Prompt Title: Comprehension Passage

Once upon a time, in a lush green forest, there lived a clever little squirrel named Nutmeg. Nutmeg was famous for his wit and intelligence. He was always the first to gather food for the winter season and always had a solution for every problem. All the animals in the forest admired Nutmeg for his intelligence and leadership skills.

One day, a great famine hit the forest. The winter had been particularly harsh, and there was no food left for anyone. All the animals in the forest were starving and desperate for food. Nutmeg knew that he had to do something to save his friends. He called all the animals in the forest for an emergency meeting.

"I have an idea," said Nutmeg, "We can all work together to find food for the winter season. We can search every nook and cranny of this forest and gather all the nuts, berries, and seeds we can find. Then, we can store them in a secure place, where they will be safe from predators."

All the animals agreed to Nutmeg's plan, and they set out to gather food for the winter season. Nutmeg led the group and showed them the best places to find food. The animals worked hard, and they were able to gather enough food to last them through the winter season.

When winter came, all the animals in the forest were well-fed, thanks to Nutmeg's clever plan. They praised Nutmeg for his intelligence and leadership skills, and he became even more famous than before.

Comprehension questions:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
2. What is Nutmeg famous for in the forest?
3. What was the problem that the animals faced?
4. What was Nutmeg's solution to the problem?
5. Were the animals successful in gathering enough food for the winter season?

"I can't believe I get to work with these magnificent animals every day," said Sarah, the new zookeeper, as she stepped into the primate exhibit.

Her co-worker, Mike, smiled. "It's a dream come true, right?"

Sarah nodded, her eyes widening with excitement. "Definitely. But, it's also a huge responsibility. I want to make sure they're well taken care of and happy."

Mike patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Sarah. You're going to do great. Just remember to listen to their needs and communicate with them."

Sarah took a deep breath and nodded. She walked over to the gorilla exhibit and observed them quietly. Suddenly, one of the gorillas caught her attention. She was picking at her fur, and Sarah could see that she had a small wound on her arm.

Sarah quickly went to her tool belt and pulled out some antiseptic cream. She approached the gorilla slowly, talking softly to her. The gorilla seemed to understand and extended her arm towards Sarah.

Sarah carefully applied the cream to the wound and smiled at the gorilla. "There you go, all better."

Mike watched from a distance, impressed. "Looks like you're a natural, Sarah."

Sarah beamed with pride. "I can't wait to learn more and take care of all these amazing animals."

"Good morning, Rachel. Ready for another day at the zoo?" asked David, Rachel's supervisor.

"Absolutely," replied Rachel with a smile. "I love working with the animals."

David nodded. "Well, today we have a special visitor coming. The mayor is coming to check out the new exhibits we've been working on."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Wow, that's exciting. I'll make sure everything is extra clean and organized."

David grinned. "That's why I trust you, Rachel. You always go the extra mile."

Rachel got to work, making sure all the animals were well-fed and their habitats were clean. As she was cleaning the tiger exhibit, she noticed that one of the tigers was limping.

She immediately informed David, and they called the vet to come and take a look at the tiger. The vet arrived promptly and found that the tiger had a minor injury on its paw. They treated the injury and the tiger was back to its old self in no time.

The mayor arrived later that day, and Rachel gave him a tour of the zoo. He was impressed with the exhibits and the way the animals were being taken care of.

As Rachel was finishing up for the day, David approached her. "Great job today, Rachel. You really went above and beyond."

Rachel smiled. "Thanks, David. I love working here and taking care of all the animals."

Comprehension questions:

1. Who is Rachel's supervisor?
2. Who is visiting the zoo today?
3. What did Rachel do when she noticed the tiger was limping?
4. What did the vet find was wrong with the tiger?
5. Was the mayor impressed with the zoo?

Worksheet: Hyphens and Dashes, Word Order, and Word Class

Part 1: Hyphens and Dashes Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct punctuation mark (hyphen or dash).

1. She was a well-______ doctor.
2. The party was a disaster – no one showed up.
3. My two-______ old son loves playing with his toy cars.
4. She had a heart-______ personality and always made people smile.
5. He was a good-looking – but incredibly rude – man.

Part 2: Word Order Directions: Rearrange the words to form a grammatically correct sentence.

1. to the park / we / often / go / on Sundays

2. the concert / last night / we / enjoyed / at the park

3. his homework / yesterday / he / finished / after dinner

4. their friends / they / always / invite / to their parties

5. her grandmother / visited / she / last week / in the hospital

Part 3: Word Class Directions: Identify the part of speech for each word in the sentence.

1. The tall, dark man walked slowly down the street.

2. She sings beautifully and has a lovely voice.

3. He is reading a book about history.

4. The cat chased the mouse around the house.

5. My favorite color is blue, but I also like green and purple.

Answer Key: Part 1:

1. well-respected
2. dash
3. year
4. warming
5. dash Part 2:
6. We often go to the park on Sundays.
7. We enjoyed the concert at the park last night.
8. He finished his homework after dinner yesterday.
9. They always invite their friends to their parties.
10. She visited her grandmother in the hospital last week. Part 3:
11. article, adjective, adjective, noun, verb, adverb, preposition, article, noun.
12. pronoun, verb, adverb, conjunction, verb, adjective, noun.
13. pronoun, verb, article, noun, preposition, noun.
14. article, noun, verb, article, noun, preposition, article, noun.
15. possessive pronoun, adjective, noun, verb, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, verb, adjective, conjunction, adjective, conjunction, adjective.