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Mack's Big Sneeze and the Flying Hats

Kindergarten fiction passage about a sneeze that blows hats off: 72 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

Kindergarten fiction a sneeze that blows hats off 72 words

Mack's Big Sneeze and the Flying Hats

Mack the mouse had a big sneeze. "Ah, ah, ah-CHOO!"

Whoosh! The wind blew every hat off every head. Hats flew up in the air.

A red hat landed on a sheep. A tall hat landed on a pig. A tiny hat landed on a bug.

"Whose hat is this?" asked the sheep.

Mack said, "Sorry!" Then he gave each hat back. Everybody was glad, and the sheep said, "Bless you."

Questions

  1. What did Mack do? in the text

  2. What flew into the air? in the text

  3. Where did the red hat land? in the text

  4. What did Mack do at the end? in the text

  5. Why did Mack say sorry? think about it

Words to know

sneeze
a quick, loud blast of air from your nose
whoosh
the sound of something moving fast through air
tiny
very, very small
sheep
a farm animal with thick, soft wool
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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 · 41 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.6

Mack the mouse had a big sneeze. "Ah, ah, ah-CHOO!"

Whoosh! Every hat flew off. A red hat landed on a sheep. A tall hat landed on a pig.

Mack said, "Sorry!" He gave each hat back. Everybody was glad.

▲ This passage · 72 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.7

Mack the mouse had a big sneeze. "Ah, ah, ah-CHOO!"

Whoosh! The wind blew every hat off every head. Hats flew up in the air.

A red hat landed on a sheep. A tall hat landed on a pig. A tiny hat landed on a bug.

"Whose hat is this?" asked the sheep.

Mack said, "Sorry!" Then he gave each hat back. Everybody was glad, and the sheep said, "Bless you."

■ Harder · 71 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

Mack the mouse had a tremendous sneeze. "Ah, ah, ah-CHOO!"

Whoosh! The wind blew every hat off every head, and hats went flying through the air. A red hat landed on a sheep, a tall hat landed on a pig, and a tiny hat landed on a bug.

"Whose hat is this?" asked the sheep.

"Sorry, everyone!" said Mack. He carefully gave each hat back, and everybody was glad again.

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 sneeze, whoosh, tiny and sheep 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 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 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 "Mack's Big Sneeze and the Flying Hats"?

It was written for Kindergarten. It has 72 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 0.7. 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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