Grade 4 reading comprehension worksheets

Reading Comprehension · Grade 4

Name Date

The Tryout

Story · 4 questions · 246 words

1 The whistle blew, and twenty kids raced across the field at Riverside Park. Jada stayed where she was. Her cleats felt glued to the grass, and her heart thumped like a drum. All summer she had practiced in her backyard, kicking a ball against the fence until the sun went down. Now Coach Rivera was watching from the sideline with a clipboard, and Jada could not make her legs move.

2 "Number fourteen!" the coach called. Jada looked down at the paper number pinned to the front of her practice shirt. Fourteen. Her cheeks burned, and a girl in a green headband turned to stare. Jada wanted to run to the parking lot, climb into her mom's car and never come back.

3 Then she remembered what her big brother, Marcus, had told her at breakfast. "Everybody gets butterflies at tryouts," he had said. "Even the best players feel them, and they play anyway." Jada took a slow, steady breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth. Her hands stopped shaking.

4 "Here, Coach!" she called, and she jogged out to the coach. The first pass came fast, and it bounced off her shin and rolled away. Jada chased it down, trapped it with her left foot and sent it back across the grass. Her pass was not perfect, but it reached her partner's feet. Coach Rivera wrote something on the clipboard. Jada did not know what it said, but she knew one thing. She was playing.

Written for PlayOwl

Questions

Read the passage. Fill in the circle next to the best answer. When a question says "Choose all that are true," fill in every box that fits. Then write where you found the answer.

1Why does Jada stay where she is when the whistle blows?
- She does not know the rules of soccer yet.
- She is too nervous to make herself move.
- She is waiting for the coach to call her number.
- Her cleats are stuck in mud on the field.
I found it in paragraph

2In paragraph 3, Jada takes a "steady" breath. What does "steady" mean?
- shaky and uneven
- quick and noisy
- even and calm
- held for a long time
I found it in paragraph
3At the tryout, what helps Jada calm down so she can play? Choose all that are true. There are two.

More than one answer. Fill in every box that fits.
- She remembers what Marcus told her.
- Coach Rivera tells her to calm down.
- She takes a slow breath.
- She kicks a ball against the fence.
I found it in paragraph
4Which sentence best states a theme of the story?
- Feeling nervous is normal, and you can act anyway.
- Practicing alone at home is better than playing on a team.
- Big brothers always know the right thing to say.
- If you practice hard enough, you will never feel nervous.
I found it in paragraph

Reading Comprehension · Grade 4

Name Date

The Pony Express

History · 4 questions · 240 words

Picture: A simple map of the western United States with no state lines. A dotted line labeled "Pony Express trail" runs west from "St. Joseph, Missouri" over the "Rocky Mountains" and the "Sierra Nevada" to "Sacramento, California". Small dots mark stations, and a tiny horse and rider gallop along it.

1 In 1860, a letter from Missouri to California could take more than three weeks. Three businessmen had a bold plan to speed up the mail. Riders on fast horses would carry it, racing day and night. On April 3, 1860, the Pony Express began. Its trail ran nearly 2,000 miles across the West.

2 The secret to its speed was the relay. Along the trail stood more than 150 small stations. Every 10 to 15 miles, a rider jumped off his tired horse and onto a fresh one. In a minute or two, he was gone again. The mail rode in a mochila, a leather cover with four pockets that fit over the saddle. After about 75 miles, the rider handed the mochila to the next rider, who raced on. This way, a letter could cross the West in about ten days.

3 The riders were young and light, so their horses could run fast. They rode through hot deserts, deep snow and steep mountain passes. But the mail was costly to send. At first, a letter cost five dollars for each half ounce it weighed. Meanwhile, workers were stringing telegraph wire across the country. On October 24, 1861, the telegraph line was finished. Now messages could fly from coast to coast in minutes. Two days later, the Pony Express announced that it would close. It had lasted only about 18 months, but people still tell stories about its daring riders.

Written for PlayOwl

Questions

Read the passage. Fill in the circle next to the best answer. Then write where you found the answer.

1How often did a Pony Express rider change horses?
- About every 75 miles
- Once a day, at sunset
- Every 10 to 15 miles
- Only when a horse got hurt
I found it in paragraph

2Paragraph 2 says, "The secret to its speed was the relay." What does "relay" mean here?
- A system of fresh horses and riders taking turns
- A race between riders to see who can win a prize
- A leather bag that holds the mail
- A wire that carries messages
I found it in paragraph
3Why did the Pony Express most likely close in 1861?
- Its riders could not get over the snowy mountains.
- The stations along the trail ran out of horses.
- People stopped sending mail to California.
- A faster way to send messages took its place.
I found it in paragraph
4Which sentence best sums up the whole passage?
- Riding for the Pony Express was the hardest job in the whole West.
- Relay riders carried mail fast until the telegraph replaced them.
- Letters cost five dollars, so very few people sent them.
- Workers took many years to build the telegraph line.
I found it in paragraph