Level S: Fiction Name _____________

Date _____________

Camping at Falcon Peak

By David Harstad

Welcome to Sandport Beach! It’s the ideal beach town tucked away in the tranquil
hills of coastal California. Every day is a little more perfect than the last: warm sun,
cool ocean breezes, and kids living life to the fullest… even when camping at
Falcon Peak.

Day 1
In a quest for adventure, a dozen of us kids decided to go
camping. Falcon Peak was the perfect site, just outside of town.
The top of the peak has a fantastic view of the hills and mighty
Pacific Ocean. Our trip would be modeled after the Lewis and
Clark Expedition (1803-06). We will write in journals about our trip,
work together, and reminisce around the campfire at night.
The actual Lewis and Clark journey took three years. Their
team of 30 explored the new Louisiana Purchase, wrote detailed daily notes, and found a way
to the Pacific. Then they reported their findings back to an eager President Jefferson. Their
journals about the West are still popular today.
Our team of 12 would pack only the necessities in little red wagons and
wheelbarrows. Throwing things in a wagon, like yo-yo’s, fuzzy bunny
slippers, and joke books, was a lot easier than actually packing them in a
bag. The girls and boys brought separate tents. It was agreed each
gender would cook a meal and take turns cleaning up. The great three-day adventure
started at Harper’s house. With the smell of freshly baked muffins coming from her oven, this
was the logical starting point. Wagons ho!
It turns out that since we packed our own wagons separately, the only
thing we brought to eat were cookies. No hot dogs, no hamburgers,
and no toothbrushes… just cookies. With the thought of team spirt and
cooperation, we all grabbed as many cookies as we could and stuffed
them into our mouths. Team spirit is one thing but wilderness survival is another.
We each recorded the cookie dinner in our journals, watched a little of the
Perseid meteor shower, and then went to bed.

Day 2
With a little morning exploration, we found a familiar sight: a grey soccer ball stuck in a
tree. Just like at school, we resolved our problem in a civilized manner, by throwing rocks at it.
Whoever caught the ball would choose the first game to play. Madeline was best positioned to
catch the ball and avoid the rocks being flung from all directions. The ball was just about

TpT - ©The Harstad Collection

dislodged from the tree. It must have been up there a long time, since it looked old and a little
deflated. You could even hear a soft noise coming from it, like it was deflating even more.
“Here it comes! It’s coming! I got it!” shouted Madeline, who prefers dodgeball.
Halfway to the ground, with Madeline’s arms wide open and her smile even wider, there
was something unusual about the ball. It was something strangely familiar, but I just couldn’t
connect the…what could it… I don’t think that… Then we knew. We knew!
Bees! And more bees!
Was it a soccer ball full of bees, or was it a hive that looked like – who cares!
“Aigh! Eeee! Geez! Bees!” screeched Madeline, as if anyone could
hear her over the deafening buzzing of the… Bees!
I would have offered to help cousin Madeline, but by the time I looked
up from ground, everyone scattered to the safety of their tents. I was
left standing alone, watching a half-trillion Apis mellifera staring at me…Bees!
I ran furiously to my tent, planted my feet, and leapt head first through
the little opening, like an Olympic diver going for that gold medal. You could
see hundreds of stingers through the mesh flap trying to get us.
In the tent, I wrote my final journal comments:
“Trapped by the largest bee colony known to humans, perhaps even to aliens. No sign of help. May-
bee (sorry), Maybe the last entry of my life. Things look grim. Don’t give away my belongings without
a fair price, especially my glow-in-the-dark chop sticks and vampire costume. No food, getting weak.”

At that point the breeze kicked in. A sea breeze was pushing inland and an updraft was
working its way up the mountain.
A frantic shout came out from a nearby tent: “Flee the bees with the strong breeze!”
At first I thought I heard: “Heave some cheese at the strange bees!” But that didn’t make
any sense. With tent flaps blowing in the wind, I didn’t dwell on that thought.
Under attack and with no breakfast cookies, off we go! This expedition is over. Report to
President Jefferson we’re done – we’re out of here. Last one down to Tiki Burger buys the fries!
The two hours of setting up camp took two minutes taking it down.
The great wagon train now turned into a gold rush stampede. Our little wagons ditched
the trail and headed straight down. We made a “beeline” for Tiki Burger. Cups and utensils
were flying out of the wagons. Someone lost a dirty sock, and then a clean one, and then a
canteen. All were abandoned – artifacts for the next Falcon Peak explorers. No
one looked backed for fear of having to help a downed explorer. It was every
adventurer for themselves! Our dust cloud could be seen from town. Tourists on
the beach thought there was a wildfire on Falcon Peak.
One final stumble at the foot of the mountain, and we all tumbled over the
hedges into Mrs. Ordway’s backyard. She was sitting on the patio sipping coffee
with her cockatoo, Goodrich. We didn’t stop to say “hello,” and she didn’t put her
coffee mug down fast enough to offer us cookies. Onward, we marched.
At last, civilization: Tiki Burger fries, hamburgers, ice tea, and cornbread
with honey… what else?

TpT - ©The Harstad Collection

 Name _____________
ASSESSMENT Date _____________
Level S: Fiction
Flesch-Kincaid Level
Grades 4-5 Camping at Falcon Peak
By David Harstad
Day 1
In a quest for adventure, a dozen of us kids decided to go camping. Falcon Peak was the perfect
site, just outside of town. The top of the peak has a fantastic view of the hills and mighty Pacific Ocean.
Our trip would be modeled after the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-06). We will write in journals
about our trip, work together, and reminisce around the campfire at night.
The actual Lewis and Clark journey took three years. Their team of 30 explored the new
Louisiana Purchase, wrote detailed daily notes, and found a way to the Pacific. Then they reported their
findings back to an eager President Jefferson. Their journals about the West are still popular today.
Our team of 12 would pack only the necessities in little red wagons and wheelbarrows. Throwing
things in a wagon, like yo-yo’s, fuzzy bunny slippers, and joke books, was a lot easier than actually
packing them in a bag. The girls and boys brought separate tents. It was agreed each gender would
cook a meal and take turns cleaning up. The great three-day adventure started at Harper’s house. With
the smell of freshly baked muffins coming from her oven, this was the logical starting point. Wagons
ho!
It turns out that since we packed our own wagons separately, the only thing we brought to eat
were cookies. No hot dogs, no hamburgers, and no toothbrushes… just cookies. With the thought of
team spirt and cooperation, we all grabbed as many cookies as we could and stuffed them into our
mouths. Team spirit is one thing but wilderness survival is another. We each recorded the cookie dinner
in our journals, watched a little of the Perseid meteor shower, and then went to bed.
Day 2
With a little morning exploration, we found a familiar sight: a grey soccer ball stuck in a tree. Just
like at school, we resolved our problem in a civilized manner, by throwing rocks at it. Whoever caught
the ball would choose the first game to play. Madeline was best positioned to catch the ball and avoid
the rocks being flung from all directions. The ball was just about dislodged from the tree. It must have
been up there a long time, since it looked old and a little deflated. You could even hear a soft noise
coming from it, like it was deflating even more.
“Here it comes! It’s coming! I got it!” shouted Madeline, who prefers dodgeball.
Halfway to the ground, with Madeline’s arms wide open and her smile even wider, there was
something unusual about the ball. It was something strangely familiar, but I just couldn’t connect
the…what could it… I don’t think that… Then we knew. We knew!
Bees! And more bees!
Was it a soccer ball full of bees, or was it a hive that looked like – who cares!
“Aigh! Eeee! Geez! Bees!” screeched Madeline, as if anyone could hear her over the deafening
buzzing of the… Bees!
I would have offered to help cousin Madeline, but by the time I looked up from ground, everyone
scattered to the safety of their tents. I was left standing alone, watching a half-trillion Apis mellifera
staring at me…Bees!
I ran furiously to my tent, planted my feet, and leapt head first through the little opening, like an
Olympic diver going for that gold medal. You could see hundreds of stingers through the mesh flap
trying to get us.
In the tent, I wrote my final journal comments:
“Trapped by the largest bee colony known to humans, perhaps even to aliens. No sign of help. May-bee
(sorry), Maybe the last entry of my life. Things look grim. Don’t give away my belongings without a fair price,
especially my glow-in-the-dark chop sticks and vampire costume. No food, getting weak.”

TpT - ©The Harstad Collection

 At that point the breeze kicked in. A sea breeze was pushing inland and an updraft was working
its way up the mountain.
A frantic shout came out from a nearby tent: “Flee the bees with the strong breeze!”
At first I thought I heard: “Heave some cheese at the strange bees!” But that didn’t make any
sense. With tent flaps blowing in the wind, I didn’t dwell on that thought.
Under attack and with no breakfast cookies, off we go! This expedition is over. Report to
President Jefferson we’re done – we’re out of here. Last one down to Tiki Burger buys the fries! The
two hours of setting up camp took two minutes taking it down.
The great wagon train now turned into a gold rush stampede. Our little wagons ditched the trail
and headed straight down. We made a “beeline” for Tiki Burger. Cups and utensils were flying out of
the wagons. Someone lost a dirty sock, and then a clean one, and then a canteen. All were abandoned
– artifacts for the next Falcon Peak explorers. No one looked backed for fear of having to help a downed
explorer. It was every adventurer for themselves! Our dust cloud could be seen from town. Tourists on
the beach thought there was a wildfire on Falcon Peak.
One final stumble at the foot of the mountain, and we all tumbled over the hedges into Mrs.
Ordway’s backyard. She was sitting on the patio sipping coffee with her cockatoo, Goodrich. We didn’t
stop to say “hello,” and she didn’t put her coffee mug down fast enough to offer us cookies. Onward,
we marched.
At last, civilization: Tiki Burger fries, hamburgers, ice tea, and cornbread with honey… what
else?

• Directions: Introduce Question 1, start timer, circle errors, and complete scorecard.

Reading
Time Errors Teacher Opinion

1st Read Date: 921 words 5 4 3 2 1 0

2nd Read Date: 921 words 5 4 3 2 1 0

Notes:

Questions Teacher Opinion Teacher Opinion

1st Read 2nd Read
1. What do you need for camping? (predict) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0

2. Summarize the story in your own words. (summary) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0

3. Where would you like to camp? (connection) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. What makes the passage humorous? (synthesize) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
5. Explain the underlined simile. (analyze) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. Did the group have a successful trip? (infer) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
Overall Reading & Comprehension
Total _____ Total _____
Excellent Good Average Limited

TpT - ©The Harstad Collection