Reading Comprehension Workbook

Level 3

Series Designer Philip J. Solimene

Editor Dorothy M. Bogart

Reading ConsultantSidney J. Rauch, Ed.D.

Professor of Reading and Education Hofstra University, New York

EDCON

Story A u thorsA da B ard ossi S haron B ru ce J u d ith G ran J a n e t S tile

L aura Taylor M alvina V ogel

C op yright © 2010 A /V C on cep ts Corp.

E d con P u b lish in g G roup

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, elec-tronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission of the publisher, with the following exception:Student activity pages are intended for reproduction. EDCON Publishing grants to individ-ual purchasers of this book the right to make sufficient copies of reproducible pages for use by all students of a single teacher. This permission is limited to an individual teacher, and does not apply to entire school systems.

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CONTENTS

NO. TITLE SOMETHING ABOUT THE STORY STORY QUESTIONS

11 The Cherokees’ An Indian decides that his people 4 Greatest Gift need “ talking leaves” like the white

men use. Because of his hard work, the Cherokee tribes learn to write.

12 TharShe Blows! Long ago, life on an American 6 9whaling ship was a journey to adventure.

13 Jay Jay Goes Fishing Jay Jay knows just where to catch a 11 14fish, but no one wants to let him catch it.

14 Feeding Time at the Zoo Dan watched the animals being fed. 16 19He was hungry, too, but for a while it seemed that there would be no food for him.

15 What Is Scrimshaw? Sailors on whaling ships sometimes 21 24ran out of work to do. Many of them learned an interesting way to use their free time.

16 Born to Sing Kate was teased because she was 26 29so fat. But when she sang, everyone noticed onlv her voice.

17 Mr. and Mrs. Woodpecker A red headed husband and his wife 31 34make good neighbors and good parents.

18 A Fair Day Jed’s hope of winning a prize slipped 36 39right out of his arms. And then he got a big surprise.

19 The Hereof Ladder 17 When fire fighters answer an alarm, 41 44they never know what to expect.Sometimes,not only fires have to be put out, but lives must be saved too.

20 Wanted: Three girls want to help the police, 46 49 Ten Thousand Dollars but then they need the police to help

them.

Keyw ords........................................ 51

Comprehension Check Answer Key................................... 53

Vocabulary Check AnswerKey................................................ 55

The Cherokees' Greatest Gift

Learn the Key Words

army (�r ' mē)

discovery (dis kuv' �r ē)

honor

medal

(on' �r)

language (lang' gwij)

(med' �l)

written (rit' �n)

a large group of people trained to fight in warsThe school at West Point trains men for the army.

the act of seeing, finding or learning something for the first timeThe discovery o f gold made many people rich.

to show proud feelings for someoneTo honor John F . Kennedy, the people in my city named a school after him.

words people use in reading, speaking, and writingPeople who work at the United Nations should know more than one language.

a flat, round piece of metal with a picture or words, usually given as a prize

The winner o f the race got a gold medal.

letters or words put down on paper with a pen or pencilDick hadn't written a letter to Lisa in weeks, so she decided to write a letter to him.

Preview:1. Read the title.2. Look at the picture.3. Read the first tw o paragraphs o f the story.4. Then answ er the following question.

You learned from your preview that____ a. the Cherokees cou ldn ’t read o r write.____ b. the Cherokees were at war w ith the U nited States.____ c. the story took place in 1975.____ d . Sequoyah cam e from E ngland .

Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 4 fo r the right answer.

Now read the story,Read to find out what the great gift was.

C-11

The Cherokees' Greatest Gift

An Indian leader is showing a gift he has prepared. His gift will change the lives of his tribe.

People you will read about:

Cherokee (cher' � ke) a tribe of Indians in North America Sequoyah (si kwoi' �) an Indian name

Places you will read about:

England (ing' gland) a country across the ocean in Europe Tennessee (ten o sē') a state in the South

Things you will read about:

Sequoia (si kwoi' �) a very old, strong, tall tree that grows in the West

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C-11

The Cherokees' Greatest GiftIt was 1812 and the United

States was at war with England. Indians came from tribes all over the country to join the army of the United States. One of these Indians was a Cherokee named Sequoyah.

Sequoyah was born in Tennessee but we’re not sure when, for the Cherokees never wrote these things down. How could they? They couldn’t read or write.

Life in the army was very different for Sequoyah from life in his tribe. He tasted new foods. He saw new kinds of clothes. And he heard a new language — English. But, most important, was a discovery he made. That discovery changed Sequoyah’s life. And it changed the lives of all the Cherokee Indians. That discovery was the “ talking leaves.”

Here’s how it happened. One day he saw the captain reading a piece of paper. Sequoyah didn’t know then what reading was. He didn’t even know what paper was. It looked like a big, white leaf with little black marks on it. Sequoyah saw the captain’s eyes go across the paper many times. The little black marks seemed to be talking to him.

Sequoyah couldn’t forget that “ talking leaf.” After that, he saw many kinds of “ talking leaves.’’ He saw the army men

making their own “ talking leaves” and sending them away with -riders. Other “ talking leaves” came back bringing them happy words from their families. But for Sequoyah and the other Cherokees, there were no happy words from home. The Cherokees did not know the secret of the “ talking leaves.”

When the war was over and Sequoyah went home, he started making up his own “ talking leaves.” First, he tried pictures. He began making pictures for all the words in the Cherokee language. But, that meant rem em bering thousands of pictures. No, pictures wouldn't work.

Next, he decided to listen to the sounds in words. He made a little sign for each sound he heard. Sequoyah discovered that there were 86 Cherokee sounds, so he made up 86 signs. Soon he began writing some of the signs together. When he said these sounds, one after the other, he heard words. It worked! Finally, after ten years, Sequoyah had given the Cherokee nation their own “ talking leaves.”

But would the Cherokees want them? Sequoyah had to show them that his “ talking leaves” really worked. All the chiefs of the Cherokee tribes came to a meeting. Sequoyah stood before them with his little daughter. She

knew how to write and read the “ talking leaves.” The chiefs sent Sequoyah out of the room. They gave his daughter many words to write. Then, they called Sequoyah back and handed him the paper. In a loud voice, he read every word his daughter had written. The “ talking leaves” really w orked. Everyone cheered Sequoyah. How proud they were! The Cherokees finally had a written language.

All the Cherokees wanted Sequoyah to teach it to them. Old people and young people all learned quickly. Pretty soon, Cherokees all over the country were writing to each other. This helped make the tribes feel closer together.

The chiefs of the Cherokee tribes wanted to honor Sequoyah for his great gift to their people, so they made a silver medal for him. It had Sequoyah’s picture and the new Cherokee writing on it. Sequoyah wore that medal proudly all his life.

The white men in the United States wanted to honor Sequoyah too. They wanted to name something after him. It had to be something big and important. The giant trees out West seemed just the thing. These trees were the giants of the world, so they were named “ Sequoia” in honor of Sequoyah, the giant of the Cherokee nation.

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C-11The Cherokees' Greatest Gift

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Choose the best answer.

1. People don’t know for sure when Sequoyah was born because____a. his mother never told anyone.____b. the Cherokees always kept birthdays

secret.____c. the Cherokees had no way to write it

down.____d. the hospital where he was born burned

down.

2. The year 1812 is important to the United States because____a. there was a war with England.____b. there was a war with the Indians.____c. it was the year Sequoyah was born.____d. giant trees were discovered out West.

3 The United States Army was helped by____a. only one Indian, Sequoyah.____b. Indians from tribes all over the country.____c. the English.____d. only the Cherokee tribes.

4. Sequoyah first saw the “ talking leaves” when a. they were talking on the trees.____b. some Cherokees sent him one.____c. the captain was reading one.____d. the army men showed him how to

make one.

5. The ‘ ‘talking leaves” the army men made and sent off,were____a. drawings of the leaves.____b. letters to their families.____c. Indian signs for Sequoyah.____d. songs they had made up.

Preview answer:a, the Cherokees couldn’t read or write.

The Cherokees didn’t get “ talking leaves” from home because____a. the people in their tribe didn’t care about

them.____b. they were too far away.____c. the army wouldn’t let them.____d. they didn’t know the secret of the

“ talking leaves.”When the Indians saw the army men get “ talking leaves” from their families back home, they probably felt____a. angry.____b. lonely.____c. happy.____d. afraid.

Sequoyah’s picture language didn’t work because____a. he couldn’t remember thousands of

pictures.____b. he couldn’t draw very well.____c. the Indians didn’t want to read pictures.____d. it took too much time to draw pictures.

Another name for this story could be____a. “The War of 1812.”____b. “A Picture Language.”____c. “The Talking Leaves.”____d. “The Giant Trees.”This story is mainly about____a. the chiefs of the Cherokee nation.____b. what Cherokees learned in the army.____c. how the giant trees out West got their

name.____d. a great gift that one Cherokee gave to his

people.

Check your answers with the key on page 53.

Idea starter: What would life be like if no one could read or write?

4

c���

The Cherokees' Greatest Gift

VOCABULARY CHECK

I. Use the key words in the box below to complete the puzzle.

Across

1. Words people use in speaking or writing

6. Learning something for the first time

Down2. People trained to fight

in wars3. Put down on paper4. Show proud feelings for5. A piece of metal given

as a prize

II. Choose a key word from the box below to complete each o f the following sentences.

army discovery honor language medal written

1. My friend won a gold _____________ for swimming.

2. People say that English is the hardest _____________ to learn.

3. The sign said, “ Join t h e _____________ and see the world.”4. The farmer became rich after the _____________ of oil on his land.

5. The teacher said that Joan’s story was w e l l --------------------

6. Men take off their hats to _____________ the flag as it passes.

Check your answers with the key on page 55.

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