Arachne Weaves
The Greeks told of Arachne. She was a girl who could weave. Her cloth was soft and bright.
People came to see her weave. "Did the goddess Athena teach you?" they asked.
"No one taught me," said Arachne. "I can weave as well as Athena! Let her come and see."
Athena heard this. She came to the door of Arachne's little house. "Let us weave," she said.
Two looms stood side by side. The two weavers wove all day long. The town came to look.
Athena wove a hill and a tall green tree. It was lovely to see. Her thread shone like gold.
Arachne wove the gods being silly. Her cloth was so good it looked real. But it was not kind.
Athena looked. Not one bit was wrong. It made fun of the gods, so she was cross.
Athena touched Arachne. Arachne grew small and round. She was a little brown spider!
"Weave on," said Athena. The spider spun a silver thread. She is weaving still.
Questions
- Run
- Weave
- Sing
- That Athena taught her
- That Athena was her aunt
- That she weaved better than Athena
- They wove on two looms
- They had a race
- They sang songs
- It had a hole in it
- It was too small
- It was not kind to the gods
- A bird
- A spider
- A tree
- Make cloth from thread
- Dig a hole
- Draw on a wall
Words to know
- weave: make cloth from thread
- loom: a weaving frame
- goddess: a woman god
- spider: a creature with eight legs
Answer key: Arachne Weaves
- B. Weave
- C. That she weaved better than Athena
- A. They wove on two looms
- C. It was not kind to the gods
- B. A spider
- A. Make cloth from thread
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Arachne Weaves” 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 | 168 words, 10 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.