What is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension means understanding what you read. It’s about making sense of the words and sentences in a text. When you read, you want to know what the story is about, who the characters are, and what happens.

Key Rules for Reading Comprehension

  1. Read Carefully: Take your time when reading. Don’t rush!
  2. Look for Clues: Pay attention to words that help you understand the story better.
  3. Ask Questions: Think about what you are reading. Ask yourself questions like “Who?”, “What?”, “Where?” and “Why?”
  4. Summarise: After reading, try to tell someone what the story was about in your own words.

Tips and Tricks

  • Visualise: Imagine the story in your head. Picture the characters and places.
  • Reread: If you don’t understand something, read it again!
  • Discuss: Talk about the story with friends or family. Sharing ideas can help you understand better.

A Short Story: “Benny and the Magic Paintbrush”

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a boy named Benny. Benny loved to paint. He would spend hours with his paintbrush and a blank canvas. One day, while walking in the forest, Benny found a shiny, golden paintbrush lying on the ground.

Curious, he picked it up and took it home. When he started to paint with the brush, something magical happened! Whatever he painted came to life! He painted a tree, and a real tree grew right in his room. Benny was amazed!

He decided to use the brush to help his village. He painted flowers, and soon, the whole village was filled with beautiful blooms. The people were very happy. They thanked Benny for bringing colour to their lives.

But one day, a greedy man from another village heard about Benny’s magic brush. He wanted it for himself. He sneaked into Benny’s room at night to steal it. When Benny woke up, he saw the man holding the brush.

Benny thought quickly. He painted a huge wall around the man, trapping him inside. The greedy man couldn’t escape! Benny called the village guards, and they took the man away.

From that day on, Benny used his magic paintbrush for good. He taught everyone in the village to paint, spreading joy and happiness everywhere. Benny learned that sharing his gift was the best way to make others smile.

Questions to Check Understanding

  1. Who is the main character of the story?
  2. What did Benny find in the forest?
  3. What happened when Benny painted with the magic brush?
  4. How did the villagers feel when Benny painted flowers?
  5. Who tried to steal Benny’s magic brush?
  6. What did Benny do to trap the greedy man?
  7. What lesson did Benny learn in the story?
  8. Why was Benny’s magic brush special?
  9. What did the villagers do after Benny helped them?
  10. How did Benny change the village with his paintings?

Questions to Check Vocabulary

  1. What does “greedy” mean in the story?
  2. Can you find a word that means “to take something without permission”?
  3. What does “amazed” mean?
  4. What do you think “canvas” is?
  5. What does “trap” mean in this story?
  6. What does “villagers” refer to?
  7. Can you explain what “bloom” means?
  8. What does “sneak” mean?
  9. What does “magic” mean in the story?
  10. What is a “guard”?

Questions to Check Grammar

  1. What is the past tense of “find”?
  2. Rewrite the sentence: “Benny loves to paint.” (Change to past tense)
  3. Identify the subject in this sentence: “Benny painted a tree.”
  4. Which word is the verb in the sentence: “The greedy man sneaked into the room”?
  5. Change the sentence to a question: “Benny has a magic brush.”
  6. What is the plural form of “village”?
  7. Write a sentence using “happy” in the past tense.
  8. Find and correct the mistake: “Benny was very happy, he painted many flowers.”
  9. What is the pronoun in this sentence: “Benny used his brush”?
  10. Change “Benny paints” to the past tense.

Questions to Check Punctuation

  1. Where should the full stop go in this sentence: “Benny found a magic brush”?
  2. Rewrite this sentence correctly: “benny painted a big tree”
  3. Where does the comma go: “Benny painted flowers and the villagers cheered”?
  4. What punctuation mark is needed at the end of a question?
  5. Find the mistake: “Benny said I will share my gift.”
  6. Correct this sentence: “The greedy man said Help me!”
  7. Where do you place quotation marks in this sentence: Benny said I love painting.
  8. Write a sentence with a capital letter at the beginning.
  9. What punctuation do we use to show excitement?
  10. How do you write a list correctly using commas?

Answers

Understanding Questions Answers

  1. Benny
  2. A shiny, golden paintbrush
  3. Whatever he painted came to life
  4. They were very happy
  5. A greedy man
  6. He painted a huge wall around him
  7. To share his gift is the best way to make others smile
  8. Because it makes things come to life
  9. They thanked him and were happy
  10. He used his magic paintbrush for good

Vocabulary Questions Answers

  1. Wanting more than one needs
  2. Steal
  3. Surprised or shocked
  4. A surface for painting
  5. To hold someone so they cannot escape
  6. People living in the same place
  7. To open up and show color
  8. To move quietly to avoid being noticed
  9. Something that can do things beyond the ordinary
  10. The people from a village

Grammar Questions Answers

  1. Found
  2. Benny loved to paint
  3. Benny
  4. Sneaked
  5. Does Benny have a magic brush?
  6. Villages
  7. Benny was happy
  8. Benny was very happy. He painted many flowers.
  9. His
  10. Benny paints.

Punctuation Questions Answers

  1. After “brush”
  2. Benny painted a big tree.
  3. After “flowers”
  4. At the end of the sentence
  5. “Benny said, ‘Help me!'”
  6. “The greedy man said, ‘Help me!'”
  7. Benny said, “I love painting.”
  8. Benny loves to paint.
  9. Exclamation mark (!)
  10. By using commas between items.