The document provides instructions and materials for students to complete a reading comprehension activity about the story "First Day Jitters". It includes vocabulary words from the story, comprehension questions about characters and events, and activities for students to practice fluency and summarize the text. Students are asked to outline activities students and teachers do before, during, and after school, compare and contrast their responses, and practice reading aloud sections of the story multiple times to improve reading speed and comprehension.

1. Name:______________________ Date:____________________ © D. Thomassen 2006
"first day jitters"
by Julie Danneberg
Pages 14-31 in Treasures
Answer Key
Genre: Humorous Fiction (a made-up story written to make the reader laugh).
Directions: After reading this text, complete the following organizer parts. Remember to reread any part of the
story that confused you. You are a great reader.
Part I: Vocabulary Preinstruction: For younger grades (or grades where students still need phonic
assistance), this would be a good time to do an auditory battery in conjunction with your vocabulary
preinstruction.
Vocabulary Word: How it is used in this story:
chuckled Mr. Hartwell chuckled.
downstairs I'll see you downstairs in five minutes.
fumbled She fumbled into her clothes.
trudged "My head hurts," she moaned as she trudged into the kitchen.
nonsense "Nonsense," said Mr. Hartwell. "You'll love your new school once you get started."
nervous "Everyone is nervous the first day," she said over her shoulder as Sarah rushed to keep
up.
1. visual (“Follow along with your eyes as I spell it out loud”)
2. auditory (Hear the parts /p/ /ea/ /ch/)
3. kinesthetic (trace with eyes, write it on the table, hand, etc.)
4. phonics (break the word apart)—discuss prefixes, suffixes, roots,
compounds, phonograms, double vowels, silent e.
5. meaning (give the definition and/or an example)
6. give an example. “I will be working with this group, meanwhile,
this group will be at computers.”
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2. Part II: Comprehension
1. On page 15, Sarah has a calendar in her bed. What is the most likely reason one of the dates is circled in
red?
That date shows the first day of the new school year.
That date shows Sarah's birthday.
That date shows the first day of fall.
That date shows an important doctor appointment.
2. In the beginning of the story, Sarah says "I'm not going" when Mr. Hartwell reminded her it
was time to go to school. Why do you think Sarah did not want to go to school?
Sarah probably did not want to go to school because she was nervous.
3. What is the root word of chuckled?
chuck
chuckle
ed
huck
4. List one reason discussed in the text why Sarah did not want to go to school:
Sarah did not want to go to school because she didn't know anybody
5. In the text it says, "I'll see you downstairs in five minutes." Downstairs is an example of…
a suffix
a prefix
a compound word
a contraction

3. 6. In the text it says, "Sarah tumbled out of bed. She stumbled into the bathroom. She
fumbled into her clothes. "My head hurts," she moaned as she trudged into the kitchen."
Write the root word for the following boldtyped words. When you are done, write the suffix
used for each of these words:
Word Root Suffix
tumbled tumble d
stumbled stumble d
fumbled fumble d
moaned moan ed
trudged trudge d
7. When they arrived at school, the text says, "Sarah slumped down in her seat." Slumped most likely
means…
to jump down
to fall asleep
to spring up
to slide down
8. Why do you think Sarah "slumped down in her seat"?
Sarah slumped down in her seat so that nobody would be able to see her.
9. Which of the following words is not a compound word?
everyone
peeking
lunchbox
hallways

4. 10. In the following boxes, List some reasons why a student and a teacher might be nervous on the first day of
school:
Student: Teacher:
Part III: Compare and Contrast: In the following grid, you will be comparing activities that students
and teachers do before, during, and after a normal school day. List the kinds of activities that you do
before, during, and after the school day. Next, write what you think teachers have to do before, during,
and after the school day. When you have completed that, list any
What kinds of activities What kinds of activities What kinds of
do you think students do you think students activities do you think
and teachers do before and teachers do during students and teachers
the school day? the school day? do after the school day?
Student
Teacher
Similarities
Differences

5. Part IV: Fluency Practice: Follow the four-step fluency practice steps:
1. Read the following excerpt from the text to your teacher. You must focus on pronouncing each word
correctly. Take your time and do a great job. Your teacher will then discuss any words that may have been
difficult for you. Record your time in the space provided.
2. Read the following excerpt from the text to yourself. Record your second time in the space provided. Ask
yourself: Do I understand what happened in the text?
3. Read the following excerpt from the text to a classmate. Record your third time in the space provided. Ask
yourself: Is my fluency speed improving?
4. Read the following excerpt from the text to a parent or sibling. Record your fourth time in the space
provided. Have them sign in the space provided. This will let your teacher know that you completed the fourth
step of your fluency practice.
Fluency Goal: Your fluency goal for this excerpt is to cut your time in half from your first reading to your
fourth reading. If you do not complete your goal, you need to continue reading this excerpt until you
accomplish that goal. When you have reached your goal, write down the main idea (one sentence) of your
excerpt on the line provided. You will read this excerpt to your teacher one final time.
"What will everyone think if you aren't there? We told them you were
coming!"
"They will think that I am lucky and they will wish that they were at
home in bed like me."
Mr. Hartwell sighed. "Sarah Jane Hartwell, I'm not playing this silly
game one second longer. I'll see you downstairs in five minutes."
Sarah tumbled out of bed. She stumbled into the bathroom. She fumbled
into her clothes.
"My head hurts," she moaned as she trudged into the kitchen.
Mr. Hartwell handed Sarah a piece of toast and her lunchbox.
They walked to the car. Sarah's hands were cold and clammy.
They drove down the street.
She couldn't breathe.
And then they were there.
117 words
First Read:__________ Second Read:__________ Third Read:__________ Fourth Read:__________
Parent Signature:_______________________
Main Idea:_________________________________________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________________________________________________
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Summary Sheet Fiction ©1999 by Sopris West
Directions: Summarize the text you just read using the following procedure. Steps 1-3 will help you with your topic sentence. Steps
4-5 will help you get started on your summary paragraph.
1. Identify what you will be summarizing. Be specific—use names and titles.
The story Princess Harimau and the Tiger
2. Use one of these words (verbs) to help you organize your summary:
tells, lists, describes, explains, compares, gives, shows
3. Finish your thought:
The story Princess Harimau and the Tiger tells the story of a Princess and her friendship with her pet tiger named Shiva.
4. Create a beginning-middle-end outline: Make a list of the important events you would like to include in your summary.
(Use transition words: first, next, then, after that, finally…..)
Beginning (characters, setting)
Middle (problem, events)
End (solution to the problem)
5. Use your Beginning-Middle-End outline to write the summary paragraph:
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7. Be sure to check your paragraph? Does it make sense? Does it look right? Does it sound right?