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Comprehension Exercise5th GradeLevel 2 · Standard

Free 5th Grade Students Give Creek a Second Chance — Reading Comprehension

A news-style article about an elementary school environment club cleaning up a local creek. Students locate facts and quotes, infer what people mean by what they say, and learn how journalists structure a report. Ends with a summary and a persuasive paragraph.

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Grade
5th Grade
Subject
English
Topic
Reading Comprehension
Difficulty
Level 2 · Standard
Estimated time
25 minutes
Curriculum
Texas grade levels (TEKS)
Questions
14
Answers
Included, with working
Format
PDF (A4), print or complete online

Students will practice

  • locating facts and quotes in a news article
  • inferring meaning from quoted speech
  • identifying the purpose of details in a report
  • summarizing a text in a few sentences

Curriculum: Texas grade levels (TEKS). We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.

What's next?

Completed: Students Give Creek a Second Chance — Reading Comprehension

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  4. 4Commas in Direct Address, Titles, and Abbreviations
Study guide

How to use this comprehension exercise

  1. Print the PDF or complete it on screen. Write the student's name and date at the top.
  2. Read the instructions for each part together before starting. Encourage working to be shown.
  3. Mark with the answer sheet. Use the model answers and success criteria as a guide rather than a single right answer.
  4. Record the score, celebrate what went well, then follow the "What's next" suggestion.

Common questions

Who is this comprehension exercise for?

5th Grade students (typically ages 10–11) working on reading comprehension. It is pitched at level 2 · standard.

Are the answers included?

Yes. The PDF includes a full answer sheet with model answers and success criteria where there is more than one good answer. You can also view the answers online.

How long does it take?

About 25 minutes for 14 questions. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.

Do I need to sign up to download?

No. Click Download Free PDF and it opens immediately. It is free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.

What should we do next?

Try Big Bend National Park — Reading Comprehension.

Preview

Success TutoringWorksheets5th Grade · English · Reading Comprehension

Students Give Creek a Second Chance — Reading Comprehension

Name

Date

Score /

Read the article twice. Then answer the questions, quoting the text where you can.

Part A: Right there in the text

Find each answer in the article.

1.How many students took part in the clean-up?[1 mark] (answer space)
2.Who organized the clean-up?[1 mark]
  1. Athe local council
  2. Bthe 5th and 6th grade environment club
  3. CMayor Linda Tran
  4. DFrank Mancini
3.What did the club ask the council for?[1 mark] (answer space)
4.What was the most common item of trash found?[1 mark]
  1. Achip bags
  2. Bshopping carts
  3. Cplastic drink bottles
  4. Dsoda cans
5.How often will the club return to the creek?[1 mark] (answer space)
6.Why are the students planting native grasses along the bank?[1 mark] (answer space)

Part B: Reading between the lines

Use evidence from the article to explain your answers.

7.What does the Mayor mean when she says every bag of trash removed is "a bag that will never reach the ocean"?[2 marks] (answer space)
8.What does the cafeteria campaign tell you about what the students learned from the clean-up?[2 marks] (answer space)
9.Why does the reporter include Frank Mancini's memory of catching crawdads?[2 marks] (answer space)
10.Why do you think the council workers, not the students, removed the tires and carts?[2 marks] (answer space)
Free worksheets at worksheets.successtutoring.com · © Success Tutoring · Free for personal and classroom use

Preview — the PDF contains the full resource and answer sheet.

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About this resource

Created by
Success Tutoring
Last reviewed
1 October 2026
How it was made
Written by our team

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