5th Grade Reading Comprehension Passages

Reading Passages, Questions & Answers - Fifth Grade

Below you’ll find 5th grade reading comprehension passages along with questions and answers and vocabulary activities. These printable 5th grade practice activities are helpful for struggling readers or students who just need extra comprehension practice!

Lonely Star

Astrid was only three hundred years old, and therefore, still just a kid when it came to the heavenly bodies in her galaxy. It was quiet out in space, and Astrid’s neighbors were light years away; much too far to be able to have a conversation, let alone become friends.…

Primary Source: Halloween in 1910

This article from the Cleveland, Ohio newspaper reports on Halloween events over 100 years ago. A tick-tack is an instrument used to tap on windows from a distance. The Raisell club’s name is similar in meaning to “raising Cain” or behave in a unruly or disorderly way.  ————————————– LAUGHTER REIGNS…

Carter’s Decision

“I can’t decide!” Carter told his mom. They were sitting at the kitchen table. Mom was finishing her morning coffee and Carter needed to talk to her before school. He had a big decision to make, and he was agonizing over it. “You have to decide. And soon!” Mom took…

Do You Believe in Fairies?

Peter Pan tells the story of the adventures of the magical boy named Peter Pan who lives in Neverland with his friends and some amazing beings. Peter’s great enemy, however, is the evil pirate Captain Hook. In this passage, Hook and his pirates have captured many of Peter’s friends. Hook…

The Clash of Blades

Like Robin Hood and the Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro is a man who helps those who are in trouble or are being abused, but he is considered by some to be an outlaw. In this passage, Zorro has come to visit Lolita Pulido at her father’s house, or hacienda, in California.…

Domestic Experiences

Little Women is about the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. They grow up during the American Civil War in a happy, if rather poor, family. In this passage, Meg is grown and now married to John Brooke, the former tutor of the girls’ next door neighbor. They…

The Christmas Village

It was time; it was time! When the box started moving they knew it must be Christmas, finally! Suddenly, glorious light filled the box as it was opened, and all the ceramic figures blinked after so many months in darkness. A gentle hand carefully removed each figure and miniature piece…

The Golden Age

Jupiter and his Mighty Folk had not always dwelt amid the clouds on the mountain top. In times long past, a wonderful family called Titans had lived there and had ruled over all the world. There were twelve of them-six brothers and six sisters-and they said that their father was…

In the Neighborhood

Ahn vigorously scrubbed windows, a tedious necessity for her family’s new Vietnamese restaurant. They had turned the building from homely to gorgeous, but everything had to be absolutely perfect: unique decorations, skillful employees, and fabulous traditional food. Then customers would adore the place, making the business a success. Ahn shifted…

The Mermaids’ Lagoon

In the book Peter Pan, the English children Wendy, Michael, and John have gone with Peter, an amazing boy who can fly, to his magical world called Neverland. Below is a description of the lagoon in Neverland where the mermaids live. ————————————-  The children often spent long summer days on…