Following an Explanation is a free printable Grade 1 English worksheet on holding a multi-step explanation together while reading, aligned to Common Core standard RI.1.10. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Owls hunt at night. Their eyes are very large, so they can see when there is almost no light.
An owl's feathers have soft edges. This makes their wings quiet. A mouse cannot hear an owl coming.
Owls cannot move their eyes from side to side. Instead, they turn their whole head. An owl can turn its head much further than you can.
1. How is this text organised?
2. How are soft feathers and catching a mouse connected?
3. An owl wants to look to its left. What does it do?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Bats
Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Their wings are made of thin skin stretched between long finger bones.
Most bats come out at night. They find their way by making high squeaks. The squeaks bounce off things and come back. The bat listens to the echo and knows what is ahead.
Many bats eat insects. One small bat can eat a thousand insects in a night.
1. Put these in order: the bat listens, the squeak bounces back, the bat squeaks.
2. How are the squeaks connected to the bat knowing what is ahead?
3. How is this text organised?
LessonPrint · RI.1.10 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Following an Explanation
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Each paragraph explains one owl body part and what it does. 2. Soft feather edges make the wings quiet, so the mouse cannot hear the owl coming. 3. It turns its whole head, because it cannot move its eyes side to side.
2.1. The bat squeaks, the squeak bounces back, the bat listens. 2. The squeaks bounce off things and the bat listens to the echo. 3. One paragraph on wings, one on finding the way, one on food.
Questions about Following an Explanation
What does the Following an Explanation worksheet cover?
It practises holding a multi-step explanation together while reading — 2 questions for Grade 1, all on Common Core RI.1.10: Read Grade 1 information texts with some help. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Following an Explanation practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.10 — RI.1.10, in the Reading: Informational Text domain for Grade 1. The published standard reads: “With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Following an Explanation is written for Grade 1, typically ages 6-7. It is one of the sheets on RI.1.10, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Following an Explanation come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Following an Explanation can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Following an Explanation free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Following an Explanation, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.