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In Your Own Words is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on choosing the note that paraphrases without copying or changing the meaning, aligned to Common Core standard W.5.8. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 15 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.

In Your Own Words

W.5.8

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.Source: "Recycling one can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.The energy saved by recycling a single can would power a television for three hours.
  • B.Recycling cans uses up three hours of energy.
  • C.Recycling one can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.
2.Source: "Bees carry pollen from flower to flower, which helps the plants make seeds." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.Bees eat pollen so that plants cannot make seeds.
  • B.Moving pollen between flowers, bees help plants produce seeds.
  • C.Bees carry pollen from flower to flower, which helps the plants make seeds.
3.Why is it not enough to change one or two words of a source and call it your own?
  • A.The sentence is still the author's, so it is copying, not paraphrasing
  • B.Changing two words always makes a paraphrase
  • C.Paraphrases must be longer than the source
4.Source: "The bridge took eight years to build and opened in 1932." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.After eight years of building, the bridge opened in 1932.
  • B.The bridge took eight years to build and opened in 1932.
  • C.The bridge was built in eight days in 1932.
5.Source: "The glacier has shrunk by half in the last hundred years." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.In a century, the glacier has lost about half its size.
  • B.The glacier has doubled in size in a century.
  • C.The glacier has shrunk by half in the last hundred years.
6.Source: "Sea otters wrap themselves in kelp so they do not drift away while they sleep." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.Sea otters eat kelp before they swim away.
  • B.To keep from drifting while they sleep, sea otters wind kelp around their bodies.
  • C.Sea otters wrap themselves in kelp so they do not drift away while they sleep.
7.Source: "Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.A bolt of lightning reaches a higher temperature than the sun's surface.
  • B.Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun.
  • C.Lightning is much cooler than the sun's surface.
8.Source: "Most of the town's workers once had jobs at the mill." Which note is a fair paraphrase?
  • A.Most of the town's workers once had jobs at the mill.
  • B.At one time, the mill employed most people who worked in the town.
  • C.Nobody in the town ever worked at the mill.

LessonPrint · W.5.8 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — In Your Own Words

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The energy saved by recycling a single can would power a television for three hours.
  2. 2.Moving pollen between flowers, bees help plants produce seeds.
  3. 3.The sentence is still the author's, so it is copying, not paraphrasing
  4. 4.After eight years of building, the bridge opened in 1932.
  5. 5.In a century, the glacier has lost about half its size.
  6. 6.To keep from drifting while they sleep, sea otters wind kelp around their bodies.
  7. 7.A bolt of lightning reaches a higher temperature than the sun's surface.
  8. 8.At one time, the mill employed most people who worked in the town.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to W.5.8 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.