The Birthday Cake
Reading Comprehension Activity

Josie wants to a baker when she grows up, so she’s very excited to make a birthday cake for her mom. Will it be a success? This reading passage includes the following Dolch sight words: made, right, best, cake, and girl. Students will read the passage and answer follow-up questions about vocabulary and other story elements.

Topic(s): Realistic Fiction. Skill(s): Character Traits, Fact & Opinion, Context Clues, Story Elements. Genre(s): Prose

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Passage

Josie was a girl who loved to bake. She always helped her uncle at his bakery. Mostly she carried ingredients from the refrigerator to the large work table. Sometimes Uncle Dave let Josie stir the cake batter with a wooden spoon.

Josie wanted to learn to bake a cake on her own. She asked if Uncle Dave would show her how. Her mother’s birthday was only two days away. If Josie made a cake all by herself, it would be a wonderful surprise.

On Saturday morning, Josie arrived at the bakery just as it was closing. The bakery always closed early on the weekends so Uncle Dave could walk his dogs. “Ready, Josie?” Uncle Dave asked.

“Ready!” Josie answered.

First, Uncle Dave had Josie get all the ingredients and line them up on the work table. Then he showed her how to measure flour and sugar so that she had the exact right amount. She added these ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

Next, Uncle Dave tapped an egg on the side of the bowl to crack it. “Be careful not to get any bits of shell in the bowl,” he said.

Josie tapped her egg very gently on the bowl. It didn’t crack. She tried again, and this time the shell came apart. She pulled the egg apart over the bowl and watched the yellow egg yolk drop into the flour.

Now it was time to stir. Uncle Dave handed Josie an egg beater and showed her how to turn the crank. “This is old-fashioned, but it’s the best way to mix a cake,” Uncle Dave said.

Josie took the egg beater and turned the handle. It quickly ate up the egg and turned the ingredients into a smooth batter. “This is fun!” said Josie.

When the batter was ready, Uncle Dave helped Josie pour it into the cake pan. He gave Josie oven mitts and showed her how to put the pan in the oven without burning her hands.

While the cake baked, Josie and Uncle Dave wiped off the table and washed all the dishes. “A clean kitchen is the best kitchen!” Uncle Dave said.

Just as Josie put away the last bowl, the timer beeped. Her cake was ready, and it looked delicious!

Comprehension Questions
Answers

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