Read the story carefully, 

Take the notes of new words and expresssions.

Answer the questions, 

see if you can understand the story.

Find all the exagerated sentences.

Gavin Goldie, Gold Rusher

          （Tall Tale）

Gavin Goldie was born in Kansas during 

pioneer times. His parents were quite 

poor. They lived on a small family farm 

near a small country town. But Gavin Goldie soon became the best thing that 

ever happened 

to that family and that town. 

From the moment he was born, Gavin’s mama could tell that he was special. 

He had dark skin and brown hair 

like the rest of the family, 

but the color of his eyes was like 

that of pure gold.

Gavin Goldie’s mama decided 

he might be the strongest, 

fastest boy that was ever born. 

He could talk by the time he was 

two days old, and he could run faster 

than anyone else in the country. By the 

time he was two months old, he could run across the entire state of Kansas in two hours.

Most importantly, Gavin had the keenest 

eyesight of any human who ever lived, and he loved shiny objects. When Gavin was 

a baby, he would walk around the house 

collecting shiny things.

He grabbed his mama’s silver mirror. Then, he found his papa’s golden pocket 

watch. It had been lost for two years, but Gavin’s keen eyes saw a tiny sparkle of 

gold under the wall board in the kitchen. He raced to the metal and pulled the pocket watch from its hiding place. Gavin 

carried that shiny watch with him as he 

ran all over his folks’ property.

Gavin Goldie liked shiny objects so much that his mama had a hard time taking him to town. He wanted all the jewelry he saw people wearing. Gold rings were his favorite objects, and he would beg people 

to let him hold their rings 

when he saw them.

“Mercy me, Gavin,” his mama said one day. “If you like gold so much, 

you need to find your own. 

It isn’t polite to be 

asking everyone if you can 

hold their jewelry.”

Gavin loved his mama very much, so he 

figured she knew best about these things. The very next morning, he decided to find his own gold just as she had said.

Gavin spent that first day running all 

over the state of Kansas hunting for 

gold. He looked all over the plains for 

gold that might be hidden under a bush 

or rock. At the end of the day, Gavin had found no gold.

“Mama,” Gavin said at dinner, “I didn’t 

find any gold in Kansas today. So 

tomorrow I am going to look for some in 

Colorado, but I promise to be home for 

dinner.”

“Well, mercy me,” said Gavin’s mama.

The next day, Gavin ran as fast as he 

could to Colorado. He spent the day 

looking all over the state for gold. That afternoon, he was resting close to a 

river before starting home. As he 

relaxed, Gavin Goldie noticed a twinkle 

out of the corner of his eye, about 

half way up the mountain.

He ran to the spot where the sun was 

glittering off the side of the mountain. Gavin bent down to examine the twinkle 

closer and saw a vein of silver between 

two big rocks. Gavin moved both of the 

boulders aside and found a huge store of silver in the side of the mountain. He 

gathered as much silver as he could with his pick and then ran home.

“Mercy, Gavin Goldie,” said his mama when she saw the huge pile of silver. 

“That much silver 

will pay our bills 

for the next five years!”

“You can have it, Mama” and answered 

Gavin. “I just want to find some gold to 

make my own gold rings. You know 

it is my favorite. 

I will explore further west 

to find gold. 

I might be gone for a couple of days.”

The next day, Gavin Goldie left in search of his gold. Three days passed, and his 

mama decided to go to town to buy supplies with her new silver. As she pulled 

up to the town store,

she heard a commotion. 

When she turned, 

she saw Gavin Goldie 

running toward town with 

the biggest backpack 

she had ever seen. 

All the townspeople had come out 

to see and cheer.

“Mama!” called Gavin 

as he ran to her side. 

“I found my gold!” 

Gavin opened his pack 

and showed his mama 

the biggest pile of gold 

she had ever seen. 

All the townspeople 

had come out to see and cheer.

“I ran all the way to California! 

The gold is everywhere in California!

It is lying on the ground, 

in the streams, and under huge rocks! 

Now I can make as many 

gold rings as I want!”

All the townspeople stood amazed at the 

pile of gold they saw. They were so 

excited about the news that the entire 

town decided to move to California as 

fast as possible to find gold for 

themselves. And this started the largest gold rush in American history!

Recognize distinguishing features of tall tales, including exaggeration

Question ID: Q11101020

Skill Level: EASY

Which of the following statements best 

describes why “Gavin Goldie, 

Gold Rusher” is a tall tale? (A)

A. The main character has superhuman 

qualities.

B. The passage contains facts about an 

  event.

C. The characters are all humans.

D. The setting is in current times.

Recognize the author's purpose 

in writing tall tales

Question ID: Q11101027

Skill Level: MEDIUM

Why did the author write “Gavin Goldie, 

Gold Rusher”? (A)

A. To provide the reader with 

entertainment

B. To persuade the reader to try to find     gold

C. To give information about an ancient 

 culture

D. To tell a true story about an 

  important person

Learn the meanings of grade-level and 

content vocabulary words in context

Question ID: Q11101033

Skill Level: MEDIUM

Gavin Goldie was born in Kansas during 

pioneer times.

What is the meaning of the word pioneer 

in this sentence from the passage? (D)

A. One who opens up new areas of thought

B. One who ventures into familiar 

territory

C. A soldier who performs construction

D. Of or related to early settlers

Recognize the difference between 

homophones and homographs

Question ID: Q11101041

Skill Level: MEDIUM

Which of the words from the paragraph is an example of a homograph? (C)

A. Mountain

B. Twinkle

C. Close

D. Eye

Use context clues to determine the 

meaning of homophones and 

homographs

Question ID: Q11101039

Skill Level: MEDIUM

Gavin’s keen eyes saw a tiny sparkle of gold under the wall board in the kitchen.

Based on context clues, what is the meaning of board in this sentence from the passage?   (C)

A. To receive meals and lodging

B. To enter a vehicle or ship

C. A flat slab of wood

D. Tired and dull

Identify homophones as answers to 

riddles

Question ID: Q11101040

Skill Level: MEDIUM

Which sentence uses the homophone 

correctly? (C)

A. Gavin enjoyed hiking in the mountains to sea nature.

B. Gavin gathered would to heat her 

mother’s stove.

C. Gavin knew his parents wanted the best    for him.

D. Gavin was able to run quickly on his 

 bare feat.

Identify similarities and differences in 

the treatment of a topic in tall tales and 

informational texts

Question ID: Q11101107

Skill Level: EASY

In “This History of Gold Rushers” what 

does the author include to make the topic different from “Gavin Goldie, Gold 

Rusher”? (D)

A. The author uses his imagination to 

create a factual story about 

the gold rush.

B. The author tells a narrative story 

about his experience in the gold rush.

C. The author tries to persuade 

the reader to go on a search for gold.

D. The author does research and uses 

facts to write the passage.

Identify similarities and differences 

in the treatment of a topic in tall tales 

and informational texts

Question ID: Q11101109

Skill Level: HARD

If the author were to write another 

informational text to go with 

“The History of 

Gold Rushers,” what would be the most 

likely topic he or she would choose? (A)

A. The Alaskan gold rush

B. The history of covered wagons

C. Paul Bunyan’s search for silver

D. A boy’s dream of finding treasure

Recognize that reading ahead is a 

strategy to improve reading 

comprehension of fiction and 

nonfiction texts

Question ID: Q11101106

Skill Level: EASY

He ran to the spot where the sun was 

glittering off the side of the mountain.

One reader reached this sentence and did not know the meaning of glittering in 

“Gavin Goldie, Gold Rusher.” What should 

the reader do to understand the world? (D)

A. Skip ahead to the end to try to find 

the glossary to learn the word’s meaning.

B. Reread the passage from the beginning to find an example of the word.

C. Take the passage to a friend to ask 

the word’s meaning.

D. Read ahead until he or she reads 

what the word means.

Use reading ahead as a strategy to 

increase comprehension

Question ID: Q11101110

Skill Level: EASY

As she pulled up to the town store, 

she heard a commotion.

One reader did not know the meaning of 

the word commotion while reading and 

chose to read ahead. Which phrase shows 

what the word means? (D)

A. When she turned

B. Gavin Goldie running

C. Gavin opened his pack

D. People had come out to see and cheer