The Ant and the Grasshopper Mission - SharpSchool

Copyright © 2014 Education.com LLC All Rights ReservedMore worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

be a detective

The Ant and the Grasshopper

Once there was an ant and a grasshopper who lived in a field.

Every day, Ant got up early and walked far to gather seeds. She balanced one seed on her head at a time, walked it back to her home, and then went again to the field to gather more. She was very small, so the walk was very long. She worked the whole day, without ever stopping to rest.

As Ant worked, Grasshopper spent his days playing music, lazing in the sun. “Why do you work so hard, Ant?” he laughed. “Summer is here! Why waste the sunshine gathering seeds.

Mission:Read the story below. Can you predict what will happen next?

What do you think Ant will do? What do you think Grasshopper will do? Why?

© 2007 - 2020 Education.comFind worksheets, games, lessons & more at education.com/resources

Ant ignored Grasshopper’s teasing and continued gathering, which only made Grasshopper laugh even more. “You are a silly little ant,” he said.

Autumn came, and then winter. The days were short. Snow fell on the farmer’s field, burying the plants and seeds that had been so easy to get.

Grasshopper had no food to eat. “What will I do? I am hungry,” Grasshopper said to himself. Then, he remembered how many seeds Ant had stashed away during the summer.

Grasshopper hurried to Ant’s home. He knocked on her door. “Ant,” he said, “Give me some seeds?”

Ant looked at Grasshopper. “I worked hard all summer long, while you laughed at me,” Ant said. “You should have worked in the summer instead of singing and dancing. Then you would have a full belly now.”

Keep reading...

What was the moral of the story?



Name Date

Reading Comprehension: Frederick Douglass

Directions: Read the passage three times to practice �uency. Then, complete the

“Show What You Know!” comprehension tasks and the response question.

One of the most famous people in the anti-slavery movement was Frederick

Douglass. In his lifetime, he was enslaved, then became a civil rights activist and a writer.

Frederick Douglass was born on a plantation in Maryland. His mother was enslaved, so he was born into

slavery. He grew up away from his mother. He moved around to di�erent slave owners. He had a hard childhood.

Children born into slavery were not allowed to go to school. They were not allowed to learn to read and write.

One of Frederick’s slave owners had a wife who started to teach him how to read. The slave owner found out, and

he made her stop teaching him. He said that Frederick should not know how to read.

Frederick Douglass loved to learn. He wanted to learn more, so he worked on ways to learn to read and write.

He spent a lot of time studying and practicing. Soon, he knew how to read and write, and he taught others, too.

As Frederick Douglass got older, he focused more and more on gaining freedom. Freedom is the power to do

what you want to do. People who were enslaved had a very di�cult life. They did not have rights. This meant the

owners could treat them in terrible ways. He thought of ways to escape from slavery. Finally, he did it! He

pretended to be a sailor and carried papers that showed that he was a free black person. He escaped to New York

City. This was very risky.

When Frederick Douglass lived in New York, his life was still not easy. He worked with other people to end

slavery. He told stories about when he was enslaved. He wrote stories about his experience. This made other

people want to end slavery, too.

Frederick Douglass believed in equal rights. He believed that everyone should be free and treated fairly. He

worked hard to help make things better for people.

Show What You know!

Use a yellow crayon or colored pencil to highlight the reason that Frederick Douglass learned to read and write.

Use a blue crayon or colored pencil to show the sentence that de�nes the word freedom.

Use a green crayon or colored pencil to highlight how Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery.

Respond: How did Frederick Douglass help other people? Write one way on the lines.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________




The Fox and the Crow Name: Date:

Flattery is complimenting or praising someone to get something in return. Read this fable about a hungry fox. Then answer the questions below.

A fox was walking through the forest when he saw a crow sitting on a tree branch with a �ne piece of cheese in her beak. The fox wanted the cheese and decided he would be clever enough to outwit the bird. “What a noble and gracious bird I see in the tree!” proclaimed the fox, “What exquisite beauty! What fair plumage! If her voice is as lovely as her beauty, she would no doubt be the jewel of all birds!” The crow was so �attered by all this talk that she opened her beak and gave a cry to show the fox her voice. “Caw! Caw!” she cried, as the cheese dropped to the ground for the fox to grab.

How does the fox trick the crow? A) The fox o�ers the crow jewels until she gives him the cheese. B) The fox teases the crow until she cries, dropping the cheese. C) The fox compliments the crow until she opens her mouth, dropping the cheese.

What is the moral or lesson of this story?

A) Don’t listen to �atterers. B) Don’t take other people’s food. C) Listen to compliments.


Amelia EarhartName: Date:

Read the following biography of Amelia Earhart, then answer the questions below.

Ask a question: What do you want to know more about?


Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas in 1897. She spent her childhood in

Kansas, Minnesota and Illinois. In 1920, she took her first airplane ride. She loved

flying and began taking flying lessons. At that time, women pilots were very unusual.

When Amelia earned her pilot’s license in 1923 she became the 16th woman in the

U.S. to have her license to fly.

In 1928, Amelia was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. She flew with another

pilot, Wilmer Stultz. Amelia became very famous for this flight. When she came back

to America, she was honored with parades and met President Coolidge. In 1932,

Amelia flew across the Atlantic again, this time by herself. She was the first woman to

fly alone, or solo, across the Atlantic. For this, Amelia received the Distinguished

Flying Cross from Congress, the first woman to receive this honor.

Amelia broke many records for distance and speed. She was the first person to do many things, such as fly from

Hawaii to California.

In 1937, Amelia tried to break another record. This time, it was to fly around the world along the equator. She and

her crew member, Fred Noonan, took o� from Florida on June 1, 1937. They flew across the Atlantic, Africa, and

India. When they reached the Pacific, they had radio trouble and were low on fuel. The plane disappeared on July 2,

1937 with Amelia and Fred on board. They were never found.

Amelia’s life encouraged many other women to become pilots. She also educated the public about flying and

airplanes.

Explain a strong reaction: How did you feel reading this biography? Why?


Documents

The Ant and the Grasshopper Mission - SharpSchool