Use Evidence in Informational Text

Grade 5 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the answer.

1. Read this first

   Schools That Float

   Bangladesh is a country of rivers. Hundreds of them wind across its low, flat land on their way to the Bay of Bengal. During the monsoon season, heavy rains swell these rivers, and water spreads across fields and villages. In some years, a quarter or more of the country floods. Roads disappear under water, and many schools must close for weeks or even months. Many homes are built on raised mounds of earth to stay above the water.

   For children in river villages, this has long meant missing school. A student who misses months of lessons each year can fall far behind. Some never return. Families worried that their children were losing years of learning. Mohammed Rezwan grew up in this part of Bangladesh and saw the problem himself. As a young architect, he asked a simple question. If children cannot get to school because of water, why not bring the school to them on the water?

   In 2002, his organization began building school boats. Local boatbuilders make them using traditional designs. Each one has a roof covered with solar panels, which power lights and laptops inside. Instead of waiting at a dock, the boat travels along the river like a school bus. It stops at several villages to pick up children. When the boat is full, it ties up at the riverbank, and class begins on board. After lessons, it carries the students home and picks up the next group.

   The boats do not stop running when the floods come. In fact, that is when they are needed most. Some boats also serve as floating libraries, and others offer evening classes for adults. Farmers have learned about crops that can survive floods. Families have charged lamps using the boats' solar power.

   A typical school boat holds about thirty students. Inside, there are benches, a blackboard, and a small shelf of books. The boats run all year, but their routes change with the seasons. In the driest months, some river channels become shallow, so the boats follow deeper ones. Teachers travel on board, and some of them grew up in the same villages as their students.

   The idea has spread. Floating schools now also exist in other places, such as Nigeria and Cambodia. Rezwan has won international awards for the work. Visitors from other countries come to see how the boats are built and run.

   Floating schools cannot solve every problem that floods bring. Rising seas and stronger storms may cause even more flooding in the future. Still, the school boats have changed how many people think about water. The project is built on one idea: people can learn to live with the water instead of only fighting it. For thousands of children, a school that floats means a school that stays open.

2. 1.

   Which detail best supports the inference that floods harm children's education?

   • A student who misses months of lessons each year can fall far behind.
   • Local boatbuilders make them using traditional designs.
   • Many homes are built on raised mounds of earth to stay above the water.
   • In some years, a quarter or more of the country floods.
3. 2.

   What can you infer about why the boats have solar panels?

   • The boats need their own power as they travel the rivers.
   • Solar panels help the boats float higher in floods.
   • Solar panels cost less than buying the laptops.
   • The government requires solar panels on every boat in the country.
4. 3.

   Which sentence best supports the idea that the boats were planned for flood season?

   • The boats do not stop running when the floods come.
   • Each one has a roof covered with solar panels.
   • Rezwan has won international awards for the work.
   • It stops at several villages to pick up children.
5. 4.

   A reader claims the boats help whole communities, not only children. Which evidence best supports this?

   • When the boat is full, class begins on board.
   • A student who misses months of lessons can fall behind.
   • Instead of waiting at a dock, the boat travels the river.
   • Farmers have learned about crops that can survive floods.
6. 5.

   How does the second paragraph prepare readers for the third?

   • It states the problem the boats were built to solve.
   • It explains why Rezwan later won awards.
   • It describes how the boats are built and powered.
   • It shows that the boats spread to other countries.
7. 6.

   Why does the author mention that Rezwan grew up in this part of Bangladesh?

   • to show he knew the problem from his own life
   • to show that he attended a floating school
   • to show that the region has few architects
   • to explain why he became a boatbuilder