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 8 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.
Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say.
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.
Sun and Moon invite Water to visit; Water fills their house, so they climb up to live above it.
A.why spiders spin webs
B.why the sun and moon are in the sky
C.why there are troubles in the world
D.why we hear echoes
2.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.
People cut pieces off the sky to eat and waste them, so the sky moves far away from them.
Anansi tries to hide all the world's wisdom in a pot, but drops it and the wisdom scatters.
Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and turns into a flower.
A.where the narcissus flower comes from
B.why a tortoise's shell looks cracked
C.why the sky is high above us
D.why everybody has a little wisdom
3.Write the letter of what each myth explains.
Persephone eats pomegranate seeds in the underworld, so each year she must go back there and her mother Demeter grieves.
Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land.
A hare offers itself as food to a hungry stranger, who puts the hare's picture up in the night sky.
Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off.
A.why bears have short tails
B.why there is a hare shape on the moon
C.why there are deserts
D.why the year has seasons
LessonPrint · RL.3.2 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What Does the Myth Explain?
Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Echo is cursed so that she can only repeat the last words other people say. — D (why we hear echoes) 2. Pandora opens a jar she was told to keep shut, and troubles fly out into the world. — C (why there are troubles in the world) 3. Arachne boasts she weaves better than the goddess Athena and is turned into a spider. — A (why spiders spin webs) 4. 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)
2.1. Tortoise tricks the birds at a feast, they take back the feathers they lent him, and he falls. — B (why a tortoise's shell looks cracked) 2. 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) 3. 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) 4. Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and turns into a flower. — A (where the narcissus flower comes from)
3.1. 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) 2. Phaethon loses control of the sun's chariot, and it flies so low that it scorches the land. — C (why there are deserts) 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. Fox tricks Bear into fishing with his tail through the ice, and the tail freezes off. — A (why bears have short tails)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.