GradeMap

Grade 5 · English Language Arts · Unit 1 of 10

Reading Detectives

Theme, inference and summaries

What your child practises

Reading original stories, a poem and nonfiction passages, then finding the theme and main idea, making inferences, describing characters, summarizing and working out word meanings.

BC Curriculum learning standard: Reading strategies (inferring, summarizing, finding the main idea) and literary elements such as theme and character; forms and genres of text including stories, poems and nonfiction

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Why did the robot arm dip each towel at exactly the same speed?

    Partners

    Kenji and Lena were partners for the science fair. Kenji wanted to build a robot arm. Lena wanted to test which kind of paper towel soaked up the most water. They argued for two days and got nothing done.

    On the third day, their teacher, Ms. Duarte, asked them one question: “What do you each enjoy most?” Kenji said he liked building things. Lena said she liked measuring things carefully.

    Together, they built a robot arm that dipped paper towels into water at exactly the same speed every time. Then Lena measured how much water each towel soaked up. Their project won a ribbon for Best Teamwork.

    • To make the test fair for every towel
    • To make the robot look impressive
    • Because the arm could only go one speed
    • So the towels would dry faster
    Show answer

    To make the test fair for every towel

    Hint: In a fair test, you change only one thing at a time. What should stay the same for every towel?

  2. Question 2

    Put these events from the story in the order they happened.

    Partners

    Kenji and Lena were partners for the science fair. Kenji wanted to build a robot arm. Lena wanted to test which kind of paper towel soaked up the most water. They argued for two days and got nothing done.

    On the third day, their teacher, Ms. Duarte, asked them one question: “What do you each enjoy most?” Kenji said he liked building things. Lena said she liked measuring things carefully.

    Together, they built a robot arm that dipped paper towels into water at exactly the same speed every time. Then Lena measured how much water each towel soaked up. Their project won a ribbon for Best Teamwork.

    • Ms. Duarte asked what they each enjoyed.
    • Their project won a ribbon.
    • They built a robot arm to dip the towels.
    • Kenji and Lena argued about their project.
    Show answer

    Kenji and Lena argued about their project. → Ms. Duarte asked what they each enjoyed. → They built a robot arm to dip the towels. → Their project won a ribbon.

    Hint: Reread from the beginning. Which event happens first, and what happens because of it?

  3. Question 3

    What is the theme of this story?

    Partners

    Kenji and Lena were partners for the science fair. Kenji wanted to build a robot arm. Lena wanted to test which kind of paper towel soaked up the most water. They argued for two days and got nothing done.

    On the third day, their teacher, Ms. Duarte, asked them one question: “What do you each enjoy most?” Kenji said he liked building things. Lena said she liked measuring things carefully.

    Together, they built a robot arm that dipped paper towels into water at exactly the same speed every time. Then Lena measured how much water each towel soaked up. Their project won a ribbon for Best Teamwork.

    • Winning a ribbon is all that matters.
    • Science fairs are too hard for partners.
    • Working together can turn a disagreement into a better idea.
    • Robots are more useful than paper towels.
    Show answer

    Working together can turn a disagreement into a better idea.

    Hint: Think about what happened when they stopped arguing and listened to each other.

  4. Question 4

    How did Ms. Duarte's question help the partners?

    Partners

    Kenji and Lena were partners for the science fair. Kenji wanted to build a robot arm. Lena wanted to test which kind of paper towel soaked up the most water. They argued for two days and got nothing done.

    On the third day, their teacher, Ms. Duarte, asked them one question: “What do you each enjoy most?” Kenji said he liked building things. Lena said she liked measuring things carefully.

    Together, they built a robot arm that dipped paper towels into water at exactly the same speed every time. Then Lena measured how much water each towel soaked up. Their project won a ribbon for Best Teamwork.

    • It told them which idea was better.
    • It ended the science fair early.
    • It made them think about what they each enjoyed.
    • It made them pick new partners.
    Show answer

    It made them think about what they each enjoyed.

    Hint: Reread the second paragraph. What did Kenji and Lena realize after her question?

  5. Question 5

    Which word best describes Priya?

    Tomatoes for a Neighbour

    When the empty lot on Birch Street became a community garden, Priya signed up for a plot right away. Her neighbour, Mr. Okafor, signed up too. “Kids will trample everything,” he grumbled.

    All spring, Priya watered her beans before school. One hot week in July, Mr. Okafor went away to visit his sister. Priya noticed his tomato plants drooping in the sun, so she filled her watering can and soaked them too, every single day.

    When Mr. Okafor came home, his tomatoes were tall and healthy. The next morning, Priya found a basket of ripe tomatoes on her doorstep with a note: “Thank you, neighbour. I was wrong about kids.”

    • boastful
    • thoughtful
    • jealous
    • forgetful
    Show answer

    thoughtful

    Hint: Priya noticed a problem that wasn't hers and fixed it without being asked.

  6. Question 6

    What is the theme of this story?

    Tomatoes for a Neighbour

    When the empty lot on Birch Street became a community garden, Priya signed up for a plot right away. Her neighbour, Mr. Okafor, signed up too. “Kids will trample everything,” he grumbled.

    All spring, Priya watered her beans before school. One hot week in July, Mr. Okafor went away to visit his sister. Priya noticed his tomato plants drooping in the sun, so she filled her watering can and soaked them too, every single day.

    When Mr. Okafor came home, his tomatoes were tall and healthy. The next morning, Priya found a basket of ripe tomatoes on her doorstep with a note: “Thank you, neighbour. I was wrong about kids.”

    • Kind actions can change how people see us.
    • It's best to keep to yourself.
    • Gardening takes too much time.
    • Tomatoes grow best in hot weather.
    Show answer

    Kind actions can change how people see us.

    Hint: Think about how Mr. Okafor's opinion of kids changed, and what caused it.

More Grade 5