Mia and the Kite
Mia had a red kite with a long tail. It was her best thing.
One windy day, she ran up the big hill. The wind was strong.
Up, up, up went the kite. Mia held the string with both hands.
Then the wind gave a big pull. The string slipped right out of her hands!
"Come back!" Mia called. But the kite flew off over the trees.
Mia ran as fast as she could. She ran past the pond. She ran past the barn.
A duck quacked at her. A cow mooed at her. But the kite was too far up.
High in the sky, a brown bird saw the kite. It flew over to look.
The bird thought the kite was a new bird. It flew around and around it.
The kite did not say hello. So the bird grabbed its string in its beak.
Down, down, down came the bird and the kite. Mia held her breath.
The bird dropped the string right at Mia's feet. Then it sat on the fence.
"Thank you, bird," said Mia. The bird tipped its head. It looked very proud.
Mia tied the string around her hand this time. Then she let the kite go up again.
The bird flew up, too. It flew next to the kite, wing to tail.
Mia laughed and ran across the hill. Now she had a red kite and a brown friend.
Questions
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- A bird
- A duck
- The wind
- It is hungry
- It thinks the kite is a bird
- It is cold
- She ties the string around her hand
- She puts it in the barn
- She gives it to the bird
- Angry
- Scared
- Happy
Words to know
- kite: a flying toy
- string: long thin rope
- beak: bird's hard mouth
- proud: happy with yourself
Answer key: Mia and the Kite
- C. Red
- A. A bird
- B. It thinks the kite is a bird
- A. She ties the string around her hand
- C. Happy
The story in pictures
- Part One · Come Back!
- Part Two · A New Friend
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Mia and the Kite” 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 | 236 words, 16 screens, 5 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.