In a weird place, everything was the opposite of normal. Instead of walking on their feet, people there walked on their hands. They built houses with the tops on the bottom, and they thought the sky was low and the ground was high. It was a funny place where people did everything backwards, like wearing hats on their feet and shoes on their heads, just because that’s how they always did it.

A girl named Lily lived there, and she loved to check out all the crazy stuff in her upside-down world. One day, while walking on her hands in the park, she saw trees growing the wrong way, towards the ground. Lily thought this was super cool and decided to climb one to see where it took her.

Climbing the tree, Lily ended up in a forest where animals hung out above her instead of below. She saw a rabbit with a clock around its neck and a bird making a nest not on a tree, but in the air. Lily laughed when she saw a fish swimming in the air! Everything here was flipped, but it looked normal to her.

Then, Lily ran into some people who were lost and sad. They couldn’t find their homes because the instructions on their maps were backwards. Lily knew how to do things the upside-down way, so she helped them read the maps the other way around. They got home safely and were so happy and thankful for Lily’s help.

After that, word got around about how Lily helped those people, and the folks in the upside-down world started to think differently. They began to like doing things in new ways, like putting doors on the top of their houses and making clothes for hand-walking. The upside-down place became a spot where being different was cool, and what used to be upside-down was now the right way up.

Lily’s time in the upside-down taught everyone a big lesson. Being different is not scary; it’s something to celebrate and be curious about. It’s fine to see things in a new way and to break the rules sometimes. The best adventures and discoveries might just happen where everything is turned upside-down.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What were some of the things that were opposite in the weird place?
2. Why did Lily decide to climb the tree in the park?
3. What did Lily see when she climbed the tree?
4. Why were the people in the upside-down world lost and sad?
5. How did Lily help the people find their way home?
6. What happened after word got around about Lily’s help?
7. What lesson did everyone learn from Lily’s time in the upside-down world?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a (1)______ place, everything was the opposite of normal. Instead of walking on their feet, people there walked on their hands. They built houses with the tops on the bottom, and they thought the sky was low and the ground was high. It was a (2)______ place where people did everything backwards, like wearing hats on their feet and shoes on their (3)______, just because that’s how they always did it.

A girl named Lily lived there, and she loved to check out all the (4)______ stuff in her upside-down world. One day, while walking on her hands in the park, she saw (5)______ growing the wrong way, towards the ground. Lily thought this was super cool and decided to climb one to see where it took her.

Climbing the tree, Lily (6)______ up in a (7)______ where animals hung out above her instead of below. She saw a rabbit with a clock around its neck and a bird (8)______ a nest not on a tree, but in the air. Lily laughed when she saw a fish swimming in the air! Everything here was flipped, but it looked normal to her.

Then, Lily ran into some (9)______ who were lost and sad. They couldn’t find their homes because the instructions on their maps were backwards. Lily knew how to do (10)______ the upside-down way, so she helped them read the maps the other way around. They got home safely and were so happy and thankful for Lily’s help.

After that, word got around about how Lily helped those people, and the folks in the upside-down world (11)______ to think differently. They began to like doing things in new ways, like (12)______ doors on the top of their (13)______ and making clothes for hand-walking. The upside-down place became a spot where being (14)______ was cool, and what used to be upside-down was now the right way up.

Lily’s time in the upside-down taught everyone a big lesson. Being different is not scary; it’s something to celebrate and be curious about. It’s fine to see things in a new way and to break the rules sometimes. The best (15)______ and (16)______ might just happen where everything is turned upside-down.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is something in your life that you do differently from others? Why do you do it that way?
2. How would you feel if you lived in a place where everything was upside-down? Why?
3. Do you like trying new things or do you prefer to stick to what you know? Why or why not?
4. What do you think it means to be “different”? Do you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
5. Have you ever helped someone who was lost or in need? How did it make you feel?
6. If you could visit a place where everything was upside-down, what would you be most excited to see or do? Why?
7. Do you think it’s important to break the rules sometimes? Why or why not?
8. How do you think the upside-down world in the story changed after Lily helped the lost people? Why do you think they started to think differently?
9. Have you ever had an adventure or discovery that happened because you did something differently? Can you tell us about it?
10. If you could create your own upside-down world, what would it be like? Why?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. opposite
2. normal
3. built
4. decided
5. flipped
6. hung
7. laughed
8. lost
9. instructions
10. safely
11. thankful
12. differently
13. celebrate
14. curious
15. adventures

Meanings:
(A) Usual or expected
(B) In a new or unique way
(C) Without danger or harm
(D) Made a choice after thinking
(E) Unable to find the way or not knowing where you are
(F) Turned over or reversed
(G) To show happiness for an event or occasion with festivities
(H) Completely different from something else
(I) Made or constructed something
(J) Feeling grateful or showing appreciation
(K) Directions or orders on how to do something
(L) Interested in learning about something or eager to know more
(M) Made sounds of amusement or happiness
(N) Suspended or attached from above
(O) Exciting experiences or journeys
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the girl in the story?
(a) Rose
(b) Lily
(c) Daisy
(d) Violet

2. How do people in the upside-down world walk?
(a) On their feet
(b) On their knees
(c) On their hands
(d) On their elbows

3. What did Lily see growing towards the ground in the park?
(a) Flowers
(b) Trees
(c) Grass
(d) Bushes

4. What did Lily find in the forest?
(a) Animals walking on their hands
(b) Animals walking on their feet
(c) Animals swimming in the air
(d) Animals hanging above her

5. How did Lily help the lost people find their homes?
(a) By drawing new maps for them
(b) By asking for directions
(c) By reading the maps backwards
(d) By using a compass

6. What did the people in the upside-down world start to like doing after Lily helped them?
(a) Doing things in new ways
(b) Doing things the same way as before
(c) Following the rules strictly
(d) Avoiding adventures and discoveries

7. What did Lily’s time in the upside-down world teach everyone?
(a) Being different is something to be scared of
(b) Being different is something to avoid
(c) Being different is something to ignore
(d) Being different is something to celebrate

8. Where did the best adventures and discoveries happen in the story?
(a) Where everything is turned upside-down
(b) Where everything is normal
(c) Where everything is the same as before
(d) Where everything is predictable

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Lily, the main character, dislikes exploring the strange things in her upside-down world.
2. The people in the upside-down world believe that the sky is low and the ground is high.
3. Lily helps some lost and sad people in the upside-down world by reading their maps the other way around.
4. In this story, people in the upside-down world walk on their hands instead of their feet.
5. Lily climbs a tree in the park and ends up in a forest where animals hang out above her.
6. The upside-down world starts to reject being different and discourages new ways of doing things.
7. The houses in the upside-down world have their tops on the top.
8. Wearing hats on their feet and shoes on their heads is an abnormal thing in the upside-down world.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What were some of the things that were opposite in the weird place?
In the weird place, people walked on their hands instead of their feet. Houses had their tops on the bottom, and the sky was considered low while the ground was high. People also wore hats on their feet and shoes on their heads.

2. Why did Lily decide to climb the tree in the park?
Lily decided to climb the tree in the park because she thought it was super cool that the trees were growing towards the ground. She wanted to see where the tree would take her.

3. What did Lily see when she climbed the tree?
When Lily climbed the tree, she ended up in a forest where animals hung out above her instead of below. She saw a rabbit with a clock around its neck, a bird making a nest in the air, and even a fish swimming in the air.

4. Why were the people in the upside-down world lost and sad?
The people in the upside-down world were lost and sad because they couldn’t find their homes. The instructions on their maps were backwards, and they didn’t know how to read them.

5. How did Lily help the people find their way home?
Lily helped the people find their way home by reading the maps the other way around. She knew how to do things the upside-down way, so she was able to guide them and help them understand the backwards instructions.

6. What happened after word got around about Lily’s help?
After word got around about Lily’s help, the people in the upside-down world started to think differently. They began to like doing things in new ways and embraced their differences. They started putting doors on the tops of their houses and making clothes for hand-walking.

7. What lesson did everyone learn from Lily’s time in the upside-down world?
The lesson that everyone learned from Lily’s time in the upside-down world was that being different is not scary, but something to celebrate. They realized that it’s okay to see things in a new way and break the rules sometimes. The upside-down world became a place where being different was cool, and people embraced their uniqueness.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) weird
(2) funny
(3) heads
(4) crazy
(5) trees
(6) ended
(7) forest
(8) making
(9) people
(10) things
(11) started
(12) putting
(13) houses
(14) different
(15) adventures
(16) discoveries
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. opposite
Answer: (H) Completely different from something else

2. normal
Answer: (A) Usual or expected

3. built
Answer: (I) Made or constructed something

4. decided
Answer: (D) Made a choice after thinking

5. flipped
Answer: (F) Turned over or reversed

6. hung
Answer: (N) Suspended or attached from above

7. laughed
Answer: (M) Made sounds of amusement or happiness

8. lost
Answer: (E) Unable to find the way or not knowing where you are

9. instructions
Answer: (K) Directions or orders on how to do something

10. safely
Answer: (C) Without danger or harm

11. thankful
Answer: (J) Feeling grateful or showing appreciation

12. differently
Answer: (B) In a new or unique way

13. celebrate
Answer: (G) To show happiness for an event or occasion with festivities

14. curious
Answer: (L) Interested in learning about something or eager to know more

15. adventures
Answer: (O) Exciting experiences or journeys
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the girl in the story?
Answer: (b) Lily

2. How do people in the upside-down world walk?
Answer: (c) On their hands

3. What did Lily see growing towards the ground in the park?
Answer: (b) Trees

4. What did Lily find in the forest?
Answer: (d) Animals hanging above her

5. How did Lily help the lost people find their homes?
Answer: (c) By reading the maps backwards

6. What did the people in the upside-down world start to like doing after Lily helped them?
Answer: (a) Doing things in new ways

7. What did Lily’s time in the upside-down world teach everyone?
Answer: (d) Being different is something to celebrate

8. Where did the best adventures and discoveries happen in the story?
Answer: (a) Where everything is turned upside-down
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Lily, the main character, dislikes exploring the strange things in her upside-down world. (Answer: False)
2. The people in the upside-down world believe that the sky is low and the ground is high. (Answer: True)
3. Lily helps some lost and sad people in the upside-down world by reading their maps the other way around. (Answer: True)
4. In this story, people in the upside-down world walk on their hands instead of their feet. (Answer: True)
5. Lily climbs a tree in the park and ends up in a forest where animals hang out above her. (Answer: True)
6. The upside-down world starts to reject being different and discourages new ways of doing things. (Answer: False)
7. The houses in the upside-down world have their tops on the top. (Answer: False)
8. Wearing hats on their feet and shoes on their heads is an abnormal thing in the upside-down world. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧