Sara's Little Light


The warm summer sun went down behind the trees. Sara sat on the wooden porch steps with her grandfather. The night sky turned dark blue.
Little yellow lights began to dance across the green lawn. Fireflies were waking up to play.
Sara smiled as she watched them blink. Suddenly, a tiny bug landed right on Grandpa's sleeve.
"Look, Grandpa," Sara whispered softly. She leaned in close to see it.
The tiny firefly was very quiet. Its little belly gave one weak flicker, and then the light went completely dark.
"Why is it not glowing?" asked Sara. Her eyes were wide with worry.
Grandpa smiled gently and looked at the little bug. "Sometimes fireflies feel tired," he said. "Maybe this little friend feels lonely."
Sara wanted to help. She held out her hand flat and still. The firefly crawled slowly onto the tip of her finger.
"Do not be sad, little bug," Sara said in a sweet voice. "We are your friends."
Grandpa took a green leaf from a bush. He put a tiny drop of sweet water right in the middle. He set the leaf down beside Sara's hand.
The firefly drank the cool, sweet water. Grandpa began to hum a happy song. Sara hummed along with him.
- fireflies:
- Small flying beetles that glow with light in the dark.
- flicker:
- A quick, unsteady flash of light.
- lonely:
- Feeling sad because you are by yourself or want a friend.
- spark:
- A tiny bit of bright light.
- gently:
- In a soft, kind, and careful way.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
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Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
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Structure
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Writing Prompts
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Where were Sara and her grandfather sitting at the beginning of the story?
- 2What kind of bugs began to dance across the green lawn?
Where this passage belongs
About this fiction passage for Lower Elementary
“Sara's Little Light” is a fiction reading passage about Kindness, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (254 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.