When the bright sun drops below the thick emerald treetops, the tropical rainforest never goes to sleep. Instead, a whole new family of nocturnal animals wakes up in the shadows. High in the branches, a small tree frog with bright red eyes leaps from leaf to leaf, hunting for crunchy insects. His sticky webbed toes help him grip wet bark without slipping in the damp night air.
Down below on the forest floor, an armadillo sniffs the rich, dark soil. He uses his long, sharp claws to dig for hidden beetles and juicy worms. Up in the tangled vines, a mother kinkajou hangs upside down by her muscular tail. She reaches out with her long pink tongue to lick sweet nectar from night-blooming flowers. Cool mist drifts between the tall vines while crickets and owls sing together. Darkness turns the bustling green jungle into an active playground filled with mysterious rustling sounds.
Passage Probe 3 • Third Grade Level Page 3 of 4
Weekly Fluency Probe 4
Name:
Date:
🤖
Reader Directions: Read this story aloud as smoothly and carefully as you can. If you come to a word you do not know, do your best and keep going!
In a quiet neighborhood workshop, an inventor named Marcus built a silver helper named Sparky. Sparky had shiny chrome wheels, two camera eyes that glowed warm blue, and gentle metal fingers. Most robots were programmed to assemble boxes or vacuum shiny wooden floors, but Sparky loved flowers and soil. Every morning, Sparky rolled into the community garden with a small watering can attached to his steel arm.
Sparky learned to test the garden soil with a special sensor on his fingertip. If the dirt was too dry, he sprinkled water over the thirsty tomato plants and curly kale. He carefully plucked brown leaves and pulled prickly weeds that stole nutrients from the soil. One sunny afternoon, a fuzzy yellow caterpillar crawled onto Sparky's metal wrist. Instead of brushing it away, the gentle robot stayed completely still until the caterpillar safely reached a broad sunflower leaf. The whole neighborhood agreed that Sparky was the kindest gardener in town.
Passage Probe 4 • Third Grade Level Page 4 of 4
Acceptable: To show other bees where the best flowers are (direction of sun and distance).
0 pt 1 pt
5. [Main Idea] What is the big idea or central message of this passage?
Acceptable: Bees work together as a team with different roles to keep their hive safe and fed.
0 pt 1 pt
IEP Benchmark Check: WCPM ≥ 70 [ ] Accuracy ≥ 96% [ ] Comp ≥ 80% (4/5) [ ]
Probe 1 Scoring Guide • Page 1 of 4
Examiner Protocol • Probe 2 Target Level: Grade 3
Student:
Date:
Examiner:
Examiner Script: “When I say ‘begin,’ start reading aloud at the top of the page. Read across the page. Try to read each word. If you come to a word you don’t know, I will tell it to you. Be sure to do your best reading. Are there any questions? … Begin.” (Start stopwatch when student speaks first word. Bracket ‘]’ after 60 seconds.)
Every summer morning, Liam and his sister Maya hurried down to the shore [13]
with two plastic buckets and a silver shovel. They loved building gigantic [25]
sandcastles before the afternoon tide rushed in. First, Liam scooped up damp [37]
sand from near the gentle ocean waves. Damp sand was sticky and held its [51]
shape much better than dry, powdery sand. Maya carefully packed the wet [63]
sand into plastic cups to build tall, round towers. Next, they dug a wide [76] ★ GOAL (70)
moat all the way around their grand fortress. Liam found smooth white [88]
seashells and green sea glass to decorate the castle walls. Suddenly, a tiny [101]
ghost crab scuttled across the beach and poked its head into the castle gate. [115]
Liam froze and whispered for Maya to look. The crab raised its small [128]
claws, wiggled its black eyes, and dug a little tunnel beneath the main [141]
courtyard. Maya laughed quietly and said their castle now had its very own royal guard. [156]
Total Words ____
−
Errors ____
=
WCPM (≥70) ____
Acc % (≥96) ____%
Error Codes:
[S] Substitution • [O] Omission
[M] Mispronunciation
[H] Hesitation (>3s)
Self-Correct: [SC] within 3s ≠ error
Score: _____ / 5 (_____ %)
1. [Literal] Why did Liam and Maya build their sandcastle early in the morning?
Acceptable: Before the afternoon ocean tide rushed in and washed it away.
0 pt 1 pt
2. [Detail/Contrast] Why did Liam use damp sand instead of dry sand?
Acceptable: Damp sand was sticky and held its shape better than dry sand.
0 pt 1 pt
3. [Vocabulary] What did they dig all the way around their fortress?
Acceptable: A wide moat (or deep ditch/trench around the castle).
0 pt 1 pt
4. [Inference] Why did Liam freeze and whisper when the ghost crab appeared?
Acceptable: He didn't want to startle/scare the crab away; he wanted Maya to watch it.
0 pt 1 pt
5. [Theme/Inference] Why did Maya call the crab their “royal guard”?
Acceptable: The crab dug a tunnel inside the castle and stood there with claws raised like a guard.
0 pt 1 pt
IEP Benchmark Check: WCPM ≥ 70 [ ] Accuracy ≥ 96% [ ] Comp ≥ 80% (4/5) [ ]
Probe 2 Scoring Guide • Page 2 of 4
Examiner Protocol • Probe 3 Target Level: Grade 3
Student:
Date:
Examiner:
Examiner Script: “When I say ‘begin,’ start reading aloud at the top of the page. Read across the page. Try to read each word. If you come to a word you don’t know, I will tell it to you. Be sure to do your best reading. Are there any questions? … Begin.” (Start stopwatch when student speaks first word. Bracket ‘]’ after 60 seconds.)
When the bright sun drops below the thick emerald treetops, the tropical [12]
rainforest never goes to sleep. Instead, a whole new family of nocturnal [24]
animals wakes up in the shadows. High in the branches, a small tree frog [38]
with bright red eyes leaps from leaf to leaf, hunting for crunchy insects. [51]
His sticky webbed toes help him grip wet bark without slipping in the damp [65]
night air. Down below on the forest floor, an armadillo sniffs the rich, [78] ★ GOAL (70)
dark soil. He uses his long, sharp claws to dig for hidden beetles and [92]
juicy worms. Up in the tangled vines, a mother kinkajou hangs upside [104]
down by her muscular tail. She reaches out with her long pink tongue to [118]
lick sweet nectar from night-blooming flowers. Cool mist drifts between [128]
the tall vines while crickets and owls sing together. Darkness turns the [140]
bustling green jungle into an active playground filled with mysterious rustling sounds. [151]
Total Words ____
−
Errors ____
=
WCPM (≥70) ____
Acc % (≥96) ____%
Error Codes:
[S] Substitution • [O] Omission
[M] Mispronunciation
[H] Hesitation (>3s)
Self-Correct: [SC] within 3s ≠ error
Score: _____ / 5 (_____ %)
1. [Vocabulary] What does the word “nocturnal” mean in this story?
Acceptable: Animals that wake up, hunt, or are active during the night.
0 pt 1 pt
2. [Detail/Adaptation] How do sticky webbed toes help the red-eyed tree frog?
Acceptable: They help him grip wet tree bark without slipping in the night air.
0 pt 1 pt
3. [Literal] What body part does the armadillo use to dig for beetles and worms?
Acceptable: His long, sharp claws.
0 pt 1 pt
4. [Detail] How does the mother kinkajou hold onto branches while feeding?
Acceptable: She hangs upside down by her strong, muscular tail.
0 pt 1 pt
5. [Main Idea] What is the main idea of this passage?
Acceptable: The rainforest stays active at night as nocturnal animals come out to hunt and explore.
0 pt 1 pt
IEP Benchmark Check: WCPM ≥ 70 [ ] Accuracy ≥ 96% [ ] Comp ≥ 80% (4/5) [ ]
Probe 3 Scoring Guide • Page 3 of 4
Examiner Protocol • Probe 4 Target Level: Grade 3
Student:
Date:
Examiner:
Examiner Script: “When I say ‘begin,’ start reading aloud at the top of the page. Read across the page. Try to read each word. If you come to a word you don’t know, I will tell it to you. Be sure to do your best reading. Are there any questions? … Begin.” (Start stopwatch when student speaks first word. Bracket ‘]’ after 60 seconds.)
In a quiet neighborhood workshop, an inventor named Marcus built a silver [12]
helper named Sparky. Sparky had shiny chrome wheels, two camera eyes that [24]
glowed warm blue, and gentle metal fingers. Most robots were programmed [35]
to assemble boxes or vacuum shiny wooden floors, but Sparky loved flowers [47]
and soil. Every morning, Sparky rolled into the community garden with a [59]
small watering can attached to his steel arm. Sparky learned to test the [72] ★ GOAL (70)
garden soil with a special sensor on his fingertip. If the dirt was too dry, [87]
he sprinkled water over the thirsty tomato plants and curly kale. He [99]
carefully plucked brown leaves and pulled prickly weeds that stole nutrients [110]
from the soil. One sunny afternoon, a fuzzy yellow caterpillar crawled [121]
onto Sparky's metal wrist. Instead of brushing it away, the gentle robot [133]
stayed completely still until the caterpillar safely reached a broad sunflower leaf. [145]
Total Words ____
−
Errors ____
=
WCPM (≥70) ____
Acc % (≥96) ____%
Error Codes:
[S] Substitution • [O] Omission
[M] Mispronunciation
[H] Hesitation (>3s)
Self-Correct: [SC] within 3s ≠ error
Score: _____ / 5 (_____ %)
1. [Literal/Contrast] How was Sparky different from other robots?
Acceptable: Other robots packed boxes or vacuumed floors, but Sparky loved flowers and soil.
0 pt 1 pt
2. [Detail] How did Sparky know when plants needed water?
Acceptable: He tested the soil with a special sensor on his fingertip.
0 pt 1 pt
3. [Inference/Cause] Why did Sparky pull prickly weeds out of the ground?
Acceptable: The weeds stole water and nutrients from the garden soil/plants.
0 pt 1 pt
4. [Detail] What did Sparky do when a caterpillar crawled onto his wrist?
Acceptable: He stayed completely still until the caterpillar reached a sunflower leaf safely.
0 pt 1 pt
5. [Character Trait] What word best describes Sparky, and why?
Acceptable: Kind, gentle, caring, patient; he took careful care of plants and bugs.
0 pt 1 pt
IEP Benchmark Check: WCPM ≥ 70 [ ] Accuracy ≥ 96% [ ] Comp ≥ 80% (4/5) [ ]
Probe 4 Scoring Guide • Page 4 of 4
