At the Sea-side
When I was down beside the sea A wooden spade they gave to me To dig the sandy shore.
My holes were empty like a cup. In every hole the sea came up, Till it could come no more.
At the Sea-side was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. A Child's Garden of Verses was published in 1885.
Questions
- A wooden spade
- A tin pail
- A long stick
- It stayed dry
- The sea came up
- A crab hid in it
- The land by the sea
- A kind of boat
- A deep hole
- Full of water
- Empty like a cup
- Covered with grass
- cup and came
- up and more
- cup and up
Words to know
- spade: a digging tool
- shore: land by the sea
- sandy: full of sand
Answer key: At the Sea-side
- A. A wooden spade
- B. The sea came up
- A. The land by the sea
- B. Empty like a cup
- C. cup and up
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“At the Sea-side” is a reading level 7 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 30 words on a screen. At most 8% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Children in 3rd grade start at this level.
| This passage | 57 words, 3 screens, 5 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 3 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence at this level | 10 words |
| Words on a screen | 12 to 30 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), sight words, spelling |
Reading level 7: 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.