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Jared flipped over the paper. He needed to get at least an 80% for his father to allow him to remain on the team. It was a 72%. Jared decide to hide his test in his dest until tomorrow so he could go to the game tonight. When Jared got home, his father asked him for the test. When Jared said that his teacher hadn't given it back, his father got angry. "Your teacher called to say that you left it in your desk. You lied to me just so you could go to the game tonight. Now, you are off the team and grounded. If you had told me the truth, we could have figured this out together.

• Jared should have told his dad that he had received a 72%.

• Honesty is the best policy.

• Don't try to hid your test grade from your paretns.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

"Let's open the presents! I hope that you got me everything I wanted!". Emma explained to her parents. When Emma opened first present, she threw it on the ground. "I wanted the gold belt, not the ugly silver belt.". When Emma opened the next present, she made a face as she held it up. "This isn't the newest edition! This is the cheaper one. I'll have to return it.". Emma continued to complain about every present she received from her parents. Emma's parents were furious and decide to return all of Emma's presents to the store. Clearly, Emma didn't need to receive any presents for her birthday.

• Parents can always take away the presents that they give you.

• Always say "thank you" after receiving each present.

• Be thankful for the things that you receive.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Katie and her best friend Shawna always wanted to sit with the popular girls at lunch. One day, one of the popular girls asked Katie to sit with them. Katie was really excited about joining the popular girls. At lunch, Katie looked over at Shawna sitting alone. She looked really sad. Katie decided to ask the popular girls if Shawna could join them too. "No Way! We can't sit with her," they replied. With that response, Katie picked up her lunch tray and left the popular girls' table. She realized that her friendship with Shawna was way more important than eating with the popular girls.

• Being popular is not the most important thing in life.

• The popular girls are not nice girls to hang out with.

• Friends can sometimes make each other feel badly.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Edward was very shy and kept to himself. He never raised his hand in class to participate. Other students assumed that he was dumb. One day in math class, the students were playing a game. During the game the class became stumped by a really challenging math problem. Edward's team had one final chance. One boy finally asked, "Edward, do you know?" No one had ever asked Edward before. "1,674,532," Edward stated. "That's correct!"The teacher exclaimed. Everyone was shocked to learn that Edward was so smart and the only one to know the answer.

• Edward should always speak up so that people know how smart he is.

• The quietest students are the smartest.

• You should get to know people before you judge them.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

"I can't wait to go to Dominic's birthday tonight! We're going to play laser tag!" Malcolm exclaimed. "Your grandmother is receiving her award tonight and you have to be there. We're all going to support her on her special night, "Malcolm's mother responded. Malcolm knew that he had to go, but he wasn't happy about it. Later, when his grandmother gave her award acceptance speech, she gave a special thanks to Malcolm for being there. Malcolm felt touched that his grandmother would even mention him. He realized that being there for his grandmother was way more important than the party.

• You must always listen to your mother.

• Family is important.

• There will always be another birthday party to attend.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Jake was checking his email on his computer. The subject line of one email read, "Jake, you've won a new TV! Claim your prize in the next two hours." Jake didn't think that he had signed up for any contests for winning a television, but perhaps he just couldn't remember. He'd been warned about opening emails like this, but then again, he'd love to win a television for his bedroom. As soon as Jake opened the email, his computer screen turned blue and froze. When he restarted his computer, he couldn't get any of his programs to load. He knew that he should have just deleted the email.

• People never win things on the internet.

• If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

• Jake got a computer virus from opening the email.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.5.1

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

Sophie was obsessed with doing things perfectly. When she needed to create a poster for her science project, Sophie wanted it to be the best. First she used markers to create a very colorful display full of lots of diagrams and information. Sophie didn't like the way it looked and threw it out. Next, she covered her poster in construction paper and then wrote all of the information on that. She tore it up. Sophie continued making and re-making the poster until it was exactly how she wanted it to look. However, by the time she turned it in, the project was already late. She only received half of the credit.

• Don't get too distracted by the small details.

• It's ok to turn things in late as long as you like the result.

• Sophie should have just turned in her project on time.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

George heard a strange noise while driving his car. It didn't sound right, but George didn't want to pay to take it to the mechanic. For weeks, the noise continued to get worse and worse until one day, the car wouldn't even start. Now George had to pay a tow truck to take it to the mechanic. After the mechanic looked at the car, he told George he could have easily fixed the engine for $300 in he had come in when the problem started. However, because George drove with a faulty engine for weeks, the engine was damaged and would cost him $1,500 to replace.

• It cost a lot fo money to repair a car's engine.

• Don't wait for problems to get worse before you decide to fix them.

• Take your car to the mechanic for every strange noise that you hear.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Elly invited the new girl Jessica over to play. When Jessica arrived, she didn't bother to wipe her shoes. She got mud all over Elly's white bedroom carpet and didn't even say sorry. Then, she hopped onto Elly's bed and took out a cherry juice box. When cherry juice dripped on Elly's tan comforter, Jessica just shrugged. Later, when Jessica was eating some Cheetos, she wiped the orange powder on her fingers onto Elly's pillowcase. When Jessica left, Elly called all of her friends to tell them what happened. Jessica was never invited to play at any of their houses again.

• Jessica should have been less messy if she wanted to make friends.

• Don't eat when your are over at a friend's house.

• You should always respect other people's property.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Olivia had forgotten her lunch at home. At the lunch table, Olivia's friends saw that she didn't have anything to eat and started to offer her things from their own lunches. When Cara handed Olivia some apple slices, Olivia said, "No Way! You know I hate apples."When Bella offered Olivia some tuna fish, Olivia said, "I can't eat that. It stinks!" Olivia figured if she turned down these things, her friends would give her better things from their lunches. When Anna offered Olivia some cheese, Olivia said, "Eww, gross!" Eventually, Olivia didn't get any more offers for food and had to return to class hungry.

• Be polite to your friends.

• Don't be picky when others are offering to give you something.

• Always bring your own lunch to school.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.3.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3