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Clap It Back: The Echo Game

Kindergarten nonfiction passage about rhythm echo game: 62 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

Kindergarten nonfiction rhythm echo game 62 words

Clap It Back: The Echo Game

A beat is a pulse in music. You can clap a beat. Here is a game to play with a friend.

One friend claps a short beat. Clap, clap, clap-clap! The other friend listens. Then the friend claps it back, just the same.

Now switch. Make the beat a bit longer. Listen well. Every beat you clap back is an echo.

Questions

  1. What do you clap in this game? in the text

  2. What does the other friend do first? in the text

  3. What do you do after the friend listens? in the text

  4. What do you call each beat you clap back? in the text

  5. Why is listening important in this game? think about it

Words to know

beat
a steady pulse in music
echo
a sound that comes back again
listens
pays attention to sounds with your ears
clap
to hit your hands together
Share

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 · 54 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.6

A beat is a pulse in music. You can clap a beat. Play this game with a friend.

One friend claps a short beat. Clap, clap, clap-clap! The other friend listens. Then the friend claps it back.

Now switch. Make the beat a bit longer. Each beat you clap back is an echo.

▲ This passage · 62 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -0.1

A beat is a pulse in music. You can clap a beat. Here is a game to play with a friend.

One friend claps a short beat. Clap, clap, clap-clap! The other friend listens. Then the friend claps it back, just the same.

Now switch. Make the beat a bit longer. Listen well. Every beat you clap back is an echo.

■ Harder · 82 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.8

A beat is the steady pulse you hear in music, and you can make one just by clapping. Here is a game you can play with a friend.

One friend claps out a short beat: clap, clap, clap-clap! The other friend listens carefully and then claps the very same beat back.

After that, you switch places and make the beat a little longer. Each beat that you clap back is called an echo, so pay close attention to what you hear.

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 beat, echo, listens and clap on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text 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 1 minute 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 write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Clap It Back: The Echo Game"?

It was written for Kindergarten. It has 62 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about below 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. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 1 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 1 minute 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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