Nate the

Great

Novel Study
Name: _________________________
Before Reading:
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Pre-reading: Look at the cover and the illustrations
throughout the book. Make a prediction of what you
think this book might be about.

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Connect: Have you ever read any other books from

the Nate the Great series? If so, what do you
remember about the stories?

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After Section 1: Pages 7 - 13:

Point of View: From which point of view is this
story written?
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 a. First person (I, me, my)
b. Third person (he, she, they)

Which word(s) or phrase(s) helped you to determine

the point of view?

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Narrative Elements: Complete the narrative

elements.
Characters: Setting:

Reflect: Which is true about Nate the Great?

a) Nate the Great is a detective who likes to
work alongside his father.
b) Nate the Great is a detective who likes to
work alone.

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 c) Nate the Great is a detective who likes to
work with his partner, Annie.

Read for Details: "'Can you help me find it?'" What

did Annie want Nate the Great to help her find?
a) diamonds
b) a million dollars
c) a picture

Reread to Clarify: "'Now I, Nate the Great, will find a

lost picture.'" Make a list of five things Nate has
found in the past.

1) ______________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________

4) ______________________________________________

5) ______________________________________________

Connect: "'Stay right where you are. Don't touch

anything. DON'T MOVE!'" Why do you think Nate the
Great does not want Annie to touch or move
anything until he arrives? Explain your thinking.

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Reflect: "I went to Annie's house." Write three things

you know about Annie up to this point in the story.

1) ______________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________

Reflect: For who did Nate the Great leave a note

before leaving to go to Annie's house?
a) his dog
b) his father
c) his mother

After Section 2: Pages 14 -

21:
Reflect: "'Tell me about your picture.'" What was
Annie's picture of?

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Analyze: "'You should have called me yesterday, while the

trail was hot.'" What did Nate the Great mean when
he said the trail was hot?

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Vocabulary: "'No trapdoors or secret passages?' I said.

'This will be a very dull case.'"
What does the word dull most likely mean?
a) boring; not exciting
b) interesting; exciting
c) fun-loving; joyful
Vocabulary - Synonyms and Antonyms: Write a
synonym (word meaning the same) and an antonym
(word with opposite meaning) for the underlined
word.
"We went to Annie's room. It was big."

Synonym of big: _________________________________

Antonym of big: _________________________________

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Infer: "I, Nate the Great, was sure of one thing. Annie
liked yellow." How does Nate the Great know Annie
really likes the color yellow?

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Reflect/Predict: "I found a picture of a dog." Where

did Nate the Great find a picture of a dog? Do you
think this is the missing picture of Fang?

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After Section 3: Pages 22 - 31:

Cause and Effect: Fill in the cause.

Cause: ___________________________________

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 ___________________________________________
Effect: The picture Nate the Great found in
the wastebasket is not the missing picture of
Fang.

Read for Details: "'Now tell me. Who has seen your
picture?'" According to Annie, who are the three
characters that have seen the missing picture of
Fang?

1) ______________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________

Read for Details: "'Tell me about Fang.'" List three

details Nate the Great learned about Fang.

1) ______________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________

Reread to Clarify: Why did Nate the Great think

Fang might have buried Annie's picture of him?
a) Annie painted the picture on a bone.

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 b) Fang did not think it was a good picture of
him.
c) Fang buries everything and anything he can
fit in his mouth.

Read for Details: "'We will dig in the yard.'" For how
long did Nate and Annie dig in the yard?
a) five minutes
b) one hour
c) two hours

Connect: How would your family react if you dug

up your backyard in search of a picture?

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After Section 4: Pages 32 - 45:

Reflect: "But I must keep up my strength." How did
Nate the Great keep up his strength?
a) Nate the Great did push-ups.
b) Nate the Great ate pancakes.
c) Nate the Great drank orange juice.

Infer: "I could tell Rosamond was a strange girl." Why

does Nate the Great feel Rosamond is a strange girl?

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Read for Details: "'I have four cats.'" What are

Rosamond's cat's names?

1) ______________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________

4) ______________________________________________

Cause and Effect: Fill in the cause.

Cause: ___________________________________

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Effect: "'Time to go.'" Nate the Great was
ready to leave Rosamond's house shortly after
he sat down. (Hint: Why was Nate the Great
ready to leave?)
Reflect: "'Prove you are a detective. Find something.
Find my lost cat.'" Where did Nate the Great find
Super Hex?

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 a) Under the chair he was sitting on.
b) Under Rosamond's bed.
c) Under the kitchen table.

Reread to Clarify: "'Rosamond did not take the picture

of your dog.'" Why does Nate believe Rosamond did
not take Annie's picture of Fang?

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After Section 5: Pages 46 - 63:

Infer: "'He painted you. He painted you.'" How did
Nate the Great feel when Harry painted him?
a) Nate the Great was very happy with Harry's
painting.
b) Nate the Great was upset because he did not
think the painting looked anything like him.
c) Nate the Great was upset, he did not find the
humor in Harry painting him.

Reread to Clarify: "'I, Nate the Great, have found your

picture.'" Where did Nate the Great find the missing
picture? Describe how Nate solved the case of the
missing picture.

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Cite Evidence: Cite one piece of evidence from the

chapter to support the following statement:
Annie was not happy with Harry after Nate the
Great solved the case.

1) ______________________________________________

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Read for Details: "'I don't know how to thank you.'"

How did Annie thank Nate for solving the case?
a) Annie paid Nate five dollars.
b) Annie fed Nate pancakes.
c) Annie gave Nate a hug.

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Infer: Which best describes the mood at the
conclusion of the story?
a) alarming; upsetting
b) joyful; happy
c) sad; miserable

Reflect: "I was glad I was wearing my rubbers." Why

was Nate glad he was wearing his rubbers?

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After Finishing the Story:

Character Traits: Identify and describe one
character trait of Nate the Great.

● Use one piece of evidence from the text to

support your answer.
● Circle your character trait and underline your
evidence from the story.

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Author’s Purpose: What was the author’s purpose

for writing Nate the Great?
a) Persuade
b) Inform
c) Entertain
Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Rating: How many stars would you

rate this book?
● 1 being terrible and 5 being awesome.

● Be sure to color or shade your rating!

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Connect: Would you hire Nate the Great to solve a
mystery? Why or why not? Explain your thinking.

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Create Mental Images: Good readers form pictures

in their mind as they read. Draw a picture of your
favorite part of this book. Write a caption under your
picture to describe your drawing.

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Sequence of Events: Put the events in order from

first to last using the numbers 1 - 6.
_____ Nate goes to Annie's house. Annie tells
Nate about the picture. Nate checks out
Annie's bedroom. Annie tells Nate the
people who have seen the picture.
_____ Annie offers Nate pancakes. Nate and
Annie go to Rosamond's house. Nate finds
Super Hex. Rosamond is thrilled.
_____ Nate meets Fang. Nate watches Fang
bury a bone. Nate and Annie dig in
Annie's backyard searching for the
picture.

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_____ Nate solves the case. He
explains Harry painted over
Annie's picture. Annie treats
Nate to pancakes for solving
_____ Annie calls Nate the Great and asks him
to find a lost picture. Nate the Great
takes the case.
_____ Nate meets Annie's brother. Harry
covers Nate in red paint. Nate is not
pleased with Harry.

Nate the Great

Word Jumble

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What did the duck detective say to his partner?

Nate the Great

Word Search
L S A E A I G D Y N X X B H P
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V S T N T N J N E S O D B J A
W F N A I A Q O V E S A C D N
F I R G C K N M I M W R U S C
E E G D V O F A T Q Z P X T A
W I I H E O X S C J Q A Y E K
D P X N H B P O E P T N G Z E
X W S Q A E J R T F A N G P S
G P E H R T L G E V A T A N B
G D K P R O F U D R E S V M P
T R Q F Y N I N O R S B K M T
V R E T S N O M C A L Y N M S
Z C K A J C S E G O I N C Q X
E M G W T I S E S P A I N T L
Y E L L O W S T E R U T C I P
ANNIE NATE
CASE NOTEBOOK
CATS ORANGE
DETECTIVE PAINT
DIGGING PANCAKES
FANG PASSAGES
GREAT PICTURE
HARRY ROSAMOND
LOST SECRET
MONSTER YELLOW
Nate the Great
Maze

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Help Nate the Great find the picture.

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