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Snowshoe Tracks to the Closed Weather Station

8th grade fiction passage about tracks leading to a mountain hut: 261 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction tracks leading to a mountain hut 261 words

Snowshoe Tracks to the Closed Weather Station

During the school ski trip, Calla and her cousin Jonas noticed a line of snowshoe tracks that led away from the trail and up toward a small gray building. A sign on the wall said the old weather station had been shut for the winter, so the tracks puzzled them. Nobody was supposed to go there.

"Let us tell Ms. Ferrant," Calla said, and they skied back to the group. The teacher listened closely and then walked up with them, planting her poles carefully as she climbed.

The tracks ended at the door. Beside the step lay a scatter of fresh crumbs, and near the window hung a bird feeder made from a plastic bottle, filled with sunflower seeds. Through the glass they saw a tidy table set with a thermometer, a notebook, and a pencil.

"Someone is still working here," Ms. Ferrant said quietly.

As if she had heard them, a woman in a thick red jacket came around the corner, carrying a bucket. She introduced herself as Dr. Sato, a volunteer who recorded the temperature and snow depth every morning for a long-term study. The station was closed to visitors in winter, but the measurements never stopped, and she had set up the feeder because the chickadees kept her company.

"Those records are older than I am," she said. "Missing a single day would leave a gap in the data."

She invited them to watch the next reading from the doorway, and Jonas wrote the number in his own notebook, grinning, as the chickadees fluttered down to eat.

Questions

  1. What did Calla and Jonas notice leading toward the gray building? in the text

  2. What was hanging near the window? in the text

  3. Who was working at the station? in the text

  4. Why did Dr. Sato say missing a single day would matter? in the text

  5. Why did the sign say the station was closed even though someone was working there? think about it

  6. What does the feeder tell you about Dr. Sato? think about it

Words to know

snowshoe
a wide frame worn on a boot to walk on deep snow
scatter
a small number of things spread around
volunteer
a person who works without being paid
long-term
lasting or continuing over many years
data
facts and numbers collected to study something
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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 · 227 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1

On the school ski trip, Calla and her cousin Jonas saw snowshoe tracks. The tracks left the trail and went up to a small gray building. A sign said the old weather station was closed for the winter. The tracks puzzled them. No one should be there.

"Let us tell Ms. Ferrant," Calla said. They skied back to the group. The teacher listened. Then she walked up with them.

The tracks ended at the door. Crumbs lay by the step. A bird feeder made from a plastic bottle hung near the window. It was full of sunflower seeds. Through the glass they saw a tidy table with a thermometer, a notebook, and a pencil.

"Someone still works here," Ms. Ferrant said softly.

Then a woman in a thick red jacket came around the corner with a bucket. She was Dr. Sato. She was a volunteer. Every morning she wrote down the temperature and the snow depth for a long study. The station was closed to visitors in winter, but the readings went on. She put up the feeder because the chickadees kept her company.

"These records are older than I am," she said. "If I miss a day, there is a gap."

She let them watch the next reading from the door. Jonas wrote the number in his notebook and grinned. The chickadees flew down to eat.

▲ This passage · 261 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

During the school ski trip, Calla and her cousin Jonas noticed a line of snowshoe tracks that led away from the trail and up toward a small gray building. A sign on the wall said the old weather station had been shut for the winter, so the tracks puzzled them. Nobody was supposed to go there.

"Let us tell Ms. Ferrant," Calla said, and they skied back to the group. The teacher listened closely and then walked up with them, planting her poles carefully as she climbed.

The tracks ended at the door. Beside the step lay a scatter of fresh crumbs, and near the window hung a bird feeder made from a plastic bottle, filled with sunflower seeds. Through the glass they saw a tidy table set with a thermometer, a notebook, and a pencil.

"Someone is still working here," Ms. Ferrant said quietly.

As if she had heard them, a woman in a thick red jacket came around the corner, carrying a bucket. She introduced herself as Dr. Sato, a volunteer who recorded the temperature and snow depth every morning for a long-term study. The station was closed to visitors in winter, but the measurements never stopped, and she had set up the feeder because the chickadees kept her company.

"Those records are older than I am," she said. "Missing a single day would leave a gap in the data."

She invited them to watch the next reading from the doorway, and Jonas wrote the number in his own notebook, grinning, as the chickadees fluttered down to eat.

■ Harder · 278 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.1

During the school ski trip, Calla and her cousin Jonas noticed a line of snowshoe tracks that led away from the main trail and up toward a small gray building. A sign on the wall announced that the old weather station had been shut for the winter, so the tracks puzzled them considerably, since nobody was supposed to be anywhere near it.

"Let us tell Ms. Ferrant," Calla said, and they skied back to rejoin the group. The teacher listened closely and then climbed up with them, planting her poles carefully in the deep snow.

The tracks ended at the door. Beside the step lay a scatter of fresh crumbs, and near the window hung a bird feeder fashioned from a plastic bottle and filled with sunflower seeds. Through the glass they glimpsed a tidy table set with a thermometer, a notebook, and a sharpened pencil.

"Someone is still working here," Ms. Ferrant said quietly.

As if she had overheard them, a woman in a thick red jacket came around the corner, carrying a bucket. She introduced herself as Dr. Sato, a volunteer who recorded the temperature and snow depth every single morning for a long-term study. The station was closed to visitors in winter, but the measurements never stopped, and she had put up the feeder because the chickadees kept her company during the long, quiet hours.

"Those records are older than I am," she said. "Missing even one day would leave a permanent gap in the data."

She invited them to observe the next reading from the doorway, and Jonas copied the number into his own notebook, grinning, as the chickadees fluttered down to eat.

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 snowshoe, scatter, volunteer, long-term and data 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 "Snowshoe Tracks to the Closed Weather Station"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 261 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.6. 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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