Piccola
Piccola was a little girl.
Her home was small. Her family was poor.
It was the night before Christmas.
"We have no gift for you," said her mother.
"No gift at all," said her father.
But Piccola was not sad.
"A good thing will come," she said.
"A good thing comes to every child."
She had no stocking to hang up.
So she took off her little wooden shoe.
She put the shoe by the warm fire.
"Saint Nicholas will see my shoe," she said.
Her mother and father said nothing.
Piccola went to bed. She slept all night.
In the morning she ran to her shoe.
Something in the shoe moved.
"Oh! Come and see!" said Piccola.
Her mother and father came to see.
A little bird sat in the shoe!
The bird had come in at the window.
It was cold. It was very little.
Piccola took the bird in her hands.
She gave it food. She gave it water.
"See what the good saint brought!" said Piccola.
Questions
- Her family had almost no money
- She was naughty
- The shops were shut
- A stocking
- A hat
- Her wooden shoe
- A little bird
- Gold
- A cake
- Having little money
- Feeling ill
- Very old
- She hoped, and she was kind to a cold bird
- She wanted gold
- She was angry with her parents
Words to know
- poor: having little money
- stocking: a long sock
- wooden: made of wood
- nothing: not a thing
Answer key: Piccola
- A. Her family had almost no money
- C. Her wooden shoe
- A. A little bird
- A. Having little money
- A. She hoped, and she was kind to a cold bird
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Piccola” is a reading level 5 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 5 words a sentence, and to show 1 to 12 words on a screen. At most 6% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Children in 2nd grade start at this level.
| This passage | 170 words, 24 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 | 1 to 12 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words |
Reading level 5: 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.