Grade 4 Blog Comprehension July 2015-16

Grade 4 Blog Comprehension July 2015-16

Read the following passage and answer the questions below:

 

Grandpa's Birdhouses

Story By: Andrew Frinkle

 

Grandpa's hobby was making birdhouses. He always said, "A man has to keep busy to stay out of trouble." Linnet wasn't sure how much trouble Grandpa could get into anyway, since he was such a nice guy, but she tried to listen to his advice. Besides, she liked to help him on his birdhouses.

 

Grandpa's shop was full of well-oiled and carefully-kept tools. Whenever he used something, he put it back in exactly the right place. He had rules about how he treated his tools, because he hated buying something new if the old one still worked. He also made sure to clean up his mess each time he worked on something. It wasn't too fun cleaning up, but it was nice to watch him cut boards to exact lengths. It was nice to see the drill put in holes for screws to go in cleanly. It was like being a doctor, but with wood. The best part of building was seeing all the pieces come together in the final form. Yet, even then it wasn't done.

 

The last steps always included lacquer (wood polish) or paint, to help protect Grandpa's hard work from the weather. His birdhouses lasted for years. If he didn't coat them properly, the sun and rain would turn the wood grey and weak in a short period of time. No, he always made sure to do things right. Even if he put rocks or other cute decorations on them, it was done right and made to last. Grandpa was a hard worker, but he was also smart and generous. He let Linnet keep the birdhouses sometimes, but only if he got to help hang it up or set the post for it. It had to be done just right, after all.

 

The birdhouses were a great way to learn about woodworking, hard work, taking care of what you have, and about birds. The absolute best thing about building birdhouses was that Linnet spent some time with Grandpa.

 

I           Language Record:

 

a) Find the synonyms from the passage:

1. accurately - ______________

2. difficulty - ______________

 

b) Find the antonyms from the passage:

 1. strong - ______________

2. carelessly - ______________

 

II         Answer the following questions:

 

Q 1. What did grandpa believe in and how did he keep himself  busy?

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Q 2. The writer says that –

'He also made sure to clean up his mess each time he worked on something.' Explain this sentence.

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Q 3. 'It was like being a doctor, but with wood.' Why do you think Linnet felt so about grandpa?

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Q 4. Pick three adjectives from the passage that describe grandpa.

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Q 5. What kind of job did grandpa let Linnet do?

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Q 6. What did you learn from Linnet's grandpa?

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III Directed writing:

 

Imagine you are the little girl Linnet in the passage. Write a letter to your friend telling him/her about your grandpa's hobby. Use the pointers given to build the paragraphs.

·         Grandpa's hobby and how he took care of his tools.

·         How grandpa build the birdhouses.

·         What did you learn watching grandpa work? 

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