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The Correction on Page Two

8th grade fiction passage about a school newspaper mistake: 288 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a school newspaper mistake 288 words

The Correction on Page Two

The error was discovered at lunchtime, three hours after the school newspaper had been delivered to every homeroom. Maya, the editor, was balancing a tray when a seventh grader tapped her shoulder and quietly pointed out that the name in the headline on page one was wrong, since it congratulated the chess champion as Prya Menon when her name was actually Priya.

Maya's stomach dropped. She had proofread that headline twice. She remembered feeling proud of the layout. But she had never once checked the spelling against the sign-up sheet, because she had been so certain that she already knew it.

For a while she considered doing nothing, since the paper was already printed and perhaps nobody else would notice. Then she imagined Priya turning the page at her desk, seeing a name that was nearly hers, and wondering whether anyone had cared enough to ask.

Maya found the champion in the library. She had practiced an elaborate apology on the way. But the speech collapsed into one honest sentence about misspelling the name and being sorry. Priya shrugged and said that her name was misspelled all the time, though she added that it was nice of Maya to come and tell her personally.

That afternoon Maya wrote a short correction for the following issue. Her adviser, Mr. Sato, suggested that she keep it plain and offer no excuses. The notice appeared on page two in a box with a thin border, stating that the chess champion's name had been misspelled, that it was Priya Menon, and that the staff regretted the error. Afterward Maya taped the sign-up sheet above her desk, and from then on she checked every name twice, and then a third time.

Questions

  1. How was the mistake discovered? in the text

  2. What did the headline say that was wrong? in the text

  3. Why had Maya not checked the spelling against the sign-up sheet? in the text

  4. Where did the correction appear in the next issue? in the text

  5. Why did Maya decide to tell Priya instead of doing nothing? think about it

  6. Why did Maya tape the sign-up sheet above her desk? think about it

Words to know

proofread
to read something carefully to find and fix mistakes
layout
the way text and pictures are arranged on a page
elaborate
full of many careful details
adviser
a teacher or helper who gives guidance
regret
to feel sorry about 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 · 262 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.6

The mistake was found at lunch. The school newspaper had gone to every homeroom three hours before. Maya, the editor, was holding her tray when a seventh grader tapped her shoulder. The girl pointed at page one. "That's not how you spell her name," she said softly. The headline named the chess champion as Prya Menon. Her name was Priya.

Maya's stomach dropped. She had read that headline twice. She had felt proud of the page. But she never checked the spelling on the sign-up sheet, because she was so sure.

For a while she thought about doing nothing. The paper was printed. Maybe no one else would notice. Then she pictured Priya at her desk. Priya would see a name that was almost hers. She would wonder if anyone cared enough to ask.

Maya found the champion in the library. She had planned a long apology. When she saw Priya, it turned into one honest sentence. "I spelled your name wrong in the headline, and I am really sorry."

Priya blinked, then shrugged. "My name gets spelled wrong all the time. It is nice that you told me."

That afternoon, Maya wrote a short correction for the next issue. Her adviser, Mr. Sato, said to keep it plain, with no excuses. It ran on page two in a box with a thin border: "Last week, the chess champion's name was misspelled. It is Priya Menon. We are sorry."

Maya taped the sign-up sheet above her desk. From then on, she checked every name twice, and then a third time.

▲ This passage · 288 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.3

The error was discovered at lunchtime, three hours after the school newspaper had been delivered to every homeroom. Maya, the editor, was balancing a tray when a seventh grader tapped her shoulder and quietly pointed out that the name in the headline on page one was wrong, since it congratulated the chess champion as Prya Menon when her name was actually Priya.

Maya's stomach dropped. She had proofread that headline twice. She remembered feeling proud of the layout. But she had never once checked the spelling against the sign-up sheet, because she had been so certain that she already knew it.

For a while she considered doing nothing, since the paper was already printed and perhaps nobody else would notice. Then she imagined Priya turning the page at her desk, seeing a name that was nearly hers, and wondering whether anyone had cared enough to ask.

Maya found the champion in the library. She had practiced an elaborate apology on the way. But the speech collapsed into one honest sentence about misspelling the name and being sorry. Priya shrugged and said that her name was misspelled all the time, though she added that it was nice of Maya to come and tell her personally.

That afternoon Maya wrote a short correction for the following issue. Her adviser, Mr. Sato, suggested that she keep it plain and offer no excuses. The notice appeared on page two in a box with a thin border, stating that the chess champion's name had been misspelled, that it was Priya Menon, and that the staff regretted the error. Afterward Maya taped the sign-up sheet above her desk, and from then on she checked every name twice, and then a third time.

■ Harder · 290 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 9.3

The error was discovered at lunchtime, three hours after the school newspaper had been delivered to every homeroom. Maya, the editor, was balancing a tray when a seventh grader tapped her shoulder and quietly pointed out that the name in the headline on page one was wrong, since it congratulated the chess champion as Prya Menon when her name was actually Priya.

Maya's stomach dropped. She had proofread that headline twice, and she remembered feeling proud of the layout. But she had never once checked the spelling against the sign-up sheet, because she had been so certain that she already knew it.

For a while she considered doing nothing, since the paper was already printed and perhaps nobody else would notice. Then she imagined Priya turning the page at her desk, seeing a name that was nearly hers, and wondering whether anyone had cared enough to ask.

Maya found the champion in the library. She had practiced an elaborate apology on the way. But the speech collapsed into one honest sentence about misspelling the name and being sorry, and Priya shrugged and said that her name was misspelled all the time, though she added that it was nice of Maya to come and tell her personally.

That afternoon Maya wrote a short correction for the following issue. Her adviser, Mr. Sato, suggested that she keep it plain and offer no excuses. The notice appeared on page two in a box with a thin border, stating that the chess champion's name had been misspelled, that it was Priya Menon, and that the staff regretted the error. Afterward Maya taped the sign-up sheet above her desk, and from then on she checked every name twice, and then a third time.

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 proofread, layout, elaborate, adviser and regret 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 Correction on Page Two"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 288 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.3. 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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