The Choices Behind the Page

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 7-10

Name ______________________ Date ____________

A page about bees has a photo of a bee on a flower. In small print under the photo the author has put: 'A worker bee carries pollen on its back legs.' What is that small line doing?
- It is the heading for the whole page
- It is there to make the photo look bigger
- It tells you what to look at in the photo
A page is going to show children how to make a bird feeder out of a plastic bottle. The author has to decide how the page is set out. Which way helps a reader most while they are making it?
- One long paragraph with all the jobs hidden inside it
- Numbered steps with one job in each box, in the order you do them
- A list of every word on the page, sorted from A to Z
In a story, the author writes 'the shadow crept across the floor' instead of 'the shadow moved across the floor.' Why did the author pick 'crept'?
- To make the shadow feel sneaky and creepy
- Because 'crept' is a longer word
- Because 'moved' is spelled wrong
Bold print in a nonfiction text usually marks a word the author wants you to notice.
Circle one: True False
A page explains how bread is made. At the top is a photo of a smiling baker waving at the camera. That photo helps you understand how bread is made.
Circle one: True False
A page about a school garden has a small map beside the writing. The map shows the vegetable beds, the shed and the gate, and where each one sits. Why did the author add the map?
- So the page does not look empty
- So readers can leave the writing unread
- So readers can see where everything sits without a long description
A mystery story slowly reveals clues one at a time before showing who took the missing bike at the very end. What does this order do for the reader?
- It builds suspense and keeps the reader guessing
- It confuses the reader on purpose for no reason
- It skips the ending completely
One part of a page about polar bears tells you which lands they live on, how thick the ice is there, and how cold the air gets. Which heading fits that part best?
- What Polar Bears Eat
- Where Polar Bears Live
- Polar Bear Cubs
In a science book, one word in each part is printed in bold. Ravi says, 'The bold word must be the truest fact on the page.' What is wrong with Ravi's thinking?
- Nothing is wrong, bold print does show which fact is the truest
- Bold makes a word easy to spot, but it does not make what it says any truer
- Bold print belongs only in stories, never in science books
A page explains how a volcano erupts. Off to the side, in a small box, sits one line: 'The tallest volcano we know of is on Mars.' Why did the author put that line in a box instead of in the main writing?
- Because a fact in a box is always the most important fact on the page
- Because it is an extra fact, so the box keeps it out of the way of the explanation
- Because the main writing had run out of room

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The Choices Behind the Page W1-mt_aVZJhPbc_1-s1

It tells you what to look at in the photo · A caption sits under a picture and tells you what you are looking at, so now you know to look at the bee's back legs.
Numbered steps with one job in each box, in the order you do them · Numbered steps hold one job each, so a reader with the bottle in their hands can do a job, look up, and find their place again.
To make the shadow feel sneaky and creepy · 'Crept' suggests something sly and slow, which makes the scene feel spooky.
True · Bold words are often important vocabulary the author wants to stand out.
False · The waving baker makes the page look friendly, but it shows nothing about mixing, rising or baking. That is decoration, not help.
So readers can see where everything sits without a long description · Words can only name one thing at a time. The map shows the beds, the shed and the gate together, with the spaces between them.
It builds suspense and keeps the reader guessing · Revealing clues slowly builds suspense, so readers keep reading to find out the answer.
Where Polar Bears Live · A heading names what the whole part is about. Every line of this part is about the place, so the heading has to say where.
Bold makes a word easy to spot, but it does not make what it says any truer · The whole science book is meant to be true. Bold is about your eye finding a word worth knowing, not about that fact beating the others.
Because it is an extra fact, so the box keeps it out of the way of the explanation · The Mars line is good fun, but it is not part of how a volcano erupts. The box holds it to one side so the explanation keeps running.