The Great Dictionary Disaster
The Great Dictionary Disaster
Bartholomew Buttonsby, a boy known for his eccentric love of words, believed dictionaries were the most important things in the universe. He owned seven, each more voluminous than the last. One day, disaster struck.
It began with Bartholomew's new pet ferret, Fitzwilliam. Fitzwilliam, usually a creature of habit, had developed an insatiable appetite for… paper. Not just any paper, mind you, but the thin, crisply-printed pages of Bartholomew's prized dictionaries.
The Chew-tastrophe
Bartholomew discovered the calamity when he entered his room to find Fitzwilliam halfway through the letter 'C' in his abridged Oxford English Dictionary. Pages were everywhere! Fitzwilliam, looking rather pleased with himself, sported a delightful 'D' shaped mustache.
Bartholomew, usually a picture of equanimity, erupted. "Fitzwilliam! You fiend! You furry little philistine!" he cried, his voice echoing with the vehemence of a thousand thunderstorms.
The Remediation Attempt
Desperate, Bartholomew attempted to salvage the situation. He envisioned a glorious plan: to glue all the chewed-up words back together. Armed with a bottle of industrial-strength adhesive and the tenacity of a honey badger, he began his task.
- Eccentric:
- Unconventional and slightly strange.
- Voluminous:
- Large in volume or size.
- Calamity:
- An event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster.
- Ludicrous:
- So foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing; ridiculous.
- Levity:
- Humor or frivolity, especially the treatment of a serious matter with a lack of respect.
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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
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Structure
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Language & Tone
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Vocabulary
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What was Bartholomew's passion?
- 2What kind of pet did Bartholomew have?
About this short story passage for 6th Grade
“The Great Dictionary Disaster” is a short story reading passage about Humor, written for 6th Grade. It takes about 2 minutes to read (315 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.