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

DAY
5
Tell students they will practice both the 
Author’s Purpose
and 
Prediction 
skills. Read the instructions at 
the top of the page aloud. Then have students read the passage. When students have finished, say: 
Sometimes it’s a good idea to reread part of the passage to make sure that you understood what 
you read. Look back at the passage and pick the paragraph that you understood the least. Ask 
yourself a question about that paragraph. Direct students to write their question in the space 
provided for the strategy practice activity. When students have finished rereading, direct them to 
complete the skill practice activity. Review the answers together. For the remainder of the strategy 
practice activity, have students share their questions and answers with a partner, or invite volunteers 
to share with the group.
Author’s Purpose
Students think about why an author wrote a particular passage.
Prediction
Students use clues from the text and their own background knowledge to 
anticipate what is likely to happen next or what information will come next.
3453wk29.indd 178
8/30/10 11:06 AM

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Name: 
© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3453 • Daily Reading Comprehension 
179
WEEK 29
DAY 1
READ THE PASSAGE
Think about what the author wants you to know.
Flip and Catch!
Native Americans who lived in wooded areas liked to play a game. They flipped and 
caught bone disks in a wooden bowl. The Native Americans gathered twigs to use as 
counters. You need just a few things to play this game. Play it once as described below. 
Then make up a new version.
To prepare:
Get a container with a flat bottom. Then, cut six circles about four 
inches across out of heavy paper. Make a design on one side of each circle. The 
designs that you create do not have to be the same. Finally, get 48 toothpicks.
To play:
A player puts the circles into the container and flips the circles into the air. 
The player tries to catch the circles in the container.
To score:
If a circle lands in the container with the design side up, the player gets 
one toothpick. If the circle lands blank side up, the player doesn’t get a toothpick. 
Subtract one toothpick for every circle that lands outside of the container. Play the 
game until all 48 toothpicks are used. The player with the most toothpicks wins.