to know

reef
a ridge of rock or coral near the sea surface
blotchy
covered in uneven spots or patches of color
stern
serious and strict-looking, not friendly
crevices
narrow cracks or openings in rock
astonished
greatly surprised and amazed
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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 · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

Along a rocky reef, a young cuttlefish named Sepi had a problem. He thought it was terrible. Like all cuttlefish, his skin could change color fast, and his colors showed how he felt. When he was nervous, gray ripples washed over him. When he was excited, bright stripes flashed on his sides. When he was embarrassed, he blushed a deep, spotty red.

"I wish I could keep my feelings private," he told a hermit crab. "Everyone on this reef can read me like a sign."

The crab tipped his shell. "Is that so bad?"

Sepi thought it was. For weeks, he tried to stay a calm brown. It made him tired. When a shy young shrimp swam by, Sepi hid his friendly stripes. He looked stern and cold, and the shrimp hurried away.

One evening, a school of tiny fish drifted into the reef to find a safe place to rest. They did not know which cracks in the rock were guarded by hungry eels. Sepi saw the danger. He forgot his careful brown and flushed a bright, urgent red. He flashed a warning across his whole body. The little fish understood at once and darted away.

Sepi was amazed. His open colors had said what words could not. The next morning, when the shrimp passed again, he let his friendly stripes ripple, and the shrimp stayed to chat. Being easy to read, he learned, can be a gift to friends who need to understand you.

▲ This passage · 270 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

Along a rocky reef, a young cuttlefish named Sepi had a problem that he considered terrible. Like all cuttlefish, his skin could change color in an instant, and his colors seemed to tell everyone exactly how he felt. When he was nervous, ripples of gray washed over his body, when he was excited, bright stripes flashed along his sides, and when he was embarrassed, he blushed a deep, blotchy red.

Sepi complained to a hermit crab that he wished he could keep his feelings private, because everyone on the reef could read him like a sign. The crab tilted his shell thoughtfully and asked whether that was really so bad.

Sepi decided that it was, and he spent weeks trying to stay a calm, steady brown, which exhausted him. Whenever a shy young shrimp swam by, Sepi's effort to hide his friendly stripes made him look stern and unwelcoming, and the shrimp hurried away.

One evening, a school of tiny fish drifted into the reef, searching for a safe place to rest. They did not know which crevices were guarded by hungry eels. Sepi, spotting the danger, forgot his careful brown and flushed a vivid, urgent red, flashing a warning across his whole body. The little fish understood at once and darted away from the hiding place.

Sepi was astonished. His open colors had said what words never could. The next morning, when the shrimp passed again, he let his friendly stripes ripple freely, and the shrimp stayed to chat. He had learned that being easy to read can be a gift to the friends who need to understand you.

■ Harder · 285 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.8

Along a rocky reef in the warm shallows, a young cuttlefish named Sepi had a problem that he considered absolutely dreadful. Like all cuttlefish, his skin could change color in an instant, and his colors seemed to announce exactly how he felt to everyone nearby. When he was nervous, ripples of gray washed over his body, when he was excited, bright stripes flashed along his sides, and when he was embarrassed, he blushed a deep, blotchy red.

Sepi complained to a hermit crab that he wished he could keep his feelings private, because everyone on the entire reef could read him like a sign. The crab tilted his shell thoughtfully and inquired whether that was really so very bad.

Sepi decided that it was, and he spent weeks trying to remain a calm, steady brown, which exhausted him completely. Whenever a shy young shrimp swam past, Sepi's attempt to hide his friendly stripes made him look stern and unwelcoming, and the shrimp hurried away without a word.

One evening, a school of tiny fish drifted into the reef, searching for a safe place to rest. They had no idea which crevices were guarded by hungry eels. Sepi, spotting the danger, forgot his careful brown entirely and flushed a vivid, urgent red, flashing a warning across his whole body. The little fish understood at once and darted away from the hiding place.

Sepi was astonished. His open colors had communicated what words never could. The next morning, when the shrimp passed again, he let his friendly stripes ripple freely, and the shrimp stayed to chat. He had learned that being easy to read can be a precious gift to the friends who need to understand you.

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 reef, blotchy, stern, crevices and astonished 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 Cuttlefish Who Could Not Hide His Mood"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 270 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.7. 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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