The Secret in the Garden Shed
A short story about a boy, his grandad and a rusty tin, with eight questions on clues, feelings and word pictures.
Read the passage
Leo had never been inside Grandpa’s shed. It stood at the bottom of the garden like a sleeping animal, with ivy creeping over its roof. The door was always locked.
On Saturday, Grandpa took a small key from his pocket. “I think it’s time,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
Inside, the shed smelled of oil and old wood. Dusty spades hung on the wall. On a shelf sat a rusty tin with a faded label. Leo’s heart thumped as Grandpa lifted it down.
“Open it,” said Grandpa quietly.
Leo prised off the lid. Inside were dozens of tiny paper packets, each one marked in careful handwriting: sunflower, sweet pea, poppy. At the bottom lay a photograph of a girl in a straw hat, standing in front of a wall of flowers.
“That’s your grandma,” said Grandpa. His voice wobbled a little. “She grew all of these. I couldn’t bear to open the tin after she died. But I think she would want them to bloom again.”
Leo looked at the packets and then at his grandad. “Can we plant them today?” he asked.
Grandpa smiled, and the sadness in his face softened. “Fetch the spades,” he said.
Answer the questions
- What was inside the rusty tin? (1 mark)
- What did the packets have written on them? (1 mark)
- Find and copy one word that means “pulled off with effort”. (1 mark)
- The writer says the shed stood “like a sleeping animal”. What does this suggest about the shed? (2 marks)
- How did Grandpa feel when he talked about Nana? Use a detail from the story to explain how you know. (2 marks)
- Why do you think the shed door was always locked? (2 marks)
- Why did Grandpa decide to open the tin now? (1 mark)
- Number these events 1 to 4 in the order they happen. (2 marks)• Leo asks if they can plant the seeds.• Grandpa unlocks the shed.• Leo opens the rusty tin.• Grandpa lifts the tin off the shelf.
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. Tiny paper packets of seeds, and a photograph of a girl in a straw hat. (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). Finding the key details in the middle of the story.
2. The names of flowers, such as sunflower, sweet pea and poppy. (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). A detail to find in the right paragraph.
3. prised (1 mark)
Word meaning (2a). The child matches a less common word in the story to its meaning.
4. That it was quiet, still and had not been disturbed for a long time (any sensible answer about stillness or being left alone). (2 marks)
Language choices. A simile paints a picture in the reader’s mind, and the child explains what it suggests.
5. Sad or emotional. Evidence, for example: “His voice wobbled a little” or “I couldn’t bear to open the tin”. (2 marks)
Inference (2d). Feelings are shown through what characters say and do, not told directly.
6. Grandpa wanted to keep Nana’s things safe and private because they made him sad (any sensible reason that fits the story). (2 marks)
Inference (2d). The story gives the clues but never says outright, so the child has to work it out.
7. He thought Nana would want her flowers to bloom again. (1 mark)
Explaining from the text. Linking a character’s choice to the reason behind it.
8. 1. Grandpa unlocks the shed. 2. Grandpa lifts the tin off the shelf. 3. Leo opens the rusty tin. 4. Leo asks if they can plant the seeds. (2 marks)
Sequencing events. Sequencing shows the child has followed the whole story.
What this practises
Finding information (2b), Word meaning (2a), Language choices, Inference (2d), Explaining from the text, Sequencing events. The codes in brackets are the reading content domains from the national curriculum test framework. Marks and answers are a guide: accept any sensible answer that is backed up by the text.
Now try the writing task
Write about a special object that someone in your family keeps, and the story behind it.
Aim for eight to twelve sentences. Read it back aloud together and fix anything that does not sound right.
Want feedback on your child's own writing?
You mark the worksheet yourself with the answer key. LiteracyLab AI is different: it reads what your child has written and gives specific feedback, such as what worked, one thing to try next, and a corrected version, matched to their year. The Free plan includes 3 pieces a month and needs no card.
More Year 4 worksheets
Free to print and copy for your own family or classroom. Please do not sell or republish. The passage and questions were written for LiteracyLab AI.