The Great Barrier Reef: Reading Comprehension Worksheet (Grade 4)
Free printable Grade 4 reading comprehension worksheet: an original non-fiction passage, "The Great Barrier Reef", with 5 questions covering literal understanding, inference, vocabulary in context and main idea. Answer key included.
Reading Comprehension: The Great Barrier Reef
Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions in full sentences.
Off the coast of Queensland, Australia, lies the largest living structure on Earth: the Great Barrier Reef. It stretches for about 2,300 kilometres and is so large it can be seen from space.
Although a reef looks like rock, it is built by tiny animals called coral polyps. Each polyp is smaller than a fingernail. Polyps grow hard skeletons, and over thousands of years, billions of these skeletons build up into a reef. The reef becomes a home for an amazing variety of life: sea turtles, clownfish, giant clams, reef sharks and more than 1,500 species of fish.
The reef faces serious threats. When the ocean gets too warm, corals turn white and can die. This is called coral bleaching. Scientists, park rangers and everyday visitors all play a part in protecting the reef, because once a reef is lost, it can take centuries to grow back.
- 1.Where is the Great Barrier Reef?
- 2.What tiny animals build the reef?
- 3.What is coral bleaching?
- 4.The passage says the reef is 'the largest living structure on Earth'. What detail supports this?
- 5.Why does the author say everyone plays a part in protecting the reef?