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4th grade reading comprehension
4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.4.8, RI.6.6, RL.4.2, RL.5.2 · England: Y5/6 Reading, KS2 SATs Reading, Y5/6 Reading (themes)
Name
Date
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A Letter to the Council
Dear Councillors,
I am writing to ask you not to close Elm Street Library. I am nine years old, and the library is one of the most important places in our town.
First, the library helps children learn. Every Saturday, there is a story club where younger children listen to stories and older children like me read aloud. Many families cannot afford to buy lots of books, but at the library everyone can borrow them for free.
Second, the library is not just for children. My neighbour, Mr Haddad, goes there every week to use the computers because he does not have one at home. He uses them to apply for jobs and to talk to his grandchildren in another country.
Some people say that everything is online now, so we do not need libraries. However, not everyone has the internet at home, and a website cannot give you a quiet, warm place to study or a librarian who helps you find exactly the right book.
Please keep our library open. It belongs to all of us.
Yours faithfully, Priya Shah
Question 1
Read "A Letter to the Council". How does Priya organise her reasons?
- A. as a poem
- B. in alphabetical order
- C. as a list of questions
- D. with the words First and Second
Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility
Good morning, everyone. Last Saturday, twenty-three pupils from this school spent three hours on Sandy Bay beach. We collected forty-one bags of rubbish. Forty-one. Bottles, crisp packets, fishing line, a shoe, and – I promise you this is true – an entire garden chair.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "It's not my rubbish. Why should I pick it up?" And you're right: most of us didn't drop it. But here's the thing. The seal pup that gets tangled in that fishing line doesn't care whose fault it was. The toddler who cuts her foot on broken glass doesn't care either.
That beach belongs to all of us. We swim there in summer. We walk our dogs there in winter. Some of us learned to ride our bikes on the promenade. If it belongs to all of us, then looking after it belongs to all of us too.
So I'm asking you for just one thing. Not money. Not your whole weekend. Just two hours, on the first Saturday of next month. Bring gloves, bring a friend, bring your little brother if you have to.
Because if twenty-three of us can fill forty-one bags, imagine what four hundred of us could do.
Thank you.
Question 2
Read "Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility". How does the speaker make the ending powerful?
- A. She tells a sad story.
- B. She uses the earlier numbers to imagine a much bigger result.
- C. She introduces a new problem.
- D. She lists rules for the clean-up.
A Helicopter on Mars
In February 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars. Tucked underneath it was a passenger: a tiny helicopter called Ingenuity. It weighed only about 1.8 kilograms, a little less than a big bag of flour.
Flying on Mars is much harder than flying on Earth. The air on Mars is extremely thin, about one hundredth as thick as the air we breathe. Helicopter blades push against the air to lift off, so with so little air, Ingenuity's blades had to spin very fast: about 2,400 times a minute.
On 19 April 2021, Ingenuity rose about three metres into the Martian sky, hovered for about forty seconds and landed again. It was the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. Engineers on Earth cheered, even though the radio signals took several minutes to reach them.
Ingenuity was only meant to make five test flights. Instead, it made 72. It scouted ahead for the rover, taking photos of rocks and slopes so that drivers on Earth could choose safe routes.
In January 2024, one of Ingenuity's blades was damaged during a landing, and the mission ended. The little helicopter still sits on Mars today, and engineers are already using what they learned to design bigger flying machines for future missions.
Question 3
Read "A Helicopter on Mars". Which is the best summary?
- A. Mars has thin air.
- B. Helicopters are the best way to travel.
- C. A small helicopter made the first powered flight on Mars and flew far more times than planned, helping future missions.
- D. Ingenuity weighed about 1.8 kilograms.
Message in a Bottle (a poem)
I am a bottle, empty and light,
tossed from a boat on a bright summer night.
No note inside me, no secret to tell,
just plastic and air and a sea-salty smell.
The ocean is patient, the ocean is wide;
it rocks me and rolls me from tide to tide.
A turtle swims near me and stares at my shine.
I am not a jellyfish. Please, don't you dine!
I'll drift for a lifetime, I'll drift for a few,
I'll crumble to pieces too tiny for you.
But somebody somewhere could carry me back,
a hand on the beach and a bin in a sack.
So here is my message, though no one wrote it:
the sea keeps whatever we throw. Don't forget it.
Question 4
Read "Message in a Bottle (a poem)". What is the main message of the poem?
- A. Summer nights at sea are beautiful.
- B. Litter we throw into the sea stays there and causes harm.
- C. Bottles make good homes for turtles.
- D. Everyone should send messages in bottles.
Question 5
The heart is a muscle about the size of your fist. It pumps blood around your body through tubes called blood vessels. What is the author's main purpose?
- A. to inform readers about the heart
- B. to describe a painting
- C. to persuade readers to exercise
- D. to entertain with a story
The Climbing Wall
The climbing wall at the leisure centre was twelve metres high, and from the bottom it looked like a mountain covered in brightly coloured sweets. Jaya had watched her older cousin, Ravi, scramble to the top of it a dozen times. Today was her first turn.
The instructor clipped the rope to her harness and checked the knot twice. "Remember," she said, "use your legs, not just your arms. And don't look down until you're ready."
The first few holds were easy. Jaya climbed quickly, buoyed by Ravi's cheers. But halfway up, the holds grew smaller and farther apart. Her arms began to burn. She looked down – and immediately wished she hadn't. The floor seemed impossibly far away, and her legs began to tremble.
"I want to come down," she called.
"You can," the instructor answered calmly. "Or you can rest. Lean back into the harness. The rope's got you."
Jaya didn't believe her. But slowly, she let her weight sink back. The rope held. Her breathing steadied. She looked at the wall in front of her, not at the floor, and noticed a small yellow hold to her right that she hadn't seen before.
Ten minutes later, she slapped the top of the wall. The leisure centre erupted in cheers – or at least Ravi did, which felt like the same thing.
Question 6
Read "The Climbing Wall". Which theme best fits the story?
- A. Staying calm and trusting support can help us overcome fear.
- B. You should never take risks.
- C. Climbing is too dangerous for children.
- D. Older cousins are always better at sports.
The Mapmaker's Apprentice
Ines had worked in Master Corvo's shop for three years, and in all that time he had never let her draw a single line on a real map. She ground his inks, stretched his parchment and swept up the shavings from his quills. When she asked why she could not draw, he only said, "A mapmaker must first learn to see."
So Ines watched. She watched sailors come in, sunburnt and impatient, to buy charts of the southern coast. She watched merchants argue over which mountain pass was fastest. Most of all, she watched Master Corvo, who spent far longer listening to travellers than he did holding his pen.
One winter morning, a fisherman stumbled into the shop, soaked and shaking. A storm had pushed his boat far north, past the edge of every chart in the city. He had found a narrow channel between two islands that no map showed, and it had saved his life.
Master Corvo was in bed with a fever. The fisherman was leaving on the evening tide.
Ines hesitated only for a moment. Then she sat the fisherman by the fire and asked him questions — not just where the channel was, but how the water changed colour near the rocks, where the gulls gathered, how long it took to row from one island to the other. She wrote down every answer. Only when she had heard everything did she pick up a pen.
When Master Corvo recovered, she laid the new chart in front of him. He studied it for a long time without speaking. Then he took his own pen, signed his name in the corner, and beneath it, for the first time, he wrote hers.
Question 7
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". What does Ines's way of questioning the fisherman show?
- A. She is impatient to finish quickly.
- B. She wants to become a fisherman.
- C. She has learned her master's method of listening before drawing.
- D. She does not trust the fisherman.
Question 8
Read "The Mapmaker's Apprentice". Which statement best expresses a theme of the story?
- A. Patient observation is the foundation of real skill.
- B. Fishermen are the bravest people.
- C. Maps are more important than people.
- D. Masters should never trust apprentices.
Pepper's First Week: A Diary
Saturday. Today we collected Pepper from the rescue centre. She is a skinny brown dog with one floppy ear and one ear that stands straight up. In the car, she shook the whole way home, and I held her blanket so she could smell it. I felt nervous too.
Sunday. Pepper hid behind the sofa all day. Mum says rescue dogs sometimes need time to trust people because they do not know what is going to happen next. I lay on the floor and read my comic out loud so she could get used to my voice.
Tuesday. A breakthrough! When I got back from school, Pepper crept out and sniffed my shoes. Then she licked my hand. I stayed completely still, although I wanted to cheer.
Thursday. We went to the park on her lead. A bicycle rang its bell, and Pepper jumped behind my legs. I knelt down and talked to her calmly until her tail started wagging again.
Friday. Tonight Pepper fell asleep with her head on my foot. I didn't move for an hour, even though my foot went numb. I think she has decided she lives here now.
Question 9
Read "Pepper's First Week: A Diary". Which word best describes the writer?
- A. careless
- B. patient
- C. impatient
- D. bossy
Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?
Every evening, in homes across the country, the same battle takes place: tired children, frustrated parents and a worksheet that nobody wants to finish. It is time for primary schools to ban homework.
The most important reason is that, for young children, the evidence for homework is weak. Several large reviews of research have found that homework has little measurable effect on the test results of pupils under eleven. Older students may benefit, but for younger children, the hours spent on worksheets do not seem to pay off.
Second, children need time to play, rest and be with their families. Play is not a waste of time; it builds creativity, problem-solving and friendships. A child who has spent six hours concentrating at school deserves an evening to explore, read for pleasure or simply be bored – which is when imagination often kicks in.
Some people argue that homework teaches responsibility. This is a fair point. However, children can learn responsibility in many other ways: feeding a pet, helping to cook dinner or practising an instrument they have chosen themselves.
Finally, homework can be unfair. Some children have parents who can help them every night and a quiet desk to work at. Others share a small space with siblings or have parents who work late. Homework can widen the gap between these children instead of closing it.
Schools should replace homework with something simple: read every day, for fun. That is one habit worth taking home.
Question 10
Read "Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?". Why does the writer open with a description of an evening 'battle'?
- A. to grab attention with a situation readers recognise
- B. to argue that parents are lazy
- C. to give statistical evidence
- D. to describe a real war
Question 11
The old fisherman had caught nothing for days. Still, every morning he rowed out. On the ninth day, his net came up full. What is the theme?
- A. Old people should rest.
- B. Fishing is boring.
- C. The sea is dangerous.
- D. Perseverance can pay off.
Question 12
Wind turbines turn moving air into electricity. The wind spins the blades, which turn a generator inside the tower. Wind power does not burn fuel, so it does not release smoke, but turbines only work when the wind blows. Which is the best summary?
- A. Wind turbines are the best invention ever.
- B. Turbines have blades.
- C. There is a generator in the tower.
- D. Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.
The Margin
Zainab had read the library book three times before she noticed the handwriting.
It was in the margin of page 112, so faint she had taken it for a smudge. In tiny, slanted letters, someone had written: "Don't trust the narrator." Underneath, in different ink and a rounder hand, someone else had replied: "Why not?" And beneath that, in the first writer's slant: "Read chapter 9 again."
She read chapter 9 again. Then she read it a fourth time, and a fifth, and on the sixth she saw it – a single sentence where the narrator claimed to have been at home when, three chapters earlier, he had described himself on a train. A lie, hidden in plain sight. The whole story tilted, like a picture knocked crooked on a wall.
Zainab sat back. She checked the date stamps on the card inside the front cover. The book had been borrowed forty-seven times since 1994. Somewhere among those forty-seven readers were two people who had held a conversation across years without ever meeting.
She found a pencil. For a long time she hesitated over the page, feeling as if she were about to speak in a room full of strangers. Then, carefully, beneath the other two, she wrote: "Found it. Thank you."
When she returned the book, the librarian frowned at the pencil marks. Zainab apologised. But as she walked home, she wondered who would be next to find them.
Question 13
Read "The Margin". What is the effect of the final sentence?
- A. It suggests the chain of readers will continue.
- B. It ends the story with a twist about the librarian.
- C. It reveals who the first writer was.
- D. It shows Zainab regrets writing.
Question 14
Read the question. Which source is a FIRST-HAND account of a volcano erupting?
- A. a poster about famous volcanoes
- B. a scientist's notes written while watching the eruption
- C. a TV quiz about volcanoes
- D. a textbook chapter about volcanoes
The Lemonade Stand
Marcus wanted a new bike helmet, but it cost twenty dollars. He had only five.
"Why not set up a lemonade stand?" suggested his grandmother. She helped him squeeze a big bowl of lemons and stir in sugar and cold water. Marcus painted a sign that said LEMONADE – 50 CENTS.
On Saturday morning, Marcus put his table at the end of the driveway. For the first hour, nobody came. Cars zoomed past. Marcus began to think it was a silly idea.
Then he noticed that people were walking to the park across the road for a football match. He picked up his sign and moved the table right next to the park gate. Within ten minutes, a line had formed. By lunchtime, the jug was empty.
Marcus counted his coins. He had earned exactly fifteen dollars. With the five he already had, it was enough.
"You did it!" said Grandma.
"We did it," said Marcus. "And next time, I'll think about where the customers are before I start."
Question 15
Read "The Lemonade Stand". What problem did Marcus have during the first hour?
- A. Nobody came to buy lemonade.
- B. The lemonade was too sour.
- C. It started to rain.
- D. He lost his money.
The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment
For one month, students at Brookfield School tried something unusual: no phones at lunch. Phones stayed in lockers from twelve until one, and the dining hall filled with board games, sketchbooks and a lot more noise.
The idea came from the student council. In a survey, 61 per cent of students said they spent most of lunch looking at a screen, and many said they wanted a break but found it hard to stop on their own.
At first, not everyone was happy. "I thought it was a punishment," admitted Jaden, 12. "But after a week I'd learned to play chess, and now I actually look forward to lunch."
Teachers noticed changes too. Ms Ortega, who supervises the hall, said there were fewer arguments and more students sitting in mixed groups. However, some students said they missed messaging family members during the day.
The council will now vote on whether to keep the rule. One suggestion is a compromise: phone-free Mondays to Thursdays, with Fridays left free.
Question 16
Read "The Phone-Free Lunch Experiment". How did Jaden's attitude change?
- A. He became angrier each week.
- B. He stopped coming to lunch.
- C. He went from seeing the rule as a punishment to looking forward to lunch.
- D. He never noticed the rule.
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