Bolt the Helper Robot
Bolt was the helper robot in Room Four. Bolt had a round head and a long arm.
On the end of the arm was a soft cloth. Bolt did boring jobs, like picking up pencils.
Bolt could look at the room and plan a job. Then Bolt did it.
One day Ms. Lee said, "Bolt, clean the board." Bolt rolled up and got to work.
Swish, swish, swish! The board was clean. But the spelling words were gone, too.
The homework list was gone, too. "Oh no!" said Lina. "Bolt cleaned all of it."
"Bolt did just what I said," said Ms. Lee. "I did not say which part."
"A robot needs clear steps," said Ms. Lee. "Let us write the words again."
The children wrote the words on the board. Then Lina said, "Bolt, clean the bottom half."
Bolt cleaned the bottom half and left the top. The children cheered!
Then Bolt rolled up the cloth. It was a good day for a helper robot.
Questions
- Teaching spelling
- Helping the class
- Driving the bus
- Read a book
- Get the chalk
- Clean the board
- The spelling words and the homework list
- The clock
- Bolt's cloth
- Bolt was mad
- Bolt was in a hurry
- Bolt did just what it was told
- Robots cannot help
- A robot needs clear steps
- Boards are hard to clean
- Easy to follow
- Made of glass
- Very loud
Words to know
- robot: a machine helper
- cloth: a soft wiping rag
- swish: a quick wiping sound
- homework: work done at home
- steps: small jobs in order
- clear: easy to follow
Answer key: Bolt the Helper Robot
- B. Helping the class
- C. Clean the board
- A. The spelling words and the homework list
- C. Bolt did just what it was told
- B. A robot needs clear steps
- A. Easy to follow
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Bolt the Helper Robot” 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 | 166 words, 11 screens, 6 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 6 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.