★Read With Accuracy and Fluency
Grade 4 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Read the story. Circle how a reader should say each line.
Read this first
The Orchid Card
Nana's eyes were getting tired, so on Sunday she asked Malia to read the old card tied to her orchid pot. The card was soft and stained, and the handwriting curled across it in faded blue ink. At the top, it said, "Care for Losa's Orchid."
The orchid sat on the kitchen windowsill. Its long, waxy leaves were green and healthy, but it had not bloomed in two years. Nana hoped that careful care might help it flower again.
"Read me the story first," Nana said. "The story is on the back."
Malia turned the card over. She read the note in an easy, steady voice, the way she read chapter books at bedtime. It told how Nana's sister Losa carried the orchid on a boat from Apia in a coffee can. It told how the plant bloomed every year near Nana's birthday. When Malia reached the line "and every year we waited for the first flower," Nana smiled and closed her eyes.
Then Malia turned to the front, where the steps were. Without thinking, she kept the same easy speed. "Feed it four teaspoons of plant food," she read.
Nana opened her eyes. "Four teaspoons? Child, we are feeding one orchid, not a whole farm."
Malia looked again. There was a tiny 1 above the 4, with a short line between them. It was not 4. It was 1/4. "One-fourth of a teaspoon," she said. "Sorry, Nana."
"No need for sorry," Nana said. "Just slow down here. The back of the card is for listening. The front is for measuring."
So Malia changed her pace. On the front, she read one line at a time, and Nana measured before Malia read the next. "Water once a week." Pause. "Use one-fourth teaspoon of plant food." Pause. "Use room-temperature water — not cold." Malia noticed that two words in that line were underlined twice, so she read them more strongly.
When the orchid was back on the windowsill, Malia read the back of the card again. This time she did not hurry, and she did not crawl. She read it the way Losa might have told it, with a smile in her voice.
"You read the front like a scientist," Nana said, "and the back like a storyteller. That is exactly right."
Three weeks later, a small green bud appeared on the orchid's stem, just in time for Nana's birthday. Nana touched it gently. "Losa would be pleased," she said. Malia tucked the card back beside the pot, story side out.
How should a reader say Nana's line 'Four teaspoons? Child, we are feeding one orchid, not a whole farm'?
- with a scared, shaky voice
- with an angry, shouting voice
- with a sad, quiet voice
- with a surprised, teasing voice
How should a reader say Malia's words 'Sorry, Nana.'?
- in a soft, sorry voice
- in a teasing, giggling voice
- in a loud, proud voice
- in a bored, flat voice
How should a reader say Nana's words 'Losa would be pleased.'?
- in a bored voice, like reading a long list
- gently and warmly, as if remembering Losa
- quickly and loudly, as if she were in a hurry
- sharply and angrily, as if scolding Malia
How should a reader say the line 'Water once a week.' from the front of the card?
- in a loud, teasing voice, like a joke
- in a quick, rushing voice, like a story
- in a whisper, with a smile in the voice
- slowly and clearly, with a pause after it
