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 17 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per pupil

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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. Summarise this text in one sentence.
2. Why did the author write this text?
3. The author says a plant with damaged roots wilts. What reason is given?

2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

How Seeds Travel

A seed cannot grow in its parent's shadow. There is not enough light. So seeds have to move away. Some seeds have wings. A sycamore seed spins like a tiny helicopter and lands far from the tree. Some seeds hook onto fur. A burr catches on a passing fox and drops off somewhere new. Some seeds sit inside fruit. A bird eats the fruit and the seed comes out later, miles away.

1. The author says seeds have to move away. What reason is given?
2. Why did the author write this text?
3. Summarise this text in one sentence.

LessonPrint · SL.1.3 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Clearing Something Up

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. Roots hold a plant steady in the soil and take up the water that travels to its leaves. 2. To explain the two jobs roots do. 3. Because the roots are what take in water, so watering it does not help.
2.1. There is not enough light in the parent's shadow. 2. To explain the different ways seeds move away from their parent plant. 3. Seeds must leave their parent's shadow, and they do it by spinning, hooking onto fur, or riding inside fruit.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.1.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.