The Boy Who Painted Rain (Fiction Passage)

Start with a minute of talk: What can a creative idea do for people who feel hopeless? Then have students read the story on page 1, about 280 words in 7 short paragraphs. Ask them to notice what the characters say, do and feel. The five questions on page 2 push students to explain, not just choose. Ask for text evidence in both written responses and invite a short discussion afterward. Check the work with the answer key.

The Boy Who Painted Rain gives 5th grade students a fiction passage of about 280 words about a town in a long drought and a boy's unusual idea, followed by five questions. The questions practice the theme or lesson of the story, vocabulary in context and making inferences, and the sheet is aligned to Common Core RL.5.2. An answer key is included.

The Boy Who Painted Rain is a fiction passage of about 280 words about a town in a long drought and a boy's unusual idea. It is written for 5th grade readers (ages 10-11) and has 7 short paragraphs, so students can read it in one sitting.

Its five questions, three multiple choice and two written, practice vocabulary in context, the theme or lesson of the story, making inferences and figurative language. Questions include "What is the best theme of this story" and "What does Hugo's answer to Nora show about why he painted". The sheet is aligned to Common Core RL.5.2, and the answer key is included so you can check responses quickly.

Try this conversation starter: What can a creative idea do for people who feel hopeless? Ask students to read the first paragraph and guess what the problem will be, then finish the story to check their guess.

Most students need about 20 to 25 minutes for the passage and the questions together. The sheet works at a kitchen table with a parent talking through the written answers, or at a reading center as independent work on the theme or lesson of the story and vocabulary in context.