The Shark Who Smiled
Shay was a young shark with a big, wide smile. Shay loved to swim and look at the reef.
One morning, Shay bumped a rock. Pop! A tooth came out and sank down to the sand.
Shay looked at the tooth. "Oh no!" said Shay. "My teeth are falling out!"
Shay swam to the old shark, Nana. Nana was resting in the shade of a rock.
"Nana, I lost a tooth," said Shay. "Will I have a gap in my smile for good?"
Nana laughed a big, slow laugh. "A shark loses teeth all its life," she said. "New ones grow in."
"Look," said Nana. She opened her mouth wide. Shay saw a new tooth, just coming in.
"You will get a new tooth, too," said Nana. "A shark's smile always comes back."
Shay felt much better. Shay swam fast, with loops and flips. The little fish swam all around.
Soon a new tooth came in, right in the gap. Shay smiled the biggest smile on the reef.
Questions
- A fin
- A tooth
- A shell
- A starfish
- A crab
- Nana
- In the shade of a rock
- On the sand
- Near the surface
- Shay was hungry
- Shay was lost
- Shay thought the gap in the smile would stay
- Sharks have no teeth
- A shark grows new teeth
- Sponges are tasty
- An empty space
- A tooth
- A big wave
Words to know
- reef: a ridge of coral
- bumped: hit by accident
- sank: went down
- gap: an empty space
- loses: does not keep
- smile: a happy look
Answer key: The Shark Who Smiled
- B. A tooth
- C. Nana
- A. In the shade of a rock
- C. Shay thought the gap in the smile would stay
- B. A shark grows new teeth
- A. An empty space
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“The Shark Who Smiled” 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 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.