The Time Capsule — Reading Comprehension
Premium Resource
Grades
3
4
5
6
Standards
RL.4.1
RL.5.1
RL.6.1
PRINT+DIGITAL RESOURCE
This learning resource is available in interactive and printable formats. The interactive worksshet can be played online and assigned to students. The Printable PDF version can be downloaded and printed for completion by hand.
Perfect For:
👩🏫 Teachers
- • Reading comprehension practice
- • Auto-graded assessments
- • Literacy skill development
👨👩👧👦 Parents
- • Reading practice at home
- • Comprehension improvement
- • Educational reading time
🏠 Homeschoolers
- • Reading curriculum support
- • Independent reading practice
- • Progress monitoring
Reading Features:
📖
Reading Passage
Engaging fiction or nonfiction text
❓
Comprehension Quiz
Auto-graded questions
📊
Instant Feedback
Immediate results and scoring
📄
Printable Version
Download for offline reading
About This Reader
This fascinating passage titled "The Time Capsule" helps 5th grade students practice quoting accurately from text when explaining explicit information and making inferences as required by CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1. The narrative depicts a school ceremony where Jackson and his classmates witness the unearthing of a fifty-year-old time capsule while preparing to bury their own. Students must identify the precise quotation "This time capsule was buried by fifth graders exactly fifty years ago" to answer a direct recall question while also finding specific textual evidence—"The students had spent weeks creating their own capsule to replace it"—to support their inference about the class's preparation. This passage effectively teaches students to distinguish between information directly stated in the text and conclusions they can draw by synthesizing textual clues. The questions guide students to return to the text for accurate quotations, reinforcing the standard's emphasis on using specific evidence to support comprehension. The historically connecting theme of past and present students linked through a time capsule creates an engaging context that naturally motivates students to analyze the text carefully for both explicit content and implicit meaning about how past generations connect to their own experiences.
Jackson and his classmates gathered around the old oak tree where Principal Warren stood with a shovel. "This time capsule was buried by fifth graders exactly fifty years ago," the principal explained, carefully digging in the marked spot. The students had spent weeks creating their own capsule to replace it. Jackson leaned forward as the metal box emerged from the soil, its surface covered in dirt but otherwise intact. "I wonder if they imagined we'd be wearing these clothes," his friend Mia whispered, "or using smartphones."
According to the Passage, how long ago was the time capsule buried?
Five years agoTwenty-five years agoFifty years agoWhat evidence suggests Jackson's class has prepared something for this occasion?
"Principal Warren stood with a shovel""The students had spent weeks creating their own capsule to replace it""The metal box emerged from the soil"Common Core Standards Covered
RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Grade Levels:
Grade 3Grade 4Grade 5Grade 6
Subjects:
elareading
