5th Grade Reading Comprehension

This page contains our collection of 5th grade articles, poems, and stories. Each passage includes reading comprehension questions for students to answer.

5th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Nonfiction Articles

Pseudoscorpions are tiny, harmless scorpion-like creatures that can sometimes be found in bathrooms. Read about these interesting arachnids and answer the questions.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Filing Cabinet

Logged in members can use the Super Teacher Worksheets filing cabinet to save their favorite worksheets.

Quickly access your most used files AND your custom generated worksheets!

Please login to your account or become a member and join our community today to utilize this helpful feature.

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Find out how llamas, archer fish, cobras, and humans use their spit to help them survive. Then, answer the comprehension questions that go along with the article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Did you ever wonder what those funny little meerkats are doing when they stand up straight and tall? Discover the answer and many other interesting facts about meerkats in this reading comprehension article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Students can read all about these interesting animals and then test their understanding of the article by answering the reading comprehension questions.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about the Florida panther, Florida's official state animal, with this reading comprehension passage and worksheet. The worksheet includes a vocabulary activity, a writing prompt, and several short answer and multiple choice questions.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about the world's largest animal with this article on the blue whale. Reading comprehension questions are included, as well as a vocabulary crossword and writing prompt.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This article has facts about the coast redwood and giant sequoia trees of California. Test your students' comprehension of the article by having them complete the reading comprehension questions, vocabulary activity, and writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This article tells all about temperate forests. Reading comprehension questions include a writing prompt, completing a diagram, multiple choice, and more.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Poppies are flowers often worn on holidays like Veterans Day and Memorial Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada. Students will read a short passage about the flower's significance and answer several questions.
For the Canadian version of this worksheet that references Remembrance Day instead of Veterans Day, click the "lang" icon below.

4th through 6th Grades

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about the Constitution of the United States in this fifth grade-level social studies article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

In 1957, a group of nine brave African American students integrated Little Rock Central High School. This article describes the struggles they faced, as well as their strength, courage, and determination.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

With this article, readers will learn all about the important roles animals played in World War I. Then, they'll answer questions about the article, including multiple choice and short answer questions, a vocabulary activity, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This reading passage informs students about the James Webb Space Telescope. Reading comprehension questions include multiple choice, a vocabulary exercise, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

What is the Bill of Rights? Learn all about the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights, in this fifth grade-level reading comprehension activity.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about how knitting helped soldiers during the First World War. Following the article, there are multiple choice questions, matching questions, and a writing section.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This article tells the story of Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen, AKA Uncle Wiggly Wings, an air force pilot who dropped candy to the children of Berlin after World War II. The worksheet includes reading comprehension questions, a vocabulary exercise, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Read about one of the major turning points of World War II and complete the worksheet, vocabulary activity, and writing prompt.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This article makes an interesting supplement for teaching about World War I. Students will learn about how horses helped during the war and why they were important. Then they'll answer reading comprehension questions to test their recall and understanding of important details.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Help your students understand the branches of government with this trio of articles on checks and balances. This one focuses on the executive branch.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This article is all about the U.S. judicial branch and checks and balances. It includes reading comprehension questions, a vocabulary activity, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Use this reading comprehension passage and worksheet to supplement lessons on checks and balances or the branches of U.S. government.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Find out why people play jokes and pull pranks on each other every April 1st.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about China's beloved and endangered bear. Reading comprehension questions are included.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Find out fascinating facts about these furry mammals in Asia. Students will discover interesting information about this endangered species.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Have you ever heard of the blue-tongued skink? This unusual Australian animal is surprisingly gentle and can even regrow its own tail! Find out more about this amazing reptile in this reading comprehension article. Worksheet includes multiple choice questions, vocabulary words, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about majestic wolves in this reading comprehension activity. You'll discover why wolves howl and where they live, plus a lot more. This printable reading activity includes comprehension questions, vocabulary terms, and a writing prompt. An answer key is also included.

5th and 6th Grades

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about one of the animals that symbolizes the United States of America: the American Bison! Discover the differences between bison and buffalo, and find out what makes the American Bison unique. Comprehension questions are included.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Students will be amazed to discover all the ways an arctic fox is adapted to the frozen tundra where it lives. This activity includes reading comprehension questions, a writing prompt, and vocabulary words.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Did you know that not all brown bears are actually brown? Learn how you can identify a brown bear in the wild and other interesting facts in this reading activity. This worksheet includes comprehension questions, vocabulary words, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about moose, the world's largest deer, in this fascinating reading comprehension article, complete with comprehension questions, vocabulary words, and a writing prompt. An answer key is included.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about China in this fascinating article about the country with the largest population on earth!

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn what it was like to live in ancient China in this fifth grade nonfiction article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about what it is like to go to school in China in this fifth grade nonfiction article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Find out what it takes to be a skydiver. Learn about the necessary equipment, training, and world skydiving records.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Look out! The world's second largest, and most ferocious shark may be swimming in an ocean near you.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about the clever octopus in this nonfiction science article targeted toward a fifth-grade reading level!

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about the three categories of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. How does each type of rock form? What are the characteristics of each? Find out these answers and more in this science article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources in this nonfiction science article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn how a rainbow forms in the sky. Basic introduction to the spectrum of light and light concepts. Reading comprehension questions, vocabulary words, and a writing prompt are included.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Over ten pages of hurricane information and comprehension questions. Use part or all of this amazing resource.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Have you ever heard of the pangolin? This unusual little animal is the scaliest mammal in the world! Yes, that's right! These mammals have scales! Learn all about pangolins in this fifth grade level reading comprehension activity.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Did you know that a seahorse can't swim well and it can actually die of exhaustion in rough water? Learn many seahorse facts in this article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Did you know there are almost 2,000 different species of scorpions? Learn this and other fun facts about scorpions in this nonfiction article. Article includes comprehension questions, vocabulary words, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Using the braille alphabet, blind people can read without being able to see. This packet of worksheets contains and article and braille activities.

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about this fascinating marsupial from Down Under! The article includes reading comprehension questions, a writing prompt, and vocabulary words.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about a variety of invasive algae that is taking over sea floors and killing sea life.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A sensitive plant is a unique houseplant that can instantly fold up its leaves when it is touched.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Jim describes the many fascinating duties of his job as a railway mechanic.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Did you know that designing and building a bridge involves math, science, architecture, and design skills? Learn about the three main types of bridges, arch, suspension, and beam bridges, in this fascinating article! Activity includes vocabulary words, a writing prompt, and comprehension questions.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This short passage is all about Earth's tiniest continent: Australia! This fact-heavy short passage is accompanied by 4 reading comprehension questions.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Here is a quick-read passage about an American symbol for freedom.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn how ladybugs got their name, and why some farmers love them.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Why isn't Pluto considered a planet any more? Find out by reading this article about dwarf planets.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Discover how llamas are helpful to people by providing transportation, wool, and meat. They also assist sheep dogs in herding sheep.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about our planet's largest species of rodent, the capybara.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Discover how jaguars live and hunt, and learn why these beautiful animals are endangered.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn all about the very loud howler monkey in this reading comprehension article. This worksheet includes comprehension questions, vocabulary identification, and a writing prompt.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about the four layers on the rainforest- the emergent layer, the canopy, the understory, and the floor.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about one of the rainforest's most colorful birds, the Hoatzin.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Read about the strange and unusual fathers in Greek mythology, including Uranus, Cronus, Zeus, and Heracles.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

The Visayan warty pig is one of the world's most critically endangered animals. It's a small species of wild pig that lives in the Philippines.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

These unusual animals spend most of their lives at sea, but occasionally climb onto Pacific beaches for a period of rest and molting.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn how chewing gum and bubble gum was invented with this article.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Poems

What's a clockatoo? It's a unique animal that's never tardy. Read this imaginative poem to find out more. (poem)

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This poem describes a horse having difficulty speaking. Readers will answer questions about the poem and the poetic devices it employs.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Eat at the Hyperbole Cafe, where the noodles are a mile long, the vegetables are piled as high as a mountain, and the soup dish is as deep as the sea.

Common Core

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

When a bumble bee is entered into a spelling contest, we discover she's not such a great speller after all.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Read the poem and discover the meaning of a flibbertigibbet, and decide whether or not you'd want to be one.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

This is a charming poem about a person staring at a watch, wondering if it gets bored of telling time.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A group of people stop for ice cream while waiting for a ferry to come. What happens when they stay at the ice cream shop too long?

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A kitten looks up at a Christmas tree and enjoys the shiny glass ornaments and twinkling lights. (poem)

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A magical fairy is spotted dancing in the garden after a rain shower.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Your students will love this fact-filled poem about an opossum mother who takes care of her three joeys.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Comparing texts: Article and Poem; Read about the World's Stinkiest Flower!

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Fiction Stories

Strolling through a garden in a late summer evening can bring pleasure to all five senses. In this story, the narrator describes the wonderful sounds, colorful sights, rich aromas, and delicious-tasting food around her.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Anil wants to go to cooking camp, but how will he make enough money to go? Read about Anil's clever twist on a traditional Indian flat bread in order to achieve his dream.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

When Jason finds a model Huey on Grandpa Bill's desk, he wants to hear all about his grandfather's job in the Vietnam War. But while he learns about helicopters and the war, he also discovers what a hero his grandfather is.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A magical fairy disguises herself as a beggar to find an elf worthy of getting his wish granted. The task is harder than it appears. Will she be able to find a worthy elf? Comprehension questions and vocabulary words included.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Andy can almost feel the first place medal around his neck, but when the last challenge of the field day is a hula hooping competition, Andy will learn what it means to be a true field day champion.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

It might be Kurt's graduation party but Chris is getting stuck doing all the work, and he doesn't think it's fair.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Michelle is afraid to ride the new roller coaster, The Twister, on her class trip to the amusement park, but she doesn't want to let her friends down either.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A true story about a pony with an artificial leg. The pony has a unique horseshoe shaped like a smiley face, allowing her to "leave her mark" wherever she walks. (true story)

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A poor peasant finds a treasure, but why does he decide to give it away? Students read the passage and answer the questions that follow. (fiction / fable)

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Charlie is the toughest girl in the fifth grade, but when she's dared to look into the "Wailing Well" and find out if a kid-hungry troll really lives there, she's afraid she'll lose her reputation. Charlie must find the courage to prove that some scary stories are just that--stories. (fiction)

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Trevor is excited to stay home alone for the first time, but when he takes the dogs outside to play and gets locked out for hours, he'll find out being home alone comes with some responsibility.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Team captains choose Trish last when dividing the class for a basketball game, but her classmates are surprised to discover that Trish is a terrific player.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Lisa hopes she'll get one of the lead roles in the holiday musical, but she's upset that no one will recognize her in the special part she was chosen for.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Biography

This short article highlights the achievements of Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

An article about Lewis Carroll's inspiration for writing

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Find out how and why Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, shortly after the Civil War ended.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Read about Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, and answer the comprehension questions.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Louisa May Alcott is the American author who wrote the Little Women book series.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A short, biographical passage about women's rights' activist and founder of Chicago's Hull House, Jane Addams.

Common Core

Multiple Versions Available

Multiple Versions Available

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

A short passage about the importance of our country's Founding Fathers

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Learn about the famous naturalist and artist, John James Audubon

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

John Muir was a wilderness conservationist who lived in the 1800s. This fascinating article describes his writings, his political influence, and his role in history. (biography)

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Read this short biographical passage about the Wright Brothers, and learn about their infamous 1903 invention: the motorized airplane.

Common Core

View Available Versions

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Practice Reading Aloud

Practice oral poetry reading. Teach students to monitor their speed, read with expression, and improve accuracy when reading aloud.

Common Core

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Practice oral reading of prose with appropriate speed, expression, and accuracy.

Common Core

Preview File

Members can add this to their file cabinet

Reading Comprehension
Files by Grade:

Fiction stories and nonfiction articles for students at a second grade reading level

Text for students who are reading at a third grade reading level

Nonfiction texts and fiction stories for students who are reading at a fourth grade reading level

Passages for students who are reading above the fifth grade level

Book report forms, literature circles roles, book bingo, and other reading worksheets

Short articles about many different animal species, with comprehension questions