Cory the Caterpillar


Cory the Caterpillar
Cory the caterpillar lived on a big green leaf. He loved his life. He liked to munch, munch, munch all day long. He liked crawling on the leaf. He liked napping in the sun. One day, a wise old beetle buzzed by.
"Cory," said the beetle, "soon you will make a chrysalis. Then, you will become a butterfly!"
Cory stopped munching. "A butterfly?" he asked. "But I like being a caterpillar! I like my leaf. I don't want to fly away."
The beetle chuckled. "It is a big change, Cory, but it is a good one. You will see the world in a new way."
Cory thought about it. He wiggled a little. He munched a little. He still didn't want to change. He liked being Cory the caterpillar.
He decided to hide. He crawled under the leaf. He hoped the change wouldn't find him there. But soon, he felt sleepy. Very, very sleepy. He started to spin a silky blanket around himself.
When Cory woke up, everything was different. He looked at his legs. They were long and thin. He looked at his back. There were big, colorful wings! He was a butterfly!
- Caterpillar:
- A small, worm-like insect.
- Chrysalis:
- A hard shell a caterpillar makes before becoming a butterfly.
- Butterfly:
- A flying insect with colorful wings.
- chuckled:
- Laughed in a quiet or gentle way.
- fluttered:
- Flapped wings quickly and lightly to move through the air.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Writing Prompts
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Where did Cory the caterpillar live?
- 2What did Cory like to do all day?
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About this fiction passage for Lower Elementary
“Cory the Caterpillar” is a fiction reading passage about Transformation, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (241 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.


