Great Migration Reading Comprehension

5th Grade ELAReading Comprehension3 pages

About this worksheet

Students read a one-page history passage on the Great Migration, when about six million African Americans left the rural South for cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York between 1916 and 1970. Four questions follow. Students quote the sentence that gives the second reason for moving, pick the main idea from four choices, write a summary with two key details, and explain how World War I opened up factory jobs. The work lines up with RI.5.1, RI.5.2, and RI.5.3, and the last page gives an answer for each question.

Remix for free

Great Migration Reading Comprehension: Reading Comprehension - page 1

Great Migration Reading Comprehension: Reading Comprehension - page 2

Great Migration Reading Comprehension: Reading Comprehension - page 3

Curriculum objectives covered

RI.5.1

“Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.”

Question 1, where students copy the exact sentence about factory jobs, and Question 4, which calls for evidence such as the factories that "desperately needed workers."

RI.5.2

“Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.”

Question 2 asks for the main idea of the whole passage, and Question 3 is a summary built on two key details.

RI.5.3

“Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.”

Question 4 connects two events: young men leaving to fight in World War I and the worker shortage that drew families north.

What's inside this worksheet

Read the Passage

The text gives two reasons for moving: segregation laws that made it hard to vote, get an education, or find fair-paying work, and a boom in factory jobs building train parts, packing meat, and making clothes. It ends with crowded housing, new discrimination, and the Harlem Renaissance. A 1920s steam train picture sits beside it.

Finding Evidence and Main Ideas

Question 1 asks for exactly one sentence, the one that begins "Second, there was a sudden boom of factory jobs." Question 2 offers four main idea statements, from World War I to the Harlem Renaissance. Question 3 asks for a summary in students' own words with at least two key details.

Making Connections

Question 4 asks students to explain the link between World War I and factory jobs in the North, then say how it shaped the Great Migration, with evidence from the text.

How teachers use it

U.S. history tie-in

Pair this with your unit on the early 1900s. A map with the rural South, Chicago, Detroit, and New York marked helps students see how far families traveled.

Evidence check

Question 1 says "exactly one sentence," yet many students copy the whole reasons section. Point them to the signal word "Second" and have them stop at the period.

Distractor talk

Choice d in Question 2 is a true detail from the passage, which is why students pick it. Ask whether it describes the whole text or only one part before they commit.

More 5th Grade ELA worksheets

Writing Grammar and Language Vocabulary Informational Text

Get started today

Create your own lesson plans, worksheets, and classroom activities in minutes using our AI-powered tools.

Try Chalkie for free