Free Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet & Answers

In 1928, a Scottish scientist named Alexander Fleming made one of the most important medical discoveries in history, and he did it completely by accident. Fleming was studying a dangerous type of bacteria called staphylococcus. Before leaving for a two-week vacation, he forgot to clean his petri dishes, leaving them stacked on his laboratory bench. When he returned, he noticed that mold had grown on one of the dishes. However, instead of ruining the experiment, the mold had released a chemical that killed the surrounding bacteria. Fleming named this bacteria-killing mold “penicillin.” Today, penicillin is used globally as an antibiotic to treat serious infections and save millions of lives.

It was May of 1843, and ten-year-old Clara sat nervously in the back of her family’s wooden covered wagon. Her family, along with dozens of others, was leaving their comfortable home in Missouri to travel 2,000 miles to the rich farmlands of Oregon. The journey was perilous. The pioneers had to cross roaring rivers, climb steep mountain passes, and endure violent thunderstorms, all while walking alongside the slow-moving oxen. Despite the exhaustion and limited food, Clara felt a surge of hope every evening as the families gathered around the campfire to sing songs and share stories about their future in the West.

The deepest parts of the ocean are completely pitch black, yet they are home to some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth. One such creature is the deep-sea anglerfish. Because sunlight cannot reach the ocean floor, the anglerfish has adapted a unique way to hunt. It possesses a modified dorsal fin that looks like a fishing rod extending from its forehead. At the tip of this rod is a fleshy organ filled with bioluminescent bacteria that glow in the dark. Smaller fish, attracted to the glowing light in the darkness, swim closer to investigate and are swiftly swallowed by the anglerfish’s massive jaws.

Elias pushed the heavy oak doors of the town library open just as the clock struck midnight. Usually, the library was locked at sunset, but Elias had found a mysterious silver key with an owl engraved on it lying on the sidewalk. As he stepped inside, he gasped. The library was completely transformed. The books on the shelves were glowing with a soft golden light, and they were floating gently through the air like birds. An old librarian with spectacles and a long gray beard glided down a sweeping staircase and smiled. “Ah, Elias,” he whispered. “We have been waiting for you. The books of magic are finally ready to be read.”

Fossil fuels like coal and oil have powered human cities for over a century, but they cause severe pollution and will eventually run out. Therefore, scientists are rapidly developing renewable energy technologies, such as solar power. Solar panels work by capturing sunlight and converting it directly into electricity. They are made of thousands of tiny photovoltaic cells, which are usually constructed from silicon. When particles of sunlight, called photons, hit these cells, they knock electrons loose from their atoms. This movement of electrons generates a flow of clean, renewable electricity that can power homes without producing harmful greenhouse gases.