In a small town called Berryville, there was a girl named Emily who loved adventures. One day, in the forest, she found a strange tree full of shiny, colorful raspberries. Emily tried one, and suddenly, it started raining raspberries from the sky!

Emily ran home to tell everyone about what she found. The whole town got excited and collected the special raspberries. People were smiling and laughing, and the town was filled with color. Even the plants looked happy in the raspberry rain.

But after some time, the raspberries lost their colors. They turned plain, and everyone in the town started to worry. They didn’t want the amazing raspberry rain to stop and didn’t know what to do.

Emily didn’t give up. She looked for an answer and found an old book in the library. It said that children’s laughter could make a special mix that would keep the raspberries colorful. Emily told everyone, and they made a big festival for kids to play and laugh.

The next day, everyone gathered under the tree. A soft wind blew, and it started raining colorful raspberries again. Everybody cheered and laughed. The magical rain was back and even better.

The people of Berryville learned to always cherish laughter. They found out that being happy could turn an ordinary day into something amazing. Because of the raspberry rain, Berryville became a place known for its joy and laughter.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is the main character of the story?
2. What did Emily find in the forest?
3. What happened when Emily ate one of the raspberries?
4. How did the people of Berryville react to the raspberry rain?
5. Why did the raspberries lose their colors?
6. Where did Emily find the solution to keep the raspberries colorful?
7. What did the people of Berryville learn from the raspberry rain?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a (1)______ town (2)______ Berryville, there was a girl named Emily who loved adventures. One day, in the forest, she found a strange tree full of shiny, colorful (3)______. Emily tried one, and suddenly, it started raining raspberries from the sky!

Emily ran home to tell everyone about what she found. The (4)______ town got excited and collected the special raspberries. (5)______ were (6)______ and laughing, and the town was filled with color. Even the (7)______ looked happy in the raspberry rain.

But after some time, the raspberries lost their (8)______. They turned plain, and everyone in the town started to worry. They didn’t want the amazing raspberry rain to stop and didn’t know what to do.

Emily didn’t give up. She looked for an (9)______ and (10)______ an old book in the (11)______. It said that children’s laughter could make a special mix that would keep the raspberries (12)______. Emily told everyone, and they made a big festival for kids to play and laugh.

The next day, everyone gathered under the tree. A soft wind blew, and it started raining colorful raspberries again. Everybody cheered and laughed. The magical rain was back and even (13)______.

The people of (14)______ learned to always cherish laughter. They found out that being (15)______ could turn an ordinary day into something (16)______. Because of the raspberry rain, Berryville became a place known for its joy and laughter.
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💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is an adventure? Can you think of an adventure you have had?
2. How would you feel if you found a tree that made it rain your favorite fruit?
3. Do you like raspberries? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important to share exciting discoveries with others? Why or why not?
5. What do you think it means to cherish laughter? Why is it important?
6. Have you ever read a book that gave you an answer to a problem? What was the problem and how did the book help?
7. How do you think the people in Berryville felt when the raspberries lost their colors? Why?
8. Have you ever been to a festival? What was it like? Did you have fun?
9. How do you think the children felt when they were told that their laughter could keep the raspberries colorful? Why?
10. Do you think laughter can make a difference in someone’s day? Why or why not?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. adventures
2. shiny
3. collected
4. excitement
5. laughter
6. plain
7. worry
8. amazing
9. festival
10. gathered
11. cherish
12. ordinary
13. magical
14. joy
15. laughter

Meanings:
(A) Reflecting light, bright and sparkling
(B) To feel anxious or concerned about something
(C) Simple and not fancy or special
(D) The sound or act of laughing (used twice in the story, but for the activity, ensure it’s only matched once)
(E) Causing great surprise or wonder; awesome
(F) Having a special power that seems to be impossible
(G) To hold something dear or to value it highly
(H) Exciting and risky experiences or activities
(I) Brought together or accumulated
(J) A celebration or party with lots of fun activities
(K) The sound or act of laughing
(L) Came together in one place as a group
(M) A feeling of great happiness and enthusiasm
(N) A feeling of great happiness or pleasure
(O) Normal, not special or different
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Emily find in the forest?
(a) A hidden treasure chest
(b) A tree full of shiny, colorful raspberries
(c) A magical wand
(d) A lost puppy

2. What happened when Emily ate one of the raspberries?
(a) She turned into a raspberry
(b) The tree disappeared
(c) It started raining raspberries from the sky
(d) She fell asleep for a week

3. How did the people in the town react when they saw the colorful raspberries?
(a) They got excited and collected them
(b) They ignored them and went about their day
(c) They were scared and ran away
(d) They thought they were poisonous and threw them away

4. What happened to the raspberries after some time?
(a) They grew bigger and juicier
(b) They lost their colors and turned plain
(c) They started glowing in the dark
(d) They turned into apples

5. What did Emily find in the library?
(a) A secret passage to a hidden world
(b) A recipe for raspberry pie
(c) A map to a treasure
(d) An old book with the answer to the problem

6. What did the old book say could keep the raspberries colorful?
(a) Watering the tree every day
(b) Singing songs to the tree
(c) Painting the raspberries with bright colors
(d) Children’s laughter

7. What did the people of Berryville do to keep the raspberries colorful?
(a) They built a fence around the tree
(b) They picked all the raspberries and stored them in a special box
(c) They made a big festival for kids to play and laugh
(d) They sprayed the tree with special paint

8. What happened the next day when everyone gathered under the tree?
(a) It started raining colorful raspberries again
(b) The tree disappeared
(c) It started raining chocolate instead of raspberries
(d) The tree turned into a rainbow

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The people of Berryville forgot how to laugh and became known for their sadness and silence because of the strawberry rain.
2. The strawberries eventually gained vibrant colors and became a sensation, causing excitement in the city.
3. The city canceled a small festival for kids to sleep and cry, in order to make the strawberries bland.
4. Emily discovered a tree in the forest that had shiny, colorful raspberries.
5. The whole city of Berryville got bored and ignored the common strawberries.
6. When Emily tried one of the raspberries, it started raining raspberries from the sky.
7. The next day, when everyone gathered under the tree, it started raining colorful raspberries again.
8. Emily found an old book in the library that said children’s laughter could keep the raspberries colorful.
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 of the story?
The main character of the story is Emily.

2. What did Emily find in the forest?
Emily found a strange tree full of shiny, colorful raspberries in the forest.

3. What happened when Emily ate one of the raspberries?
When Emily ate one of the raspberries, it started raining raspberries from the sky.

4. How did the people of Berryville react to the raspberry rain?
The people of Berryville got excited and collected the special raspberries. They were smiling and laughing, and the town was filled with color.

5. Why did the raspberries lose their colors?
The raspberries lost their colors because they needed a special mix made from children’s laughter to keep them colorful.

6. Where did Emily find the solution to keep the raspberries colorful?
Emily found the solution to keep the raspberries colorful in an old book she found in the library.

7. What did the people of Berryville learn from the raspberry rain?
The people of Berryville learned to always cherish laughter and that being happy could turn an ordinary day into something amazing.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) small
(2) called
(3) raspberries
(4) whole
(5) People
(6) smiling
(7) plants
(8) colors
(9) answer
(10) found
(11) library
(12) colorful
(13) better
(14) Berryville
(15) happy
(16) amazing
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. adventures
Answer: (H) Exciting and risky experiences or activities

2. shiny
Answer: (A) Reflecting light, bright and sparkling

3. collected
Answer: (I) Brought together or accumulated

4. excitement
Answer: (M) A feeling of great happiness and enthusiasm

5. laughter
Answer: (K) The sound or act of laughing

6. plain
Answer: (C) Simple and not fancy or special

7. worry
Answer: (B) To feel anxious or concerned about something

8. amazing
Answer: (E) Causing great surprise or wonder; awesome

9. festival
Answer: (J) A celebration or party with lots of fun activities

10. gathered
Answer: (L) Came together in one place as a group

11. cherish
Answer: (G) To hold something dear or to value it highly

12. ordinary
Answer: (O) Normal, not special or different

13. magical
Answer: (F) Having a special power that seems to be impossible

14. joy
Answer: (N) A feeling of great happiness or pleasure

15. laughter
Answer: (D) The sound or act of laughing (used twice in the story, but for the activity, ensure it’s only matched once)
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Emily find in the forest?
Answer: (b) A tree full of shiny, colorful raspberries

2. What happened when Emily ate one of the raspberries?
Answer: (c) It started raining raspberries from the sky

3. How did the people in the town react when they saw the colorful raspberries?
Answer: (a) They got excited and collected them

4. What happened to the raspberries after some time?
Answer: (b) They lost their colors and turned plain

5. What did Emily find in the library?
Answer: (d) An old book with the answer to the problem

6. What did the old book say could keep the raspberries colorful?
Answer: (d) Children’s laughter

7. What did the people of Berryville do to keep the raspberries colorful?
Answer: (c) They made a big festival for kids to play and laugh

8. What happened the next day when everyone gathered under the tree?
Answer: (a) It started raining colorful raspberries again
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The people of Berryville forgot how to laugh and became known for their sadness and silence because of the strawberry rain. (Answer: False)
2. The strawberries eventually gained vibrant colors and became a sensation, causing excitement in the city. (Answer: False)
3. The city canceled a small festival for kids to sleep and cry, in order to make the strawberries bland. (Answer: False)
4. Emily discovered a tree in the forest that had shiny, colorful raspberries. (Answer: True)
5. The whole city of Berryville got bored and ignored the common strawberries. (Answer: False)
6. When Emily tried one of the raspberries, it started raining raspberries from the sky. (Answer: True)
7. The next day, when everyone gathered under the tree, it started raining colorful raspberries again. (Answer: True)
8. Emily found an old book in the library that said children’s laughter could keep the raspberries colorful. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧