Reading Skills

(1)When Nanabozho was a boy and the earth was new, his grandmother, Nokomis, made him some paints. She mixed dyes out of moonlight and shadows, snowflakes and sand. She borrowed silky blues from night and soft greens from reindeer moss. She squeezed the sparkle out of shooting stars. Then she poured all the colors into pots and put the pots into a pouch for her grandson.

(2)Nokomis told Nanabozho to “make beauty” by painting the flowers.

In what way does Nanabozho fail to follow his grandmother’s directions about making beauty?

• He paints animals such as bugs and birds.

• He starts by painting a flower in a field.

• He uses many different colors of paint.

• He takes his time and paints carefully.

Nanabozho skipped off to a field full of pale white coneflowers. He dipped his brush into the purple paint pot and painted the petals gently, one by one, being careful not to slop over the edges.

Think about the suffix -ly. What is the meaning of gently above?

• being very quiet

• using a light touch

• trying to be perfect

• moving very slowly

Select the two sentences from the story that best show that Nanabozho is excited about painting.

• Nanabozho skipped off to a field full of pale white coneflowers

• He was delighted and galloped around the field, dotting every ladybug he could find, missing only one.

• Nanabozho painted stripes around the bee’s body.

• Nanabozho saw Raccoon’s plain gray tail hanging down from a tree.

Sparrow hopped up two more branches, but Nanabozho struggled after him. “Orange?” Nanabozho called.

Sparrow flitted to the uppermost branch and watched as Nanabozho clambered up the tree.

What is the meaning of clambered above?

• thought quickly

• looked carefully

• shouted nervously

• climbed awkwardly

But the paints and dyes spilled, pouring out of the pots like a rushing waterfall!

Why does the author use the simile “like a rushing waterfall” to tell about the paint spill?

• to show that it makes a pool among the trees

• to show that it sweeps Nanabozho to the ground

• to show that it flows quickly and has great power

• to show that it is enjoyable for Nanabozho to look at

Now, every year we remember when Nanabozho spilled his paints and made the trees so beautiful. And every year, Maple, the one who forgave Nanabozho first, is the prettiest of all.

Explain how the events in the story support the theme of forgiveness. Use details from the story to support your answer.

• Even though Nanabozho causes a problem in his desire to make Sparrow beautiful, he is forgiven

• Nanabozho paints pictures for his grandma.

• Grandma teaches Nanabozho to paint

Phillipe’s cat, Roco, who had wandered away and not been seen since last year, returned home to everyone’s amazement. My event was an enormous surprise to both my softball team and me.

Why does the author use words such as “to everyone’s amazement” and “enormous surprise” in paragraph 7?

• to explain why the children want to keep the tree a secret

• to explain why the friends enjoy their vacation time together

• to show that the events are uncommon and important to the children

I usually only hit singles, but this time I smacked the ball all the way to the moon.

What do the words “all the way to the moon” tell readers about the narrator?

• She can hit the ball farther than any of her teammates.

• She has trouble seeing where the softball field ends.

• She is delighted(happy) that she hit the ball so far.

• She is still learning the rules of softball.

Rosa and I noticed that he didn’t argue that this was our “lucky tree” as he could have.

Which word in the sentence shows that the passage is written in the first-person point of view?

• Rosa

• I

• he

• this

“Unfortunately, there is a problem.”

Think about the prefix un-. What is the meaning of unfortunately above?

• sadly

• clearly

• carefully

• accidentally