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The Honeyguide Who Waited for a Partner

8th grade fiction passage about a bird that leads to honey: 260 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a bird that leads to honey 260 words

The Honeyguide Who Waited for a Partner

A small brown honeyguide named Tavi lived in a grassy valley dotted with acacia trees, and she had a rare talent. Better than any other bird, she could find the wild bees' nests hidden in tree hollows, and she knew precisely where the sweetest honey was kept.

There was one considerable difficulty, though. Tavi loved the waxy honeycomb, but she could not break into a hive by herself, because the bees were many, the bark was thick, and her beak was tiny.

For a long while she attempted to manage alone. She pecked at the bark until her beak ached, and the bees swarmed around her and sent her tumbling into the grass. She muttered that it was unfair that she should find the hive while somebody else ought to do the hard part.

A honey badger named Brisk happened to be wandering nearby. He was strong and thick-skinned, but he was rather clumsy at locating hives. He did not see Tavi at first. Then she began to chatter loudly from a branch, and she fluttered a little way ahead, waited, and fluttered ahead again.

Brisk understood. He followed her chattering path for a long way until they reached a gnarled old tree. With his sharp claws, he tore open the hollow and enjoyed the honey, and he left behind a generous share of the comb on the ground.

Tavi ate until she was full. She had finally learned that her skill was only half of the answer, and that a partner with different strengths could finish the job.

Questions

  1. What special talent did Tavi have? in the text

  2. Why could Tavi not break into a hive herself? in the text

  3. How did Tavi get the badger's attention? in the text

  4. What did Brisk leave for Tavi? in the text

  5. Why did Tavi's solo attempt fail? think about it

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

Words to know

acacia
a kind of thorny tree common in dry, warm lands
hollows
empty spaces inside trees or other solid things
swarmed
gathered around in a big, buzzing crowd
gnarled
twisted and rough, as old trees often are
generous
willing to give or share more than needed
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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 · 237 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.3

A small brown honeyguide named Tavi lived in a grassy valley with acacia trees. She had a rare talent. She could find wild bees' nests hidden in tree hollows better than any other bird. She knew where the sweetest honey was.

But there was one problem. Tavi loved the waxy honeycomb, but she could not break into a hive alone. The bees were many, the bark was thick, and her beak was tiny.

For a long time, she tried by herself. She pecked at the bark until her beak ached. The bees swarmed around her and sent her tumbling into the grass. "This is not fair," she muttered. "I find the hive, and someone else should do the hard part."

A honey badger named Brisk was wandering nearby. He was strong and thick-skinned, but he was not good at finding hives. He did not see Tavi at first. Then she began to chatter loudly from a branch. She fluttered a little way ahead, waited, and fluttered ahead again.

Brisk understood. He followed her for a long way until they came to an old, twisted tree. With his sharp claws, he tore open the hollow and ate the honey. He left a big share of the comb on the ground.

Tavi ate until she was full. She had learned that her skill was only half of the answer. A partner with different strengths could finish the job.

▲ This passage · 260 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.8

A small brown honeyguide named Tavi lived in a grassy valley dotted with acacia trees, and she had a rare talent. Better than any other bird, she could find the wild bees' nests hidden in tree hollows, and she knew precisely where the sweetest honey was kept.

There was one considerable difficulty, though. Tavi loved the waxy honeycomb, but she could not break into a hive by herself, because the bees were many, the bark was thick, and her beak was tiny.

For a long while she attempted to manage alone. She pecked at the bark until her beak ached, and the bees swarmed around her and sent her tumbling into the grass. She muttered that it was unfair that she should find the hive while somebody else ought to do the hard part.

A honey badger named Brisk happened to be wandering nearby. He was strong and thick-skinned, but he was rather clumsy at locating hives. He did not see Tavi at first. Then she began to chatter loudly from a branch, and she fluttered a little way ahead, waited, and fluttered ahead again.

Brisk understood. He followed her chattering path for a long way until they reached a gnarled old tree. With his sharp claws, he tore open the hollow and enjoyed the honey, and he left behind a generous share of the comb on the ground.

Tavi ate until she was full. She had finally learned that her skill was only half of the answer, and that a partner with different strengths could finish the job.

■ Harder · 277 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8

A small brown honeyguide named Tavi lived in a broad grassy valley dotted with acacia trees, and she possessed a rare and valuable talent. Better than any other bird in the valley, she could locate the wild bees' nests concealed in tree hollows, and she knew precisely where the sweetest honey was stored.

There was, however, one considerable difficulty. Tavi adored the waxy honeycomb, but she could not break into a hive by herself, because the bees were numerous, the bark was thick, and her beak was tiny.

For a long while she attempted to manage on her own. She pecked at the bark until her beak ached, and the angry bees swarmed around her and sent her tumbling into the grass. She muttered that it was deeply unfair that she should find the hive while somebody else ought to do the difficult part.

A honey badger named Brisk happened to be wandering nearby. He was strong and thick-skinned, but he was also rather clumsy at locating hives on his own. He did not notice Tavi at first. Then she began to chatter loudly from a branch, and she fluttered a short distance ahead, waited patiently, and fluttered ahead once more.

Brisk understood. He followed her chattering path for a long way until they reached a gnarled old tree. With his sharp claws, he tore open the hollow and enjoyed the honey, and he left behind a generous share of the comb on the ground.

Tavi ate until she was full. She had finally learned that her skill was only half of the answer, and that a partner with different strengths could complete the job successfully.

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 acacia, hollows, swarmed, gnarled and generous 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 Honeyguide Who Waited for a Partner"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 260 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.8. 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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