activity of text interpretation, aimed at students in the fifth year of elementary school, about nails in the fence. Shall we read the reflective text? Then answer the various interpretative questions proposed!
You can download this text comprehension activity in editable Word template, ready to print to PDF and also the activity with answers.
Download this reading comprehension exercise at:
SCHOOL: DATE:
PROF: CLASS:
NAME:
Read:
There was a boy who had a difficult temper.
His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he should drive a nail into the back fence of his house.
On the first day, the boy drove 37 nails into the fence.
Then it gradually decreased.
He found it easier to contain his temper than to drive nails into a fence.
Finally the day came when the boy no longer lost his temper.
He told this to his father, who suggested that the boy now take a nail out of the fence for every day he managed to contain his temper.
The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that there were no more nails in the fence.
The father took his son by the hand, led him to the fence and said:
“You did well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence… The fence will never be the same again. When you say things with hate, they leave scars like these. You can stick a knife in a man and get it out. No matter how many times you say you're sorry, the wound will still be there.
Unknown authorship. Available in: .
(With cut and adaptation).
Question 1 – Read back:
“His father gave him a bag of nails and told him every time he lost his temper to drive a nail into the back fence of his house.”
This fragment is:
( ) a narration.
( ) a description.
( ) an argument.
Question 2 – In the segment “So it was decreasing gradually.”, the underlined word means:
( ) "slowly".
( ) "quickly".
( ) “unexpectedly”.
Question 3 – In the passage “He found it easier to contain his temper than to drive nails into a fence.”, the expression “than”:
( ) indicates a condition.
( ) introduces an example.
( ) starts a comparison.
Question 4 – Watch:
“He told his father this […]”
What did the boy tell his father?
Question 5 – Underline the word that indicates the sum of facts below:
“The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that there were no more nails in the fence.”
Question 6 – In the part “The father took his son by the hand, led himO to the fence and said: […]”, the highlighted term refers to:
Question 7 – In “No matter how many times you say you're sorry, the wound will still be there.”, the father reveals to his son:
( ) that the wound is transitory.
( ) that the wound is temporary.
( ) that the wound is permanent.
Question 8 – It can be concluded that the text intends to:
( ) make you reflect.
( ) discuss a topic.
( ) announce a discovery.
By Denyse Lage Fonseca
Graduated in Letters and specialist in distance education.