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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.

Set 17 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 in a Dense Text

RF.5.4

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

What Sleep Is For

Sleep is not switching off. Parts of the brain are busier asleep than awake. Two claims are well supported. The first is that sleep consolidates memory: during deep sleep, the day's experiences are replayed and moved from short-term storage into long-term. Interrupt deep sleep and recall of the previous day drops measurably. The second is that sleep clears waste. The spaces between brain cells widen during sleep, and fluid washes through, removing proteins that build up while awake. A third claim — that a particular number of hours suits everybody — is not supported. Need varies with age and between individuals, and self-reported sleep is unreliable. Teenagers are a special case. Their body clocks genuinely shift later at puberty, which is a biological fact rather than a preference, and school start times mostly ignore it.

  1. 1. What happens to the spaces between brain cells during sleep?
  2. 2. What shifts in teenagers at puberty?
  3. 3. What does "consolidates" mean here?
  4. 4. What does "self-reported" mean, and why does the author mention it?
2.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 times did the Thames freeze between 1309 and 1814?
  2. 2. When was Old London Bridge demolished?
  3. 3. What does "embanked" mean?
  4. 4. How many arches did Old London Bridge have?

LessonPrint · RF.5.4 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Self-Correct in a Dense Text

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. They widen, and fluid washes through. 2. Their body clocks shift later. 3. Makes firm and lasting — moves a memory into long-term storage. 4. Given by people about themselves — the author mentions it because it makes sleep data unreliable.
  2. 2.1. At least twenty-four. 2. 1831. 3. Walled in, so the river is confined to a narrower channel. 4. Nineteen.

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