Due January 21st by 9:00 a.m.

Read the following story and answer the following questions.

Ben’s Loose Tooth

by Donna Latham

“I’m always last”, Ben sighed.  “Last to learn to whistle. Last to lose a tooth.” 

Ben’s older sister, Kate, was always bossy.  “Jiggle your teeth”, she said.  “Find one that’s wiggly and wobbly”.

Tooth by tooth, Ben jiggled.  He wriggled the last tooth.  “It’s wiggly.  It’s wobbly!”

“Tug it,” Kate said.

“Uh!” Ben mumbled.  “It’s stuck in my gums.”

“Hmmm.”  Kate scrunched her nose. “Munch that apple.”

Ben took a bite. “Ouch!  No luck.”

“Hmmm,” said Kate.  She tapped her pinky against her chin.  “I’ll scare it out of you!  That’s how you get rid of hiccups.  Maybe it works for teeth too.”

Ben sqeezed his eyes shut.  He held his breath.  He waited and waited.  “Hey!  When are you going to scare me?”  He propped one eye open.

“How scary would it be if I told you?” Kate asked.

“Well–,” Ben said.

“Boo!” cried Kate.  She flapped her arms.

Ben’s fingers flew to the tooth.  He wriggled it.  He jiggled it.  “Blah!  I’ll never lose a tooth.”  He hung his head.  “I’ll never learn to whistle, either.”

“Whistle?  I can teach you!” Kate said.  “Pucker your lips.  Leave a tiny space.”

Ben scrunched his lips together.

“Perfect.”  Kate smiled.  “Now, shoot the air out.  Hard.”

With all his might, Ben blasted air.  Out burst a high note–with his tooth!

Answer each question, #1 and #4 needs to be answered in a complete sentence.

1.  What is Ben’s main problem in this story?

2.  Who is Kate?

a. Ben’s friend                                                          c.  Ben’s little sister

b. Ben’s cousin                                                         d. Ben’s big sister

3.  List the three ideas Kate had for helping Ben get his tooth out.

4.  What was Ben trying to do when the tooth came out of his mouth?

Due November 19th by 9:00 a.m.

Read the story, then answer each question with a complete sentence.

Jimmy’s Treasure

One night Jimmy fell asleep and had a dream about a treasure.  In his dream, he saw a big box of gold coins buried near the bushes in his backyard.  The dream seemed so real to Jimmy.  He began to think that maybe there really was a treasure in his backyard, near the bushes.

The next morning Jimmy woke up and began to dig a hole.  he kept digging.  The hole got deeper.  The pile of dirt became higher.

Then Jimmy got tired.  He could not dig anymore.  Then he saw something.  It was a dog bone.  Jimmy was  very sad because he did not find a treasure.  For all his hard work, he had found only a dog bone.

But then, Jimmy’s mother came.  She saw what Jimmy had done.  She wanted to plant a rose bush in the backyard.  The hole Jimmy dug was in the perfect place.  She was very happy.  She gave him $5 for digging the hole.  Jimmy smiled.  He did get a treasure after all.

Remember to use complete sentences when answering the following questions.

1. What kind of treasure did Jimmy think was buried in the backyard, near the bushes?

2. What did Jimmy find in the dirt?

3. How did Jimmy’s other feel when she found out that Jimmy dug a hole in the backyard?  Why did she feel this way?

4.  What did Jimmy’s mom give him at the end of the story?

Read the story, then answer each question with a complete sentence.

The Great Pyramid is the largest and most famous of the pyramids.  It is located in Egypt near the Nile River.  The pyramid was built for Pharaoh Khuf.  It is over 140 meters high and took 20 years to build.  The Sphinx stands in front of the pyramids in Giza.  It has the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh.

1.  What is the name of the largest and most famous pyramid?

2.  What river were the pyramids built near?

3.  Who was the Great Pyramid built for?

4.  What is a pharaoh?

This begins a new year of learning and sharing our thoughts on reading. We will have regular assignments right here on this reading blog. You and your parents may visit these posts to see what is going on in our classroom.