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Dinosaur Trees for Dinner

Ask and answer questions about a funny family story.

Read the story

Dinosaur Trees

1My little brother, Neel, is four years old, and he has one big rule. He will not eat anything green. Not peas. Not spinach. Not even green apples.

2On Tuesday night, Papa made chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Neel looked at his plate and folded his arms. "No green," he said. Papa sighed. Mom sighed. I looked at the little broccoli pieces. They looked like tiny trees. Then I had an idea.

3Neel loves dinosaurs more than anything. He carries a plastic long-necked dinosaur named Stomper everywhere, even to the dinner table. So I pushed Neel's mashed potatoes into a smooth hill. Then I stood the broccoli up in the potatoes, one piece at a time, until it looked like a little forest.

4"Look, Neel," I said. "Stomper is hungry, and long-necked dinosaurs love to eat trees." Neel made Stomper stomp across the table and pretend to munch a tree. Then Neel ate one tree himself. Then he ate another. Soon the whole forest was gone.

5Mom and Papa stared at Neel's clean plate. "How did you do that?" Mom whispered to me. I just shrugged and smiled. The next night, Papa made green beans. Neel looked at them and asked, "Can you make these into dinosaur fences?"

Find the answers

Look back at the story to find each answer.

1.
Answer each question with a word or number from the story.

1. What is the name of Neel's dinosaur?  
2. On what night did Papa make broccoli?  
3. How old is Neel?   years old

2.
Why did Neel fold his arms at dinner?
  • A. He was upset that Stomper was missing.
  • B. He wanted more chicken on his plate.
  • C. He did not want to eat the broccoli.
  • D. He was too full from his afternoon snack.
3.
Read paragraph 2 again. Underline the sentence that tells what the broccoli looked like to the narrator.

On Tuesday night, Papa made chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.Neel looked at his plate and folded his arms."No green," he said.Papa sighed.Mom sighed.I looked at the little broccoli pieces.They looked like tiny trees.Then I had an idea.

4.
Which question does paragraph 3 answer?
  • A. How old is Neel, and what is his rule?
  • B. What does Neel love more than anything?
  • C. What did Papa cook the next night?
  • D. What did Neel say about the green beans?
5.
Why did the narrator say, "Stomper is hungry"?
  • A. to make Neel put his toy Stomper away
  • B. to ask Papa to cook more chicken for him
  • C. to show Mom that Stomper was broken
  • D. to get Neel to eat the broccoli trees

Ask and check

Good readers ask questions and go back to the text to check the answers.

6.
Which two questions can you answer by reading paragraph 5? Choose two.
  • A. What did Papa make the next night?
  • B. What did Neel eat for lunch?
  • C. Where did Papa buy the broccoli?
  • D. What did Mom whisper to the narrator?
7.
Read paragraph 4 again. Underline the sentence that tells the first time Neel really ate a broccoli tree.

"Look, Neel," I said."Stomper is hungry, and long-necked dinosaurs love to eat trees."Neel made Stomper stomp across the table and pretend to munch a tree.Then Neel ate one tree himself.Then he ate another.Soon the whole forest was gone.

8.
Read paragraph 5 again. What does Neel's question about the green beans show?
  • A. He will eat green food if it is a game.
  • B. He does not like the way Papa cooks beans.
  • C. He wants to build real fences in the yard.
  • D. He wants Mom to cook dinner instead of Papa.
9.
Write a question about the story that starts with How. Then answer it using details from the story.