Close Reading Passage - To Be Printed Out for Classroom Lesson

The Ant and the Dove - Aesop's Fables

An Ant went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and

being carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of

drowning. A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked

a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her. The Ant

climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly

afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laid

his lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant,

perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain the

birdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove

take wing.

Read the paragraph slowly one time.

Read the paragraph again slowly and circle the words you do not know.

Write down the words you do not know on the lines below. Write your guess at what is meant by the word.

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Look up the definition in the dictionary. Draw a line from the circled word to the outer margin of the paper and write the definition of the circled word.

Read the paragraph again with an understanding of what all the words mean by using your notes in the margins by the circled words.

Does this story remind you of anything? Do the characters remind you of anything? Do you have any questions about the story?

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Write a short sentence below telling about the main idea of the paragraph.

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Read the paragraph again, this time looking for instances of inference in the sentences. Highlight or underline the examples with your pencil.

Explain your examples below on this paper.

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With your class and teacher, read each sentence aloud and then state the meaning of it in your own words.

Rewrite the paragraph in your own words.