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The Bridge Test

8th grade fiction passage about teamwork: 319 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction teamwork 319 words

The Bridge Test

On Friday morning, Ms. Alvarez's class would finally test the toothpick bridges that each team had been building for two weeks. The rules were demanding: a bridge had to span thirty centimeters between two stacks of books and hold a jar of coins without collapsing. Ines, Theo, and Wen had spent every lunch period gluing, and Ines was convinced that theirs was the most impressive design in the entire room.

It was not. When Theo gently lowered the jar onto the middle, the bridge groaned, sagged, and folded into a heap of splinters and glue. Nobody spoke for several seconds. Ines stared at the wreckage, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, and then muttered that they should simply hand in a written report because there was no time to start over.

Theo glanced toward Wen, who had hardly said a word since the project began and was quietly turning a broken piece over in his fingers. "The flat sections bent first," Wen said at last. "Look at this. Wherever the toothpicks formed triangles, they stayed strong. A triangle cannot squash sideways the way a rectangle can."

Ines blinked in surprise and asked why he had not mentioned it earlier. Wen admitted that he had assumed everyone was satisfied with the plan, and he had not wanted to ruin their excitement.

Ms. Alvarez generously gave the team until the end of the day. They gathered fresh toothpicks, and this time Ines listened carefully while Wen sketched an improved design: a row of triangles along each side, with crossing braces underneath. Theo mixed the glue while Ines carefully positioned each toothpick, and by the final bell the new bridge was standing between the stacks of books, looking far sturdier than the first one.

Theo lowered the jar once again. The bridge creaked softly, but it held. Ines grinned and turned to her quietest teammate. "From now on," she said, "you talk first."

Questions

  1. What did each team's bridge have to do? in the text

  2. Which part of the first bridge stayed strong? in the text

  3. Did the second bridge hold the jar? in the text

  4. Why had Wen stayed quiet about the problem? think about it

  5. What did Ines learn by the end of the story? think about it

Words to know

span
to reach across a gap from one side to the other
wreckage
the broken pieces left after something falls apart
muttered
said something quietly and not very clearly
braces
pieces that give extra support to a structure
sturdier
stronger and less likely to break
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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 · 275 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.3

On Friday morning, Ms. Alvarez's class would test the toothpick bridges. Each team had built one for two weeks. A bridge had to reach thirty centimeters between two stacks of books. It also had to hold a jar of coins. Ines, Theo, and Wen had glued every lunch period. Ines was sure theirs was the best in the room.

It was not. Theo gently put the jar on the middle. The bridge groaned and sagged. Then it fell into a heap of splinters and glue. Nobody spoke. Ines stared at the mess. Her cheeks burned. She muttered that they should just hand in a report. There was no time to start over.

Theo looked at Wen. Wen had hardly said a word since the project began. He was quietly turning a broken piece over in his fingers. "The flat parts bent first," Wen said. "Look. Where the toothpicks made triangles, they stayed strong. A triangle cannot squash sideways like a rectangle can."

Ines blinked. She asked why he had not said so sooner. Wen said he thought everyone liked the plan. He had not wanted to spoil it.

Ms. Alvarez gave the team until the end of the day. They got new toothpicks. This time Ines listened while Wen drew a new design. It had a row of triangles along each side, with crossing braces underneath. Theo mixed the glue. Ines placed each toothpick. By the last bell, the new bridge stood between the books. It looked much sturdier.

Theo lowered the jar again. The bridge creaked softly, but it held. Ines grinned at her quietest teammate. "From now on," she said, "you talk first."

▲ This passage · 319 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.1

On Friday morning, Ms. Alvarez's class would finally test the toothpick bridges that each team had been building for two weeks. The rules were demanding: a bridge had to span thirty centimeters between two stacks of books and hold a jar of coins without collapsing. Ines, Theo, and Wen had spent every lunch period gluing, and Ines was convinced that theirs was the most impressive design in the entire room.

It was not. When Theo gently lowered the jar onto the middle, the bridge groaned, sagged, and folded into a heap of splinters and glue. Nobody spoke for several seconds. Ines stared at the wreckage, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, and then muttered that they should simply hand in a written report because there was no time to start over.

Theo glanced toward Wen, who had hardly said a word since the project began and was quietly turning a broken piece over in his fingers. "The flat sections bent first," Wen said at last. "Look at this. Wherever the toothpicks formed triangles, they stayed strong. A triangle cannot squash sideways the way a rectangle can."

Ines blinked in surprise and asked why he had not mentioned it earlier. Wen admitted that he had assumed everyone was satisfied with the plan, and he had not wanted to ruin their excitement.

Ms. Alvarez generously gave the team until the end of the day. They gathered fresh toothpicks, and this time Ines listened carefully while Wen sketched an improved design: a row of triangles along each side, with crossing braces underneath. Theo mixed the glue while Ines carefully positioned each toothpick, and by the final bell the new bridge was standing between the stacks of books, looking far sturdier than the first one.

Theo lowered the jar once again. The bridge creaked softly, but it held. Ines grinned and turned to her quietest teammate. "From now on," she said, "you talk first."

■ Harder · 322 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8

On Friday morning, Ms. Alvarez's class would finally test the toothpick bridges that each team had been constructing for two weeks. The requirements were demanding: every bridge had to span thirty centimeters between two stacks of books and support a jar of coins without collapsing. Ines, Theo, and Wen had devoted every lunch period to gluing, and Ines was thoroughly convinced that theirs was the most impressive design in the entire room.

It was not. When Theo gently lowered the jar onto the middle, the bridge groaned, sagged, and then folded into a heap of splinters and glue. Nobody spoke for several long seconds. Ines stared at the wreckage, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, and then muttered that they should simply hand in a written report because there was no time to start over.

Theo glanced toward Wen, who had hardly said a word since the project began and was quietly turning a broken piece over in his fingers. "The flat sections bent first," Wen said at last. "Look at this. Wherever the toothpicks formed triangles, they stayed strong. A triangle cannot squash sideways the way a rectangle can."

Ines blinked in astonishment and asked why he had not mentioned it earlier. Wen confessed that he had assumed everyone was satisfied with the plan, and he had not wanted to dampen their excitement.

Ms. Alvarez generously granted the team until the end of the day. They collected fresh toothpicks, and this time Ines listened attentively while Wen sketched an improved design: a row of triangles along each side, with crossing braces underneath. Theo mixed the glue while Ines carefully positioned each toothpick, and by the final bell the new bridge was standing between the stacks of books, looking far sturdier than its predecessor.

Theo lowered the jar once again. The bridge creaked softly, but it held. Ines grinned and turned to her quietest teammate. "From now on," she said, "you talk first."

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 span, wreckage, muttered, braces and sturdier 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 Bridge Test"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 319 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.1. 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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