EnglishFreePrintable

Woolly Mammoth Reading Predictions

A free english worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Woolly Mammoth Reading Predictions

Read the short text below. First, use its title and opening clues to predict what might happen. Then read the whole text and answer the questions. Use clues from the text to explain your thinking.

The Mammoth in the Mud

At the edge of a wide, grassy plain, Oliver heard a deep rumble. A young woolly mammoth stood beside a muddy stream. Its thick, shaggy coat was streaked with brown mud, and one enormous foot was stuck in a soft patch of ground.

Before reading: make a prediction

Pause after reading the title and the first paragraph only. Make your prediction before reading the rest of the passage.

1.From the title and first paragraph, predict what Oliver might do to help the mammoth. Give one clue that helped you make your prediction.

After reading: check the clues

Oliver fetched a long, sturdy branch. She did not pull the mammoth. Instead, she laid the branch across the mud so it could step onto firmer ground. The mammoth tested the branch with its trunk, then carefully lifted its foot. Plop! It was free. The mammoth trumpeted and shook itself. Mud splattered everywhere, including onto Oliver’s boots. Oliver laughed. She led it to a shallow pool and used a bundle of soft grass to brush away the worst of the mud. The mammoth seemed to enjoy the cool water, but when Oliver reached for its tangled coat, it stepped backwards. Just then, dark clouds gathered. Oliver looked at the mammoth’s thick coat and wondered: would the rain help clean it, or would the mammoth find an even muddier place to roll? Now read the rest of the passage and answer each question using what you have learned.

2.What problem did the mammoth have when Oliver first saw it?

Its foot was stuck in soft mud.
It had lost its way home.
It was frightened of the rain.
It could not find any water.

3.Why did Oliver place a branch across the muddy patch instead of pulling the mammoth?

4.Which detail best shows that the mammoth was careful when it tried the branch?

It tested the branch with its trunk.
It trumpeted and shook itself.
It splattered mud onto Oliver’s boots.
It stepped backwards from the grass.

5.Oliver brushed the mammoth with soft grass. What happened when she reached for its tangled coat?

6.Which kind of text is “The Mammoth in the Mud”?

A story with characters and events
A set of numbered washing instructions
A factual report about prehistoric animals
A poem with rhyming lines

7.What is the most likely reason the author wrote this story?

To entertain readers with an imaginative problem and its solution
To teach a real method for washing every large animal
To give a scientific report about mammoth fossils
To persuade readers to visit a muddy stream

8.At the end, Oliver wonders whether the rain will clean the mammoth or it will roll in more mud. Which ending do you predict? Use one clue from the story to support your idea.

9.Look back at your first prediction. Was it mostly correct, partly correct or different from what happened? Explain by naming one event from the story.

10.Choose one word to describe Oliver: helpful, impatient or careless. Explain your choice with evidence from the story.