Percy Pencil Finds His Purpose
Percy Pencil Finds His Purpose
Percy the Pencil lived in a bright yellow art box. There were many friends in the box like Ricky the Red Paint and Barry the Blue Brush. But Percy felt sad.
"I can only make lines," Percy sighed. "I canât swirl and splatter like Barry. I canât make bright colors like Ricky."
Barry the Blue Brush overheard Percy. "Youâre just a plain old pencil," Barry giggled. "You can only make gray lines!" Ricky the Red Paint laughed too. Percy felt even sadder. He wished he could be like the others.
One sunny morning, Lily came to the art box. Lily loved to draw and paint. She picked up Percy first. Percy was scared. Oh no, she will put me back! Lily started to draw with Percy. She made careful lines on the paper. She drew a big circle and then some lines for grass.
Then, Lily picked up Ricky the Red Paint. She used Ricky to fill the circle with bright red. Next, she used Barry the Blue Brush to paint the grass a pretty blue-green. The colors stayed inside Percyâs lines. Lily smiled. âThank you, Percy,â she said. âYour lines helped me make a beautiful picture!â
- Swirl:
- To move around and around
- Splatter:
- To splash with liquid
- Purpose:
- A reason for doing something
- careful:
- Paying close attention to what you are doing so you do not make a mistake.
- giggled:
- Laughed in a quiet and silly way.
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts â all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
Practice editing sentences drawn from this passage with a printable worksheet.
Ready to use this passage in class?
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Where did Percy the Pencil live?
- 2Who were Percy's friends in the art box?
Where this passage belongs
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About this fiction passage for Lower Elementary
âPercy Pencil Finds His Purposeâ is a fiction reading passage about Self-Esteem, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (252 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.