edHelper.com
Pets Theme Unit
Sports

The Best Dog

The Best Dog
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.55

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    uncertain, half-grown, cocked, backed, hesitate, rough, tunnel, doggy, obstacle, lead, member, longer, onto, side, surface, body

Print The Best Dog
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print The Best Dog  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on The Best Dog
     Leave your feedback on The Best Dog  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

The Best Dog
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     David lay on his side inside the compressed, corrugated agility tunnel. His half-grown Doberman puppy sat waiting on her lead at the other end a little ways off. She was not sure she wanted to walk into the strange tunnel.
 
2     "Come, Jean," said David as he held out a treat toward her as far as he could reach.
 
3     Jean's head cocked, listening to him, and she stretched her nose toward him. She took one uncertain step and then another.
 
4     "What a good girl, Jean," said David in a soft voice. "What a good dog."
 
5     Finally, she was close enough and took the treat from his fingers. David backed up a little and kept calling the puppy to follow him. Soon they were both out, and the puppy wiggled with excitement.
 
6     When David tried to call Jean through the tunnel again, she was no longer afraid. She ran through to the boy because she knew a treat was coming. Jean loved treats.
 
7     It was the first day of agility class. Mom had suggested that David take part because it would help him to understand their puppy, Jean, better.
 
8     Soon Jean did not hesitate to run through the short tunnel, and it was time to try another thing. They would try the chute. It was like a barrel at one end. The other end was a piece of tube-shaped fabric that lay on the ground.

Paragraphs 9 to 21:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper