ELA Worksheets
Reading comprehension, paragraph structure, capitalization rules, and combining sentences
📚 Worksheet 1 — Reading Comprehension
Read each short passage carefully, then answer the question. Use clues in the text to support your answer.
Key Reading Skills
- Main idea: what the WHOLE passage is mostly about — one big idea that covers every sentence
- Inference: a smart guess using text clues + what you already know. The answer isn't stated — you figure it out
- Cause & Effect: cause = why it happened; effect = what happened. Look for because, so, therefore, as a result
- Figurative language: simile = "like/as" comparison · metaphor = direct comparison · idiom = phrase with a special meaning · alliteration = same starting sounds
- Point of view: first person uses "I/me/my" · third person uses "he/she/they"
- Genre: fiction (made-up) · nonfiction (true facts) · fantasy (magic/impossible) · poetry (rhythm/imagery)
🧱 Worksheet 2 — Paragraph Structure
Every paragraph has three parts. Read each question and pick the best answer.
Paragraph Parts
- Topic sentence: the FIRST sentence — states the main idea of the whole paragraph. It's general, not a detail
- Supporting sentences: the MIDDLE sentences — give facts, details, or examples about the topic sentence. Usually 3–4
- Concluding sentence: the LAST sentence — wraps up the paragraph by restating the main idea in a new way. Often starts with "In conclusion," "As you can see," or "For these reasons..."
- Stay on topic: every sentence in a paragraph must connect to the main idea. A sentence that doesn't fit should be removed
🔠 Worksheet 3 — Capitalization Rules
Pick the correctly capitalized sentence, or identify the capitalization mistake.
Always Capitalize
- First word of every sentence
- The word "I" — always, no matter where it appears
- Proper names: names of specific people (Calvin, Mrs. Rivera), places (Texas, Paris, Grand Canyon), and organizations
- Days of the week (Monday, Friday) and months (January, July) — but NOT seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter)
- Titles before names: Mr., Mrs., Dr., President
- Holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July
- Do NOT capitalize general nouns like "park," "river," "school," "teacher" — only capitalize them when they are part of an official name (Yellowstone National Park, Colorado River)
🔗 Worksheet 4 — Combining Sentences
Good writers combine short, choppy sentences into smooth, longer ones using conjunctions. Pick the best combined sentence.
Conjunctions and When to Use Them
- and — adds two ideas together ("She likes cats and dogs.")
- but — shows a contrast or opposite ("I wanted to go, but it was raining.")
- or — shows a choice ("We can walk or take the bus.")
- so — shows a result or consequence ("It was hot, so we went swimming.")
- because — shows a reason ("She wore a coat because it was cold.")
- Avoid run-ons: don't smash sentences together without a conjunction or punctuation. "It rained we got wet" is a run-on.
- Avoid fragments: don't break a sentence in the wrong place. "Because it rained." is a fragment — it doesn't finish the thought.