Job Lost and Found

Job Lost and Found

Job Lost and Found
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	4.04

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		announcement, goodnight, immediately, tighten, education, leftover, buses, canoe, homework, downstairs, overnight, upstairs, somehow, news, minutes, exactly
	content words:		Smith Valley Elementary School

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Job Lost and Found
By Jody Williams

¹     Kelly and Ben are best friends. Not only are they best friends, but they are sister and brother. Not only are they sister and brother, but they are twins. They are fraternal twins. That means that they do not look identical. Kelly was born first, and two minutes later Ben was born. They are both in the fourth grade at Smith Valley Elementary School.

²     One day, the fourth grade teachers made an announcement to their classes. They said that the fourth graders would be going on an overnight trip. This is a trip that fourth graders go on every year. They travel to an outdoor education camp. Parents would be needed to go along. Everyone would stay in cabins, go on hikes, canoe, swim, play games, and do craft projects. A campfire and a hike in the woods at night were also planned. The teachers explained that there would be leaders at the camp to run the activities.

³     As the teachers were sharing the news about the trip, the faces of every fourth grader grew a little brighter with excitement. Each teacher handed out a packet of information to be taken home to parents. A meeting was planned for parents to learn more about the trip, and the cost of the trip would be discussed.

⁴     The bell rang, and it was time for the school day to end. As fourth graders made their way to the buses, all they could talk about was the trip. Kelly and Ben got on the bus and sat together as they always did. They talked the whole way home about how they couldn't wait to tell their parents all about the trip. They knew that at least one of their parents, if not both, would go along.

⁵     The bus stopped in front of their house. Kelly and Ben leaped off the bus and ran up the driveway. They burst into the house ready to shout their news at the top of their lungs. Then they noticed that something was different. Dad was home. Usually, Dad was at work when they got home from school. He looked different, too. He looked sad, like his best friend in the whole world moved thousands of miles away. They looked at their mom for an answer to the question that was on both of their faces: "What's wrong?"

⁶     Mom pulled the twins into the living room and explained that Dad had lost his job. She explained that the company that Dad worked for had to let go some workers because the company couldn't afford to pay them. Dad was one of them. Kelly and Ben immediately asked what they could do to help. Mom tried to assure them that Dad would find another job soon, but somehow she wasn't very convincing. She also explained that the family would have to "tighten their belts." That meant that money could only be spent on the things they needed, like food and house bills.

⁷     Mom asked Kelly and Ben to go up to their rooms and start their homework. As they walked up the stairs, they looked at each other. They knew exactly what the other was thinking. They both went in Kelly's room and sat on the floor. Kelly said, "What about our trip?" They both agreed that they couldn't tell their parents about it. It cost money to go on the trip, and Mom said they had to "tighten their belts."

⁸     After finishing their homework, Kelly and Ben came downstairs to find Mom and Dad fixing dinner. It was Thursday and usually they went out every Thursday for a family dinner at their favorite restaurant. This was only the first of many changes for the family.

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