Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Long Bars and Short Bars

Kindergarten nonfiction passage about xylophone sounds: 46 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

Kindergarten nonfiction xylophone sounds 46 words

Long Bars and Short Bars

A xylophone has bars. Some bars are long. Some bars are short.

Tap a long bar. It makes a low sound. Tap a short bar. It makes a high sound.

Tap the bars one by one. Low, low, high, high! Now you can play a tune.

Questions

  1. What does a xylophone have? in the text

  2. What sound does a long bar make? in the text

  3. What sound does a short bar make? in the text

  4. How do you play the bars? in the text

  5. You want a high sound. Which bar do you tap? think about it

Words to know

xylophone
a music toy with bars that you tap
bars
long flat pieces
tune
a song that you can hum or play
tap
to hit softly
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 · 40 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -1.6

A xylophone has bars. Some are long. Some are short.

Tap a long bar. The sound is low. Tap a short bar. The sound is high.

Tap one bar, then the next. Low, low, high, high! That is a tune.

▲ This passage · 46 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -1.5

A xylophone has bars. Some bars are long. Some bars are short.

Tap a long bar. It makes a low sound. Tap a short bar. It makes a high sound.

Tap the bars one by one. Low, low, high, high! Now you can play a tune.

■ Harder · 73 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.4

A xylophone is a musical instrument made of wooden or metal bars in different lengths. Some of the bars are long, and some of them are short.

When you tap a long bar, it makes a low sound. When you tap a short bar, it makes a high sound.

If you tap the bars one after another, you can make a tune. Try playing low, low, high, high and listen to the pattern.

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 xylophone, bars, tune and tap 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 under a 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 "Long Bars and Short Bars"?

It was written for Kindergarten. It has 46 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?

Under a 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.