Tiny Arms, Big Heart
Tess was a young Tyrannosaurus rex. She lived long ago, more than sixty million years back. Tess had one enormous problem.
Her arms were tiny, so she could not clap. She could not even scratch her nose. The other little dinosaurs giggled.
"Tiny arms!" they laughed. "What can you possibly do with those?" Tess looked at the ground and said nothing at all.
That evening, a small friend named Pip was lost. Pip had wandered into the ferns. The sun was going down.
"I will find Pip," said Tess. She lifted her nose and sniffed the air. Tess had a very good sense of smell.
She sniffed and sniffed. A faint smell of Pip drifted over the hill. "Follow me!" said Tess.
Tess ran on her powerful back legs. Thump, thump, thump! Her three-toed feet shook the ground.
On the hill, Tess looked out with her large eyes. She could see very well. There was Pip, next to a stream.
Pip was stuck on the wrong side of the water. Tess had no hands to pull Pip across. But Tess had a clever idea.
Tess stretched her tail across the stream like a bridge. Pip hopped over it, safe and dry. Tess gave a deep, delighted rumble.
They walked home together under the first stars. The little dinosaurs stopped giggling. "Thank you, Tess," they said.
Tess looked at her tiny arms and smiled. She did not need to clap. She had strong legs and a kind heart.
Questions
- She could not run
- Her arms were tiny
- She was afraid of the dark
- A big dinosaur
- Tess's mother
- Pip
- She followed Pip's smell
- She heard Pip call
- She asked a bird
- It started to rain
- They were sleepy
- Tess helped their friend
- Tess wants new arms
- Tess is good at other things
- Tess is sad
- Weak, hard to notice
- Loud
- Very sweet
Words to know
- giggled: laughed a little
- wandered: walked without a plan
- faint: weak, hard to notice
- stream: a small river
- rumble: a deep sound
- tiny: very small
Answer key: Tiny Arms, Big Heart
- B. Her arms were tiny
- C. Pip
- A. She followed Pip's smell
- C. Tess helped their friend
- B. Tess is good at other things
- A. Weak, hard to notice
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Tiny Arms, Big Heart” 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 | 247 words, 12 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 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.