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Foreign Coins in the Footbridge Donation Jar

8th grade fiction passage about coins from many countries in a jar: 262 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction coins from many countries in a jar 262 words

Foreign Coins in the Footbridge Donation Jar

The old footbridge over Larch Creek had a glass jar bolted to its railing, and anyone who crossed could drop in a coin to help pay for repairs. Every month, Wanjiru and her father counted the contents. That March, they discovered that the jar held coins from places that nobody in their small town had ever visited.

There were bronze pieces from Poland, a thin silver one from Canada, and a scalloped coin with a lion on it that Wanjiru could not identify. "It is almost as if a traveler emptied their pockets here," her father said, "but one traveler would not have dropped twenty."

Wanjiru photographed the coins and spread them across the kitchen table. She noticed that each one had been placed in the jar on a different day, because the paper slips her father used for the counting listed a date beside every deposit. Every Friday there was exactly one foreign coin, and none had appeared on any other day.

She began to wait on the bridge on Fridays. Near four o'clock, a postal truck stopped, and a driver named Mr. Deshmukh climbed out. He took a coin from a small cloth bag, dropped it into the jar, and tipped his cap.

"My route includes the airport sorting center," he explained. "Travelers leave leftover coins in the mail bins, and I figured the bridge could use them. I never get a chance to say hello, so I just leave a coin."

Wanjiru thanked him, and the next Friday she left him a thank-you note taped beside the jar.

Questions

  1. What was the glass jar on the footbridge used for? in the text

  2. What odd thing did Wanjiru and her father discover in March? in the text

  3. On which day of the week did a foreign coin appear? in the text

  4. Where did Mr. Deshmukh get his coins? in the text

  5. Why did Wanjiru decide that one traveler had not left all the coins? think about it

  6. How can you tell Wanjiru was grateful to Mr. Deshmukh? think about it

Words to know

footbridge
a narrow bridge made for people on foot
scalloped
having a curved, wavy edge
deposit
something put in a place to be kept
sorting
putting things into groups or places
leftover
remaining after the rest has been used
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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 · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

An old footbridge crossed Larch Creek. A glass jar was bolted to its railing. People dropped in coins to help pay for repairs. Each month, Wanjiru and her father counted the coins. In March, they found a surprise. The jar held coins from places nobody in town had visited.

There were bronze coins from Poland and a thin silver one from Canada. One had a lion on it, and Wanjiru did not know where it came from. "One traveler would not drop twenty," her father said.

Wanjiru took photos and spread the coins on the table. Her father's slips showed a date for every coin. Each Friday, one foreign coin came. None came on other days.

So Wanjiru waited on the bridge on a Friday. Near four o'clock, a mail truck stopped. The driver, Mr. Deshmukh, took a coin from a cloth bag. He dropped it in the jar and tipped his cap.

"My route includes the airport sorting center," he said. "Travelers leave extra coins in the mail bins. I thought the bridge could use them. I never get to say hello, so I leave a coin."

Wanjiru thanked him. The next Friday she taped a thank-you note beside the jar.

▲ This passage · 262 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.2

The old footbridge over Larch Creek had a glass jar bolted to its railing, and anyone who crossed could drop in a coin to help pay for repairs. Every month, Wanjiru and her father counted the contents. That March, they discovered that the jar held coins from places that nobody in their small town had ever visited.

There were bronze pieces from Poland, a thin silver one from Canada, and a scalloped coin with a lion on it that Wanjiru could not identify. "It is almost as if a traveler emptied their pockets here," her father said, "but one traveler would not have dropped twenty."

Wanjiru photographed the coins and spread them across the kitchen table. She noticed that each one had been placed in the jar on a different day, because the paper slips her father used for the counting listed a date beside every deposit. Every Friday there was exactly one foreign coin, and none had appeared on any other day.

She began to wait on the bridge on Fridays. Near four o'clock, a postal truck stopped, and a driver named Mr. Deshmukh climbed out. He took a coin from a small cloth bag, dropped it into the jar, and tipped his cap.

"My route includes the airport sorting center," he explained. "Travelers leave leftover coins in the mail bins, and I figured the bridge could use them. I never get a chance to say hello, so I just leave a coin."

Wanjiru thanked him, and the next Friday she left him a thank-you note taped beside the jar.

■ Harder · 272 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3

The old footbridge over Larch Creek had a glass jar bolted to its railing, and anyone who crossed could drop in a coin to help pay for repairs. Every month, Wanjiru and her father counted the contents, and that March they discovered that the jar held coins from countries that nobody in their small town had ever visited.

There were bronze pieces from Poland, a thin silver one from Canada, and a scalloped coin bearing a lion that Wanjiru could not identify. "It is almost as if a traveler emptied their pockets here," her father remarked, "but a single traveler would not have dropped twenty."

Wanjiru photographed the coins and spread them across the kitchen table. She noticed that each one had been placed in the jar on a different day, because the paper slips her father used for the monthly count listed a date beside every deposit. Every Friday there was exactly one foreign coin, and none had ever appeared on any other day of the week.

She began to wait on the bridge on Fridays. Near four o'clock, a postal truck pulled over, and a driver named Mr. Deshmukh climbed out. He took a coin from a small cloth bag, dropped it into the jar, and politely tipped his cap.

"My route includes the airport sorting center," he explained. "Travelers leave their leftover coins in the mail bins, and I figured the bridge could put them to good use. I never get a chance to say hello, so I simply leave a coin."

Wanjiru thanked him warmly, and the following Friday she taped a thank-you note beside the jar.

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 footbridge, scalloped, deposit, sorting and leftover 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 "Foreign Coins in the Footbridge Donation Jar"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 262 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.2. 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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