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 25 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.
Pandora opens a jar she was told to keep shut, and troubles fly out into the world.
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.
Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off.
A.why bears have short tails
B.why spiders spin webs
C.why the sky is high above us
D.why there are troubles in the world
2.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
A hare offers itself as food to a hungry stranger, who puts the hare's picture up in the night sky.
Prometheus steals fire from the gods and carries it down to people.
Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say.
Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land.
A.why there is a hare shape on the moon
B.why there are deserts
C.how people first got fire
D.why we hear echoes
3.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
Tortoise tricks the birds at a feast, they take back the feathers they lent him, and he falls.
Sun and Moon invite Water to visit; Water fills their house, so they climb up to live above it.
Maui catches the sun with ropes and makes it promise to cross the sky more slowly.
Anansi tries to hide all the world's wisdom in a pot, but drops it and the wisdom scatters.
A.why a tortoise's shell looks cracked
B.why the sun and moon are in the sky
C.why the days are long enough to work in
D.why everybody has a little wisdom
LessonPrint · RL.3.2 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What Does the Myth Explain?
Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. 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. Arachne boasts she weaves better than the goddess Athena and is turned into a spider. — B (why spiders spin webs) 3. People cut pieces off the sky to eat and waste them, so the sky moves far away from them. — C (why the sky is high above us) 4. Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off. — A (why bears have short tails)
2.1. A hare offers itself as food to a hungry stranger, who puts the hare's picture up in the night sky. — A (why there is a hare shape on the moon) 2. Prometheus steals fire from the gods and carries it down to people. — C (how people first got fire) 3. Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say. — D (why we hear echoes) 4. Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land. — B (why there are deserts)
3.1. 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) 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. Maui catches the sun with ropes and makes it promise to cross the sky more slowly. — C (why the days are long enough to work in) 4. Anansi tries to hide all the world's wisdom in a pot, but drops it and the wisdom scatters. — D (why everybody has a little wisdom)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.