Rea d ing Compre h ension
Hi, my name’s Zack and I live with my parents and younger sister Jess. (We get on quite well, although sometimes she’s a bit annoying.)
I have a dog called Rags. He got his name because when he was a puppy he kept chewing socks, T-shirts, and any other clothes he could find.
I go to Manor Park School and I’m in Cedar class. All the classes are named after trees. My teacher is Mrs. Longley.
My best friend is Mark, and we both belong to Southold Town Soccer club. Mark’s dad is one of our coaches. Last season we won the local league’s U12s shield and so far, this year we’ve won all our games except one! We train on Thursday evenings and play our matches on Saturday afternoons.
Zack’s Blog
Our last match was against Bentley U12s, and it was very competitive. At half-time the score was 2-1 to us. In the second half, we scored another goal and Bentley scored twice. That meant at the final whistle it was a 3-3 draw, so it went to penalties. I scored the winning penalty! Hooray!
I am going to be writing and posting more about Southold U12s as the season continues. I hope you’ll follow my posts and enjoy reading about us. More soon!
Color the box with the correct answer.
Zack plays: Zack’s sister is called:
rugby soccer cricket hockey
Anna Beth Hinda Jess
On what day do Southold U12s play their matches?
Saturday
In which league does Zack play?
What team does Zack play for?
During their last match, what was the score at half-time?
Why did the match against Bentley U12s go to penalties?
How do you think Zack felt when he scored the winning penalty?
A Trip to the Seashore
Dear Gran,
How are you? Sam and I had a great day out with Dad last Saturday. He arrived and said that he was taking us on an adventure. We were going to explore and do some beachcombing on the shore at Sandy Bay. I wore the rubber boots you gave me for my birthday. Thank you, I really love them. Sam was really excited because he loves to explore.
When we arrived, we ran down to the shoreline. Dad told us to keep our eyes open and look for interesting things.
Sam found some seaweed. He thought it was bladderwrack, because it had bubbles in it. I found some more shells for my collection, and a strange white disk thing. Dad said it was the middle of a cuttlefish. I didn’t know what that was, so we found a picture of one in Dad’s guide book. They are really weird!
17, Bookstore Road, Snoreham, Coreshire UK
A bit further along the beach Sam found a blob of jelly. It was a jellyfish that had got stranded on the shore when the tide went out. It had black circles in the middle and what was left of its tentacles underneath. Yuck!
Then I found something that looked like an oblong black bubble with some curly strings on each corner. As it turns out, it was an egg case from a shark or a ray. The embryo grows in there, and then when it has hatched out the case often gets washed up on the shore. Dad told us that, according to folklore, they are mermaid’s purses. Well that’s what sailors used to say anyway. Dad said I should check that a mermaid hadn’t left anything in it. I said I thought mermaids would have prettier purses.
Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks
Lots of love, Cami
Color the box with the correct answer. Discussion
Where did Cami and her family go to explore?
The white disk that Cami found came from a:
What does the word stranded mean?
What is a mermaid’s purse really?
Shoreham Bay Sunny Bay Stoney Bay Sandy Bay shark ray jellyfish cuttlefish a boat left behind on a shore caught up an egg case a jelly a shell a cuttlefish
What do you do if you are beachcombing? ...................................................................
What things did the children find on the beach? .........................................................
What sort of fish might hatch out of a mermaid’s purse? .......................................
Why might a mermaid keep in her purse or handbag?
Reading Comprehension & Writing Skills is a program that gives young students the skills they need to become confident listeners, speakers, readers, and writers. It can be used independently but also works well alongside Spelling, Grammar, & Punctuation, and features the same multisensory, active, and fun approach. The systematic and cumulative syllabus enables students to read a variety of texts and genres with deeper understanding and enthusiasm, expand their vocabulary, and write confidently using their own experiences and imagination.
The engaging, weekly Reading Comprehension lessons:
• provide students with a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts to listen to, read, discuss, and analyze
• encourage participation with vibrant illustrations, attractive artwork, and colorful photographs in this write-in Student Book
• offer purposeful activities for a deeper level of understanding
• incorporate suggestions for further reading on the topic, as well as extension activities
• come with step-by-step lesson plans and fully structured support provided in the Reading Comprehension & Writing Skills Teacher’s Book
© Sara Wernham 2026 (text) © Jolly Learning 2026 (illustrations) Illustrated by Yoana Gurriz Muñoz LEGO® spill photograph, p. 64, © Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition Other images by: commons.wikimedia.org, pixabay.com, and vecteezy.com
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