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 6 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.
Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and turns into a flower.
Prometheus steals fire from the gods and carries it down to people.
A hare offers itself as food to a hungry stranger, who puts the hare's picture up in the night sky.
Sun and Moon invite Water to visit; Water fills their house, so they climb up to live above it.
A.how people first got fire
B.why there is a hare shape on the moon
C.where the narcissus flower comes from
D.why the sun and moon are in the sky
2.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.
Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land.
Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off.
Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say.
A.why there are deserts
B.why we hear echoes
C.why everybody has a little wisdom
D.why bears have short tails
3.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
People cut pieces off the sky to eat and waste them, so the sky moves far away from them.
Tortoise tricks the birds at a feast, they take back the feathers they lent him, and he falls.
Persephone eats pomegranate seeds in the underworld, so each year she must go back there and her mother Demeter grieves.
Maui catches the sun with ropes and makes it promise to cross the sky more slowly.
A.why the days are long enough to work in
B.why the sky is high above us
C.why a tortoise's shell looks cracked
D.why the year has seasons
LessonPrint · RL.3.2 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What Does the Myth Explain?
Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and turns into a flower. — C (where the narcissus flower comes from) 2. Prometheus steals fire from the gods and carries it down to people. — A (how people first got fire) 3. A hare offers itself as food to a hungry stranger, who puts the hare's picture up in the night sky. — B (why there is a hare shape on the moon) 4. Sun and Moon invite Water to visit; Water fills their house, so they climb up to live above it. — D (why the sun and moon are in the sky)
2.1. Anansi tries to hide all the world's wisdom in a pot, but drops it and the wisdom scatters. — C (why everybody has a little wisdom) 2. Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land. — A (why there are deserts) 3. Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off. — D (why bears have short tails) 4. Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say. — B (why we hear echoes)
3.1. 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) 2. Tortoise tricks the birds at a feast, they take back the feathers they lent him, and he falls. — C (why a tortoise's shell looks cracked) 3. Persephone eats pomegranate seeds in the underworld, so each year she must go back there and her mother Demeter grieves. — D (why the year has seasons) 4. Maui catches the sun with ropes and makes it promise to cross the sky more slowly. — A (why the days are long enough to work in)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.