Name 1 Homework Monday Directions: Read the passage below. As you are reading practice: Visualizing Check for understanding Figuring out word meanings The Shortcut Follow me. I know a shortcut, Danny said. Carl held back. I don t think that s a good idea, he said. He was used to his brother looking for easy ways to do things. Danny slept on the floor so he didn t have to make his bed. And now he had found a shortcut from the store to their grandmother s house. They were visiting for the Thanksgiving weekend. The block around her house was familiar. It was just four blocks from the store, with a turn on one corner. Between the store and the house was a junkyard. It was a dirty place with old cars and sofas piled in heaps1. There was a fence around it. But nobody seemed to own it or to care about it. Come on! Danny said. Don t be chicken! Carl hated it when he called him a chicken. But he felt he had to keep an eye on his brother. It s what he had been doing his whole life, even though Danny was a year older. They pushed aside a broken part of the fence and walked through the mud. Danny hopped onto the springs of a discarded2 bed. His foot got stuck. He had to take off his shoe to free it. Then he saw something interesting on the ground. It looked like a silver dollar, but it turned out to be just a bottle cap. Danny tossed a flat football to Carl. He filled his pockets with all sorts of finds. A piece of blue glass. A soggy picture of a dog. Four pennies. While Danny studied the ground, Carl was looking at the sky. It s getting late, he said. Finally, they reached the other side. There, the fence was strong and high. There was no way to climb over it. So, they had to run fast back to where they d started.
Name 2 1. The theme of this passage is a. watch out for danger. b. it is important to be kind to your brother. c. the value of things. d. taking a shortcut can be an adventure. 2. The following does not support the theme: a. Danny wanted to take a shortcut. b. The shortcut lead to a junk yard. c. There was no way out of the junkyard. d. Danny saw a bottle cap on the ground. 3. What is the problem in this story? a. Danny called Carl a chicken. b. Carl is always watching out for Danny. c. The shortcut took more time than Danny planned. d. Danny wanted to take a shortcut. 4. Carl seems a. cautious. b. boring. c. adventurous. d. mean. 5. What lesson does the reader learn from the story?
Name 3 Homework Tuesday Directions: Read the passage below. As you are reading practice: Visualizing Check for understanding Figuring out word meanings The Lottery It s a secret. Don t tell anyone! Maya crossed her heart. I swear. I won t tell anyone. What s the secret? Tina looked around. She wanted to be sure that no one could hear her. Then she whispered into Maya s ear: My parents won the lottery. We re rich! Tina and Maya then talked about how different her life would be. I guess I ll travel around the world now. And get new sneakers. These are falling apart. She looked down at her worn-out shoes. Then, she kicked them off. I m sure that now that we have money, my mother won t complain if I just throw these away. It was getting late. They headed home for dinner. Tina waited for her parents to announce how much they had won. But dinner was the same old thing: rice and chicken wings. They didn t talk about their riches. Tina figured they were waiting for just the right time to tell her. Maya met her sister on the porch. I ve got something to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Then she said, Tina s rich. Her parents won the lottery. Her sister didn t understand about secrets. She burst through the door and yelled, Tina s family won the lottery! She was loud enough for all the neighbors to hear. There had been talk around town for days about the lottery. Someone in their town had won. The winner had not come forward. So everyone was guessing about who it could be. Tina s father was doing the dishes when the first neighbor arrived. Her mother opened the door. Excuse me, Mrs. Hanly said. But we are having some trouble with the rent. Could you lend me $100 please? There was soon another knock at the door. Then another. My car is broken down. Could you maybe help me get it fixed? asked one.
Name 4 We need just $50, said another. Just enough for a bus ticket. Soon the house was full of people. All of them needed something. We would love to help, Tina s parents said. But what makes you think we are so rich to help everyone? One by one, they mentioned the lottery. I did win a lottery, Tina s mother said. At my work. It was a drawing to see who would get next Saturday off. And I won. 1. What is a key theme of this text? a. Sometimes the truth is not what it may seem to be. b. People should work hard to become successful and wealthy. c. Friends can rarely be trusted with keeping secrets. d. Winning the lottery can have a negative effect on the winner s life. 2. How do Tina s neighbors hear the rumor that her family won the lottery? a. Tina s parents tell the neighbors that they won the lottery. b. Maya tells all of their neighbors about the rumor. c. Tina spreads the rumor to her classmates. Her classmates then tell their parents. d. Maya s sister yells Tina s family won the lottery! loud enough for all the neighbors to hear. 3. What is a main lesson of the story? a. Playing the lottery is a bad idea. b. Neighbors should support each other during difficult times. c. It s best to be sure that something is true before telling it to others. d. Parents need to be clear when communicating with their children. I think the theme is: Main Idea: Problem in the story: Lesson character learned:
Name 5 Homework Wednesday Directions: Read the passage below. As you are reading practice: Visualizing Check for understanding Figuring out word meanings The Grasshopper and the Ant The leaf was heavy. Ant struggled to carry it toward his family s home. From behind him, he heard someone laugh. It was Grasshopper. It s a beautiful summer day, said Grasshopper. Why don t you put your work down and play. There will be time later to gather food. It is a beautiful day, replied Ant. But if I don t work on warm days, my family will not eat on cold days. So it went, day after day, week after week. Every time Grasshopper saw Ant, he laughed. Work, work, work! There s more to life than work. Summer came to an end. The nights became cool. Ant kept busy. He wanted to gather as much food as he could before the coming winter. Grasshopper, too, felt the chill of autumn. He began to look around for things to gather. There was not much left. And time was running out. Finally, the snows came. Ant huddled with his family in the warmth of their hill. They ate leaves until they were full. They played games. At night, they slept well. Grasshopper, meanwhile, grew hungry and weak. 1. The theme of the story is a. work should be valued. b. it is important to have fun. c. teasing others is wrong. d. it is important to plan.
Name 6 2. The following supports the theme: a. both the grasshopper and the ant noticed winter was coming. b. the ant was tired of working. c. the ant played in the summertime. d. the grasshopper was hungry in the winter. 3. The ant can be described as a. a hoarder. b. careless. c. a planner. d. friendly. I think the theme is: Main Idea: Problem in the story: Lesson character learned:
Name 7 Homework Thursday Directions: Read the passage below. As you are reading practice: Visualizing Check for understanding Figuring out word meanings A Small Life It is not a bad life. I am warm and well fed. But my world is small. It s just 18 inches from side to side and back again. The floors are covered with bits of wood. I like the smell. The walls, well, they re not really walls. I can see through them. They re made of wires. I suppose most everyone would call this a cage. But to me, it s home. I have an amusement park ride in my little room. But there is no bed just the floor. My kitchen is made of little plates that are attached to the wire walls. You may have guessed by now that I am quite small. Actually, I am large for a hamster, but smaller than most members of this family, except the goldfish. That fellow is really little. His cage has glass walls. I don t know what he does for fun. The cat eyes me now and then, but has given up on getting a mouthful of me. When I m tired of spinning on my running wheel, I like to drive him crazy. First I rattle something. The noise perks him up. Then I run around. Sometimes I stick my tongue out. That really sends him around the bend. Yes, life is good. I wish, however, that I had more say about coming and going. Often, people just lift my whole house without asking if it s all right with me. They are trying to be nice, I know. But when they pick up my abode1 and carry it around--well, it s like an earthquake or something. Up and down! Side to side! Don t they realize that I have feelings! Especially dizziness. I hang on for dear life and just hope that the journey is a short one.
Name 8 I think the theme is: Main Idea: Problem in the story: Lesson character learned: What is the theme of this story?