Year 5 English Comprehension: The Magical Garden Adventure

The Story

Once upon a time, in a small village, there was a girl named Lily. Lily loved to explore. One sunny afternoon, she decided to visit the old garden behind her house. The garden was overgrown and filled with tall grass and wildflowers.

As Lily stepped into the garden, she noticed something shiny beneath a bush. Curious, she bent down and found a small key. “I wonder what this unlocks,” she thought. Excited, she looked around the garden.

Suddenly, she spotted a tiny door at the base of an enormous oak tree. It was covered in vines and looked very old. “Maybe this key opens that door!” she exclaimed.

Lily rushed over and inserted the key into the lock. It turned easily, and the door creaked open. Inside, she found a magical world! The sky was a brilliant shade of purple, and the flowers sparkled like jewels.

In this magical place, Lily met a friendly rabbit named Benny. “Welcome to the Enchanted Garden!” Benny said with a smile. “We’ve been waiting for someone like you!”

“Waiting for me?” Lily asked, puzzled.

“Yes! We need your help,” Benny explained. “Our garden is losing its magic because the Crystal Flower has been stolen by the Grumpy Troll who lives on the other side of the river.”

Lily felt brave. “I will help you get the Crystal Flower back!”

Benny led Lily to the river. They crossed a wobbly bridge and reached the troll’s cave. The troll was big and had a frown on his face. “What do you want?” he grumbled.

“We want the Crystal Flower back!” Lily said firmly.

The troll crossed his arms. “I will give it back, but only if you can answer my riddle.”

“Okay,” replied Lily. She was ready for the challenge.

The troll asked, “What has keys but can’t open locks?”

Lily thought hard. Suddenly, she shouted, “A piano!”

The troll looked surprised. “Correct! You can take the Crystal Flower.”

Lily and Benny hurried back to the Enchanted Garden. They placed the Crystal Flower in the centre of the garden. Instantly, the flowers shimmered brighter, and the sky turned a beautiful blue.

“Thank you, Lily!” Benny cheered. “You saved our garden!”

Lily smiled, feeling proud. She knew she would always remember her magical adventure.

With a wave goodbye, Lily stepped back through the tiny door and locked it behind her. She placed the key in her pocket, ready for her next adventure.

Questions to Check Understanding

1. What did Lily find in the garden?
2. What was the tiny door made of?
3. Who did Lily meet in the Enchanted Garden?
4. What was the problem in the Enchanted Garden?
5. Who stole the Crystal Flower?
6. What did Lily agree to do?
7. What was the troll’s challenge?
8. What was the answer to the troll’s riddle?
9. How did the garden change when the Crystal Flower was returned?
10. What did Lily do with the key at the end of the story?
11. Where did Lily go after finding the key?
12. How did Benny greet Lily?
13. What colour was the sky in the magical world?
14. Where did the troll live?
15. What kind of animal was Benny?
16. Why was the garden losing its magic?
17. What emotion did the troll show when Lily answered the riddle?
18. How did Lily feel after helping Benny?
19. What did the flowers do when the Crystal Flower was returned?
20. Why was the garden called the Enchanted Garden?

Questions to Check Vocabulary

1. What does “curious” mean?
2. What does “overgrown” mean?
3. What does “exclaimed” mean?
4. What does “inserted” mean?
5. What does “creaked” mean?
6. What does “sparkled” mean?
7. What does “puzzle” mean?
8. What does “grumbled” mean?
9. What does “brave” mean?
10. What does “challenge” mean?
11. What does “surprised” mean?
12. What does “correct” mean?
13. What does “hurry” mean?
14. What does “proud” mean?
15. What does “adventure” mean?
16. What does “wobbly” mean?
17. What does “place” mean in this context?
18. What does “tiny” mean?
19. What does “shimmered” mean?
20. What does “ready” mean?

Questions to Check Grammar

1. What is the verb in the sentence: “Lily loved to explore”?
2. Identify the subject in the sentence: “Benny led Lily to the river.”
3. Is “the troll was big” a complete sentence? Why or why not?
4. What tense is used in: “Lily stepped into the garden”?
5. Rewrite: “Lily decided to go to the garden” using ‘will’.
6. Correct the sentence: “Lily was very exciting.”
7. Find the adjective in this sentence: “The flowers were beautiful.”
8. Change “the sky was purple” to a question.
9. Is “They crossed a wobbly bridge” singular or plural?
10. Change the verb in “Lily was brave” to the past tense.
11. What is the conjunction in: “Lily and Benny hurried back”?
12. Identify the pronoun in: “She placed the key in her pocket.”
13. Write a negative sentence using “Lily did not help Benny.”
14. Is “the troll’s cave” possessive or plural?
15. Rewrite “I will help you” using ‘she’.
16. What is the preposition in: “They crossed the bridge”?
17. Identify the object in: “Lily found a key.”
18. Change the sentence “The troll was grumpy.” to a question.
19. Write a sentence about Lily using the word “decided.”
20. What type of sentence is: “Lily smiled”?

Questions to Check Punctuation

1. Where should the comma go? “Lily found a key and she was excited.”
2. Does this sentence need a question mark? “What did Benny say”
3. Where should the full stop go? “Lily entered the garden”
4. Is this sentence correct? “The troll said, I will give it back.”
5. Where should the quotation marks go in: The troll said he would help?
6. Does this sentence need an apostrophe? “Bennys garden is magical.”
7. Where should the exclamation mark go? “Lily couldn’t believe her eyes”
8. Does “Lily loved to explore” need a comma? Why or why not?
9. How many sentences are in this paragraph? “Lily found a key. She was happy.”
10. Where should the semicolon go? “Lily was brave, she helped Benny.”
11. Is this correct? “Lily said, I will save the garden!”
12. Should there be a comma in: “Lily and Benny crossed the river”?
13. Identify the punctuation in the sentence: “What a beautiful garden!”
14. Where should the question mark go? “Do you want to help”
15. Does the word “the” need to be capitalised in: “the enchanted garden?”
16. How would you write: Lily said she was excited using proper punctuation?
17. Does “The trolls cave” need an apostrophe?
18. Where do you place the comma in: “After the adventure Lily went home”?
19. Should “The flowers sparkled like jewels” have a full stop?
20. Where should the capital letter be in: “lily found a key”?

Answers and Explanations

Answers to Understanding Questions

1. A small key.
2. It was made of wood.
3. Benny the rabbit.
4. The Crystal Flower was stolen.
5. The Grumpy Troll.
6. She agreed to help.
7. A riddle.
8. A piano.
9. The flowers shimmered brighter and the sky turned blue.
10. She kept it in her pocket.
11. She went to the old garden.
12. He greeted her with a smile.
13. Purple.
14. In a cave on the other side of the river.
15. A rabbit.
16. Because the Crystal Flower was stolen.
17. The troll was surprised.
18. She felt proud.
19. They shimmered brighter.
20. Because it is called the Enchanted Garden.

Answers to Vocabulary Questions

1. Curious means wanting to know more.
2. Overgrown means covered with tall plants.
3. Exclaimed means to say something loudly.
4. Inserted means to put something inside.
5. Creaked means to make a loud noise when moving.
6. Sparkled means to shine brightly.
7. Puzzle means to confuse or make someone think hard.
8. Grumbled means to complain in a low voice.
9. Brave means not afraid.
10. Challenge means a task that is difficult.
11. Surprised means taken aback.
12. Correct means right or accurate.
13. Hurry means to move quickly.
14. Proud means feeling pleased about something.
15. Adventure means an exciting experience.
16. Wobbly means unsteady.
17. Place means to put something somewhere.
18. Tiny means very small.
19. Shimmered means to shine with a flickering light.
20. Ready means prepared.

Answers to Grammar Questions

1. Loved.
2. Benny.
3. Yes, it has a subject and a verb.
4. Past tense.
5. Lily will decide to go to the garden.
6. Lily was very excited.
7. Beautiful.
8. Was the sky purple?
9. Plural.
10. Lily is brave.
11. And.
12. She.
13. Lily did not help Benny.
14. Possessive.
15. She will help you.
16. Across.
17. Key.
18. Was the troll grumpy?
19. Lily decided to help Benny.
20. Simple sentence.

Answers to Punctuation Questions

1. “Lily found a key, and she was excited.”
2. Yes, it needs a question mark.
3. “Lily entered the garden.”
4. Yes, it needs quotation marks.
5. The troll said, “I will give it back.”
6. Yes, “Benny’s garden” needs an apostrophe.
7. “Lily couldn’t believe her eyes!”
8. No, it is correct as it is.
9. Two sentences.
10. “Lily was brave; she helped Benny.”
11. Yes, it needs a comma.
12. No comma needed.
13. Exclamation mark.
14. Yes, it needs a question mark.
15. Yes, it should be capitalised.
16. “Lily said she was excited.”
17. Yes, it needs an apostrophe.
18. “After the adventure, Lily went home.”
19. Yes, it should have a full stop.
20. It should be capitalised: “Lily found a key.”

I hope you enjoyed the story and found the questions helpful! Remember to read carefully and think about what you’ve learned. Happy studying!