Grade 1 reading comprehension worksheets

2 worksheets ready to print: Ella Learns to Swim, Why Leaves Change Color.

8 more passages in Grade 1 come with a PlayOwl plan. The Hare and the Hedgehog, Penguins on the Ice, Our Class Pet, How to Make a Sandwich, Who Has Seen the Wind?, The Life of a Butterfly, Late for the Bus, Animals in Winter.

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Reading Comprehension · Grade 1

Name Date

Ella Learns to Swim

Story · 3 questions

Picture: A calm lake on a bright summer morning, with reeds and a wooden dock. A girl of six with light skin and a wet blonde ponytail, in a purple swimsuit, stands knee-deep, frowning at the water, worried. Her dad, with tan skin, short black hair and a short beard, in a green T-shirt, stands waist-deep beside her, smiling, one hand held out.

1 Ella did not like to put her face in the water. The water got in her eyes and made them sting. "Try one small step at a time," said Dad.

2 First, Ella blew bubbles. Next, she dipped her chin. Then she put her whole face in! She came up with a big smile.

Written for PlayOwl

Questions

Read the story. Then fill in the circle next to the best answer.

  1. 1Why did Ella not like to put her face in the water?

    • The water was too cold.
    • It got in her eyes.
    • Her dad told her not to.

  1. 2What did Ella do first?

    • She put her whole face in.
    • She dipped her chin.
    • She blew bubbles.

  2. 3How did Ella feel at the end of the story?

    • happy and proud
    • still scared of the water
    • cold and sleepy
Free to copy for home and classroom use · PlayOwl · Grade 1 · Ella Learns to Swim

Reading Comprehension · Grade 1

Name Date

Why Leaves Change Color

True facts · 3 questions

Picture: A park on a crisp fall afternoon. A tall maple glows red, and beside it a smaller tree is half green and half yellow. A boy of seven with brown skin and short black curly hair, in an orange sweater and jeans, holds a big leaf up to the sun. His grandma, with brown skin and gray hair in a bun, in a long blue coat, watches from a bench.

1 In summer, most leaves are green. The green helps leaves make food from sunlight.

2 In fall, the days get shorter and cooler. The tree stops making green. As the green fades, yellow and orange show. They were hiding under the green all along! Some trees, like maples, turn red, too.

Written for PlayOwl

Questions

Read the passage. Then fill in the circle next to the best answer.

  1. 1What is this passage mostly about?

    • how trees grow from seeds
    • how leaves make food in summer
    • why leaves turn colors in the fall

  1. 2Where were the yellow and orange before fall came?

    • under the green
    • down in the roots of the tree
    • high up in the sunlight

  2. 3In paragraph 2, the green in the leaves fades. What does "fades" mean?

    • gets much brighter
    • slowly goes away
    • falls to the ground