RL 5.2

Kara chose a difficult piece to play for the piano

recital. Her teacher advised her to select an easier piece, but Kara knew she could do it.

Kara practiced every day after school. When her friends called to see if she could play, Kara told them that she couldn't and continued to practice. Even with all that practicing, a week before the recital, Kara still could not play the piece without making mistakes. Kara thought about giving up and switching to an easier piece, but instead she decided to double her practice time.

The night of the recital arrived. Kara was the last student to play. As she walked onto the stage to take her place at the piano, she remembered the long hours she had spent practicing.

Kara began to play. Her hands danced across the

keyboard. She knew the piece so well! When the

final note faded the room erupted in applause. She

had played the piece perfectly!

• It takes a lot of practice to play the piano

• Persistence and hard work pay off.

• Don't judge a book by its cover.

• Kara practiced a lot and did well.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

Mara's family lived next door to a very grumpy old lady named Mrs. Olson. Mrs. Olson was always yelling at Mara's family for making too much noise, or leaving toys in the driveway, or letting their grass grow too long.

One day, Mara was playing in the front yard when Mrs. Olson dropped a whole bag of groceries on her porch. Mara rushed to help. Despite Mrs. Olson's objections, Mara helped her to bring the groceries inside and to clean up the broken jar of applesauce.

The next day, Mrs. Olson called Mara over to her house. At first, Mara was a little scared. But Mrs. Olson just wanted her to help get some boxes down from the attic. After that, Mara started helping Mrs. Olson around the house a few times a week. Sometimes, Mrs. Olson would offer her tea and the two of them would sit at Mrs. Olson's big kitchen table and drink their tea and chat.

The years passed and Mara grew up and went to college, but whenever she came home, she always made sure to visit Mrs. Olson. One day, Mara got a letter from a lawyer.

Mrs. Olson had died in her sleep. Mara was sad, but also surprised. The letter said that Mrs. Olson had thousands of dollars in the bank and she left it all to Mara.

• Mara is a very kind person.

• Treating people with kindness benefits everyone.

• Sometimes grumpy people have a lot of money.

• Don't judge a book by its cover.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

Cassie was having a great time at summer camp. Her counselor was really nice and she had made friends with all of the girls in her cabin.

One day, a package arrived for Cassie. All the girls in her cabin watched as she opened it. It was a box of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Cassie's mother made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world! Cassie took one out of the box and was just about to take a bite when one of the other girls asked if she could have a cookie. Then all the girls were asking. Cassie counted the cookies in the box. There were exactly twelve of them. There were ten girls in the cabin. If she gave a cookie to each girl, there would only be two left for herself. Cassie knew that if she shared with one girl, she would have to share with everyone, so she decided not to share at all.

Cassie got to eat all of the cookies herself, but from

then on the other girls hardly talked to her at all and no one wanted to be her friend anymore.

• You should always share everything.

• Cassie did not share her cookies.

• Don't judge a book by its cover.

• Selfishness leads to unhappiness.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

Kevin wasn't worried about his book report. He had

three whole weeks to get it done. There was no reason to get started right away, especially when he had just gotten a new video game!

The next day, Kevin thought about going to the library to pick out a book for his report, but decided to play with his friends instead. He could go to the library on the weekend. The weekend came and instead of going to the library, Kevin spent the whole weekend at his cousin's farm. He didn't go to the library the next week either; there was always something fun to do instead.

Two weeks passed and Kevin still hadn't picked out a book. By the time he finally got to the library, there was not enough time to read the book and write the report. Kevin tried to write the report without reading the whole book, but

it did not go very well. Kevin failed the assignment.

• Don't judge a book by its cover.

• Don't put things off until the last minute.

• Kevin should have done his book report first.

• School work is more important than playing.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

Sarah didn't play with the new girl in her class, Laila,

at recess. No one did. Laila had come to their school after

winter break. She wore strange clothes and she spoke with an accent.

Then one day, the teacher put Sarah and the Laila together as partners on a class project. At first Sarah was nervous about working with someone so different, but then they began to talk. She found out that Laila had a little brother just like she did. Not only that, they both loved to draw and they both collected sea shells.

Sarah invited Laila over after school to work on the project and see her shell collection. The girls worked well together and before she left, Sarah gave Laila one of her best shells to take home for her collection.

The next day, Laila invited Sarah over dinner. The food was really different than what Sarah was used to, but it was also really good. Laila's parents were nice too.

The girls got an A on their project, but even better,

they became good friends.

• Sarah and Laila became good friends.

• Friends are important

• Don't judge people before you get to know them.

• New people make the best friends.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

Mr. Jones decided to take his family camping. It was a beautiful weekend and the family was excited about the trip. So he packed up the car and away they went.

At first they had trouble finding an empty campsite. Most of the other campers had made reservations ahead of time. When they finally found one, Dad asked the kids, Tim and Katie, to pitch the tent. It wasn't long before Tim reported that he could not find the tent stakes. Sure enough, they were nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, mom was trying to light the portable stove, but Dad had forgotten the matches. Not only that, they did not have a can opener to open the can of spaghetti sauce they had brought for dinner or a pot big enough to cook the noodles. Then Katie discovered that they had forgotten to bring the sleeping bags!

It soon became clear that camping was not going to happen.

Grumpily, Dad packed everything back into the car and they drove back to the city. They picked up a pizza on the way home and everyone slept in their own beds that night.

• Don't go camping without sleeping bags.

• Mr. Jones is not very good at camping.

• Camping is a difficult thing to do.

• Plan ahead and be prepared.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

Benny and Danny were twins. Each week, they each

got five dollars in allowance. Benny always spent all of his allowance on candy and small toys. Every so often, Danny bought some candy, but he saved most of his money in a piggy bank that he kept on his nightstand by his bed. Sometimes, Danny did extra chores around the house to earn more money. He always put his earnings into his bank.

The months passed and soon school was out for summer. One day, Danny asked his parents to take him to the bike store. He had saved enough money for a new bike! Danny picked out a red bike with blue handlebars. His parents were so impressed with how much he had saved that they bought him a helmet and a bike lock.

Danny spent the summer riding his new bike around

the neighborhood with his friends. Since he did not

have a bike, Benny spent most of his summer alone

at home.

• Be there for your brother.

• You shouldn't spend your money on candy.

• You can buy better things if you save your money.

• Danny is smarter than Benny.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.2.1

Lucy never put anything away. When she made her

breakfast in the morning, she left the cereal and the milk out on the counter, and she left her dirty bowl on the table.

When she got home from school, she tossed her coat and her backpack on the floor where her mother often tripped on them when she came in from work.

One day, Lucy and her friend Amelia decided to color pictures outside under the big oak tree. Lucy had just gotten a brand new box of 108 crayons and she wanted to try them out. They sat under the tree, happily coloring until it was time for Amelia to go home. "Want me to help clean up?" Amelia asked before she left.

"Nah, I'll do it later," Lucy replied as she headed inside to watch TV. Lucy watched three shows and forgot about the crayons. The next day, when Lucy went outside to play, she found that the sun had melted her new crayons

into a big, goopy mess.

• A messy treehouse is a terrible thing.

• Take care of your things to make them last.

• Don't leave your crayons in the sun.

• Lucy is lazy and inconsiderate.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

One day Michael's new friend, Brice, invited him over for dinner. Brice's family had a lot of money and Michael was amazed at how big their house was. His family's whole apartment would probably fit in Brice's living room!

Michael's amazement turned to envy when he saw Brice's bedroom. Brice had his own computer, a big screen TV, and about every video game that was ever made! Michael had to share his tiny room with his brother and all they had was a shelf full of books.

When it was time for dinner, the boys went down to the dining room and sat at a long, fancy table. No one else came to sit with them. A woman served them their dinner and cleaned up after they were done.

"Is that your mom?" Michael asked.

"No, that's Ana, our maid." Brice replied. "My parents always work late. I almost never see them before I go to bed."

Brice thought about how his own family always ate dinner together. He thought about how his dad helped him with his homework and how his mom always came in to say goodnight to him at bedtime. Suddenly, he didn't feel so envious of Brice anymore.

• Michael's parents are better than Brice's parents.

• Don't envy your friends.

• Rich parents don't have time for their kids.

• There are more important things in life than having lots of money.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

Ethan had never learned to swim. He hadn't really

needed to in the city where he had lived. But then his family moved to a new town. The town was on a lake and it soon became clear that everyone hung out down by the lake all summer long.

Ethan's family had moved in the spring and Ethan had made some great new friends at the end of the school year. But now he had a big problem. Everyone just assumed he could swim and he was too embarrassed to set them straight. So far, no one had really noticed that he never went into the water.

Then one day his friends decided they wanted to sit on the dock instead of on the beach. Ethan knew it would look strange if he did not come along, so he followed them out onto the dock. When they got past the shallow part of the lake, the boys started to horse around, and pretty soon they were pushing each other into the water. Suddenly, Ethan felt hands on his back. He lost his balance and plunged into the cold water. Down, down he sunk. Fortunately, the lifeguard was paying attention and was able to save Ethan from drowning.

• If you can't swim, avoid the lake.

• Speak up and tell the truth, even it it is hard.

• Don't swim without a lifeguard.

• Be kind to lifeguards. It's the right thing to do.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.4.2