Ant Saves Dove
An ant went to the river for a drink. She leaned far out over the water.
Oh no! The ant slipped and fell in. The river pushed her along, and she could not swim.
A dove sat up in a tree. She saw the little ant in the water.
"That ant needs help," said the dove. She snapped a leaf off the tree. She let it drop.
The leaf landed next to the ant. She climbed on and rode it to the bank.
The ant hopped off onto the dry grass. "Thank you!" she called up to the dove.
A few days later, the ant came back. A man stood by the tree with a net.
He was looking up at the dove. She was busy and did not see him.
The ant knew just what to do. She ran up his boot and bit his heel.
"Ow!" the man yelled, and he dropped his net. The dove heard him and flew up into the sky.
From high above, the dove looked down. She saw the ant waving, and she sang.
Questions
- In a hole
- In the river
- In a net
- A stick
- A stone
- A leaf
- A man
- A fox
- The ant
- She hid
- She sang
- She bit his heel
- A place for money
- The side of the river
- A kind of boat
- Small ones can help big ones
- Ants are fast
- Birds can swim
Words to know
- dove: a small bird
- leaf: part of a tree
- net: a string trap
- bank: the river's side
Answer key: Ant Saves Dove
- B. In the river
- C. A leaf
- A. A man
- C. She bit his heel
- B. The side of the river
- A. Small ones can help big ones
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Ant Saves Dove” is a reading level 6 story. Every Peabody story at this level is written and checked to keep sentences to 10 words or fewer, to aim at an average of 6 words a sentence, and to show 12 to 20 words on a screen. At most 7% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Readers reach this level by climbing, not by grade.
| This passage | 181 words, 11 screens, 6 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 4 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence at this level | 10 words |
| Words on a screen | 12 to 20 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words |
Reading level 6: the limits, a real sample and the free games. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: use the questions to talk about the story, not to grade a child.