In a small town with green hills, there was a boy named Tommy. He loved to explore and use his imagination. One night, while looking out his window, Tommy saw a tiny train with shining stars on it right behind his house. The train was called the Midnight Train to Starland, and Tommy was very excited.

Tommy got out of bed, snuck out, and ran to the train. When he got on, he saw talking animals, fairies, and even a friendly dragon. The train started moving through the sky, and Tommy felt very happy to be on an exciting trip.

But then, the train suddenly stopped. A sneaky imp named Sparkle showed up and said they needed to solve a riddle to keep going. Tommy thought hard and finally yelled, “Laughter!” Sparkle was surprised but let the train go on.

Tommy and his new friends told stories and had fun. They watched shooting stars, played games with comets, and ate cookies shaped like the moon. They all felt happy and spread good feelings.

As the sun came up, they saw Starland, but it was time to go home. Tommy was sad, but the train’s conductor, a wise owl, told him, “You can find Starland’s magic in your heart. Share happiness and use your imagination.” Tommy understood.

Tommy went back to his town with a new feeling of adventure and joy in his heart. He shared this with everyone. As he grew up, he kept inspiring others to imagine their own trips to Starland.

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
2. What did Tommy see outside his window one night?
3. What did Tommy have to do to keep the train moving?
4. What did Tommy and his friends do on the train?
5. Where did Tommy find Starland’s magic?
6. What did Tommy do when he grew up?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a small town with green hills, there was a boy (1)______ Tommy. He loved to explore and use his imagination. One night, while looking out his window, Tommy saw a tiny train with shining stars on it right behind his house. The train was called the Midnight (2)______ to (3)______, and Tommy was very excited.

Tommy got out of bed, snuck out, and ran to the (4)______. When he got on, he saw talking animals, (5)______, and even a friendly dragon. The train started moving through the sky, and Tommy felt very (6)______ to be on an exciting trip.

But then, the train suddenly stopped. A sneaky imp named Sparkle showed up and said they needed to solve a riddle to keep going. Tommy thought hard and finally yelled, “Laughter!” Sparkle was surprised but let the train go on.

(7)______ and his new friends told stories and had fun. They watched shooting stars, played (8)______ with comets, and ate cookies shaped like the moon. They all (9)______ happy and spread good feelings.

As the sun came up, they saw Starland, but it was time to go home. Tommy was sad, but the train’s conductor, a wise owl, told him, “You can find Starland’s magic in your (10)______. Share (11)______ and use your imagination.” Tommy understood.

Tommy went back to his town with a new feeling of adventure and joy in his heart. He shared this with everyone. As he grew up, he kept inspiring others to (12)______ their own trips to Starland.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is imagination and why is it important?
2. How would you feel if you saw a train with talking animals and fairies?
3. Do you like to explore new places? Why or why not?
4. What do you think Starland looks like? Why?
5. How would you feel if you had to solve a riddle to continue on a journey?
6. Do you think it’s important to spread happiness and good feelings? Why or why not?
7. What would you do if you found Starland’s magic in your heart?
8. Do you think it’s important to inspire others? Why or why not?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. explore
2. imagination
3. excited
4. sneaky
5. riddle
6. surprised
7. stories
8. comets
9. cookies
10. conductor
11. adventure
12. inspiring

Meanings:
(A) The ability to think of new and creative ideas
(B) A journey with exciting experiences
(C) Doing things in a secret and often dishonest way
(D) Sweet baked treats that you can eat as a snack
(E) Big rocks that fly through space and can have a bright tail
(F) Feeling shocked because something happened that you did not expect
(G) A tricky question that you have to think hard to answer
(H) Tales or accounts about imaginary or real events
(I) To look around and discover new places
(J) Feeling very happy and eager about something
(K) The person who is in charge of a train and makes sure it runs correctly
(L) Encouraging others to do or feel something positive
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Tommy see outside his window one night?
(a) A spaceship
(b) A tiny train with shining stars on it
(c) A unicorn
(d) A pirate ship

2. What did Tommy do when he saw the train?
(a) He went back to sleep
(b) He got out of bed and ran to it
(c) He called his friends to come see it
(d) He ignored it and went back to bed

3. What did Tommy and his new friends do on the train?
(a) They took a nap
(b) They did homework
(c) They played video games
(d) They told stories and had fun

4. How did Tommy solve the riddle to keep the train going?
(a) He asked Sparkle for the answer
(b) He guessed randomly
(c) He gave up and cried
(d) He yelled “Laughter!”

5. What did Tommy and his friends eat on the train?
(a) Cookies shaped like the moon
(b) Pizza
(c) Ice cream
(d) Broccoli

6. What did the wise owl tell Tommy?
(a) He should never go on adventures again
(b) He should keep Starland a secret
(c) He can find Starland’s magic in his heart
(d) He should forget about his trip on the train

7. How did Tommy feel when he went back to his town?
(a) Sad and lonely
(b) Bored and tired
(c) Adventurous and joyful
(d) Angry and frustrated

8. What did Tommy do as he grew up?
(a) He inspired others to imagine their own trips to Starland
(b) He forgot about his trip on the train
(c) He never left his town again
(d) He became a train conductor

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Tommy met talking animals, fairies, and a friendly dragon on the train.
2. Tommy and his new friends didn’t have fun watching shooting stars, playing games with comets, and eating moon-shaped cookies.
3. Tommy learned that he could find Starland’s magic in his heart and inspired others to imagine their own trips to Starland.
4. Tommy saw a tiny train with shining stars on it right behind his house.
5. Tommy snuck out of bed and ran to the train.
6. Tommy didn’t love to explore and use his imagination.
7. The train was called the Morning Train to Starland.
8. Tommy didn’t have to solve a riddle to keep the train going.
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. Who is the main character in the story?
Tommy is the main character in the story.

2. What did Tommy see outside his window one night?
Tommy saw a tiny train with shining stars on it outside his window one night.

3. What did Tommy have to do to keep the train moving?
Tommy had to solve a riddle to keep the train moving. He had to say the word “Laughter”.

4. What did Tommy and his friends do on the train?
Tommy and his friends told stories, watched shooting stars, played games with comets, and ate cookies shaped like the moon on the train.

5. Where did Tommy find Starland’s magic?
Tommy found Starland’s magic in his heart. He realized that he could find it by sharing happiness and using his imagination.

6. What did Tommy do when he grew up?
When Tommy grew up, he inspired others to imagine their own trips to Starland.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) named
(2) Train
(3) Starland
(4) train
(5) fairies
(6) happy
(7) Tommy
(8) games
(9) felt
(10) heart
(11) happiness
(12) imagine
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. explore
Answer: (I) To look around and discover new places

2. imagination
Answer: (A) The ability to think of new and creative ideas

3. excited
Answer: (J) Feeling very happy and eager about something

4. sneaky
Answer: (C) Doing things in a secret and often dishonest way

5. riddle
Answer: (G) A tricky question that you have to think hard to answer

6. surprised
Answer: (F) Feeling shocked because something happened that you did not expect

7. stories
Answer: (H) Tales or accounts about imaginary or real events

8. comets
Answer: (E) Big rocks that fly through space and can have a bright tail

9. cookies
Answer: (D) Sweet baked treats that you can eat as a snack

10. conductor
Answer: (K) The person who is in charge of a train and makes sure it runs correctly

11. adventure
Answer: (B) A journey with exciting experiences

12. inspiring
Answer: (L) Encouraging others to do or feel something positive
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Tommy see outside his window one night?
Answer: (b) A tiny train with shining stars on it

2. What did Tommy do when he saw the train?
Answer: (b) He got out of bed and ran to it

3. What did Tommy and his new friends do on the train?
Answer: (d) They told stories and had fun

4. How did Tommy solve the riddle to keep the train going?
Answer: (d) He yelled “Laughter!”

5. What did Tommy and his friends eat on the train?
Answer: (a) Cookies shaped like the moon

6. What did the wise owl tell Tommy?
Answer: (c) He can find Starland’s magic in his heart

7. How did Tommy feel when he went back to his town?
Answer: (c) Adventurous and joyful

8. What did Tommy do as he grew up?
Answer: (a) He inspired others to imagine their own trips to Starland
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Tommy met talking animals, fairies, and a friendly dragon on the train. (Answer: True)
2. Tommy and his new friends didn’t have fun watching shooting stars, playing games with comets, and eating moon-shaped cookies. (Answer: False)
3. Tommy learned that he could find Starland’s magic in his heart and inspired others to imagine their own trips to Starland. (Answer: True)
4. Tommy saw a tiny train with shining stars on it right behind his house. (Answer: True)
5. Tommy snuck out of bed and ran to the train. (Answer: True)
6. Tommy didn’t love to explore and use his imagination. (Answer: False)
7. The train was called the Morning Train to Starland. (Answer: False)
8. Tommy didn’t have to solve a riddle to keep the train going. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧