The Clockmaker's Secret (Fiction Passage)

Start with a minute of talk: What could a person's hobby or workshop tell you about them? Then have students read the story on page 1, about 260 words in 6 short paragraphs. Ask them to notice what the characters say, do and feel. Page 2 holds five questions. Ask students to support each answer with evidence from the text, and have partners swap the two written responses to give feedback. Check the work with the answer key.

The Clockmaker's Secret gives 5th grade students a fiction passage of about 260 words about a boy who loves his grandfather's crowded clock shop and the one clock that fascinates him, 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 Clockmaker's Secret is a fiction passage of about 260 words about a boy who loves his grandfather's crowded clock shop and the one clock that fascinates him. It is written for 5th grade readers (ages 10-11) and has 6 short paragraphs, so students can read it in one sitting.

Its five questions, three multiple choice and two written, practice the theme or lesson of the story, vocabulary in context, cause and effect and making inferences. Questions include "Which sentence best states the theme of the story". 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 could a person's hobby or workshop tell you about them? Invite students to share a similar experience first, then read to compare. Afterward, ask what the main character learned.

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.