★Story Structure
Grade 5 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the answer.
Read this first
Noa's Birthday Table
Chapter 1: The Plan
Noa wanted to make something for her mother's birthday, not buy it. Her grandfather had a workshop in his garage, full of sawdust and the smell of pine. "Could I build a small table?" Noa asked. "Just big enough for Mom's plants."
Grandpa Elias pulled a pencil from behind his ear. "We can draw a plan first," he said. Together they sketched a square top and four legs. Noa measured each board twice before Grandpa helped her cut it.
Chapter 2: The Wobble
By Thursday, the table was glued and painted sky blue. Noa set it on the floor and stepped back. Then she pressed one corner. The whole table rocked.
"It wobbles," she said. Her eyes stung. "It's ruined. I should have just bought a present."
Grandpa didn't answer right away. He went to a shelf and brought down a little wooden chair. One leg was clearly shorter than the others.
"My first chair," he said. "I was twelve. It wobbled so much that my sister called it the rocking chair." He smiled. "I didn't throw it away. I learned how to fix it."
Chapter 3: The Gift
Grandpa showed Noa how to find the long leg by setting the table on a flat board. She sanded that leg a little at a time, checking after every few strokes. At last, the table stood perfectly still.
On Saturday, Noa's mother unwrapped the table and set her fern on it. "You made this?" she asked.
"I made it twice," Noa said. "Once with a wobble, and once without."
Her mother put the table by the sunny window. Later, Noa asked Grandpa if she could build something new in his workshop next Saturday.
"Of course," he said. "Every builder needs a first wobble."
What is the main job of Chapter 1?
- It shows how Noa's mother reacts to the gift.
- It introduces Noa's goal and her plan to reach it.
- It shows the problem that almost makes Noa quit.
Which problem does Chapter 2 add to the story?
- The finished table rocks when Noa presses it.
- Noa's mother finds out about the surprise.
- Noa cannot find any wood in the workshop.
Why does the author include Grandpa's story about his first chair in Chapter 2?
- It explains how to measure each board twice.
- It gives Noa hope just when she wants to give up.
- It tells the reader why Grandpa has a workshop.
How does Chapter 3 connect to Chapter 2?
- Noa fixes the problem that appeared in Chapter 2.
- It goes back in time to when Grandpa was twelve.
- It starts a brand-new problem with the paint.
Which event is the turning point, where the story changes direction?
- Noa and Grandpa draw a plan for the table.
- Grandpa shows Noa his wobbly first chair.
- Noa's mother sets her fern on the table.
What does Noa mean when she says, 'I made it twice'?
- She built it, found a flaw and then fixed it.
- She built two tables, one for each grandparent.
- She painted the table two different colors.
