Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Read the short story. Then answer each question.
Bruce and the Spider
There was once a k ing of Sco tl and whose nam e was Robert Bruce. He
needed to be both brave and wise be cause the tim es in which he l ived
were wil d and rude. The K ing of Engl and was at w ar wi th him and had l ed
a great arm y into Scotl and to drive him out of the l and.
Battl e after b attl e had been fought. Si x tim es Bruce had l ed his brave
l ittl e arm y against h is foes and six tim es his m en had been beaten and
driven into fl ight. At l ast his arm y was scattered, and he was forced to
hide in the woods and in l onel y pl aces am ong the m ountains.
One rainy day, Bruce l ay on the ground under a crude shed l istening to
the patter of the drops on the roof above him . He was
tired and unhap py. He was re ady to gi ve up al l hope. It
seem ed to him that there w as no use for
him to try to do any thing m ore.
As he l ay thinking , he saw a spider over his
head m aking ready to weave her web.
He watched her as she toil ed sl owl y
and with gre at care. Si x tim es she
tried to throw her frail thread from
one beam to another , and six tim es it
fel l short.
“Poor th ing ,” said Bruce: “you, too , kn ow
what it is to fail .”
But the spider did not l ose hope with t he sixth fail ure.
Wi th s til l m ore care, she m ade ready to try for the seventh tim e. Bruce
al m ost forgot his o wn tr oubl es as he watched her swing hersel f out upon
the sl ender l ine. Woul d she fail again? No! The thre ad was carried safel y
to the beam and fastened there.
Reading and Math for K-5
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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet
“I, too , w il l try a seventh tim e!” cried Bruce.
He arose and cal l ed his m en together. He tol d them of his pl ans and sent
them out with m essages of cheer to his disheartened peopl e. Soon there
was an arm y of brave Scotchm en around him . Another b attl e was fought,
and the King o f Engl and was retreated to his own coun try.
After that day , no one by the n am e of Bruce woul d ever hurt a spider. The
l esson which the l ittl e creature had taught the k ing was never forg otten.
Reading and Math for K-5
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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Questions:
1.
Wh at did the s pider teach Ro bert Bruce?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2.
How did Robert Bruce show he was both brave and wise?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3.
Wh at does the word crude m ean in th e sentence “Bruce l ay on the
ground under a crude shed?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4.
How does the Ki ng of Engl and show he is differen t from Robert
Bruce?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Reading and Math for K-5
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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Answers:
1.
Wh at did the s pider teach Ro bert Bruce?
The spider taugh t Rober t Bruce no t to give up.
2.
How did Robert Bruce show he was both brave and wise?
Robert Bruce showed he was bo th brave and wise by cal l ing
toge ther his m en and sending m essages of cheer to his
disheartened peopl e. He was further brave by battl ing the Engl ish
arm y and m aking them re treat to Engl and.
3.
Wh at does the word crude m ean in th e sentence “Bruce l ay on the
ground under a crude shed?”
Crude m eans m ade in a sim pl e or rough way.
4.
How does the Ki ng of Engl and show he is differen t from Robert
Bruce?
The king o f Engl and is d ifferent from Robert Bruce in th at he
retreated to his ow n country after bein g defeated once by the
Scottish arm y.
Reading and Math for K-5
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