EnglishFreePrintable

Hermit Crab Story Map

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:

Hermit Crab Story Map

Read the story below. Use clues from the words and events to answer each question. You can sketch your ideas in the drawing box.

The Shell Swap

At dawn, Levi and Mere helped Nathan check the crab pots beside the fishing harbour. They gently returned a small hermit crab to a rock pool. Its shell looked cracked, and the crab kept backing out of it. A strong wave washed an empty, smooth shell into the pool. The crab tapped it with one claw, but a tiny shrimp was hiding inside. Levi waited while the shrimp hurried away. Then the crab crawled out of its old shell and carefully tested the new one. It fitted snugly. Just then, another wave rolled towards the rock pool. The crab tucked safely into its new shell as water rushed over the rocks. Mere smiled. “A good home can make a big difference,” she said. The children watched the crab scuttle beneath a ledge.

Story clues

Think about the characters, setting, problem and events.

1.Which characters help the hermit crab in the story? Choose the best answer.

Levi, Mere and Nathan
Three fishermen
A shrimp and a seal

2.Where does the story mostly happen?

Beside a fishing harbour, at a rock pool
In a forest
On a mountain

3.What problem does the hermit crab have at the beginning?

4.Why does the crab wait before moving into the smooth shell?

5.Put these events in story order by writing 1, 2 and 3 beside them: the crab tests the new shell; the children return the crab to the pool; a wave washes an empty shell into the pool.

6.How does the crab solve its problem?

7.What does the word “snugly” tell you about the new shell?

It fits the crab comfortably and closely
It is full of water
It is much too large

8.True or false: The crab moves into the new shell while the shrimp is still inside it.

TrueFalse

9.What happens at the end that shows the new shell helps the crab?

10.Which story-map label best fits “a wave rolls towards the rock pool”?

A setting detail
A problem-solving event near the ending
A character

11.Draw the story map: show the harbour setting, the crab’s shell problem, and how the crab solves it. Add labels or arrows to show what happens first and next.

Sketch the setting, problem and solution. Add arrows or labels to show the events.