assignment_returnWorksheet: What Did You Already Know?
Standard(s): RI.3.6

From McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader

Yes, we're busy night and day,
As o'er the earth we take our way.
We are bearers of the rain
To the grasses, and flowers, and grain;
We guard you from the sun's bright rays,
In the sultry summer days.

What is most likely the "we" described in this poem?

PATTY AND THE SQUIRREL; from McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader

1. Little Patty lives in a log house near a great forest. She has no sisters, and her big brothers are away all day helping their father.

2. But Patty is never lonely; for, though the nearest house is miles away, she has many little friends. There are two squirrels that live in the woods that are her friends.

3. How did Patty teach them to be so tame? Patty came to the woods often, and was always so quiet and gentle that the squirrels soon found they need not be afraid of her.

4. She brought her bread and milk to eat under the trees, and was sure to leave crumbs for the squirrels.

5. When they came near, she sat very still and watched them. So, little by little, she made them her friends, till, at last, they would sit on her shoulder, and eat from her hand.

6. Patty even helps the squirrels build their summer and winter homes. Their summer homes are made of leaves, and sticks, and moss. Their winter homes are found in in hollow old trees.

7. Patty helps the squirrels and the squirrels help Patty not be lonely.

What do you think caused Patty to befriend the squirrels?

SAM AND HARRY; from McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader

1. One fine summer afternoon, Sam was walking home from school. He went along slowly, reading a book.

2. Sam had spent all his money for the book, but he was a happy boy.

3. At length he came into the highroad, where there was a gate. A blind man stood, holding it open.

4. The poor man said, "Please give me a few cents to buy some bread!" But Sam gave him nothing.

5. What! did Sam give the poor blind man nothing? Yes; for, as I told you, he had spent all his money.

6. So Sam walked on, very sad. Soon after, a fine carriage came up, and in it were Harry and his mother.

7. The blind man stood, and held out his hat. "Let us give the poor man something," said Harry to his mother.

8. His mother gave him some cents. Harry took them, but did not put them into the man's hat.

9. He threw them into the hedge as far as he could. The poor man could not find them, for, you know, he was blind.

10. Sam had turned back to look at the fine carriage. He saw Harry throw the cents into the hedge; so he came back at once, and looked for the money until he found it all for the blind man.

11. This took so long a time, that he almost lost his supper.

12. Which of the boys do you think was truly kind to the poor man?

13. I know which he thanked most in his heart.

Which person would be most like Sam?

Read the passage and answer the question.

What is the most poisonous creature on earth? Many people guess that the answer would be a snake, a jellyfish, a scorpion, or a spider. Actually, most scientists agree that the most venomous animal is a harmless-looking small golden frog, called “terribilis.” The golden frog is so toxic that even touching it can be dangerous to humans. A single frog contains enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or ten people.

What should you do if you see a teribilis?

I quarrelled with my brother
I don’t know what about,
One thing led to another
And somehow we fell out.

The start of it was slight,
The end of it was strong,
He said he was right,
I knew he was wrong!

We hated one another.
The afternoon turned black.
Then suddenly my brother
Thumped me on the back,

And said, “Oh, come along!
We can’t go on all night-
I was in the wrong.”
So he was in the right.

-by Eleanor Farjeon

What real world experience is most like the one in this story?