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Grandpa Walt and the Stubborn Phone

8th grade fiction passage about a phone that changes words in texts: 275 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a phone that changes words in texts 275 words

Grandpa Walt and the Stubborn Phone

Grandpa Walt received his first smartphone on his seventy-second birthday, and he treated it with the deep suspicion that most people reserve for a strange dog. He typed slowly, using one finger, and he was certain that the phone was reading over his shoulder. Its most irritating habit was a feature called autocorrect, which changed his words without asking and seemed to take pleasure in doing it.

The trouble started when he texted his granddaughter Lena that he would meet her at the dock for fishing. The phone politely changed the word, and Lena received a message promising to meet her at the duck. She spent an hour searching the pond for a bird that was apparently expecting her. The next day he wrote that he was bringing a casserole, and the phone sent that he was bringing a castle. Lena's cousins began bragging to the neighbors, and the family group chat filled with questions about where he planned to park it.

Lena finally sat with him on the porch and explained that the phone was not clever, only eager, and that the cure was to read each message before pressing send. She also showed him how to turn the feature off. Grandpa Walt thought it over and decided to keep it on, because he had grown fond of the surprises. The family now keeps a list titled "Walt-isms," which includes "I need the ham" instead of "I need the hand," and a very proud message that read, "I caught a giant fist." Walt reads every text twice before he sends it, but he says that a little mischief keeps a person young.

Questions

  1. When did Grandpa Walt get his first smartphone? in the text

  2. What did the phone change "dock" into? in the text

  3. What did Lena suggest that Walt do before pressing send? in the text

  4. What is the list that the family keeps called? in the text

  5. Why did Lena search the pond for an hour? think about it

  6. Why did Walt decide to keep autocorrect turned on? think about it

Words to know

suspicion
a feeling that something cannot be trusted
autocorrect
a feature that changes typed words without asking
irritating
annoying and hard to put up with
eager
very keen and ready to act
mischief
playful behavior that causes harmless trouble
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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 2.7

Grandpa Walt got his first smartphone on his seventy-second birthday. He did not trust it. He treated it like a strange dog. He typed slowly with one finger. He was sure the phone was reading over his shoulder. The most annoying thing it did was called autocorrect. It changed his words without asking. It seemed to enjoy doing it.

The trouble began when he texted his granddaughter Lena. He said he would meet her at the dock for fishing. The phone changed the word. Lena got a note that said he would meet her at the duck. She spent an hour looking around the pond for a bird that was waiting for her. The next day he wrote that he was bringing a casserole. The phone sent that he was bringing a castle. Lena's cousins bragged to the neighbors. The family chat filled up with questions about where he would park it.

Lena sat with him on the porch. She said the phone was not clever, only eager. The cure was to read each message before pressing send. She also showed him how to turn the feature off. Grandpa Walt thought about it. He kept it on, because he liked the surprises. Now the family has a list called "Walt-isms." It has "I need the ham" for "I need the hand." It has a proud note that said, "I caught a giant fist." Walt reads each text twice. He says a little mischief keeps a person young.

▲ This passage · 275 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.8

Grandpa Walt received his first smartphone on his seventy-second birthday, and he treated it with the deep suspicion that most people reserve for a strange dog. He typed slowly, using one finger, and he was certain that the phone was reading over his shoulder. Its most irritating habit was a feature called autocorrect, which changed his words without asking and seemed to take pleasure in doing it.

The trouble started when he texted his granddaughter Lena that he would meet her at the dock for fishing. The phone politely changed the word, and Lena received a message promising to meet her at the duck. She spent an hour searching the pond for a bird that was apparently expecting her. The next day he wrote that he was bringing a casserole, and the phone sent that he was bringing a castle. Lena's cousins began bragging to the neighbors, and the family group chat filled with questions about where he planned to park it.

Lena finally sat with him on the porch and explained that the phone was not clever, only eager, and that the cure was to read each message before pressing send. She also showed him how to turn the feature off. Grandpa Walt thought it over and decided to keep it on, because he had grown fond of the surprises. The family now keeps a list titled "Walt-isms," which includes "I need the ham" instead of "I need the hand," and a very proud message that read, "I caught a giant fist." Walt reads every text twice before he sends it, but he says that a little mischief keeps a person young.

■ Harder · 281 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.2

Grandpa Walt received his first smartphone on his seventy-second birthday, and he regarded it with the profound suspicion that most people reserve for an unfamiliar dog. He typed laboriously with a single finger, and he was convinced that the phone was reading over his shoulder. Its most irritating habit was a feature called autocorrect, which altered his words without asking permission and seemed to take genuine delight in doing so.

The difficulties began when he texted his granddaughter Lena that he would meet her at the dock for a morning of fishing. The phone politely rewrote the word, and Lena received a message promising to meet her at the duck. She spent an hour scouring the pond for a bird that was apparently expecting her. The next day he wrote that he was bringing a casserole, and the phone transmitted that he was bringing a castle. Lena's cousins began boasting to the neighbors, and the family group chat overflowed with questions about where he intended to park it.

Lena finally sat down with him on the porch and explained that the phone was not clever, merely eager, and that the remedy was to read each message before pressing send. She also demonstrated how to switch the feature off. Grandpa Walt considered the option and decided to leave it on, because he had grown fond of the surprises. The family now maintains a list titled "Walt-isms," which includes "I need the ham" in place of "I need the hand," and one very proud announcement that read, "I caught a giant fist." Walt reads every text twice before sending it, but he insists that a little mischief keeps a person young.

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 suspicion, autocorrect, irritating, eager and mischief 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 "Grandpa Walt and the Stubborn Phone"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 275 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.8. 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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