Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies - Level 7

Na m e : ___ Date: _

Directions: Read this retelling of an ancient Greek myth. Then, complete the map of story events.

Long ago, there lived a young woman in

Greece whose name was Arachne. There was

nothing she loved more than spinning and

weaving at her loom, making the finest of

cloths. People admired her work and came

from near and far to praise it. Arachne her-

self thought there could be no other person in

all the world who could spin as fine as she.

When asked if she had been taught by the

gods, Arachne responded that she alone had

a gift and perhaps she could teach them!

By and by, a woman came to see Arachne.

She was Athena, queen of the air, and had

heard of her boasting. When Athena asked

Arachne directly who had taught her to spin,

Arachne boldly stuck to her story. Athena,

annoyed by Arachne’s audacity, challenged

her to a spinning contest in which Jupiter

would be the judge. Arachne agreed.

When the contest commenced, Arachne

sat in her garden among the flowers and

insects. Athena sat in the sky. Arachne

spun beautiful webbed patterns and the

gods were in awe. Then Athena began to

spin. She used the gold of the sunlight, the

fleece of the clouds, the deep green of the

moss, and the blue of the sky. At once

Jupiter declared Athena the winner, and

Arachne was banned from ever using a

loom again.

But, Athena felt pity for the girl. She

touched her with a magic needle, and at

once she was turned into a spider. She was

left in the garden to spin to her heart’s

content.

It is said that she remains there still,

spinning and weaving marvelous webs.

Perhaps you have seen her yourself.

event 1

event 2

event 3

event 5 event 4

event 6