Read Closely and Quote is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on reading a Grade 5 text well enough to quote it accurately, aligned to Common Core standard RF.5.4. 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Stanza one:
We kept the table, which was too big,
and the clock, which had never gone,
and a tin of buttons nobody wanted,
and the habit of turning lights off.
Stanza two:
We gave away the good chairs.
We gave away the china, all of it.
We gave away the piano to a school
because none of us could play.
Stanza three:
Ten years on, I would not know the chairs
if I saw them in a window on a street.
But I turn the hall light off behind me
every single time, and think of her.
1. Quote accurately the item in the first stanza that is not an object.
2. Quote the line that shows the given-away things are forgotten.
3. What does the speaker still do every time?
4. Why was the piano given to a school?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Pandora
The gods made Pandora and gave her, between them, everything: beauty, skill, a voice, curiosity.
They also gave her a jar, and told her not to open it. They did not say what was in it.
She kept it for a long time. The story is usually told as though she opened it immediately. She did not.
When she did lift the lid, out came sickness, hunger, grief and every trouble that has since been ordinary. She got the lid back on with one thing still inside.
That thing was hope. And people have argued for three thousand years about whether keeping it in was a mercy or the cruellest part of all.
1. Quote the phrase that states the three-thousand-year dispute.
2. Quote accurately the words that correct the usual telling.
3. What did the gods give Pandora?
4. Were the gods explicit about what was inside?
LessonPrint · RF.5.4 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Read Closely and Quote
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. "the habit of turning lights off". 2. "I would not know the chairs if I saw them in a window on a street". 3. Turns the hall light off behind them. 4. Because none of them could play.
2.1. "whether keeping it in was a mercy or the cruellest part of all". 2. "The story is usually told as though she opened it immediately. She did not." 3. Beauty, skill, a voice and curiosity — and a jar. 4. No — they told her not to open it but did not say what was in it.
Questions about Read Closely and Quote
What does the Read Closely and Quote worksheet cover?
It practises reading a Grade 5 text well enough to quote it accurately — 2 questions for Grade 5, all on Common Core RF.5.4: Read Grade 5 text fluently and expressively, self-correcting where needed. 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 Read Closely and Quote practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.5.4 — RF.5.4, in the Reading: Foundational Skills domain for Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Read Closely and Quote is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on RF.5.4, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Read Closely and Quote 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 Read Closely and Quote 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 Read Closely and Quote free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Read Closely and Quote, 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 RF.5.4?
Yes — “Fluency That Carries Meaning” is a 40-minute Grade 5 plan for RF.5.4, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Read Closely and Quote is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RF.5.4
Read Grade 5 text fluently and expressively, self-correcting where needed.
Teaching this next? Fluency That Carries Meaning is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.