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Self-Correct in a Dense Text is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on rereading an argued text until the reasoning is clear, 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.

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

Self-Correct in a Dense Text

RF.5.4

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

Why the Thames Froze

Between 1309 and 1814 the Thames froze hard enough to walk on at least twenty-four times. Since 1814 it has not once. The usual explanation is that the climate has warmed. That is part of it, and not most of it. Old London Bridge had nineteen arches on wide stone piers. The piers took up so much of the channel that the bridge acted as a weir, slowing the water upstream almost to a standstill. Still water freezes; moving water does not. The river was also shallower and wider then, spreading over land that has since been embanked. Shallow water loses heat faster. Old London Bridge was demolished in 1831. The embankments were built between 1862 and 1874. The river that flows through London now is narrower, deeper and faster than the one that froze — and it would not freeze in a colder winter than any of those.

  1. 1. How many arches did Old London Bridge have?
  2. 2. What is a "weir"?
  3. 3. When was Old London Bridge demolished?
  4. 4. How many times did the Thames freeze between 1309 and 1814?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Mill: The Local Paper, June 1980

Whately's Mill closed on Friday with the loss of 214 jobs, the largest single closure in the town since the war. The mill had run since 1868. At its height it employed more than 600. Mr Whately declined to say when he had known the closure was certain. The Chamber of Commerce has called for a public inquiry; the union has called the closure "predictable for two years". The council says a retraining fund will open in September. Four other textile mills within twenty miles have closed since 1975. Nobody the paper spoke to expected the site to be used for textiles again.

  1. 1. How many other mills within twenty miles had closed since 1975?
  2. 2. What is a "public inquiry"?
  3. 3. What does "declined" mean here?
  4. 4. How many jobs were lost?

LessonPrint · RF.5.4 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Self-Correct in a Dense Text

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Nineteen. 2. A barrier across a river that holds the water back and slows it. 3. 1831. 4. At least twenty-four.
  2. 2.1. Four. 2. An official investigation held in the open. 3. Refused, politely — he would not say when he had known. 4. 214.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RF.5.4 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.