Week 1: Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel
Vocabulary
- beautiful: very pretty
- furnace: a machine that makes heat
- sundown: the time of day when the sun sets
- cellar: an underground room used for storage
- canal: a man made waterway
- My family keeps out camping equipment stored in the cellar.
- A canal was built so big ships could travel their route faster.
- It is not good to have a broken furnace in the winter.
- Mindy was dazzled by the beautiful roses blooming in her garden.
- At sundown they would be done with their gardening.
Comprehension Questions
- Mike Mulligan believed that Mary Anne could dig as much in a day as a hundred men could dig in a week. (pg .3)
- Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug faster when people stopped to watch. (Pg 13)
- When gasoline, electric, and diesel motor shovels came along Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne were very sad. (pgs. 14/15)
- Mary Anne would never be sold for junk because Mike loved her. (pg. 16)
- Mike Mulligan took Mary Anne to Popperville to dig the cellar of the new town hall. (pg. 20)
- Mike Mulligan convinced Henry B. Swap to give them the job of digging the cellar saying they could dig the cellar in just one day. (pg .20)
- Mike Mulligan promise that if he and Mary Anne did not keep their end of the bargain they would dig the cellar for free. (pg. 20)
- Because the little boy, Mrs. McGillicudy, Henry B. Swap, and the Town of Constable stayed to watch, Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne worked faster and faster. (pg. 24)
- The little boy helped Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne by running and telling all the town’s people to come and watch them dig the hole. (pg. 26)
- Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne dug the cellar in one day but they forgot to leave a way out. (Pg 37)
- The little boy came up with the good idea to build the new town hall above her so that she will be the furnace. (pg. 39)
Week 2: Choo Choo
Vocabulary
- clamber: to climb
- tender: a train care that carries coal and water
- drawbridge: a bridge that raises up and down
- frighten: to scare someone
- express: fast or direct
- When the sailboat went under the drawbridge, it almost touched.
- The train’s tender was empty and needed to be filled.
- To get to the top floor quickly, Chad took the express elevator.
- A monkey will clamber up a tree when a lion approaches.
- The loud noise might frighten the sleeping baby.
Comprehension Questions
- Choo Choo had a bell that sounded when she came to the station.
- Because Jim would shine, polish, and oil Choo Choo regularly, she looked like new and ran smoothly.
- Oley fed Choo Choo coal and water.
- Because Archibald had a big watch, Choo Choo kept on schedule.
- Choo Choo ran back and forth from the little town to the big city.
- When Choo Choo decided she was tired of pulling coaches she ran off by herself so that everyone would stop and look at her.
- Choo Choo caused accidents at the crossings because she whizzed by the crossings without stopping.
- Choo Choo jumped because the drawbridge was up.
- After choosing the old track that hadn’t been used for years, Choo Choo tired, stopped and there she sat alone.
- Jim, Oley, and Archibald flagged down a streamliner engineer to help them catch the runaway engine.
- Jim, Oley an Archibald were so happy to have found Choo Choo that they danced a jig together.
- Choo Choo decided she would never run away again because it wasn’t much fun.
Week 3: Maybelle
Vocabulary
- polite: showing good manners
- fare: what you pay to take a trip
- rear: the back of something
- ballot: a piece of paper for voting
- fumes: smelly vapors
- You must fill out a ballot to have your vote count.
- Scoty was polite when he met his new teacher for the first time.
- In order to ride the bus, you must pay the fare.
- The farmer parked his tractor at the rear of the house.
- When my mom fills her car with gas, I can smell the fumes
Comprehension Questions
- Maybelle was a cable car. (pg. 1)
- Maybelle could not slip because she had a grip and three kinds of brakes. (pg. 2)
- In the city of San Francisco, the hills are very steep. (pg. 3)
- All day, Maybelle rang her gong and sang her song. (pg. 6)
- During the night, Maybelle rested in the big green barn. (pg. 7)
- Maybelle and her sisters did not like to remember the terrible fire that destroyed the City overnight. (pg. 12)
- The City’s cable cars were in need of a new coat of paint. (pg. 15)
- Visitors from all over the world love to ride on a little cable car. (pg. 18)
- Big Bill boasted about buses by saying they are “bigger, and strong and newer and faster and more economical.” (pg .19)
- Because Big Bill discouraged Maybelle, the rest of that day seemed long and dreary. (pg. 23)
- Some of the people of San Francisco were unhappy about loosing the cable cars so they called a public meeting and formed THE CITIZEN’S COMMITTEE TO SAVE CABLE CARS. (pg. 25)
- When Big Bill tried to stop halfway down the hill he slipped and slid and turned around. (pg. 33)
- After the vote to save the cable cars, Bill heard there would be a special day each year to celebrate cars. (pg. 41)
Week 4: The Little House
Vocabulary
- blossoms: the flowers on a plant
- evening: the early part of the night
- survey: to measure a piece of land
- traffic: the movement of cars
- shabby: run-down looking
- When evening came it was time to eat dinner.
- The building in the ghost town all looked shabby.
- The apple tree was filled with fragrant blossoms in the spring.
- The survey was done in preparation for the new road.
- Because of the bad traffic it took us two hours to get to grandma’s house.
Comprehension Questions
- The Little House happily sat on a hill in the country. (pg. 2)
- At night, off in the distance, the Little House could see the city lights. (pg. 4)
- As time passed the Little House watched the world around her changed. (pgs. 6/12)
- Not long after the Little House saw the first horseless carriage coming down the country road, a larger road was built. (pg .14)
- The Little House wondered what it would be like to live in the city. (pg. 4)
- After the road was built, the Little House notice things moved much faster than it did before. (pg. 16)
- Since the Little House could not be sold for gold or silver, she just stayed there and watched. (pg. 18)
- Because the city was loud and the air was filled with dust and smoke, the Little House thought the seasons all seemed the same. (pg. 24)
- Although the Little House could not see the subway, she could feel and hear it. (pg. 26)
- After the skyscrapers were built the Little House could not see the moon or stars at night. (pg. 30)
- When the great-great-granddaughter of the man who built the Little House recognized her, she decided to move the Little House to the country. (pg. 37)
- Once the Little House was settled on her new foundation, she never again wanted to live there in the city. (pg .40)
Week 5: Katy and the Big Snow
Vocabulary
- proud: feeling good about something
- patient: a person in hospital
- repair: fix
- drizzle: to rain lightly
- steady: stable and balanced
- Kyle needed to repair his glasses after he sat on them.
- After a lot of practice I felt steady on my bicycle.
- Alison’s parents were proud when she won the spelling bee.
- When I went outside I could feel the cold drizzle on my face.
- The nurse had to give the patient his medicine every day.
Comprehension Questions
- Katy was very big and strong.
- She was a tractor with a bulldozer and a snow plow.
- Katy repaired the roads in the summer and cleared the snow in the winter.
- Because Katy pulled the steamroller out of the pond, the city felt she was unstoppable.
- When the snow was ten inches deep, the Highway Department sent Katy out.
- Katy said, “Sure follow me,” whenever someone needed help.
- When the plane signaled for help, Katy was beginning to get a little tired, but she wouldn’t stop.
- Katy cleared the runway so the airplane could land safely.
- Katy cleared the side street so traffic could move in and out and around the city.
- When Katy completed all of her work she went home to rest.