• Practice for every day of the school year • Help students prepare for standardized testing

SKILL PRACTICE
Read the question. Fill in the bubble next to the correct answer.
 1. Which one best explains what 
the passage is about?
A 
a girl with spots on her face
B 
a girl with chickenpox
C 
a girl bit by mosquitoes
D 
a girl with itchy bumps
 2. According to the passage, which one 
is true about chickenpox?
A 
The spots appear only on arms.
B 
Chickenpox first appears
as blisters.
C 
Mosquitoes cause chickenpox.
D 
People get chickenpox from 
each other.
 3. What is the second paragraph mostly about?
A 
how it feels to have chickenpox
B 
how Ginger got the chickenpox
C 
how to take care of chickenpox
D 
how to count the spots
 4. Which one best explains why Mandy gives 
Ginger a connect-the-dots book?
A 
The spots on Ginger’s body are like
the dots on the pages in the book.
B 
Ginger’s body is white like the 
book’s pages.
C 
Ginger can turn the pages in the book 
while wearing mittens.
D 
Ginger can use the book in the bathtub.
STRATEGY PRACTICE
Give a summary of the passage in your own words.
Use three or four of the most important facts.
Main Idea and Details
3453.indb 84
5/6/10 4:00 PM

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Name: 
© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3453 • Daily Reading Comprehension 
85
WEEK 13
READ THE PASSAGE
Think about the steps the spider takes to get its food.
Don’t Fall for This Trap
There is a spider that is named for the way it catches its food. The sneaky 
trapdoor spider catches its prey with a hidden door.
The trapdoor spider first digs a burrow, or tunnel. It uses its fangs like a rake 
to move dirt. Next, it pulls silk threads from inside its body. It lines the burrow with 
the threads to make it smooth. Then, the spider begins to build a trapdoor. The 
spider mixes soil and silk to make a thick slab. It fits like a door over the opening 
to the burrow. Then, the spider covers the door with plants so it is hard to see. 
Now the spider is ready for a meal. 
Bugs that crawl by make the ground vibrate, or move. The hairs on the spider’s 
legs sense the vibrations. The spider pounces and carries its food down the 
burrow. Other trapdoor spiders stretch trip lines made from their silk. The spider 
feels the smallest twitch of the line. Out it rushes to get its meal.