Clearing Something Up is a free printable Grade 1 English worksheet on checking you have understood what a text told you, aligned to Common Core standard SL.1.3. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. 24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.
Clearing Something Up
SL.1.3
NameDate
Read the text, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
What Roots Do
Roots grow down while the stem grows up. They do two jobs.
First, roots hold the plant in the ground. A tall tree in a storm stays up because its roots spread wide under the soil.
Second, roots drink. Tiny hairs on the roots take in water from the soil. The water travels up the stem to the leaves.
A plant with damaged roots wilts, even if it is watered.
1. Why did the author write this text?
2. Summarise this text in one sentence.
3. The author says a plant with damaged roots wilts. What reason is given?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
How a Bridge Stands Up
A bridge has to hold its own weight and the weight of everything crossing it.
The simplest bridge is a beam: a flat piece laid across a gap. A beam bridge cannot be very long, or it sags in the middle.
An arch bridge is curved. The curve pushes the weight out to the ends, where the ground is solid. That is why arch bridges can cross wider gaps.
1. Why did the author write this text?
2. Summarise this text in one sentence.
3. Why does the author say arch bridges can cross wider gaps?
LessonPrint · SL.1.3 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Clearing Something Up
Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. To explain the two jobs roots do. 2. Roots hold a plant steady in the soil and take up the water that travels to its leaves. 3. Because the roots are what take in water, so watering it does not help.
2.1. To explain how bridges hold up weight. 2. Bridges must hold weight, and an arch does it over a wider gap than a flat beam can. 3. Because the curve sends the weight out to the ends where the ground is solid.
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.1.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.