5th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

The 5th grade reading comprehension activities below are coordinated with the 5th grade spelling words curriculum on a week-to-week basis, so both can be used together as part of a comprehensive program, or each can be used separately. The worksheets include fifth grade appropriate reading passages and related questions. Each worksheet (as well as the spelling words) also includes a cross-curricular focus on earth science, physical science, history, social sciences, or life sciences. This allows students to build their reading comprehension skills and reinforce knowledge in other subject areas. There are 36 weeks of fifth grade worksheets, following most standard school year calendars.

Be sure to check out all of our reading comprehension worksheets.

Absolute Location

Week 12 Reading Comprehension (E-12). A segment about how latitude and longitude is used for navigation. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Active and Passive Transport

Week 5 Reading Comprehension (E-5). This reading segment describes how a membrane allows things to move in and out of the cell. Cross-Curricular Focus: Life Science.

Apprentice System

Week 34 Reading Comprehension (E-34). A passage about the apprentice system practiced in early North America. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Atmospheric Layers

Week 32 Reading Comprehension (E-32). A segment about how Earth’s atmosphere is made up of several layers of gases in different mixtures. Cross-Curricular Focus: Earth Science.

Bartering for Basics

Week 6 Reading Comprehension (E-6). A passage about early Native American Indian groups and how they bartered for goods. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Broken Promises

Week 24 Reading Comprehension (E-24). A passage about how history’s story is a never-ending struggle for control over land. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Colonization: for Gold, God, and Glory

Week 13 Reading Comprehension (E-13). A passage and questions about early exploration and colonization. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Conflict Over North American Lands

Week 18 Reading Comprehension (E-18). A passage about the time between the early 15th century and the mid 17th century. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Convection Currents

Week 27 Reading Comprehension (E-27). A passage about convection currents, loops of moving air or water that transfer energy. Cross-Curricular Focus: Earth Science.

Converting Fractions to Decimals

Week 26 Reading Comprehension (E-26). A math segment about converting fractions to decimals. Cross-Curricular Focus: Mathematics.

Customs and Traditions

Week 3 Reading Comprehension (E-3). Reading passage and questions about the customs and traditions of native American Indian groups in rth America Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Dear King George

Week 35 Reading Comprehension (E-35). A reading segment about the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Down the Hatch

Week 14 Reading Comprehension (E-14). This reading segment outlines how the digestive system is made up of a group of organs that work together. Cross-Curricular Focus: Life Science.

Escaping Persecution

Week 31 Reading Comprehension (E-31). How some settlers who came to the English colonies in rth America tried to escape religious persecution Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Excretory System

Week 17 Reading Comprehension (E-17). How the excretory system regulates the amount of water that you have in your body and helps remove waste. Cross-Curricular Focus: Life Science.

Exponential Notation

Week 16 Reading Comprehension (E-16). A passage about exponential tation, also kwn as scientific tation as a way to represent numbers. Cross-Curricular Focus: Mathematics.

Extreme Weather

Week 33 Reading Comprehension (E-33). A passage and questions about how severe storms happen in low-pressure weather systems. Cross-Curricular Focus: Earth Science.

From Nomad to Farmer

Week 1 Reading Comprehension (E-1). A n-fiction passage and comprehension questions about the earliest rth American mads Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.

Fungi are Alive

Week 15 Reading Comprehension (E-15). A reading passage that explains fungi and how different types of fungi can be used. Cross-Curricular Focus: Science.

Indentured Servants

Week 28 Reading Comprehension (E-28). A passage describing how indentured servants became common on large plantations. Cross-Curricular Focus: History / Social Sciences.