Tessa's Quiet Walk
Tessa stepped onto the Marsh Boardwalk Trail at Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina. The boards creaked under her shoes.
Tall marsh grass grew on both sides. Tessa held Dad's hand and looked for birds.
“I hope we see a big one,” she said. She spread her arms like wings.
They walked a little farther. Then Tessa heard a soft plop in the mud.
“What was that?” she asked.
Dad stopped. “Let's be still and see.”
Tessa stood on her toes and peered over the side. At first, she saw only mud and bits of grass.
Then a small crab slipped out of a hole. It raised one claw, then scuttled back inside.
“A crab!” Tessa whispered. She wanted a closer look, but the mud was far below the boards.
She waited beside Dad. Soon the crab came out again. This time, Tessa saw its legs move sideways.
“I thought we had to find a big bird,” she said. “But the crab is fun to watch.”
Dad smiled. “There may be more small things to see.”
Tessa walked slowly now. She watched a little fish dart through the water. She saw a bug land on a blade of grass.
At the end of the walk, a bird flew over the marsh. Its wide wings hardly moved.
- marsh:
- Wet land where grasses and other plants grow.
- creaked:
- Made a squeaky sound when moved or pressed.
- peered:
- Looked closely or carefully.
- scuttled:
- Moved quickly with small steps.
- glide:
- To move smoothly through the air.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
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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
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Writing Prompts
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Where did Tessa and Dad take their walk?
- 2What did Tessa hope to see at first?
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About this short story passage for Lower Elementary
“Tessa's Quiet Walk” is a short story reading passage about Exploring nature, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (251 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.