Unit 5

Make me laugh!

Lesson 11

Possum's Tail/The Princess and The Pizza

Choose one of the following two selections to read for this assessment.


Both are funny stories, and instructions are included for both selections.

  • Possum's Tail – a legend in the form of a play that explains why the possum has such an ugly tail.
  • The Princess and the Pizza – a story about a princess, now living as an ordinary person, who invents pizza while competing in a contest to marry a prince, and get back to her former life.

Of course, you may read them both if you wish.

Reader's Notebook Assessment

Possum's Tail

Click on the rows below for more information about the assessment.


Scan the pages before you start to read.


Notice how a play is written:

  • The first page lists the characters, scenery, and costumes.
  • The speaker is identified by name each time he or she speaks, without quotation marks around spoken words.
  • A narrator begins and ends the story.
  • Stage directions (information about what the actors should do) are italicized and written in a different font to separate them from the dialogue (dialogue refers to words actors say).

The title and pictures do not give much information to help readers make predictions. This play is a legend, a story to explain why something in the real world is the way it is. For example, there are legends about how the deer got its horns, and how the bee got its stinger.

In the days before books were invented, people shared stories around their campfires. In this way stories were handed down from one generation to the next.

That information should help you predict what the story in this play is about. Read the title; can you predict what this story will be about?

Some Things about Possums You Need to Know in Order to Understand this Story


  • Some things about possums you need to know in order to understand this story: A possum's tail is long and hairless – it looks a lot like a rat's tail.
  • When threatened with danger, possums lie on their backs and pretend to be dead until the danger has passed.

Read Scene 1: The Forest (pages 99 to 102 in Literacy in Action 4B)


Answer questions 1, 2, and 3 on the Reader's Notebook: Possum's Tail worksheet.

Make predictions about what will happen next, then go on to Scene 2.

Read Scene 2: Another Part of the Forest (page 103)


Answer question 4 on the worksheet. What do you think is going to happen to Possum's tail? Make your prediction, then go on to Scene 3.

Read Scene 3: The Forest, Near the Big Oak Tree (pages 104 and 105)


Answer the remaining questions on the worksheet.




Document: Reader's Notebook: Possum's Tail
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  1. This worksheet is similar to homework, which is an opportunity to practise important concepts in the lesson. The worksheet is NOT for marks.
  2. However, your teacher may ask you to submit this worksheet to check on your progress so be sure to save it in your Documents folder.