5th Grade Reading Comprehension: The Recycling Challenge
Read a passage about a class recycling project and answer main-idea and inference questions with text evidence.
- Homework
- Review
- Test Prep
- Centers
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- Grade
- 5th Grade
- Subject
- Reading
- Skill
- Reading Comprehension
- Topic
- passage comprehension, main idea, and inference
- Difficulty
- Standard
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Pages
- 2 (incl. answer key)
- Format
- Printable PDF (US Letter)
- Answer key
- Included
- Best for
- homework, review, test prep, centers
Worksheet details
What This Worksheet Practices
Students will determine the main idea and make inferences from an original passage, citing text evidence.
- Identifying the main idea
- Finding key details
- Making inferences supported by the text
Worksheet Preview
Reading like an investigator
This passage tracks a real-world process - a problem, a plan, and a result - which makes it ideal for main idea and inference. The main idea is the overall point (a small group with a plan changed a habit), while details like “412 bottles” support it. Strong inferences point back to specific lines.
How to use it
Require text evidence for every answer, including inferences. For “why did the principal order bins?”, the support is that the plan visibly worked. Builds on 4th grade comprehension.
👩🏫 Teacher note
Push for text evidence on the inference questions. The main idea is the overall point - that a small group with a plan changed a habit - not any single detail.
🏠 Parent note
Have your child point to the sentence that supports each answer, especially the 'why' questions.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Choosing a detail as the main idea
- Making an inference without text support
Answer Key
Sample answers are provided; wording may vary but should be grounded in the passage.
⬇ Download Answer Key (PDF)Related Worksheets
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