1. GIMNASIO LOS CAOBOS
READING, WRITING, AND GRAMMAR WORKSHOP FOURTH TERM
FIFTH GRADE
2010-2011
JIM’S FAVORITE STORE
It was a warm, spring, Saturday morning, but that wasn’t the only reason Jim woke
up in a good mood. He was going to the nursery with his father. Jim loved
gardening, and Mr. Ito’s nursery was Jim’s favorite store.
Jim could see from the parking lot that the flowers and shrubs at the nursery were
already in full bloom. There were yellow daffodils, and there were tulips in a range of
colors from white to a purple that was so dark they were almost black. Jim loved the
bright green of the new leaves on the trees. It had been a long, cold winter, and the
flowers cheered him up.
Jim’s father rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go do some shopping,” he said. Jim
pushed the shopping cart while his father piled things into it. They bought a bag of
potting soil. Jim loved the way it smelled. They walked down rows of plants and
seedlings, and piled pots into their cart. They bought petunias and geraniums for the
hanging baskets they made every year. They bought ferns and flowers for their deck.
They also bought fertilizer.
Jim’s father held up a birdhouse. “Should we get this?” he asked Jim.
Jim shook his head. “Let’s make our own,” he said.
They bought vegetable seeds for their garden. They got radish, carrot, zucchini,
and red beet seeds. They bought trays of young tomato plants and lettuce. “Are
you sure we should get lettuce?” Jim asked his father. “Remember how the slugs
ate it all last year?”
His father sighed and nodded. “I’m going to spread sawdust this year. I heard that
keeps the slugs away.” After Jim and his father filled their cart, they parked it in the
shade and strolled around the nursery looking at all the shrubs and trees. “I think
we should plant an apple tree this year,” said Jim.
“I agree,” said his father. “There is no room in the car this time, but maybe we can
come back next week and pick one out.” They paid for everything, drove home, and
spent the rest of the day working in the yard. Jim was tired when he went to bed,
but he was happy, and the yard looked great. He couldn’t wait to eat the
vegetables.

2. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT JIM’S FAVORITE STORE ON THE LINED
PAPER
1. What is a synonym for nursery, as used in this story?
a. day care center
b. garden center
c. hospital
d. dairy
2. Who is Mr. Ito?
a. Jim
b. Jim’s father
c. the nursery owner
d. Jim’s gardener
3. According to the story, what do Jim and his father do annually?
a. make hanging baskets
b. make a bird house
c. plant lettuce
d. plant an apple tree
4. What happened to their lettuce last year?
a. Mr. Ito ate it.
b. Jim and his father ate it.
c. Slugs ate it.
d. Snails ate it.
5. What is the setting of this story?
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3. Use complete sentences to answer the questions below.
1. Why do you think Jim and his father bought fertilizer?
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2. Describe how Jim and his father might have looked when they looked
at shrubs and trees. Did they hurry?
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3. What might Jim’s dream job be? Why?
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4. What is your favorite store? Why?
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4. Write a list with all the verbs used in the passage. Classify them into regular
and irregular verbs. Write next to each one of them the base form, and then
write a sentence using the past tense and a time expression.
Notice: Every student in Grade 5 should hand in the answers of this
workshop on a lined sheet of paper once you come back to school. This is
going to be graded. You are going to get a grade in Reading, Writing, and
Grammar. I am not going to accept any excuse for not handing in your
assignment. “This is only a warming-up to start the Fourth Term”.
Mr. Orta