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A Night Under the Desert Sky

3rd Grade Common Core RL.3.1 Diary 167 words ⏱ 20 minESL A1–A2

A diary page about a family camping night near Mitzpe Ramon: a sky full of stars, the Milky Way and a shooting star.

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Name: ______________________   Date: ____________

Thursday, 10 p.m. Dear Diary, I am writing this by the light of my flashlight, inside our tent near Mitzpe Ramon. We drove here this afternoon, and Dad and I put up the tent before the sun went down. It was harder than it looks!

After dinner, Mom turned off all the lights. At first I couldn't see anything. Then, slowly, my eyes got used to the dark, and the sky was full of stars. There were more stars than I ever saw in the city. Mom showed us the Milky Way. It looked like a long white cloud across the sky.

The desert is hot in the day, but now it is really cold. I am wearing two sweaters and a hat. My brother Jacob is already asleep in his sleeping bag.

One more thing: I saw a shooting star! I made a wish, but I can't write it here, or it won't come true. Tomorrow we are going to walk in the crater. Good night!

📘 Word bank
flashlight
a small light you hold in your hand
tent
a shelter made of cloth that you sleep in outdoors
got used to
became comfortable with something new
Milky Way
the band of stars you can see across the night sky
sleeping bag
a warm bag you sleep in when camping
shooting star
a bright line of light that moves fast across the night sky
crater
a big round hole in the ground

✏️ Questions

  1. Key details

    Where is the family camping?

  2. Key details

    Who put up the tent?

  3. Inference

    Why could the writer see so many stars in the desert?

  4. Key details

    What did the Milky Way look like?

  5. Key details

    What is the writer wearing to stay warm?

  6. Reference words

    In paragraph 3, who does "his" refer to in "his sleeping bag"?

  7. Inference

    Why doesn't the writer write the wish in the diary?

  8. Key details

    What is the family going to do tomorrow?

Questions

  1. Where is the family camping?

    1. On the beach in Eilat.
    2. Near Mitzpe Ramon.
    3. In a forest in the Galilee.
    4. In their garden in the city.

  2. Who put up the tent?

    ______________________________________________________________

  3. Why could the writer see so many stars in the desert?

    1. It was very dark, far from the lights of the city.
    2. Mom had a big telescope.
    3. The moon was very bright.
    4. It had rained before.

  4. What did the Milky Way look like?

    1. A bright moon.
    2. A big red star.
    3. A plane in the sky.
    4. A long white cloud.

  5. What is the writer wearing to stay warm?

    ______________________________________________________________

  6. In paragraph 3, who does "his" refer to in "his sleeping bag"?

    1. Dad.
    2. The writer.
    3. Jacob.
    4. A neighbor.

  7. Why doesn't the writer write the wish in the diary?

    1. The writer forgot the wish.
    2. The writer thinks the wish will not come true if it is written.
    3. Jacob reads the diary every day.
    4. The flashlight stopped working.

  8. What is the family going to do tomorrow?

    ______________________________________________________________

Answer key

  1. b) Near Mitzpe Ramon.
  2. The writer and Dad.
  3. a) It was very dark, far from the lights of the city.
  4. d) A long white cloud.
  5. Two sweaters and a hat.
  6. c) Jacob.
  7. b) The writer thinks the wish will not come true if it is written.
  8. Walk in the crater.

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