Read Grade 5 Text With Fluency

Grade 5 Reading Worksheet

Circle the answer.

1. Read this first

   Lucía at the Planetarium

   Every Saturday morning, eleven-year-old Lucía Morales volunteered at the Riverside Planetarium. Usually she handed out maps and pointed visitors toward the restrooms. This Saturday, however, Dr. Patel asked her to do something new.

   "Our announcer is sick," Dr. Patel said. "Would you read the welcome script before the ten o'clock show?"

   Lucía's stomach flipped. "Me? In front of everyone?"

   "You," Dr. Patel said with a smile. "Not the whole show, just the welcome. You have twenty minutes to practice."

   Lucía sat in the empty dome with the script. The first lines were easy. "Welcome to the Riverside Planetarium! Please find a seat, lean back, and look up." She read them in a bright, friendly voice.

   Then she reached the hard part. "Tonight's sky includes Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is about 484 million miles from the Sun, and light reflected from it takes roughly 33 to 54 minutes to reach Earth, depending on where both planets are in their orbits."

   Lucía read it quickly the first time, and the numbers came out in a jumble. "Four hundred eighty... million... thirty-three minutes... wait." She frowned. The sentence had stopped making sense.

   She went back to the beginning. This time she slowed down. She read the numbers one at a time and paused at each comma. She noticed that "depending on" explained why there were two numbers instead of one. By the third try, the sentence sounded smooth, and she understood it, too.

   At 9:58, the lights dimmed. Lucía stepped up to the microphone. Her hands were cold, but her voice was steady.

   "Welcome to the Riverside Planetarium!" she said warmly. A few children waved at her.

   When she reached the Jupiter sentence, she did not rush. She let each number land before moving on. Somewhere in the dark, a small voice whispered, "Whoa. That's far."

   Lucía finished with the last line. "Now sit back and enjoy the stars." The dome filled with tiny points of light, and the audience said, "Ooooh."

   Afterward, Dr. Patel found her near the door. "You sounded like you had done that a hundred times," she said.

   Lucía grinned. "I did it three times," she said. "The third time was the one that counted."

2. 1.

   Which reading groups the words of this sentence best? 'Tonight's sky includes Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.'

   • Tonight's sky includes / Jupiter the largest planet in / our solar / system.
   • Tonight's sky includes Jupiter, / the largest planet / in our solar system.
   • Tonight's sky / includes Jupiter the largest / planet in our / solar system.
   • Tonight's / sky includes / Jupiter the / largest planet in our solar system.
3. 2.

   Why did Lucía need to slow down for the Jupiter sentence?

   • Dr. Patel told her to read every line of the script slowly.
   • It was the first line visitors would hear in the dome.
   • It had a word she had never seen before in her life.
   • It packed several numbers and ideas into one long sentence.
4. 3.

   What did Lucía do when the Jupiter sentence stopped making sense?

   • She skipped it and moved on to the next line.
   • She read it faster so it would sound smooth.
   • She reread it from the start, more slowly.
   • She asked Dr. Patel to read it for her instead.
5. 4.

   Dr. Patel says, 'Not the whole show, just the welcome.' Which word should she stress to show what Lucía will read?

   • Not
   • show
   • whole
   • welcome
6. 5.

   How should a reader say Lucía's line 'Me? In front of everyone?'

   • in a proud, booming voice
   • in an annoyed, grumpy voice
   • in a surprised, nervous voice
   • in a calm, bored voice
7. 6.

   Which words helped Lucía understand why the sentence gives two times for the light's trip?

   • reflected from it
   • the largest planet
   • depending on
   • Tonight's sky