The Lemonade Stand (Fiction Passage)

Start with a minute of talk: What would you do to get people to notice a new stand? Then have students read the story on page 1, about 180 words in 5 short paragraphs. Ask them to notice what the characters say, do and feel. On page 2 students circle three answers and write two. Encourage them to go back to the text and underline the words that back up each answer. Check the work with the answer key.

The Lemonade Stand gives 3rd grade students a fiction passage of about 180 words about a boy who sets up a lemonade stand on the hottest day of summer, followed by five questions. The questions practice the main idea, vocabulary in context and making inferences, and the sheet is aligned to Common Core RL.3.2. An answer key is included.

The Lemonade Stand is a fiction passage of about 180 words about a boy who sets up a lemonade stand on the hottest day of summer. It is written for 3rd grade readers (ages 8-9) and has 5 short paragraphs, so students can read it in one sitting.

Its five questions, three multiple choice and two written, practice the main idea, vocabulary in context, cause and effect and making inferences. Questions include "What is the main idea of this story" and "How did Ben feel when no one came". The sheet is aligned to Common Core RL.3.2, and the answer key is included so you can check responses quickly.

Try this conversation starter: What would you do to get people to notice a new stand? Have students read the title and picture the setting, then read to see how the characters handle the problem. Pause to talk about how each character feels.

Most students need about 15 to 20 minutes for the passage and the questions together. The sheet works at a kitchen table with a parent talking through the written answers, or at a reading center as independent work on the main idea and vocabulary in context.