Story elements
Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Practice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stories have a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
The beginning of a story tells you who the story is mostly about, and where the
story mostly takes place.
The characters are who the story is mostly about.
The setting is where the story mostly takes place.
The middle of a story tells you the things that happen in the story.
The events are the main things that happen in the
story.
The plot is all of the events in the story. The plot
usually includes some kind of problem.
The ending of a story tells how the problem is solved.
The problem solution is how the problem is solved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think about these story elements as you read the introduction to a book you
might like to read.
Introduction to Beanboy
Bean loves comics—both reading them and drawing them. His favorite comic
book character is the superhero H2O. With enough water, H2O can double in
size. Bean buys every new issue of the comic book on the day it comes out. In
Lisa Harkrader’s book, Beanboy, we meet Bean when he has just bought the
newest issue of H2O. Sam, a boy Bean knows but doesn’t like much, grabs
Bean’s new comic book and throws it into a puddle of water. All this makes Bean
almost late to pick up his younger brother Beech at the bus stop. Bean runs all
the way to the bus stop. He is worried about what might happen if he isn’t there
when Beech gets off the bus. Beech is 9 years old, and he goes to a different
school from Bean. Bean is in the 8th grade and in High School. He takes care of
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his brother in their apartment each day until their mother gets home from work.
Their mother also takes college classes at night.
Bean gets to the bus stop just in time, and walks home with Beech. Beech
doesn’t like going up the stairs to their apartment. He likes to sit down backwards
on the stairs, and push himself up, one step at a time. Bean used to try to talk
Beech into walking up the stairs, but now Bean just waits. It isn’t easy to get
Beech to change his mind about something.
When Bean and Beech finally get inside, Beech wants Bean to read the new
comic book to him. Beech can’t wait to find out what happens in the new story.
Bean wants to let the comic book dry out first. He is afraid the wet pages will tear.
But Beech keeps asking, so Bean reads the comic book to him, and some of the
pages do get torn. Bean doesn’t really mind though, because he can’t believe
what he finds on the last page of the new comic book.
The new comic book has a big announcement. There will be a contest to see
who can come up with the best sidekick for H2O. The prize will be a full college
scholarship. The new sidekick will be in every H2O comic book from that time on.
Winning the contest becomes Bean’s new goal in life.
Bean really wants to join the school Art Club. But it meets after school.
Someone else would have to take care of Beech on those days, and that would
cost money. Bean thinks his mom would pay for it, but then she would worry
about the extra expense. He knows his mom worries about leaving him to watch
Beech so often. And would a babysitter be patient enough to wait while Beech
scooted up the stairs sitting down backwards? You can find out more about Bean
and Beach, and a sidekick for H2O in Beanboy. You will probably enjoy the
comic book drawings in the book as well.
Now let’s think about the story elements.
1. Characters: Who is this story mostly about?
A. Bean
B. Beech
C. Bean’s mom
2. Setting: Where is the main character when the story begins?
A. walking home from school
B. at the comic book store
C. babysitting Beech
3. Problem: What problem does the main character have?
A. The main character wants to buy the new issue of H2O.
B. The main character wants to win the H2O contest.
C. The main character wants to get a babysitter for Beech.
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Events: What are the main things that happen in the story?
Some of the following are main events in this story. Some are small details,
and some did not happen in this story.
4. Circle the 6 main events in this story.
A. The new H2O
comic book
announces a big
contest.
B. Bean’s mom
says that he can’t
join the school
Art Club.
C. Beech scoots up
the stairs
backwards on his
bottom.
D. Bean runs all the
way to Beech’s
bus stop.
E. Bean’s new
comic book gets
torn.
F. Bean lets the new
comic book dry
out before he
reads it to Beech.
G. Bean worries
about Beech
staying with a
babysitter.
H. Bean and Beech
live in an
apartment.
I. Sam throws
Bean’s new
comic book in a
puddle.
K. Bean thinks
about joining the
school Art Club.
L. Bean’s mom
decides to quit
her job.
J. Sam says he is
sorry for getting
Bean’s new
comic book wet.
5. Put the main events in the correct order. Write the letter of the event from the
boxes above in the correct order in the boxes below.
1st event 2nd event 3rd event
4th event
5th event
6th event
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Problem Solution: How is the problem solved?
The problem solution is not included in this introduction to the book. What is a
possible way that Bean might win the H2O contest, and help his mom besides?
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Character analysis
Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Practice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Character analysis is thinking about what a character
does to understand what kind of person they are.
Character traits are words that describe the kind of
person someone is.
Here a few examples of character traits:
active
adventurous
bossy
brave
calm
caring
curious
dependable
determined
energetic
fair
funny
grouchy
helpful
honest
mean
rude
shy
stubborn
understanding
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is a description of a book that you might like to read. Think about what each
character does, and what this tells you about what kind of person they are.
Introduction to Beanboy
Bean loves comics—both reading them and drawing them. His favorite comic
book character is the superhero, H2O. With enough water, H2O can double in
size. Bean buys every new issue of the comic book on the day it comes out. In
Lisa Harkrader’s book, Beanboy, we meet Bean when he has just bought the
newest issue of H2O. Sam, a boy Bean knows but doesn’t like much, grabs
Bean’s new comic book and throws it into a puddle of water. All this makes Bean
almost late to pick up his younger brother Beech at the bus stop. Bean runs all
the way to the bus stop. He is worried about what might happen if he isn’t there
when Beech gets off the bus. Beech is 9 years old, and he goes to a different
school than Bean. Bean is in the 8th grade and in High School. He takes care of
his brother in their apartment each day until their mother gets home from work.
Their mother also takes college classes at night.
Bean gets to the bus stop just in time, and walks home with Beech. Beech
doesn’t like going up the stairs to their apartment. He likes to sit down backwards
on the stairs, and push himself up, one step at a time. Bean used to try to talk
Beech into walking up the stairs, but now Bean just waits. It isn’t easy to get
Beech to change his mind about something.
When Bean and Beech finally get inside, Beech wants Bean to read the new
comic book to him. Beech can’t wait to find out what happens in the new story.
Bean wants to let the comic book dry out first. He is afraid the wet pages will tear.
But Beech keeps asking, so Bean reads the comic book to him, and some of the
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pages do get torn. Bean doesn’t really mind though, because he can’t believe
what he finds on the last page of the new comic book.
The new comic book has a big announcement. There will be a contest to see
who can come up with the best sidekick for H2O. The prize will be a full college
scholarship. The new sidekick will be in every H2O comic book from that time on.
Winning the contest becomes Bean’s new goal in life.
Bean really wants to join the school Art Club. But it meets after school.
Someone else would have to take care of Beech on those days, and that would
cost money. Bean thinks his mom would pay for it, but then she would worry
about the extra expense. He knows his mom worries about leaving him to watch
Beech so often. And would a babysitter be patient enough to wait while Beech
scooted up the stairs sitting down backwards? You can find out more about Bean
and Beach, and a sidekick for H2O in Beanboy. You will probably enjoy the
comic book drawings in the book as well.
Think about what the characters did, and what this shows the character is like.
what the character did
1. Bean runs all the way to Beech’s bus stop. What
does this show that Bean is like?
2. Beech doesn’t like to walk up the stairs, so Bean
always waits for him to go upstairs sitting down.
What does this show that Beech is like?
3. Bean’s mom works, and also takes college
classes. What does this show that Bean’s mom is
like?
4. Beech can’t wait to find out what happens in the
new H2O story. What dos this show that Beech is
like?
what the character is like
A. energetic
B. dependable
C. bossy
A. brave
B. curious
C. stubborn
A. determined
B. honest
C. calm
A. helpful
B. curious
C. fair
5. Bean doesn’t want to ask his mom if he can join
the Art Club. What does this show that Bean is
like?
A. shy
B. understanding
C. active
6. Bean worries that a babysitter wouldn’t be patient
with Beech. What does this show that Bean is
like?
A. caring
B. adventurous
C. grouchy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. What is one other character trait that could be used to describe what Bean is
like?
8. What is one other character trait that could be used to describe what Beech is
like?
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Author’s purpose
Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Practice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An author’s purpose is the reason for writing something.
- Sometimes the purpose is to give us information.
- Sometimes the purpose is to convince us to believe or do
something.
- Sometimes the purpose is to surprise us or make us laugh.
Sometimes an author has more than one purpose for writing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are some short sections of different kinds of writing. Think about the
author’s purpose for writing each one.
Hen listened to the Swallows’ stories about the
South, beyond the great sea. Hen decided that she
would fly South too. She fluttered off down the road and
came to a vegetable garden, and a flower garden.
When it started to get dark, she went home and told all
the animals how wonderful it was in the South.
In the Spring, the Swallows came back to the farm.
“We have been to the South,” they said, “and the valleys
beyond the great sea.” But the farm animals would not
agree that there was a sea in the South.
“You should hear our Hen,” they said.
1. What is the author’s purpose for writing? (There may be more than one
correct answer.)
A. to give us information
B. to convince us to believe or do something
C. to surprise us or make us laugh
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Light cannot pass through a solid object. However, light can pass through
transparent objects, such as crystal and water. When a light beam hits a
transparent object, it keeps going forward, but it slows down. If you look at the
place where an object is partly in and partly out of water, it looks like the object
bends at the place where it enters the water.
2. What is the author’s purpose for writing? (There may be more than one
correct answer.)
A. to give us information
B. to convince us to believe or do something
C. to surprise us or make us laugh
Bean’s younger brother Beech is 9 years old. Beech is in kindergarten and goes
to a different school to his brother, Bean, who is in High School. Beech doesn’t
like going up the stairs to their apartment. He likes to sit down backwards on the
stairs, and push himself up, one step at a time. Bean used to try to talk Beech
into walking up the stairs, but now Bean just waits. It isn’t easy to get Beech to
change his mind about something.
3. What is the author’s purpose for writing? (There may be more than one
correct answer.)
A. to give us information
B. to convince us to believe or do something
C. to surprise us or make us laugh
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. What is another example of something written to give us information?
5. What is another example of something to convince us to believe or do
something?
6. What is another example of something written to surprise us or make us
laugh?
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