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Little Havana Study Guide 

Comprehension 

Directions: Read the following items and circle the correct answer.  

How did Marisa feel about her aunt and uncle before the trip? 

She was excited to meet them.  

She wanted to meet people from Cuba.  

She wasn’tvery interested in them. 

She loved spending time with them. 

 

Which sentence from the story BEST supports your answer from #1? 

“I don’t even know them,” Marisa muttered.  

Maria stared at her aunt in shock.  

“I’m so happy I came to visit you!” she cried.  

“We want you to meet some of your Cuban relatives.” 

 

Which of these is an opinion from the story? 

Miami is 230 miles from Cuba.  

The apartment looked bright and cheerful.  

People were dancing in the street.  

The dress was yellow and ruffled. 

 

What did Marisa observeas they drove through Little Havana? 

The car ride was long 

She could not find anybody she recognized.  

They did not look like her.  

She smelled smoky, spicy food.  

 

Why didn’t Marisa want to wear the dress? 

She didn’t want to stand out in the crowd.  

She didn’t really like the dress very much.  

She didn’t know what it was called in Spanish.  

She thought it would be too crowded on the street.  

 

Short Response 

Directions: Answer the questions by using evidence from the text. Restate, use complete sentences, correct capitalization, and punctuation 

How did Marisa enjoy herself in Little Havana? 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Why did Marisa change her mind about wearing the yellow dress? 

____________________________________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

How did the writer describe thing Marissa saw, smelled, or heardin Miami? 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

Vocabulary 

Directions: Read each item and match it to the correct vocabulary definition.  

parade 

ancestors 

experience 

elaborate 

mingled 

muttered 

 

______________________ – people from long ago that are related to you 

 _____________________ – made with great care and detail 

_____________________ – to have something happen to you 

_____________________ – moved freely among 

_____________________ – spoke in a low, unclear way 

_____________________ – to walk in a way that attracts attention 

 

Grammar 

Every sentence needs 2 parts: _____________________ and _______________________. 

Directions: Text Box thesimple subjectin each sentence.  

The motorboat floats on the pond.  

 

My smartphone is easy to use.  

 

Mr. McGeeplays soccer. 

 

Directions: Underlinethepredicate in each sentence.  

James and his friends played catch.  

 

Melissa built a dollhouse.  

 

This tiny mouse chewed a giant hole.