What Does the Myth Explain? is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on matching an origin myth to the thing in the world it explains, aligned to Common Core standard RL.3.2. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 2 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
What Does the Myth Explain?
RL.3.2
NameDate
Write the letter of the match next to each one.
1.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
Anansi tries to hide all the world's wisdom in a pot, but drops it and the wisdom scatters.
Arachne boasts she weaves better than the goddess Athena and is turned into a spider.
People cut pieces off the sky to eat and waste them, so the sky moves far away from them.
Pandora opens a jar she was told to keep shut, and troubles fly out into the world.
A.why everybody has a little wisdom
B.why the sky is high above us
C.why spiders spin webs
D.why there are troubles in the world
2.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and turns into a flower.
Persephone eats pomegranate seeds in the underworld, so each year she must go back there and her mother Demeter grieves.
Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off.
Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land.
A.why bears have short tails
B.where the narcissus flower comes from
C.why the year has seasons
D.why there are deserts
3.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say.
Sun and Moon invite Water to visit; Water fills their house, so they climb up to live above it.
Tortoise tricks the birds at a feast, they take back the feathers they lent him, and he falls.
Prometheus steals fire from the gods and carries it down to people.
A.why a tortoise's shell looks cracked
B.why the sun and moon are in the sky
C.how people first got fire
D.why we hear echoes
LessonPrint · RL.3.2 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What Does the Myth Explain?
Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Anansi tries to hide all the world's wisdom in a pot, but drops it and the wisdom scatters. — A (why everybody has a little wisdom) 2. Arachne boasts she weaves better than the goddess Athena and is turned into a spider. — C (why spiders spin webs) 3. People cut pieces off the sky to eat and waste them, so the sky moves far away from them. — B (why the sky is high above us) 4. Pandora opens a jar she was told to keep shut, and troubles fly out into the world. — D (why there are troubles in the world)
2.1. Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and turns into a flower. — B (where the narcissus flower comes from) 2. Persephone eats pomegranate seeds in the underworld, so each year she must go back there and her mother Demeter grieves. — C (why the year has seasons) 3. Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off. — A (why bears have short tails) 4. Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land. — D (why there are deserts)
3.1. Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say. — D (why we hear echoes) 2. Sun and Moon invite Water to visit; Water fills their house, so they climb up to live above it. — B (why the sun and moon are in the sky) 3. Tortoise tricks the birds at a feast, they take back the feathers they lent him, and he falls. — A (why a tortoise's shell looks cracked) 4. Prometheus steals fire from the gods and carries it down to people. — C (how people first got fire)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.