1. OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA
Peggy Rathmann

2. VOCABULARY

3. Please pay attention and listen carefully to the instructions.
be watchful

4. Stand in line next to your field
buddy
Stand in line next to your field
trip buddy.
friend - partner

5. No one wants to have an accident.
not meant to happen

6. tip
That’s a good tip.
advice

7. This building is enormous. It would be easy to get lost.
huge – very large

8. When everyone obeys the rules everyone will stay safe.
follow

9. Officer Buckle
and
GLORIA

10. Officer Buckle knew more safety tips than anyone else in Napville.
Every time he thought of a new one,
he thumbtacked it to his
bulletin board. # # #

11. Never stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR.
Safety Tip #77
Never stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR.

12. Officer Buckle shared his safety tips
with the students at Napville School.
Nobody ever listened.
Sometimes, there was snoring.
Afterward, it was business as usual.

14. Mrs. Topple, the principal, took down the welcome banner.
“NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR,”
said Officer Buckle, but Mrs. Topple
didn’t hear him.

15. Then one day, Napville’s police department bought a police dog
named Gloria.
When it was time for Officer Buckle
to give a safety speech at the
school, Gloria went along.

17. “Children, this is Gloria,” announced
Officer Buckle “Gloria obeys my commands.”
“Gloria, SIT!”
And Gloria sat.

18. “Keep your Shoelaces tied!” The children sat up and stared.
Officer Buckle gave
Safety Tip Number One:
“Keep your Shoelaces tied!”
The children sat up and stared.

19. Officer Buckle checked to see if Gloria was sitting at attention.
She was.

20. “Safety Tip Number Two,” said Officer Buckle.
“ALWAYS wipe up spills BEFORE someone SLIPS AND FALLS!”

21. The children’s eyes popped. Officer Buckle checked on Gloria again.
“Good dog,” he said.

22. Officer Buckle thought of a safety tip he had discovered that morning.
“NEVER leave a THUMBTACK where
you might SIT on it!”
The audience roared.

23. Officer Buckle grinned. He said the rest of the tips with plenty of
expression.
The children clapped their hands and
cheered. Some of them laughed
until they cried.
Officer Buckle was surprised. He
never noticed how funny safety tips
could be.

24. After this safety speech, there wasn’tu
After this safety speech, there wasn’t
a single accident.

25. The next day, an enormous envelope
arrived at the police station. It was
stuffed with Thank-you letters from
students at Napville School.
Every letter had a drawing of
Gloria on it.
Officer Buckle thought the drawings
showed a lot of imagination.

26. Thank you Officer Buckle
and Gloria.

27. His favorite letter was written on a star-shaped piece of paper.
It said:
You and Gloria make a good team.
Your friend,
Claire
P.S. I always wear a crash helmet
( Safety Tip #7 )

28. Officer Buckle was thumbtacking Clair’s letter to his bulletin board
when the phones started ringing.
Grade schools, high schools, and
day-care centers were calling about
the safety speech.

29. “Officer Buckle,” they said, “our students want to hear your
safety tips! And please, bring along
that police dog.”

30. Officer Buckle told his tips to 313 schools.
Everywhere he and Gloria went, children
sat up and listened.
After every speech, Officer Buckle took Gloria
out for ice cream. Officer Buckle loved
having a buddy.

31. Then one day, a television news team videotaped Officer Buckle in the
state college auditorium.
When he finished Safety Tip Number
Ninety-nine,
DO NOT GO SWIMMING DURING
ELECTRICAL STORMS!,
The students jumped to their feet
and applauded.

32. “Bravo! Bravo!” they cheered.
Officer Buckle bowed
again and again.
BRAVO! BRAVO!

33. That night, Officer Buckle watched himself on the 10 o’clock news.

34. The next day, the principal of Napville
School telephoned the police station.
“Good morning, Officer Buckle! It’s
time for our safety speech!”
“I’m not giving any more speeches!
Nobody looks at me, anyway!”
“Oh,” said Mrs. Toppel. “Well! How
about Gloria? Could she come?”

35. Someone else from the police station gave Gloria a ride to the school.
Gloria sat onstage looking lonely.
Then she fell asleep. So did the
audience.
After Gloria left, Napville School had
its biggest accident ever…

36. It started with a puddle of banana pudding… SPLAT! SPLATTER! SPLOOSH!
Everyone slid smack into Mrs. Toppel,
who screamed and let go of her
hammer.

37. Mrs. Toppel let go of her hammer!

38. The next morning, a pile of letters arrived at the police station.
Every letter had a drawing of the
accident.
Officer buckle was shocked.
At the bottom of the pile was a note
written on a paper star.
Officer Buckle smiled.

39. The note said: Gloria missed you yesterday. Your friend, Claire
P.S. Don’t worry, I was
wearing my helmet.
Safety Tip #7

40. Gloria gave Officer Buckle a big kiss on the nose. Officer Buckle
gave Gloria a nice pat on the back.
Then, Officer Buckle thought of his
best safety tip yet…

41. Safety Tip # 101
“ALWAYS STICK
WITH YOUR
BUDDY!”

42. Check What You Know
Thumbtack is a compound word. You can tell from the two parts of the word that a thumb tack is:
a. A tool used to hammer with
b. A pin that you push into a wall using your thumb
c. A way to give others a “thumbs up” sign
d. Something used in a stapler

43. 2. Officer Buckle checked to see if Gloria was sitting at attention.
Which part of speech is the underlined word?
a. Adjective
b. Noun
c. Verb
d. Pronoun

44. NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR said Officer Buckle.
What is the correct way to punctuate the sentence?
a. “NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR,” said Officer Buckle.
b. “NEVER stand on a SWIVEL,” CHAIR said Officer Buckle.
c. “NEVER” stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR said Officer Buckle.
d. “NEVER stand on a SWIVEL CHAIR said,” Officer Buckle.

45. Safety Tip #1: “KEEP your SHOELACES tied.”
What could happen if your shoelaces are left untied?
a. You might trip someone
b. You might run faster
c. You might hop higher
d. You might trip and fall

46. Officer Buckle can play a _______.
a. fluet b. flut c. flute
He plays the same _______ every night.
a. tune b. tun c. tuen
Gloria makes _______ by thumping her tail.
a. muisc b. music c. musik
Officer Buckle got to a pet a _______ at the farm.
a. mule b. mul c. mull

47. He found a shell on the beach behind a sand _______ .
a. dun b. dune c. duan
Officer Buckle got a new puppy named _______ .
a. Duck b. Duk c. Duke
Officer Buckle will _______ his flute to call the puppy.
a. use b. us c. yous
If the flute doesn’t work he will play his _______ .
a. buegl c. buegle c. bugle

48. 13. Which of these words is NOT a compound word?
a. safety b. shoelaces c. thumbtack d. everywhere
“Officer Buckle thought the drawings (of Gloria) showed a lot of imagination.
What does imagination mean?
a. messy work b. creativity c. colors d. safety rules
How do you divide imagination into syllables?
a. imag-i-na-tion b. i-mag-i-na-tion
c. i-magi-na-tion d. im-ag-i-nation
16. What type of story is “Officer Buckle and Gloria”?
a. fiction b. non fiction c. folktale d. biography

49. What is the correct way to make buddy plural?
a. buddys b. buddes c. buddyes d. Buddies
Which is a fact about this story?
a. Gloria is a police dog b. Gloria was silly.
c. Everyone needs a buddy d. Officer Buckle is boring.
Officer Buckle thought the audience was laughing at him. How do you think he felt after seeing himself on the TV?
a. happy b. surprised c. tired d. angry
What event happened first in the story?
a. Officer Buckle didn’t want to give any more speeches.
b. Officer Buckle took Gloria to school.
c. The news crew videotaped Officer Buckle and Gloria.
d. Officer Buckle gave safety speeches alone

50. Connect each word to the definition.
Accident pieces of advice
Attention do what you are told to do
Buddy very, very big
Enormous something that happens by chance
Tip good friend
Obeys watch and listen carefully