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

STRATEGY PRACTICE
Look back at the second paragraph and underline the words that 
signal the order of steps.
SKILL PRACTICE
Read each question. Fill in the bubble next to the correct answer.
 1. Why do workers rub special mud 
on baseballs?
A 
so the ball is harder to hit
B 
so the ball is a brighter color
C 
so the ball is safer to use
D 
so the ball is slippery
 2. What is the next step after secret 
ingredients are added to the mud?
A 
The mud is rinsed.
B 
The mud is sold.
C 
The mud sits in barrels.
D 
More mud is dug up.
 3. Which step comes before rinsing 
the mud?
A 
making the mud feel like pudding
B 
storing the mud in barrels
C 
selling the mud to teams
D 
digging up the muck
 4. Who performs the final step in getting 
the shine off the baseballs?
A 
a worker at each park
B 
the company that makes the mud
C 
the crew that digs up the mud
D 
a worker for all of the teams
Organization
3453.indb 26
5/6/10 3:59 PM

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Name: 
© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3453 • Daily Reading Comprehension 
27
WEEK 3
Organization
DAY 5
READ THE PASSAGE
Think about the main idea and details in each paragraph.
Is She Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?
Grace is no ordinary four-year-old. Grace dunks basketballs and plays the 
piano. And she’s an artist, too. Grace holds a brush between her big front teeth 
and paints pictures. People buy her paintings, and the money is given to the poor. 
Yes, Grace is very clever, especially for a mule.
Mules usually do as they please. But that’s not Grace. Steve Foster, her owner, 
says that Grace is a fast learner. She uses the different sounds of his voice to 
know and follow his commands. Grace may be the smartest mule in the world! 
Being smart helped her get a part in a movie. She appears in the film 
Get Low
and plays a mule, of course. Because Grace plays an old mule, she wears 
makeup. Her face has white and gray coloring.