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The Great Sneeze of Hollow Creek

8th grade fiction passage about a tall tale about a mighty sneeze: 283 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a tall tale about a mighty sneeze 283 words

The Great Sneeze of Hollow Creek

Hollow Creek was a quiet town where nothing much happened until the morning that Hector Abernathy sneezed. Hector was a gentle farmer with a large nose and a small tolerance for goldenrod pollen, and when it tickled him that Tuesday, he drew in a breath so enormous that the laundry on three clotheslines leaned toward him. Then he let it go. The sneeze rolled across the valley like thunder wearing a coat. It blew the weathervanes around backward, flipped every pancake in the diner at once, and scattered all the street signs in town into the branches of the old maple tree.

By lunchtime, Hollow Creek was hopelessly lost. Delivery drivers wandered in circles, the mail carrier arrived at the library when he meant to visit the bank, and a man looking for the hardware store found himself in a bakery, where he stayed because the muffins were excellent. The mayor called an emergency meeting, but half the town could not find the meeting hall.

It was a group of children who solved the problem. Since the signs had landed in a jumble, they decided to skip the hard work of putting them back in order. Instead, they painted new signs with directions anyone could follow, such as "Left of the Bakery," "Past the Very Big Dog," and "Where the Pancake Landed." The new names were so friendly and so easy to remember that the town voted to keep them. Hector, who felt dreadful, volunteered to wear a handkerchief over his nose all through the goldenrod season. The old signs now decorate the maple tree, and visitors often ask whether the tree is a famous landmark. Locals just smile and say, "Ask Hector."

Questions

  1. What caused Hector to sneeze? in the text

  2. What did the sneeze do to the street signs? in the text

  3. Who solved the town's problem? in the text

  4. What did the children paint on the new signs? in the text

  5. Why did the town vote to keep the new street names? think about it

  6. How can you tell this is a tall tale? think about it

Words to know

tolerance
how much of something a person can put up with
pollen
a fine powder made by flowers and plants
jumble
a messy mix of things in no order
landmark
a well-known place or object that people use to find their way
volunteered
offered to do something without being asked
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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 · 226 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Hollow Creek was a quiet town. Then, one Tuesday, Hector Abernathy sneezed. Hector was a kind farmer with a big nose. Goldenrod pollen tickled it. He took a breath so huge that the laundry on three clotheslines leaned toward him. Then he let it go. The sneeze rolled over the valley like thunder in a coat. It turned the weathervanes backward. It flipped every pancake in the diner at once. It threw all the street signs into the branches of the old maple tree.

By lunch, Hollow Creek was lost. Delivery drivers went in circles. The mail carrier went to the library when he wanted the bank. A man looking for the hardware store ended up in a bakery. He stayed because the muffins were so good. The mayor called a meeting, but half the town could not find the hall.

The children solved it. The signs were in a jumble. So they painted new signs with easy directions. One said "Left of the Bakery." One said "Past the Very Big Dog." One said "Where the Pancake Landed." The names were so friendly that the town voted to keep them. Hector felt awful. He promised to wear a handkerchief over his nose all season. The old signs still hang in the maple tree. Visitors ask if the tree is famous. Locals smile and say, "Ask Hector."

▲ This passage · 283 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.5

Hollow Creek was a quiet town where nothing much happened until the morning that Hector Abernathy sneezed. Hector was a gentle farmer with a large nose and a small tolerance for goldenrod pollen, and when it tickled him that Tuesday, he drew in a breath so enormous that the laundry on three clotheslines leaned toward him. Then he let it go. The sneeze rolled across the valley like thunder wearing a coat. It blew the weathervanes around backward, flipped every pancake in the diner at once, and scattered all the street signs in town into the branches of the old maple tree.

By lunchtime, Hollow Creek was hopelessly lost. Delivery drivers wandered in circles, the mail carrier arrived at the library when he meant to visit the bank, and a man looking for the hardware store found himself in a bakery, where he stayed because the muffins were excellent. The mayor called an emergency meeting, but half the town could not find the meeting hall.

It was a group of children who solved the problem. Since the signs had landed in a jumble, they decided to skip the hard work of putting them back in order. Instead, they painted new signs with directions anyone could follow, such as "Left of the Bakery," "Past the Very Big Dog," and "Where the Pancake Landed." The new names were so friendly and so easy to remember that the town voted to keep them. Hector, who felt dreadful, volunteered to wear a handkerchief over his nose all through the goldenrod season. The old signs now decorate the maple tree, and visitors often ask whether the tree is a famous landmark. Locals just smile and say, "Ask Hector."

■ Harder · 292 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10

Hollow Creek was a placid little town where nothing of note occurred until the morning that Hector Abernathy sneezed. Hector was a gentle farmer with a generous nose and a very small tolerance for goldenrod pollen, and when it tickled him that Tuesday, he drew in a breath so tremendous that the laundry on three separate clotheslines leaned in his direction. Then he released it. The sneeze rolled across the valley like thunder wearing an overcoat. It spun every weathervane around backward, flipped every pancake in the diner simultaneously, and flung all of the street signs in town into the branches of the ancient maple tree.

By lunchtime, Hollow Creek was hopelessly disoriented. Delivery drivers wandered in circles, the mail carrier arrived at the library when he had intended to visit the bank, and a man searching for the hardware store found himself in a bakery, where he remained because the muffins were so excellent. The mayor summoned an emergency meeting, but half the town could not locate the meeting hall.

It was a band of children who found the answer. Because the signs had landed in such a hopeless jumble, they decided against the tedious task of sorting them back into order. Instead, they painted brand new signs bearing directions that anyone could follow, such as "Left of the Bakery," "Past the Very Big Dog," and "Where the Pancake Landed." The new names were so cheerful and so easy to remember that the town voted to keep them. Hector, who felt dreadful, volunteered to wear a handkerchief over his nose throughout the entire goldenrod season. The old signs still decorate the maple tree, and visitors often wonder whether the tree is some famous landmark. Locals merely smile and say, "Ask Hector."

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 tolerance, pollen, jumble, landmark and volunteered 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 Great Sneeze of Hollow Creek"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 283 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 8.4. 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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