Reasons and Evidence is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on explaining how an author supports a point, aligned to Common Core standard RI.4.8. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 22 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
22 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.
Reasons and Evidence
RI.4.8
NameDate
Read the text, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
What a Coral Reef Is
A coral reef looks like rock and is built by animals.
A coral polyp is a soft creature the size of a pinhead. It draws calcium from the sea water and builds a hard cup around itself. Millions of polyps, cup upon cup, become a reef.
Inside each polyp live tiny algae. The algae make food from sunlight and pass most of it to the polyp. In exchange they get shelter and the polyp's waste. Neither could build a reef alone.
When the water gets too warm, the polyps expel the algae. Without them the coral turns white and starves. That is what bleaching means.
A reef takes centuries to build and can bleach in a single hot summer.
1. The text says neither organism could build a reef alone. What evidence supports that?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Why Clocks Agree
Until the 1840s, every British town kept its own time, set by the sun. Noon in Bristol was about ten minutes after noon in London.
That was no problem while the fastest thing on the road was a horse.
The railways changed it. A timetable cannot work if every station measures noon differently, and trains sharing a track need to agree about when.
So the railway companies imposed London time on their whole network. People called it railway time. Some towns kept two minute hands on the town clock for years, one local and one railway.
In 1880 Parliament made a single time legal across the country. The sun had been overruled by the timetable.
1. The text says local time was no problem before the railways. What reason is given?
LessonPrint · RI.4.8 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Reasons and Evidence
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. The algae make the food; the polyp makes the cup and gives them shelter.
2.1. The fastest thing on the road was a horse, so a ten-minute difference did not matter.
Questions about Reasons and Evidence
What does the Reasons and Evidence worksheet cover?
It practises explaining how an author supports a point — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core RI.4.8: Explain which reasons and evidence hold up each of the author's points. 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 Reasons and Evidence practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.8 — RI.4.8, in the Reading: Informational Text domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Reasons and Evidence is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on RI.4.8, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Reasons and Evidence 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 Reasons and Evidence can I print?
25 versions, of which 22 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two pupils still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.
Is Reasons and Evidence free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Reasons and Evidence, 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.
Is there a lesson plan to teach RI.4.8?
Yes — “Reasons and Evidence for a Point” is a 40-minute Grade 4 plan for RI.4.8, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Reasons and Evidence is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RI.4.8
Explain which reasons and evidence hold up each of the author's points.