Reading Comprehension Passages, Questions & Task Cards: Skills-Boosting Bundle

This value bundle covers the core reading skills of main idea & details, summary, theme, context clues, and character analysis, consisting of 105 skills-focused worksheets & a 44-task card literacy center.

Use these drills and task cards to teach and reinforce the fundamentals, or prep for test day. Boost achievement rates in your class, plus get 39 free accountable talk posters & a student reference quick sheet as a free bonus!

You can purchase the same units in a grade-wide savings bundle: READING! Grade 3 | READING! Grade 4 & 5

ELA READING COMPREHENSION WORKSHEETS INCLUDE:

• 87 skills-boosting drills with 97+ passages and 375+ questions  
• Test-taking tips and scaffolding to assist students (drills can be printed without tips) 
• Mini-lessons at the top of each page on context clues & character analysis units
• Short bursts of fun informational and fictional passages 
• Mix of multiple choice, two-part, short and open response questions

TASK CARDS LITERACY CENTER INCLUDES:

• 44 task cards (informational text on fun animals) 
• 18 reading activity sheets with 132 questions focused on main idea or supporting details  

READING SKILLS & STRATEGIES COVERED:

• Finding the main idea
• Finding the theme/central message 
• Summarizing text
• Recalling supporting/key details
• Using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases 
• Analyzing character traits, words, actions, feelings, thoughts and motivations 

READING DRILLS ARE COMMON CORE DESIGNED, SIMULATED AFTER THESE TESTS:

• Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)
• State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) / TEKS 
• Florida FSA (same test vendor creates FAST progress monitoring assessments) 
• New York State Testing Program (NYSTP)
• Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR)
• Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS)
• Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)
• Ohio’s State Tests 
• North Carolina Ready End-of-Grade Assessment: ELA/Reading (NC Ready EOG) 
• Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP)
• New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA)
• Virginia Standards of Learning (VA SOL)
• Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA, formerly AzM2)

USEFUL IN MANY WAYS!

• Literacy lessons 
• Guided or independent practice  
• ELA test prep / reading test prep* (with test-taking strategies)
• Small group work / literacy circles / partner work 
• Reading intervention groups (RTI) / small group remediation & instruction
• Independent work / early finishers work
• Literacy center activities
• Morning work / do now / bell ringers / ELA warm-ups
• Progress monitoring/checks
• Exit slips or tickets
• Homework
• ELA review
• Tutoring (targeted reading skill work) 
• After-school programs / extended school days
• Learning packets for anticipated school closings / snow days
• Winter/spring/summer vacation reading packets 
• Summer school programs / summer bridge activities 
• Substitute teacher lesson plans & activities 
• Homeschool lessons 
• Absent student make up work
• *including (but not limited to) reading summative assessments such as: SBAC for California, Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, Nevada & other member states, Tennessee TNReady, Massachusetts MCAS, Minnesota MCA, Maryland MCAP, Colorado CMAS, Missouri MAP, Wisconsin Forward, PARCC and more

All resources in this bundle are Easel Activities enabled and can be assigned via Google Classroom or any LMS.

WHAT TEACHERS HAVE SAID:

♥ “I'd buy this product 10 times over! I absolutely LOVE these drills. Quick, short, and very educational. The topics are interesting and I love the helpful hints.” -- Alison G. on Main Idea & Details Pack

♥ "This resource was very helpful for reviewing context clues before testing. My students struggled with this indicator all year and this resource gave them practice in a different way which helped them be able to apply the strategies. Thank you!" -- Melissa B. on Context Clues Unit

♥ "Exposes students to a wide variety of new vocabulary while teaching them about what to look for with characters.  Inferring is also a skill they use when completing these." -- Geniese B. on Character Analysis Unit

♥ "Successful activity to use with the doc cam. I put the passage card up and we read it together. Students discuss the answer with each other (buddy). Then I tell them to hold up their card answer - A, B, or C. Perfect formative assessment!" -- Denise L. on Main Idea & Details Task Cards Literacy Center

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ALIGNED WITH COMMON CORE ELA READING STANDARDS

3RD GRADE

RI.3.1:  Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers. 

RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

RI.3.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

RL.3.1:  Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

RL.3.2:  Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g. their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

RL.3.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from non-literal language.

4TH GRADE

RI.4.1:  Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RI.4.2:  Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

RI.4.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.

RL.4.1:  Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RL.4.2:  Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words or actions).

RL.4.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).

5TH GRADE

RL.5.1:  Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RI.5.2: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

RL.5.1:  Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RL.5.2:  Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

RL.5.3: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g. how characters interact).

RL.5.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.