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The Borrowed Violin

8th grade fiction passage about kindness and courage: 302 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction kindness and courage 302 words

The Borrowed Violin

Lena's fingers were icy as she waited anxiously outside the music room, and her heart was pounding against her ribs. In ten minutes she would play for the orchestra audition, performing a piece that she had practiced every single night since September. She opened her case for one final check, and her stomach dropped. The A string had snapped in two, curling up like a tiny silver spring.

Her teacher, Mrs. Brandt, was away at a conference, and the nearest music store, which could have sold her a replacement, was clear across town. Lena looked helplessly down the hallway. At the far end, Pablo, a quiet boy from the cello section, was zipping up his backpack. Although they sat in the same orchestra, they had barely spoken all year.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the panic on her face.

"My string broke," Lena whispered, "and I do not have a spare."

Pablo thought for a moment. "A cello string will not fit your violin." Then his eyes lit up. "But I keep my cousin's old violin in my locker, in case I ever need a practice partner. Would you like to borrow it?"

The borrowed violin was slightly heavier than Lena's own, and the strings felt unfamiliar beneath her fingertips. She tuned it with great care, took a long breath, and walked into the audition room. The first notes wobbled nervously, but by the second page her hands remembered everything they had learned, and the melody poured out strong and clear.

Afterward, Lena found Pablo waiting in the hallway and thanked him sincerely for rescuing her. "You did the playing," he replied with a shy, modest smile.

The following week, the two musicians signed up to rehearse a duet together, one cello and one violin, in the music room after school.

Questions

  1. What went wrong just before Lena's audition? in the text

  2. Where did Pablo keep his cousin's old violin? in the text

  3. How did Lena play on the second page? in the text

  4. Why did the first notes wobble? think about it

  5. What does the duet at the end suggest about Lena and Pablo? think about it

Words to know

audition
a short performance to try out for a group
orchestra
a large group of musicians who play together
snapped
broke suddenly with a sharp sound
unfamiliar
not known or not used to yet
duet
a piece of music played by two people
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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 · 280 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.8

Lena's fingers were cold. She waited outside the music room, and her heart was pounding. In ten minutes she would play for the orchestra audition. She had practiced the piece every night since September. She opened her case for one last check. Her stomach dropped. The A string had snapped in two. It curled up like a tiny silver spring.

Her teacher, Mrs. Brandt, was away at a conference. The nearest music store was across town. Lena looked down the hallway. At the far end, Pablo was zipping up his backpack. He was a quiet boy from the cello section. They sat in the same orchestra, but they had barely spoken all year.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. He saw the panic on her face.

"My string broke," Lena whispered. "I do not have a spare."

Pablo thought. "A cello string will not fit your violin." Then his eyes lit up. "But I keep my cousin's old violin in my locker. I keep it in case I need a practice partner. Would you like to borrow it?"

The borrowed violin was a little heavier than Lena's own. The strings felt new under her fingertips. She tuned it with care, took a long breath, and went into the room. The first notes wobbled. But by the second page her hands remembered what they knew. The music poured out strong and clear.

Afterward, Lena found Pablo in the hallway. She thanked him for rescuing her. "You did the playing," he said with a shy smile.

The next week, the two of them signed up to practice a duet. It would be one cello and one violin, in the music room after school.

▲ This passage · 302 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.7

Lena's fingers were icy as she waited anxiously outside the music room, and her heart was pounding against her ribs. In ten minutes she would play for the orchestra audition, performing a piece that she had practiced every single night since September. She opened her case for one final check, and her stomach dropped. The A string had snapped in two, curling up like a tiny silver spring.

Her teacher, Mrs. Brandt, was away at a conference, and the nearest music store, which could have sold her a replacement, was clear across town. Lena looked helplessly down the hallway. At the far end, Pablo, a quiet boy from the cello section, was zipping up his backpack. Although they sat in the same orchestra, they had barely spoken all year.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the panic on her face.

"My string broke," Lena whispered, "and I do not have a spare."

Pablo thought for a moment. "A cello string will not fit your violin." Then his eyes lit up. "But I keep my cousin's old violin in my locker, in case I ever need a practice partner. Would you like to borrow it?"

The borrowed violin was slightly heavier than Lena's own, and the strings felt unfamiliar beneath her fingertips. She tuned it with great care, took a long breath, and walked into the audition room. The first notes wobbled nervously, but by the second page her hands remembered everything they had learned, and the melody poured out strong and clear.

Afterward, Lena found Pablo waiting in the hallway and thanked him sincerely for rescuing her. "You did the playing," he replied with a shy, modest smile.

The following week, the two musicians signed up to rehearse a duet together, one cello and one violin, in the music room after school.

■ Harder · 307 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7

Lena's fingers were icy as she waited anxiously outside the music room, and her heart was pounding against her ribs. In ten minutes she would perform for the orchestra audition, playing a piece that she had practiced every single night since September. She opened her case for one final inspection, and her stomach dropped. The A string had snapped in two, curling up like a tiny silver spring.

Her teacher, Mrs. Brandt, was away at a conference, and the nearest music store, which could have sold her a replacement, was clear across town. Lena looked helplessly down the hallway. At the far end, Pablo, a quiet boy from the cello section, was zipping up his backpack. Although they sat in the same orchestra, they had barely exchanged a word all year.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the panic on her face.

"My string broke," Lena whispered, "and I do not have a spare."

Pablo considered the problem for a moment. "A cello string will not fit your violin." Then his eyes lit up. "But I keep my cousin's old violin in my locker, in case I ever need a practice partner. Would you like to borrow it?"

The borrowed violin was slightly heavier than Lena's own, and the strings felt unfamiliar beneath her fingertips. She tuned it with great care, took a long, steadying breath, and walked into the audition room. The first notes wobbled nervously, but by the second page her hands remembered everything they had learned, and the melody poured out strong and clear.

Afterward, Lena found Pablo waiting in the hallway and thanked him sincerely for rescuing her. "You did the playing," he replied with a shy, modest smile.

The following week, the two musicians signed up to rehearse a duet together, one cello and one violin, in the music room after school.

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 audition, orchestra, snapped, unfamiliar and duet 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 4 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 Borrowed Violin"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 302 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 6.7. 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 five. 3 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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