Skip to content
Start My 3 Free Days $0 today · cancel anytime

5th Grade Reading Resources

195 5th grade reading resources: 109 worksheets, 86 assessments, 42 activities and more, covering reading comprehension, independent and guided reading, compare and contrast, plus 21 more topics. How teachers use these

5th Grade Reading Resources

195 5th grade reading resources: 109 worksheets, 86 assessments, 42 activities and more, covering reading comprehension, independent and guided reading, compare and contrast, plus 21 more topics. How teachers use these

Game
Game5th GradeAdvanced Roots and Affixes Game

An underwater bubble game where 5th grade kids read each clue and pop the bubble with the matching word, using Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes. Play online on any phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeTeam Sports Health and Fitness Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Team Sports Health and Fitness Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th graders a lively non-fiction passage about staying active, plus main-idea, detail, and inference questions. An answer key is included for fast, no-prep reading practice.

Activity
Activity5th GradeIdentifying Theme Activity

This identifying theme activity helps 3rd to 5th grade students match short stories to their themes and back them up with text details. Answer key included.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeJustin Bieber Biography Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Justin Bieber Biography Reading Comprehension Worksheet will help your students build their reading comprehension skills while reading a biography about Justin Bieber.

Worksheet
Worksheet5th GradeMain Idea Worksheet

This Main Idea Worksheet helps 5th graders find two main ideas in any nonfiction text, back each one with key details, and write a clear summary of what they read.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeFootball Time Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Football Time Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th Grade students an informational passage about football plus main idea, detail, vocabulary and written response questions, with an answer key included, so nonfiction practice feels fun.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeStatue of Liberty: A Famous Gift Reading Comprehension Worksheet

The Statue of Liberty: A Famous Gift Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th Grade readers a two-page true story plus six text-evidence questions, answer key included, so comprehension practice feels like real history.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeHarvest Festival Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Harvest Festival Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th graders a two-page informational passage about the Korean holiday Chuseok, five questions, and an answer key for no-prep practice with main idea and text evidence.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeThanksgiving Leftovers Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Thanksgiving Leftovers Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th graders a two-page story plus six evidence-based questions, with an answer key included, so close reading practice is ready to print.

Worksheet
Worksheet5th GradeWriting Supporting Sentences Worksheet

This writing supporting sentences worksheet asks 5th grade students to add two supporting details to each topic sentence and spot the sentence that does not belong. Answer key included, so paragraphs get stronger fast.

Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan5th GradeBlank Lesson Plan

Using this Blank Lesson Plan template, you will be able to plan your lessons for the entire week for six different subjects.

Activity
Activity5th GradeDetermining Theme Activity

Students read 12 short fable cards in this determining theme activity for 3rd to 5th Grade, match each to a theme, and cite a detail. Answer key included.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeFollow the Recipe Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Follow the Recipe Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th graders a two-page story about baking, plus questions on main idea, sequence, and cause and effect. An answer key is included, so checking work takes seconds.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeMusical Instruments Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Musical Instruments Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th grade readers an original story about choosing an instrument, plus seven questions and a complete answer key for quick, no-prep comprehension practice.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeThe Lorax Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Using The Lorax Reading Comprehension Worksheet, students read and then answer questions using support from The Lorax.

Activity
Activity5th GradeInference Chains Activity

This inference chains activity has 3rd to 5th grade students match each inference to two supporting clues and build paper chains. Answer key included.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeGorilla Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Gorilla Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th Grade students a two-page nonfiction article about mountain gorillas, four multiple-choice questions, a written response, and an answer key, so readers practice finding evidence in a longer text.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradeVolleyball Time Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Volleyball Time Reading Comprehension Worksheet pairs an original two-page volleyball story with six 5th grade questions and a full answer key, so readers build stamina and back up every answer with evidence from the text.

Assessment
Assessment5th GradePeter's Jobs Reading Comprehension Worksheet

This Peter's Jobs Reading Comprehension Worksheet gives 5th graders an original story about a boy earning money for a bicycle, plus seven text-evidence questions and an answer key included — no-prep practice for main idea, sequence, and inference.

From our teachers' playbook

Read deeper, think bigger

What do 5th graders learn in reading?

Fifth grade reading is about thinking deeply. Kids quote the text to back up their answers, find the theme of a story, and compare how two characters or two texts handle the same idea. They summarize, find more than one main idea in nonfiction, and figure out how a text is organized. They also tackle figurative language like similes and metaphors, and use Greek and Latin roots to unlock big words. The click comes when kids say "I think the author wants us to learn..." and prove it with the text.

How we teach 5th grade reading

Fifth graders are ready for real discussions. These moves get them proving their thinking.

Think aloud to find theme

Read a short story and say your thinking out loud: "The character kept trying and finally won... maybe the theme is about not giving up." Then let kids try it in pairs. Modeling makes this abstract skill concrete.

Why it works: handing over the work step by step, from teacher to student, is one of the most widely used teaching frameworks (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

Identifying Theme ActivityTry it withIdentifying Theme ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Roots and affixes game

Big words get less scary when kids know the parts. A quick roots game, like spotting "bio" means life or "graph" means write, gives them a key to hundreds of new words.

Why it works: playful practice with a clear goal keeps kids practicing longer, and simple learning games have been shown to build real skills (Ramani and Siegler, 2008).

Advanced Roots and Affixes GameTry it withAdvanced Roots and Affixes GameGamesOpen it →

5th grade reading questions

What reading skills are taught in 5th grade?

Fifth graders quote text accurately, determine theme, summarize, compare characters and texts, analyze text structure, understand figurative language, and use roots and affixes to figure out word meanings.

How do I help my 5th grader with reading comprehension?

Ask questions that go beyond the facts: Why did the character do that? What is the author's message? Have them point to the part of the text that supports their answer.

What is theme in 5th grade reading?

Theme is the lesson or message of a story, like "friendship matters" or "honesty is important." Fifth graders find the theme by looking at how characters change and what they learn.

How much should a 5th grader read each day?

Many teachers suggest at least 20 to 30 minutes of independent reading a day. Letting kids choose books they enjoy keeps them reading longer.