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Reading for Comprehension: Cause and Effect

A cause is something that An effect is the result of the

makes something else happen. cause. It happens because of
It is the reason for the effect. the cause.
It answers the question, It answers the question,
“Why did this happen?” “What happened?”

Directions: Read the passage below. Then, answer the questions that follow.

School starts in a week and today is the day we go shopping for school supplies! I told my mom that I
didn’t need new supplies this year. I loved my backpack from last year because it had a picture of Topaz,
my favorite rock singer. It even had her autograph across the bottom of her picture! I couldn’t wait to get
it out and check my supplies.
When I pulled out my backpack from the back of my closet, I was horrified at how dirty it was. Somehow,
over the summer, I had forgotten that the backpack wasn’t in good shape. A strap was broken, the color
was faded, and the zipper was stuck. There was a dark spot right on Topaz’s chin and you could hardly
read her signature any more.
When I looked inside, I found papers that were stuck together from an open glue bottle. I wondered who
took the cap off of my glue bottle. There was a library book I borrowed and forgot to return. My markers
had escaped from the box and the caps were mysteriously missing. My lucky pencil was too short to write
with anymore. How did this happen?
I discovered the dark spot on Topaz’s chin was from the cupcake I packed away from the end-of-the-year
picnic. The frosting melted all over my notebooks and scissors. I decided it was time to make my list of
new school supplies.

1. Why did the main character think she could use her old school supplies?
______________________________________________________________________

2. What caused the main character to change her mind about getting new school supplies?
____________________________________________________________________________

3. What caused the dark spot on the backpack?

____________________________________________________________________________

4. Why were the papers stuck together in the backpack?

____________________________________________________________________________

5. Why was there a library book inside the backpack?

____________________________________________________________________________

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 Name:_______________________________
Comparing Two Stories
Directions: Read the two stories below. Then complete the graphic organizer.
Story 1
Pierre changed into his track clothes and
laced up his shoes. He left the locker room to
meet the rest of the kids outside on the field.
It was the first day of track tryouts. The coach
walked up and greeted the athletes.
“I see you are all interested in being on
Town Creek Middle School’s track team,” the
coach stated. “Let’s see if you have what it
takes.”
The boys began to complete the tryout
drills. The coach wanted to see who could run
the farthest, who could run the longest, and
who could run the fastest. Pierre liked to run
and he knew he was talented, but he didn't
know how well the other boys ran. Would he
be good enough to make the team?
Each time it was Pierre’s turn to run, he
began shaking and it was hard to breathe. He
was so nervous! The coach realized Pierre
was panicking and pulled him aside. He put
his hand on his shoulder and spoke calmly to
Pierre.
“Pierre, I’ve seen your running skills. You
have no reason to be nervous! Take a deep
breath and join this group. You’ve got this! I
know you can do it,” he said.
Taking a deep breath, Pierre lined up with
the other boys. As soon as the whistle blew,
he took off running. His arms and legs moved
faster than they ever had before. He con-
trolled his breathing and stayed focused on
the finish line. Sweat dripped down his fore-
head as he used every muscle in his body to
win the race. Pierre knew he had won first
place.
Inside, Pierre was grinning from ear to ear.
He had successfully turned his first day jitters
into the fuel that helped him win the race and
make the team.
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Date:____________________
Story 2
Francesca was the best swimmer on the
team. She swam the fastest. She swam long
distances. She was chosen as the captain for
this season. All the other girls wanted to be
like Francesca.
The biggest race of the season was this
Friday. The whole school was excited. The
team would race against Leeward Middle, the
school’s rival team. Every year the schools
compete against each other. The winner gets
a special trophy.
Francesca was always nervous in the days
before the big race. She had a hard time
eating. She couldn’t sleep. It was hard to
focus in class. All she could think about was
how she would beat the other team.
On Wednesday, Francesca realized that she
really wasn’t feeling right. This was more than
just being nervous and excited. She visited
the school nurse who took her temperature
and checked her throat. The nurse called
Francesca’s mom and sent her home from
school early.
Francesca was devastated. She was so
upset that she came down with a cold right
before her big race. The trophy meant so
much for her school. What if she could not
compete? Would her team stand a chance?
The next morning, Francesca woke up
feeling better. Her mom kept her home from
school so she could rest more.
On Friday after school, Francesca and her
teammates raced at the swim meet. Her
team won in every event at the meet. Fran-
cesca even set a school record! All of Frances-
ca’s rest from being sick had paid off to help
her achieve and lead her team to victory.
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Name:_______________________________ Date:____________________

Comparing Two Stories

Directions: Read the two stories below. Then complete the graphic organizer.

Story 1 Story 2

Characters

Pierre is at track team tryouts at

Setting the middle school.

Problem

Francesca has to go home sick

Events from school and rest. She sleeps
off the sickness.

Solution

Theme

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Name Date

Reading Comprehension: Frederick Douglass

Directions: Read the passage three times to practice fluency. Then, complete the
“Show What You Know!” comprehension tasks and the response question.

One of the most famous people in the anti-slavery movement was Frederick
Douglass. In his lifetime, he was enslaved, then became a civil rights activist and a writer.
Frederick Douglass was born on a plantation in Maryland. His mother was enslaved, so he was born into
slavery. He grew up away from his mother. He moved around to different slave owners. He had a hard childhood.
Children born into slavery were not allowed to go to school. They were not allowed to learn to read and write.
One of Frederick’s slave owners had a wife who started to teach him how to read. The slave owner found out, and
he made her stop teaching him. He said that Frederick should not know how to read.
Frederick Douglass loved to learn. He wanted to learn more, so he worked on ways to learn to read and write.
He spent a lot of time studying and practicing. Soon, he knew how to read and write, and he taught others, too.
As Frederick Douglass got older, he focused more and more on gaining freedom. Freedom is the power to do
what you want to do. People who were enslaved had a very difficult life. They did not have rights. This meant the
owners could treat them in terrible ways. He thought of ways to escape from slavery. Finally, he did it! He
pretended to be a sailor and carried papers that showed that he was a free black person. He escaped to New York
City. This was very risky.
When Frederick Douglass lived in New York, his life was still not easy. He worked with other people to end
slavery. He told stories about when he was enslaved. He wrote stories about his experience. This made other
people want to end slavery, too.
Frederick Douglass believed in equal rights. He believed that everyone should be free and treated fairly. He
worked hard to help make things better for people.

Show What You know!

Use a yellow crayon or colored pencil to highlight the reason that Frederick Douglass learned to read and write.
Use a blue crayon or colored pencil to show the sentence that defines the word freedom.
Use a green crayon or colored pencil to highlight how Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery.

Respond: How did Frederick Douglass help other people? Write one way on the lines.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Reading Comprehension:
The Serpent and the Eagle
Name: Date:

Read the fable and answer the questions that follow

An Eagle swooped down upon a Serpent and seized it in his talons with the intention⁵
of carrying it off and devouring⁶ it. But the Serpent was too quick for him and had its
coils round him in a moment; and then there ensued a life-and-death struggle between
the two. A countryman, who was a witness of the encounter, came to the assistance of
the eagle, and succeeded in freeing him from the Serpent and enabling him to escape.
In revenge, the Serpent spat some of his poison into the man's drinking-horn.
Heated with his exertions⁷, the man was about to slake his thirst
with a draught⁸ from the horn, when the Eagle knocked
it out of his hand, and spilled its contents upon the ground.

1. Why did the Eagle swoop down on the Serpent?

2. Why did the Eagle knock the drink out of the countryman’s hand?

3. How did the countryman help the Eagle?

4. What did the Serpent do to punish the countryman?

5. What does the picture show?

⁵intention: goal ⁶devouring: swallowing ⁷exertions: hard work ⁸draught: drink

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 Summer fun!
Number the sentences below in the correct order to create a short story.

______ “I‛ll help you with the rest!” says Chris to Julian. “Thanks!” exclaims Julian.

______ Chris and Julian run quickly to their messy room to change into
swimming trunks.

______ Finally, after applying sunblock, Chris and Julian have a fun summer day
running back and forth through the sprinklers!

______ Chris is ready to go play when he is done, but he does not want to play
without his little brother.

______ They almost make it out the back door when their mom stops them.
“Where do you think you are going? You can‛t play in the sprinklers until
you both clean your room!”

______ When Chris and Julian are all done, their mom inspects the room. Then she
says, “Good job, boys! You can go play in the sprinklers now, but
first you have to wear sunblock.”

______ Both Chris and Julian groan as they walk back to their room. There are
clothes and toys all over their beds and on the floor!

______ Chris throws his dirty clothes in the hamper, then folds his clean clothes
and neatly stacks them in the drawers. Julian picks up all of his toys and
puts them into his toy box.

______ It is a hot summer day, and Chris yells to his little brother Julian, “Let‛s go
play in the sprinklers!”

______ Julian is taking a longer time cleaning up because his mess is bigger. He
still has to fold his clean clothes!

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 Subject / Verb Agreement
With Gabriella Grammar

Hi! I’m Gabriella Grammar. Let’s learn about

subject and verb agreement together! The
subject and verb must agree in number: both
must be singular, or both must be plural. For
example:

Singular --> The dog chases the cat

Plural --> The dogs chase the cat

Circle the verb that correctly completes each sentence.

1. The four aliens ______ green goo inside their spaceship. eat eats

2. My dinosaur ______ onto the trampoline. leap leaps

3. Those cars _______ a loud sound as they race around the track. make makes

4. One of his sisters ______ the trombone. play plays

5. I ______ milkshakes to cool down on hot summer days. drink drinks

6. Our hamburgers _______ so delicious! taste tastes

7. Mrs. Lane, my teacher, ______ us to finish our homework want wants

before the big game.

Circle the correct verb and complete the sentence.

1. The elephant (bring/brings)

2. Sarah (win/wins)

3. All the princes and princesses (eat/eats)

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