Illustration of a group of kids walking into the snowy woods
Art by Alexandra Columbo
Fiction,

The Shortcut

Will Ricky and his friends save their town’s Groundhog Day celebration, even if it means getting in trouble?

By Monique D. Hall | Art by Alexandra Columbo
From the February 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will read a fictional story to identify the character’s motivation for telling the truth about doing something wrong.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    This realistic fiction story is about a group of kids who do something they know they shouldn’t. On another level, the story is about telling the truth even if it means admitting you did something wrong.
  • Structure
    The story is in the third person and is chronological.
  • Language
    The language is mostly conversational and includes a lot of dialogue.
  • Knowledge Demands
    Some familiarity with Groundhog Day may aid comprehension but is not necessary.
Lexiles: 600L-700L
Featured Skill: Character,
Other Key Skills: character’s motivation, main idea and supporting details, text features, visual literacy, summarizing, plot, inference, how a character changes
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.6, RL.3.7, RL.3.9, W.3.1, W.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.6
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6i, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7f, 7g, 8a, 8b, 8c, 10a, 10c, 12a, 12b

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Think and Read: Character's Motivation

As you read, pay attention to what motivates (or causes) Ricky to act the way he does throughout the story.

Ricky knew he shouldn’t have been there. He knew that he and his friends had no business being in the woods behind the school playground. 

But Selena dared Jared, and Jared dared Toya, and Toya dared Ricky. And you can’t turn down a dare. So the four of them ignored the sign that said “DO NOT ENTER” and walked right into the woods. 

“We’ll get to the park faster by taking this shortcut!” Selena said.

With each step of crunchy snow under their boots, Ricky wanted to tell his friends to stop, turn around, and take the long way to the park. But he didn’t want to be the friend that kept everyone else from having fun. 

So he stayed quiet as they walked through the jumble of trees.

PAUSE AND THINK: What did the kids do on the way to the park?

A Big Holiday

Ricky and his friends were heading to the park to watch people set up for the next day’s festivities. Tomorrow would be a big holiday for their community: Groundhog Day! 

Their town had a festival each year at the park. There was ice-skating on the pond, games, music, food, and all the hot cocoa you could drink. But the most important part of Groundhog Day had to do with the town’s most famous resident, Petey the Groundhog. Petey lived in a big enclosure in the park. 

Every year, the town veterinarian, Dr. Chee, would bring Petey onstage. Then he would hold Petey up for all to see. If Petey had a shadow, that meant winter would stay for six more weeks. If Petey didn’t have a shadow, that meant spring would come early.

Ricky wondered which would happen this year. He couldn’t wait to get to the park. But taking this shortcut was not part of his plan!

PAUSE AND THINK: Who is Petey?

Hide-and-Seek

As they walked through the woods, Jared had an idea. 

“If this shortcut is really that short, we can play a round of hide-and-seek and still get to the park quickly!” he said. 

“Sounds like fun!” Toya said.

“I’m in!” Selena agreed with a smile. 

When Ricky didn’t say anything, they turned to look at him.

“I don’t know . . .” Ricky said nervously.

“C’mon, just one game!” Toya said.

“It’ll be fine!” Jared added.

“OK, OK,” he finally said. “One game.” 

“Good. You’re it!” Selena said.

Ricky closed his eyes and started counting to 20. He heard his friends’ footsteps crunching as they ran to hide. When he opened his eyes, he was all alone. All he could hear now was the wind blowing through the branches. 

The sooner I find everyone, the sooner we can get out of here, Ricky thought, as he started searching for his friends.

Ricky looked around, but instead of searching for his friends one by one, he found all of them together in a little clearing in the woods. That was easy, he thought to himself. They all seemed to be watching something. 

“Ricky, come look!” Selena whispered. Ricky looked where they were looking and saw a groundhog scurry away. It ran out of the clearing and quickly into a burrow. 

“Was that . . . Petey?” Toya asked. 

“It looked just like him,” Selena said.

“But what’s he doing over here—out in the wild?” Ricky asked.

“Who knows,” Jared shrugged. 

“All I know is hide-and-seek is over,” Ricky said. “Can we go to the park now?”

“Yep, it’s this way,” Selena agreed as she led everyone out of the woods.

PAUSE AND THINK: What did the kids see in the woods?

So Much Trouble

When the friends got to the park, everyone looked like they were playing a giant game of hide-and-seek too. Except they were all seeking. 

Ricky saw his parents searching through the bushes for something. The kids went over to Toya’s mom, who was standing by the hot cocoa booth.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Toya asked.

“Petey the Groundhog is missing!” said Toya’s mom. “We checked his enclosure, but he wasn’t there. If we can’t find Petey, the whole Groundhog Day party will have to be canceled!”

“Wait! We just saw—” Ricky began, but Jared jumped in.

“—a good spot to look over there! C’mon, Ricky, let’s go.” Jared led Ricky away. Toya and Selena followed.

“You were about to tell her we saw Petey in the woods!” Jared exclaimed. 

“Yeah, so?” Ricky said, confused. 

Jared sighed. “If we tell her we saw him in the woods, then she’ll know we were in the woods, where we weren’t supposed to be!”

“And we’ll get in so much trouble!” Toya added.

The last thing Ricky wanted was to get in trouble for being in the woods. But if they didn’t tell everyone that they saw Petey there, no one would get to celebrate Groundhog Day. That wouldn’t be fair. Ricky knew he had a choice to make.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why don’t Ricky’s friends want to say they saw Petey?

The Choice

Soon Mayor Thompson got up onstage and spoke to the crowd who had been searching for Petey. 

“Without Petey, there’s no way we can have our Groundhog Day festival tomorrow, so sadly—” 

“Wait!” came a loud voice from the crowd. 

Everyone was shocked to see where the voice had come from— Ricky. 

“I think I know where Petey is,” Ricky said nervously. He took a deep breath and went up to the stage. 

“I took a shortcut through the woods. I know I shouldn’t have gone that way, but I wanted to get here faster,” Ricky confessed. “And I saw Petey.” 

Even though he would be in trouble, Ricky knew he had made the right choice. And he was ready to take all the blame. Then he heard three other voices shout out:

“Ricky wasn’t in the woods alone,” Jared said. “I was there too.”

“Me too,” followed Toya.

“Me three,” said Selena.

The four friends then led everyone to where they had seen Petey. When Dr. Chee was sure it was him, everyone cheered! Then they brought Petey back to his enclosure. 

The next day, the Groundhog Day festivities went on as planned. As for Ricky, Selena, Jared, and Toya, they were all grounded. But their punishment wouldn’t begin until February 3—after Groundhog Day. 

As Dr. Chee lifted Petey up, everyone looked to see if he had a shadow. 

But Ricky looked at Selena, and Selena looked at Jared, and Jared looked at Toya. And they all smiled. 

THINK AND WRITE

Imagine you’re Ricky. Using details from the story, write a journal entry explaining why you decided to tell everyone that you saw Petey. 

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras

Honesty is an important topic to discuss with students. Explore this theme further in “The Parade That Changed Everything,” a fiction story about the intricacies of being honest with a friend. 

It’s not always easy to stand up for yourself—as Ricky learns in this story. Read “The Name Jar,” an inspiring story about a girl who finds the courage to be herself and stand up for who she is.

After reading about Ricky’s experience, read “Veronica’s Pack,” a similar story about a shy girl who finds her voice. 

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. SEL Focus

4. Skill Building and Writing

5. Differentiate and Customize

Struggling Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers, Creative Writing

1. Preparing to Read

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

  • Ask students to predict what this article will be about based on the headline, subhead, and illustration on pages 10-11. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 11 and the Think and Write box on page 15.

  • Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the story. 

Introduce the Featured Skill

  • Build on the Think and Read prompt by explaining this story’s featured skill: Character’s Motivation. Encourage students to think about what motivates, or causes, Ricky to act the way he does in the story. 

Introduce Vocabulary

 
  • Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading.

2. Close Reading

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • Read the story as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the Read-Aloud.
  • Stop and use the Pause and Think questions at the end of each section for a comprehension check. Encourage students to go back to the text to support their answers.
  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. (Alternatively, use all or part of the Learning Journey Slide Deck.)

Close-Reading Questions 

  • Read the first section. Why doesn’t Ricky say anything when his friends take the shortcut to the park? Ricky doesn’t say anything about taking the shortcut because he doesn’t want to be the friend who keeps everyone else from having fun. (character’s motivation)
  • Read “A Big Holiday.” What is the most important part of the town’s Groundhog Day celebration? The most important part of the Groundhog Day celebration is seeing if Petey the Groundhog has a shadow. If he does, winter will continue for six more weeks. If he doesn’t, spring will arrive early. (main idea and supporting details)
  • What part of the story does the illustration on pages 12 and 13 show? The illustration on pages 12 and 13 shows Ricky and his friends seeing Petey running across the snow in the woods. Ricky is pointing at Petey. All the children look surprised to see Petey in the woods. (text features, visual literacy)
  • Read “So Much Trouble.” What is the important choice that Ricky has to make? Ricky has to choose whether to tell everyone that he and his friends saw Petey in the woods. If he does, they would be in trouble. If he doesn’t, Groundhog Day would be canceled. (summarize)
  • Read “The Choice.” What happens after Mayor Thompson is about to cancel the Groundhog Day festival? First, Ricky confesses that he saw Petey when he took a shortcut through the woods. Then Jared, Toya, and Selena admit they were in the woods too. The four friends lead everyone to the area where they saw Petey. (plot)
  • As Dr. Chee lifts up Petey, why do Ricky, Selena, Jared, and Toya look at each other and smile? Ricky, Selena, Jared, and Toya look at each other and smile because they know that the Groundhog Day festival was saved because of them. (inference).

Critical-Thinking Question

  • How does Ricky change from the beginning of the story to the end? In the beginning of the story, Ricky knows that it’s wrong for the group to ignore the “DO NOT ENTER” sign and walk into the woods. He doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t want to keep everyone else from having fun. At the end of the story, when the town can’t find Petey, Ricky speaks up and confesses that he took the shortcut and saw Petey in the woods. Ricky knew he would be in trouble, but was ready to take the blame to save Groundhog Day. (how a character changes) 

Class Discussion: Telling the Truth

In this story, Ricky tells the truth and confesses to doing the wrong thing. Even though he knows he will get in trouble for it (and his friends try to convince him not to) he knows it’s the right thing to do. Think about a time when you had to confess to doing the wrong thing. What did you have to confess about? How did you feel once you told the truth? Did you feel it was the right thing to do, like Ricky? How did this situation help you make better decisions in the future? Have a conversation about honesty with your students. (connecting to the text, theme)

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Character’s Motivation

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Character’s Motivation Skill Builder.
  • Ask students to write a response to the Think and Write prompt on page 15.

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

Prepare students for the featured skill by reading the story together or listening to the audio read-aloud while following along in the magazine. Pause after each section. Together, highlight any sentences or phrases that describe Ricky’s actions. What details show why Ricky chooses to behave the way he does? Make a comprehensive list of the descriptions you found in the beginning, middle, and end of the story that explain what motivates Ricky.

For Multilingual Learners

The concept of Groundhog Day may be unfamiliar to your multilingual learners. Before reading, review the origin of and other facts about Groundhog Day in this issue’s Infographic feature, “This Groundhog Is Famous!” Then ask students to share their favorite holiday with the class.

For Advanced Readers

Invite students to retell the story (or parts of the story) in first-person, from Ricky’s perspective. What extra details can they add that explain Ricky’s motivations and emotions? Encourage students to read their stories to the class.

Text-to-Speech