4th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

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California Condors

By Vickie Chao Rewritten as a short reader by Cindy Grigg

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The California condor is our country's largest flying bird. Condors may measure up to 4.6 feet in body length. They may weigh 25 pounds. Their wingspan measures an incredible 9.5 feet! California condors are superb flyers. Condors' top speed is 55 miles per hour. They fly as fast as many cars travel on highways.

California condors are vultures. Even though they feed on dead animals, they are very tidy. After each feeding, they like to take a bath in rock pools. They may spend hours preening and drying their feathers. When there is no water, they rub their heads and necks against grasses, rocks, or tree branches.

As they soar on warm thermal updrafts, they use their keen vision to scan the ground below for food. They mainly eat animal corpses called carrion. When available, they like those of large mammals like cattle and deer. Once California condors spot a meal, they swoop down to enjoy the feast. They store extra food in their crops. Crops are pouches below their throats. They can bring stored food back to feed their young. Or they can go without having to search for food for the next few days.

California condors are one of the world's rarest birds. It was reported that there were only about 600 condors in 1890. By 1982, their numbers were down to only 22 birds! A conservation plan was put into place. In 1987, the recovery program captured all wild California condors. These 22 captive California condors began laying eggs and raising chicks. As of April 2009, 322 condors were counted. Of these, 172 have been released to live in the wild. This conservation program, although expensive, seems to be working. The number of condors is rising, and that's good news for conservation efforts for other animals.

California Condors

Questions

1. California condors belong to which family of birds? A. songbirds B. birds of prey C. vultures D. waterfowl

2. What do condors mainly eat?

3. In 1987, what happened to all wild California condors? A. They were captured. B. They were killed. C. They were counted for the first time. D. They were released to live in the wild.

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4. California condors are ______ birds. A. large B. rare C. tidy D. all of the above

5. What are baby condors called?

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Nathan Hale

By Jane Runyon

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Nathan Hale had no intention of becoming a hero when he was a boy. He was the sixth of twelve children growing up in Connecticut. He was born June 6, 1755, to a successful farmer and his wife, Richard and Elizabeth Hale. Nathan and his brother, Enoch, were sent to Yale College to further their education. Nathan was only fourteen years old at the time. Enoch decided to become a minister, and Nathan set his goal to become a school teacher.

Nathan graduated near the top of his class at age eighteen. He accepted a job as teacher in the Union Grammar School in New London, Connecticut. Nathan had already taken on causes that he felt were unfair. He did not believe in the common practice of educating only the young men. He made an arrangement with the leaders of the Union Grammar School to teach the young ladies of the area. Because this was not something normally done, Nathan had to teach his class of twenty women between the hours of five and seven in the morning. This way it would not interfere with his main job, teaching the boys.

It was during this same time that a movement of unrest started to make its way through the colonies. It is debated among some scholars that Nathan Hale may have been the first colonist to use the word independence to describe what the colonists were striving for.

Nathan was only twenty years old when he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Connecticut regiment. He resigned his job as teacher and headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to meet up with General George Washington. He kept journals that have given us a first-hand report of what these first months of the revolution were like. He was part of the force that drove the British out of Boston. He was with Washington when the Continental army followed the British to New York. He helped plan an attack on a British ship, the Phoenix. They were able to save the ship and take cannons and ammunition for the colonial forces.

In September of 1776, Hale was asked by General Washington to undertake a very serious mission. To better plan an attack on the British in New York, Washington needed to know what the British were planning. The only way to discover the British plans was to send a spy behind enemy lines. Nathan Hale quickly accepted the challenge. He left his uniform behind, dressed in civilian clothes, and set out for New York. He carried his college diploma with him and explained his visit by saying he was a school teacher looking for a job. Not much of what happened while he was in New York is known. What we do know is that he made arrangements for a boat to pick him up on September 20. He would then take the notes he had made back to Washington. On the appointed day, Hale was at the place where he was supposed to be picked up. When he saw a boat approaching, he signaled that he was ready to be picked up. Unfortunately, it was the wrong boat. The boat he signaled was a British boat patrolling the shore. He tried to run away, but he was captured by the British soldiers. They found the papers he had written for Washington. They had been written in Latin, which was a dead giveaway to the British that he was a spy.

Nathan Hale was taken to the British commander, General Thomas Howe. Howe was not in good humor. The colonists had already caused him enough trouble. No trial was held. Howe looked at the papers Hale had hidden in his shoes and made his decision. He ordered that Hale be hanged immediately. The following morning, Nathan Hale was taken to the place he was to be executed. When asked if he had any final words, it is said that his last words were "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." He sacrificed his own life for a cause he felt was just and fair. He became a hero to the colonists for this sacrifice.

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Nathan Hale

Questions

1. Nathan Hale was an only child. A. false B. true

2. What was the first "cause" that Nathan Hale wanted to correct? What was his solution?

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3. What professions did Nathan and his brother pursue? A. farmer and soldier B. doctor and lawyer C. farmer and teacher D. teacher and minister

4. What word is Nathan said to have used first in the colonies? A. independence B. militia C. revolution D. Latin

5. Nathan Hale hid his notes in his shoes. A. true B. false

6. Why do you think Nathan Hale wrote his notes in Latin?

7. How was Nathan Hale captured?

A. He signaled the wrong boat. B. He got lost. C. He surrendered. D. He got into a fight.

8. What do you think he meant by his final words, "I only regret I have but one life to give for my country"?

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