Reading ~ Theme and Summarizing (RL 5.2)

Mariana wanted to ride her bike without training wheels. She asked her dad to teach her how to ride a bike. Mariana was doing very well. She thought riding on two wheels was easy.

"Daddy, let go! I can do this," Mariana said.

"Are you sure?" Dad asked.

"Yes! I'm fine," she said.

Dad let go and Mariana raced off down the street. She was so excited to be riding her big-kid bike. Suddenly, a cat jumped in front of her bike. Mariana realized she didn't know how to stop! She swerved around the cat and hit the curb with her bike. Mariana fell off the bike and skinned her knees. Dad came rushing over.

"Mariana! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Dad asked.

"I think I'm okay, Daddy," Mariana said. "But maybe I should learn how to stop before I learn how to go."

Which of the following best summarizes the story?

• Mariana tried to avoid hitting the cat that jumped out in front of her, and she fell down. When she fell, she skinned her knees.

• Mariana's dad helped her learn how to ride a two-wheeled bike. Mariana took off down the street but fell down when she could not stop.

• Mariana asked her dad to teach her how to ride a two-wheeled bike, and he said yes. A cat got in her way, and her dad was scared.

• Mariana wanted her dad to let go, but he was not sure she was ready to ride on her own. Mariana said, "Daddy, let go! I can do this."

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.2

Discovery in the Yard

Jake was playing in the front yard with his friends Nina and Paulo. They ran all over the yard and kicked a soccer ball back and forth. Then, Nina saw something moving in the grass.

"Guys, there's a frog in the yard! Come see," Nina called.

Jake and Paulo raced over. All three kids thought frogs were really cool.

"I'm going to get a box and put the frog in it. I can take him home," Nina said.

Jake shook his head. "The frog is in my yard. I should get to keep it!"

Just then, Jake's mom came outside. "Hi kids, you ready for a snack?"

"Mom, look what we found!" Jake said, picking up the frog. "We're going to put it in a box. I'm going to keep it because it's from our yard."

Jake's mom walked over to the kids, "Sorry," she replied. "But the frog belongs out here—not in a box and not in our house."

Paulo looked closely at the frog. "That makes sense to me," he said.

"Me too," said Jake and Nina in unison. And with that, Jake put the frog down and it hopped away into the tall grass.

Karmina is writing a summary of "Discovery in the Yard" Which words in the passage should she highlight as being important for her summary?

• a snack

• she replied

• soccer ball

• in a box

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.1

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.W.4.2B

Nora sped along the sidewalk on her bike. The sweet smell of spring was in the air. That meant school would be out in two months. Nora could hardly wait. She rounded the corner and glanced into Mrs. Bob's front yard. Her name wasn't really Mrs. Bob. Her husband's name was Bob, and everyone called him that. Mrs. Bob became her nickname since their last name was impossible to say, let alone remember. Mrs. Bob was an amazing gardener. Her front yard was positively blooming in the spring. Nora always enjoyed peeking her nose through the front gate to smell the beauty. This time, though, Nora noticed that something was wrong.

Mrs. Bob's garden was a mess. Dead leaves and small branches littered the walkway. The grass was overgrown, and the hedges were in need of a trim. Nora hesitated. Then she went boldly up to the front door and knocked. Mr. Bob came to the door. Answering Nora's questions, he explained that Mrs. Bob had taken a bad fall that winter. She had broken her hip and was still recovering.

"The gardens would have to wait," he said, sighing sadly.

Nora had a plan. She talked with her parents and rallied the neighbors. The next Saturday, they descended on Mrs. Bob's front yard. They raked and hoed and weeded. They bought all of Mrs. Bob's favorite flowers and spent the afternoon planting. Neighbors who had barely seen each other all winter were chatting and laughing together. Mrs. Bob herself even came to the front window, astonished. She waved and laughed. Mr. Bob said he hadn't seen her smile like that in months. Nora was so proud of her neighborhood that day.

Which summary of the selection is correct?

• A young girl feels proud of her neighborhood in the springtime.

• A young girl rides her bike down the street and notices some trouble.

• An elderly neighbor falls down and cannot move for the whole winter.

• A young girl rallies her neighborhood to help an older neighbor.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.2

Marvin loved his dog Sarah, and he loved to feed Sarah doggie treats. One day, Marvin fed Sarah human treats. Sarah's stomach grumbled. Sarah felt very sick from all of those extra human treats. She did not want to play, which worried Marvin very much.

"Mom!" Marvin called. "Sarah is sick! What do we do?"

"We will take Sarah to Dr. Woods, the veterinarian," Mom said. "Load Sarah in the car."

Marvin worried about Sarah the whole way to the vet. He petted her stomach hoping it would make her feel better. When they got to the vet's office, Dr. Woods gave Sarah some medicine. It helped her feel much better. She was ready to play! Marvin promised his mom he would not feed Sarah human treats again.

Which of the following best summarizes the story?

• Marvin's mom helped Marvin take his dog Sarah to the vet to get better. Sarah did not want to play, so Marvin knew that she was sick. The vet gave Sarah some medicine, and she felt better.

• Marvin decided to give his dog Sarah human treats. Sarah's stomach started hurting, so he called to his mother. His mother decided to take Sarah to Dr. Woods.

• Marvin fed his dog Sarah human treats. Sarah got sick, so Marvin and his mom took her to the vet. The vet gave Sarah some medicine, and Marvin promised he would not give Sarah human treats again.

• Marvin and Sarah ate human treats together. Sarah's stomach grumbled which meant that she was sick. Marvin rubbed Sarah's stomach on the way to the vet, but it did not work.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.2

Drew was so happy! He finally got a puppy for his birthday. He named the puppy Skip because he looked like he was skipping when he ran.

Skip was very cute, but he was not a very good puppy. In fact, he was very naughty! He chewed on everything from clothing to people. He really liked Mom's shoes. Every time Skip did something bad, Drew got in trouble. Mom said Drew had to train Skip or he could not keep him.

Drew started training Skip right away. He did not want to lose his dog. He worked really hard with Skip. Slowly, Skip started getting better. He stopped chewing on things, and he even learned to sit and fetch. Drew was very proud of Skip. He was a good dog now!

Which of the following best summarizes the story?

• Skip was a bad dog who chewed on clothes and people. Every time Skip did something naughty, Drew's mother got angry at Drew. Drew's mother made him train the puppy.

• Drew's mom said that he had to train Skip or give him up. Drew decided to train the puppy because he loved him and did not want to lose him. He trained the puppy well.

• Drew got a naughty puppy for his birthday and named him Skip. His mother said that Drew had to train Skip or he could not keep him. Drew trained his puppy to be a very good dog.

• Drew got a dog for his birthday which looked like he was skipping when he ran. Skip was cute, and Drew trained him to sit and fetch.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.2

Passage 1

Annie and the Bike Race

During a trial bike race with her friend, Mike, Annie is left in the dust and becomes discouraged. As she's resting, she thinks about the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare." Annie hops back on her bike and beats Mike, who has been wasting his time along the bike trail.

Passage 2

The Tortoise and the Hare

When a determined tortoise challenges a boastful hare to a race, the hare is sure he will win. As the race begins, the hare is so confident that he takes his time. In fact, he naps along the way. The tortoise plods along, slow and steady, and beats the hare to the finish line.

adapted from "The Tortoise and the Hare" by Aesop

What do the hare and Mike have in common in these stories?

• They both like to nap along the way.

• They both lie to get what they want.

• They are both so over-confident that they end up losing the race.

• They are both slow and steady.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.9

"Tommy, your history teacher says you are failing this quarter," Coach Snead said. Tommy Blake was his star running back. "That's the third time he's told me. He says you aren't doing your homework."

"Ah, coach, I've got too much to do," Tommy replied. "We've got that big game with Hamden. I do a lot of stuff with my community. I'm helping my little brother with his model train. I've got other classes, too. History takes a lot of time."

Coach Snead put his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I can see you've got too much on your plate, so I'm cutting you from the squad as of now. That way you'll have plenty of time to take care of your school work and your community responsibilities."

Tommy laughed as he said, "Right; you're going to cut the league-leading running back before the biggest game of the season."

"That's right, son, that's what I'm going to do."

"You'll lose the game."

"You are much more important to me than a game," Coach Snead said. "Besides I've got six guys out there that would love to start the biggest game of the year."

"What do you mean 'you are much more important than a game'?"

"We're a team, Tommy, and teams have rules. One of our rules is that everybody has to be passing all their classes during the season. You're not doing that, despite having several chances to bring up your grades. If I let you off just because there's a big game, then you and everybody else on the team will learn that my rules don't matter. At least they don't matter for special people, like league-leading running backs. If I let you get away with this, you'd learn the wrong lesson, and that would hurt you in the future."

Which lesson can be learned from this story?

• Skill is more important than courage in sports.

• To be a team player, you have to compromise.

• Winning is the most important thing.

• On a team, no player is above the rules.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.3

Lawn Honors

Mr. Brooks took pride in having the nicest lawn in the neighborhood. When he purchased a new riding lawnmower, even his sons wanted to take part in the beautification of the family's property. After all, with the new mower, yard work was fun.

Much to their dismay, their father was too particular and didn't let anyone mow. He did request, however, that his two sons keep the trash and broken limbs picked up out of the yard. Raymond was faithful to the task. Every day after school, he took great care in ensuring that the lawn was perfectly clean. This pleased his father very much.

Jason, on the other hand, wasn't concerned with his father's request. He chose to wait until his father would finally let him use the riding lawnmower. Then, he would contribute to lawn care.

Mr. Brooks began to notice the commitment Raymond had to keeping the lawn in its very best shape. He realized they shared a common goal. Because of his hard work, his father would now entrust the riding lawnmower to Raymond. At last, he had earned the great honor of mowing the grass.

What is the theme of this passage?

• If it is too hot outside to work in the lawn, ask to do something inside.

• If you are faithful with small tasks, you will be entrusted with greater ones.

• If you don't like your chore, wait until a better one comes along.

• If your brother is already completing a task, you shouldn't bother him

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.2

Student of the Week

Sandra looked over her note cards and practiced her speech in her head one last time. She had to give a presentation to her class about Abraham Lincoln. Her project partner, Joey, was sitting calmly next to her. He didn't care about the project at all. He had barely helped her do the research at the library. Now, she was going to have to give the presentation all by herself. Joey was just going to show the class the poster Sandra had made.

As Sandra and Joey walked to the front of the room, the door to the classroom opened, and the principal walked in. All the students smiled at Mrs. Peters. Everyone thought she was a great principal. She had arrived to observe the class's activities for the day.

Sandra gave the presentation with the principal watching. The principal seemed impressed with how well Sandra knew the information. Then, Joey showed the class the poster. He tried to explain what the pictures meant, but he did not know the information well. When the other students asked a question about Lincoln, Joey just shrugged his shoulders. Sandra was able to give the answer from memory of what she read.

At the end of class, the principal went to Sandra's desk. "I'm very impressed with how hard you worked on your project," she said. "I'd like to make you Student of the Week."

Which lesson can be learned from this story?

• Group assignments are hard.

• Group assignments are hard.

• Show off for the principal.

• Hard work will be rewarded.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.2

A Team that Works

CHARACTERS:

E.J., teenage boy

T.J., E.J.'s younger brother

Stage Set: Outdoors in a backyard at nighttime

(E.J. is digging in a garden with a small shovel. T.J. is holding a flashlight.)

E.J.:Hold the light still.

T.J.:Hurry up! Someone might see us.

(T.J. shines the light on a back porch a few feet away.)

E.J.:You should have thought of that before you buried Grandpa's baseball cards in the backyard.

T.J.:They're worth a lot of money. I never thought that we would move to a new house.

E.J.:Next time, buy a safe and keep your valuables indoors.

(E.J. continues to dig around the flowers until he hears a clanking sound.)

T.J.:You found it! Thanks.

(T.J. kneels and uncovers a small metal box.)

T.J.:It was nice coming over here. We got to spend time together in the old backyard one last time.

E.J.:I spent most of my time working. (frowning and shaking dirt from his shoes)

T.J.:(smiling) I was the lookout. We make a good team.

E.J.:(putting his arm around

T.J.) I guess that's why it's called teamwork.

The theme of this drama is that teamwork can be a rewarding experience. Which of the following events best supports this theme?

• T.J. finds his baseball cards with E.J.'s help.

• T.J. becomes worried about being caught.

• E.J. tells T.J. how to keep valuables safe.

• T.J. warns E.J. to dig the dirt more swiftly.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.2