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The Purple Route on the Slanted Wall

8th grade fiction passage about a bouldering problem: 289 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade fiction a bouldering problem 289 words

The Purple Route on the Slanted Wall

At the climbing gym, every route on the low wall was marked with colored plastic holds, and the purple ones belonged to a problem that Vera had been trying for three weeks. The wall leaned outward like a roof, so each attempt ended the same way, with her fingers burning, her arms shaking. Her body dropping onto the thick foam pad below. On her twentieth fall she lay on her back, stared at the ceiling, and announced to nobody in particular that she was just not strong enough.

An older climber named Ansel, who had been chalking his hands nearby, glanced up and asked whether he could tell her what he had noticed. Vera nodded reluctantly. He pointed out that she kept trying to haul herself upward with her arms, and he suggested that if she put her right foot high on the second purple hold and pushed with her leg, her hips would move closer to the wall, and then the reach would not be far at all.

Vera got up and tried it. The move felt strange, because it meant trusting her foot more than her hands. Her first attempt failed, and so did her second, but on the third she placed her toe carefully on a small hold, pressed through her heel, and felt her body swing inward as though the wall had pulled her closer. Her hand closed around the next hold with room to spare, and she kept going, past the awkward middle and onto the last hold, which she touched with both hands to finish. A tiny cheer rose from the people stretching on the mats. Ansel grinned and told her that it was not strength, just a better plan for her feet.

Questions

  1. How long had Vera been trying the purple route? in the text

  2. Why was the wall especially hard to climb? in the text

  3. What did Vera believe was her problem? in the text

  4. What did Ansel suggest she do with her right foot? in the text

  5. Why did Vera feel strange trying the new move? think about it

  6. What does Ansel mean by a better plan for your feet? think about it

Words to know

problem
a short climbing route that must be figured out
chalking
putting powder on hands to keep them dry and grippy
reluctantly
in a way that shows you do not really want to
haul
to pull something heavy with effort
awkward
uncomfortable and hard to handle
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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 · 253 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.3

At the climbing gym, each route on the low wall had its own color of plastic holds. The purple holds were a problem that Vera had tried for three weeks. The wall leaned out like a roof. Each try ended the same way. Her fingers burned. Her arms shook. She dropped onto the thick foam pad below.

On her twentieth fall, she lay on her back and looked at the ceiling. "I'm just not strong enough," she said to nobody.

An older climber named Ansel was chalking his hands nearby. He looked up. "Can I tell you what I noticed?" Vera nodded, but she did not want to. "You keep pulling yourself up with your arms. Look at the second purple hold. Put your right foot high and push with your leg. Then your hips move closer to the wall. The reach is not far at all."

Vera got up and tried it. The move felt strange. She had to trust her foot more than her hands. The first try failed. So did the second. On the third, she put her toe on a small hold and pushed through her heel. Her body swung in toward the wall. Her hand closed on the next hold with room to spare.

She kept going, past the awkward middle, to the last hold. She touched it with both hands to finish. A small cheer rose from the people stretching on the mats.

"Not strength," Ansel said with a grin. "Just a better plan for your feet."

▲ This passage · 289 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8

At the climbing gym, every route on the low wall was marked with colored plastic holds, and the purple ones belonged to a problem that Vera had been trying for three weeks. The wall leaned outward like a roof, so each attempt ended the same way, with her fingers burning, her arms shaking. Her body dropping onto the thick foam pad below. On her twentieth fall she lay on her back, stared at the ceiling, and announced to nobody in particular that she was just not strong enough.

An older climber named Ansel, who had been chalking his hands nearby, glanced up and asked whether he could tell her what he had noticed. Vera nodded reluctantly. He pointed out that she kept trying to haul herself upward with her arms, and he suggested that if she put her right foot high on the second purple hold and pushed with her leg, her hips would move closer to the wall, and then the reach would not be far at all.

Vera got up and tried it. The move felt strange, because it meant trusting her foot more than her hands. Her first attempt failed, and so did her second, but on the third she placed her toe carefully on a small hold, pressed through her heel, and felt her body swing inward as though the wall had pulled her closer. Her hand closed around the next hold with room to spare, and she kept going, past the awkward middle and onto the last hold, which she touched with both hands to finish. A tiny cheer rose from the people stretching on the mats. Ansel grinned and told her that it was not strength, just a better plan for her feet.

■ Harder · 290 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.8

At the climbing gym, every route on the low wall was marked with colored plastic holds, and the purple ones belonged to a problem that Vera had been trying for three weeks. The wall leaned outward like a roof, so each attempt ended the same way, with her fingers burning, her arms shaking. Her body dropping onto the thick foam pad below. On her twentieth fall she lay on her back, stared at the ceiling, and announced to nobody in particular that she was just not strong enough.

An older climber named Ansel, who had been chalking his hands nearby, glanced up and asked whether he could tell her what he had noticed. Vera nodded reluctantly. He pointed out that she kept trying to haul herself upward with her arms, and he suggested that if she put her right foot high on the second purple hold and pushed with her leg, her hips would move closer to the wall, and then the reach would not be far at all.

Vera got up and attempted it. The move felt unfamiliar, because it meant trusting her foot more than her hands, and her first attempt failed, and so did her second, but on the third she placed her toe carefully on a modest hold, pressed through her heel, and felt her body swing inward as though the wall had pulled her closer. Her hand closed around the next hold with room to spare, and she kept going, past the awkward middle and onto the last hold, which she touched with both hands to finish. A tiny cheer rose from the people stretching on the mats. Ansel grinned and told her that it was not strength, just a better plan for her feet.

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 problem, chalking, reluctantly, haul and awkward 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 Purple Route on the Slanted Wall"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 289 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.8. 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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