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Self-Correct as You Read is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on going back over an information text to fix understanding, aligned to Common Core standard RF.4.4. 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 8 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Self-Correct as You Read

RF.4.4

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Wolves and the Rivers

Wolves were shot out of Yellowstone by 1926. Fourteen were brought back in 1995. With no wolves, elk had grazed the valleys freely for seventy years. Young willow and aspen were eaten as soon as they grew. The wolves killed some elk. More importantly, they changed where elk would stand still. Open valley floors became dangerous, so the elk stopped lingering there. Willow and aspen grew back along the rivers. Beavers, which need willow, returned. Their dams made ponds. Roots held the banks. The rivers narrowed, deepened and moved less. Some researchers describe this as wolves changing the shape of rivers, though others argue the effect has been overstated.

  1. 1. When were wolves brought back to Yellowstone?
  2. 2. What does "grazed" mean?
  3. 3. What does "overstated" mean here?
  4. 4. How many wolves were brought back?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

What a Beaver Dam Does

A beaver does not build a dam for shelter. It builds one to make a pond, and it lives in a lodge in the pond. The dam raises the water so the lodge entrance stays underwater. A predator that cannot swim cannot get in. But the pond does far more than protect one family. Behind a dam, water slows, and slow water drops the silt it carries. Over years this builds rich wet ground. That ground holds water in a drought and holds it back in a flood. It supports plants, insects, amphibians and birds that were not there before. Where beavers have been reintroduced, the number of species in a valley typically rises within five years.

  1. 1. What is a "lodge"?
  2. 2. Why does a beaver build a dam?
  3. 3. What keeps a predator out of the lodge?
  4. 4. What is "silt"?

LessonPrint · RF.4.4 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Self-Correct as You Read

Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 1995. 2. Grazed means fed on growing plants — the elk grazed the valleys for seventy years. 3. Overstated means claimed to be bigger than it really was — some researchers say the wolves' effect has been. 4. Fourteen.
  2. 2.1. The beaver's home in the pond, entered from underwater. 2. To make a pond — it lives in a lodge in the pond. 3. The entrance stays underwater because the dam raises the water. 4. Fine soil carried along by moving water.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RF.4.4 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.