Year 5 English Comprehension: The Adventure of Charlie the Brave

A Short Story

Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a boy named Charlie. Charlie was not like the other children. While they played games, Charlie loved to explore. He dreamed of becoming a great explorer one day.

The Mysterious Map

One sunny morning, Charlie found something amazing in his attic. It was an old, dusty map. The map had strange symbols and a big red “X” marked on it. Excitedly, he ran downstairs to show his best friend, Mia.

“Mia! Look what I found!” said Charlie, holding up the map.

“Wow! What does it mean?” Mia asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“I think it’s a treasure map!” Charlie exclaimed. “We should follow it!”

The Journey Begins

Mia agreed, and they packed some snacks and a bottle of water. They set off towards the woods, where the map pointed.

As they walked, they saw tall trees with leaves that rustled in the wind. They listened to the birds singing and spotted a squirrel running up a tree.

After a while, they reached a river. The map showed a bridge ahead, but it looked old and wobbly.

“Do you think it’s safe?” Mia asked, looking worried.

“I think we can cross it carefully,” Charlie replied, trying to sound brave.

The Crossing

They stepped onto the bridge, which creaked under their feet. Charlie went first, moving slowly. Mia followed closely. Suddenly, a plank broke! Charlie quickly grabbed Mia’s hand and pulled her back just in time.

“That was close!” Mia said, shaking a little.

“Let’s be more careful,” Charlie suggested, and they continued across the bridge, finally reaching the other side safely.

At the X

After walking for what felt like hours, they arrived at a clearing. In the middle of it was a large rock with the same symbol as on the map. Charlie and Mia looked at each other, their hearts racing.

“Do you think this is it?” Charlie whispered.

“Let’s dig!” Mia shouted excitedly.

They used their hands to dig around the rock. Soon, they hit something hard. It was a wooden box! With all their strength, they pulled it out and opened it.

Inside were glittering coins and beautiful jewels.

“Wow! We found treasure!” Charlie cheered.

The Lesson Learned

They decided to take some coins back to the village to show everyone. But they agreed to keep the treasure a secret for now, so they could have more adventures together in the future.

As they walked home, Charlie realised that the true treasure was the adventure they had shared and the friendship that grew stronger along the way.

Questions to Check Understanding

1. Who is the main character of the story?
2. What did Charlie find in the attic?
3. Who is Charlie’s best friend?
4. What did the map lead them to?
5. How did Charlie and Mia feel when they found the treasure?
6. What did they see in the woods?
7. What did Charlie and Mia have to cross to continue their journey?
8. What happened when they were on the bridge?
9. What was under the rock they found?
10. Did they share the treasure with others?
11. What lesson did Charlie learn at the end of the story?
12. Why did they choose to keep the treasure a secret?
13. What did they pack for their adventure?
14. How did Charlie try to show bravery?
15. What did the squirrel do in the story?
16. What did the treasure consist of?
17. How long did they walk before reaching the clearing?
18. What did Mia suggest when they found the box?
19. How did Charlie react when the plank broke?
20. Why is friendship important, according to the story?

Questions to Check Vocabulary

1. What does “explorer” mean?
2. What does “curiosity” mean?
3. What does “mysterious” mean?
4. What does “symbols” mean in the context of the story?
5. What does “treasure” refer to in the story?
6. What does “clearing” mean?
7. What does “wobbly” mean?
8. What does “glittering” mean?
9. What does “adventure” refer to?
10. What does “excitedly” mean?
11. What does “carefully” mean?
12. What does “heart racing” mean?
13. What does “safely” mean?
14. What does “pull” mean in the context of the story?
15. What does “realised” mean?
16. What does “journey” mean?
17. What does “snacks” refer to?
18. What does “wooden” mean?
19. What does “coins” refer to?
20. What does “jewels” mean?

Questions to Check Grammar

1. What is the subject in the sentence “Charlie found a map”?
2. Identify the verb in the sentence “Mia looked worried.”
3. Is “They set off towards the woods” a complete sentence? Why?
4. What is the tense of the verb in “Charlie realised”?
5. Change “They saw tall trees” to the past tense.
6. Identify the adjective in the sentence “The bridge looked old.”
7. What type of sentence is “Wow! We found treasure!”?
8. Rewrite “Charlie and Mia agreed.” using “decided.”
9. What is the plural form of “box”?
10. Identify the subject in “They dug around the rock.”
11. Change “They walked home” to the future tense.
12. What type of word is “carefully”?
13. Is “That was close!” an exclamation or a statement?
14. What is the conjunction in the sentence “Charlie and Mia agreed, and they started digging”?
15. Rewrite “They packed snacks” using a different verb.
16. Identify the object in “Charlie pulled Mia’s hand.”
17. Is “Charlie and Mia is brave” correct? Why or why not?
18. Change “They listened to the birds singing” to the passive voice.
19. What is the main clause in “When they found the treasure, they cheered”?
20. Identify the pronoun in “They had fun.”

Questions to Check Punctuation

1. Where should the comma go in this sentence? “Charlie Mia and the squirrel walked together.”
2. Is there a full stop at the end of this sentence? “They crossed the bridge”
3. Should “wow” have an exclamation mark? Why?
4. Where should the quotation marks be in “Charlie said Lets go”?
5. Where does the question mark go in this sentence “Do you think we will find treasure”?
6. Is the sentence “Mia looked worried but she was excited” correct? Why?
7. Where should the apostrophe go in “Charlies map”?
8. How should you write “Charlie and Mia said” to show they are speaking?
9. What punctuation is missing in “I think it is a treasure map”?
10. Where should the comma go in “After a while they reached a river”?
11. Should there be a comma after “Mia” in “Mia agreed and they set off”?
12. What punctuation is needed in “Look what I found”?
13. Should “Wow” be followed by a comma or an exclamation mark?
14. How do you show that something belongs to Mia in “Mia toy”?
15. Where does the full stop go in “They walked home safely”?
16. Is “Charlie Mia and the squirrel” missing punctuation? If so, where?
17. How should “Lets dig” be punctuated?
18. Where should the apostrophe go in “wobbly bridge” if it belonged to Charlie?
19. How do you show a pause in “I think we should”?
20. Should “Charlie and Mia” be capitalised in the middle of a sentence?

Answers

Answers to Questions to Check Understanding

1. Charlie.
2. An old, dusty map.
3. Mia.
4. A treasure.
5. They felt excited.
6. Tall trees, birds, and a squirrel.
7. A river.
8. A plank broke.
9. A wooden box.
10. No, they kept it a secret.
11. The true treasure was friendship and adventure.
12. To have more adventures together.
13. Snacks and water.
14. He tried to sound brave.
15. The squirrel ran up a tree.
16. Glittering coins and beautiful jewels.
17. They walked for hours.
18. They suggested to dig.
19. He quickly grabbed Mia’s hand.
20. Friendship is important because it makes adventures better.

Answers to Questions to Check Vocabulary

1. Someone who explores new places.
2. A strong desire to learn or know more.
3. Something that is difficult to understand or explain.
4. Pictures or signs that represent something.
5. Valuable items like coins or jewels.
6. An open space in a forest.
7. Not steady; shaky.
8. Shining brightly.
9. A fun or exciting experience.
10. In a way that shows excitement.
11. In a way that is careful and cautious.
12. A feeling of excitement or nervousness.
13. In a manner that is free from danger.
14. To use strength to move something.
15. To become aware or understand something.
16. A trip or journey.
17. Small amounts of food to eat.
18. Made of wood.
19. Circular pieces of money.
20. Precious stones or ornaments.

Answers to Questions to Check Grammar

1. “Charlie” is the subject.
2. “Looked” is the verb.
3. Yes, it is complete.
4. Past tense.
5. “They saw tall trees.”
6. “Old” is the adjective.
7. Exclamation.
8. “Charlie and Mia decided.”
9. “Boxes.”
10. “They” is the subject.
11. “They will walk home.”
12. Adverb.
13. Yes, it is an exclamation.
14. “And” is the conjunction.
15. “They packed delicious snacks.”
16. “Mia’s hand” is the object.
17. No, it should be “are.”
18. “The birds were listened to by them.”
19. “When they found the treasure” is the main clause.
20. “They” is the pronoun.

Answers to Questions to Check Punctuation

1. After “Charlie.”
2. Yes, it is missing.
3. Yes, it should have an exclamation mark.
4. “Charlie said, ‘Let’s go.'”
5. At the end of the sentence.
6. Yes, it is missing a comma.
7. After “Charlie.”
8. “Charlie and Mia said,” should have quotation marks.
9. Yes, it needs a full stop.
10. After “while.”
11. Yes, there should be a comma.
12. Yes, it needs punctuation.
13. Exclamation mark.
14. “Mia’s toy.”
15. At the end of the sentence.
16. Yes, it is missing commas.
17. “Let’s dig!”
18. After “Charlie’s.”
19. A comma.
20. Yes, it should be capitalised.