📖 Success Criteria

I can...

• Read and understand a story about friendship and problem-solving

• Identify important details and events in the story

• Make connections between characters' actions and their feelings

• Use evidence from the text to support my answers

📚 Reading Passage: The Mystery of the Missing Lunch

Maya sat at her usual lunch table and opened her lunchbox. Her heart sank. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich her mom had packed was gone! Only her apple and juice box remained.

"Someone took my sandwich!" Maya announced to her friends. Jake looked up from his turkey sandwich, and Emma paused mid-bite of her pizza slice.

"Are you sure you packed it this morning?" Emma asked. Maya nodded firmly. She remembered her mom wrapping it in foil and placing it right next to her apple.

Jake noticed that Maya looked really upset. Her favorite sandwich was gone, and lunch period was almost half over. "Let's help you solve this mystery," he suggested. "When did you last see your lunchbox?"

Maya thought carefully. "I put it in my locker before math class. Then I grabbed it just now." The three friends walked back to Maya's locker. On the floor nearby, they found a crumpled piece of foil.

"This looks like sandwich wrapper," Emma observed. They followed a trail of crumbs down the hallway. The trail led to the library, where they found Tommy sitting alone, looking embarrassed.

"Tommy, did you take Maya's sandwich?" Jake asked gently. Tommy's face turned red. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I forgot my lunch money again, and I was really hungry. I saw the sandwich fall out of Maya's locker when she was getting her math book."

Maya felt sorry for Tommy instead of angry. "Why didn't you just ask for help?" she said kindly. From that day on, Maya always packed an extra snack to share with anyone who might be hungry.

🌟 Multiple Choice Questions

Extension Activity: Write about a time when you helped solve a problem or helped someone in need. How did it make you feel?