4th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets: The Cookie Bridge
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Download PDF worksheetAnswer key (PDF)Worksheet + answer key (3 pages)
The worksheet is 2 pages (passage, then questions); the answer key is 1 page. Print at 100% / "Actual size" on US Letter paper. Free for personal and classroom use.
Skill: Reading a story: details, inferences and theme
Teaching tips and what to try next
This story works for fourth graders practicing text evidence and theme. After reading, ask your child to state the theme in one sentence, not just the plot. For another story at this level, try Reading Comprehension: The Science Fair Surprise.
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About this worksheet
In this original fourth grade story, Ivy and her brother Finn enter the town library's cookie building contest. Instead of a fancy cookie house, they decide to build a bridge that can hold weight. Their first bridge cracks, so they study real bridges, learn why triangles make a structure strong, and try again with a cookie truss.
The passage is followed by four multiple-choice questions and one written answer. The questions ask what made their entry different, what Ivy meant by "Every mistake is data," why many bridges use triangles, which detail shows the second bridge was stronger, and what the theme of the story is.
How to use it: read the story together, then talk about what the characters did after their first bridge failed. For the theme question, remind your child that a theme is a full-sentence lesson, not a single word, and that the best answers use details from the story. This passage also connects nicely to a science or engineering lesson; try building a small truss from craft sticks or paper.
The answer key gives each correct choice with a quote from the story and a sample written answer. For another fourth grade story, try our Science Fair reading comprehension worksheet.