Hester Street Modified Packet
Day 2 • Modified Edition
The Castle on Hester Street
Part 1: Who is Who? & True vs. Tall Tale
Name:
Date:
1
Meet the Characters
(Read each clue and trace the character's name)
Moishe
The grandfather who tells wild, funny tall tales about gold streets and singing goats.
The Storyteller
Solly
The grandmother who tells the real truth about hard work and their small apartment.
The Truth-Teller
Julie
The granddaughter who listens with love to both sides of her family's history.
The Granddaughter
2
Tall Tale vs. Real Truth
(Choose the word that completes each sentence)
Moishe's Tall Tale:
"I flew across the sea on the back of a singing white goat!"
Solly's Real Truth:
Moishe really crossed the ocean on a crowded, rocky .
steamship rocket
Moishe's Tall Tale:
"We lived in an enormous royal castle with twenty gold rooms!"
Solly's Real Truth:
They really lived in a small two-room apartment.
tenement palace
3
Comprehension Check
(Complete the sentence frames below)
Question A: Where did Moishe and Solly move to make their new home?
They moved across the ocean to on Hester Street.
Question B: What did Moishe really sell from his wooden street pushcart?
Instead of diamonds, Moishe sold real and tin pots.
The Castle on Hester Street • Adapted Reading Packet Page 1 of 4
Day 2 • Modified Edition
Vocabulary Power Words
Part 2: Learn and Use Important Story Words
4 Key Words
Official Word Bank
Immigrant Moves to a new land
Peddler Sells goods on street
Tenement Small city apartment
Tall Tale Wild funny story
A
Match the Word
(Choose the word that fits each definition)
1. A person who moves to a new country to make a better life: Example: Moishe and Solly came from Russia to America.
Immigrant
2. A seller who walks the streets pushing a wooden cart of goods: Example: Moishe pushed his cart selling buttons and thread.
Peddler
3. A busy, crowded city apartment building with narrow stairs: Example: Their home on Hester Street had just two small rooms.
Tenement
4. A funny story full of huge, impossible exaggerations: Example: Flying across the ocean on a singing goat!
Tall Tale
B
Draw & Complete
(Draw Moishe's peddler cart, then fill in the blank)
Draw a pushcart with items
Moishe was a hard-working peddler.
He pushed his cart every day on Street.
His cart was filled with .
The Castle on Hester Street • Adapted Reading Packet Page 2 of 4
Day 2 • Modified Edition
Story Order: Step by Step
Part 3: What Happened First, Next, and Last?
Sequencing
A
Number the Events (1, 2, 3, 4)
(Write 1, 2, 3, or 4 in each circle)
Event A
Moishe boards a crowded steamship to cross the ocean to America.
Event B
Moishe leaves his village in Russia with dreams of a better life.
Event C
Moishe buys a wooden cart and becomes a peddler on Hester Street.
Event D
Solly arrives, they marry, and they share their memories with Julie.
B
The Journey Timeline
(Use the word bank to fill in each stage)
Words to use: Russia Steamship Hester Street
1. First
Moishe began his long journey in the country of:
Home Country
2. Next
He traveled across the ocean on a crowded:
Ocean Voyage
3. Last
He built his home and worked on busy:
New Life
The Castle on Hester Street • Adapted Reading Packet Page 3 of 4
Day 2 • Modified Edition
Mixed Review & Big Ideas
Part 4: Show What You Learned Today
Review
A
Real Fact or Tall Tale?
(Put a check mark in the right box)
Story Detail
Real Fact
Tall Tale
1. Snow in America was made of sparkling diamonds.
2. Immigrants lived in small, crowded tenement apartments.
3. Moishe lived in a gigantic palace with twenty rooms.
B
Big Idea Writing
(Complete the sentence frame below)
Even though Moishe and Solly worked very hard in a small apartment, why was their home like a "castle" to them?
Their home felt like a castle because they had .
Moishe was proud because he worked hard as a .
My Day 2 Reflection
Circle the face that shows how you did today:
🤔 Need Help
👍 Almost There
🌟 I Got It!
The Castle on Hester Street • Adapted Reading Packet Page 4 of 4
