The Missing Wheel
A short story about a science fair and a friend in trouble, with eight questions on reading between the lines.
Read the passage
The gym was buzzing on the morning of the fourth-grade science fair. Jada set her solar-powered car on the table and stepped back to admire it. She had spent three weeks building it, and the yellow paint was still shiny.
At the next table, Ben stood with his arms folded, staring at his own car. One of its wheels lay beside it, snapped in two. “I tested it before school,” he mumbled. “It rolled right off the ramp.” He did not look up.
Jada glanced at the clock. The judges would arrive in ten minutes. She opened her toolbox and found the spare wheel she had made, just in case. It was the only one she had. If something went wrong with her car today, she would have nothing to fix it with.
She bit her lip. Then she walked over and held out the wheel. “Here,” she said. “It should fit.”
Ben’s eyes grew wide. “But what if you need it?” “I’ll figure something out,” said Jada, shrugging as if it was no big deal. But her hand trembled a little as she let go.
When the judges came, both cars rolled smoothly down the ramp. One judge nodded and wrote something on her clipboard. Ben grinned so hard that his cheeks must have hurt.
That afternoon, while Jada was packing up, she found a small yellow sticky note inside her toolbox. In Ben’s messy handwriting, it said, “I owe you one wheel. Maybe two.” Underneath, he had drawn a tiny smiling car.
Answer the questions
- How long had Jada spent building her car? (1 point)
- What happened to Ben’s wheel? (1 point)
- How did Ben feel at the start of the story? What in the text makes you think so? (2 points)
- Why do you think Jada bit her lip before she gave Ben the wheel? (2 points)
- What does the word “trembled” mean in the sentence “her hand trembled a little as she let go”? (1 point)
- Jada shrugged “as if it was no big deal.” Do you think it really was no big deal to her? Explain, using evidence from the text. (2 points)
- What does the sticky note tell you about how Ben felt? How do you know? (2 points)
- Choose the sentence that best tells the theme of the story. Write its letter. (1 point)A. Sharing what you have can help a friend, even when it is hard.B. Winning is more important than anything else.C. Science fairs are always loud.D. Cars should always have a spare wheel.
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. Three weeks. (1 point)
Finding information (RL.4.1). A detail to find in the first paragraph before the child moves on to reading between the lines.
2. It snapped in two (it rolled right off the ramp when he tested it). (1 point)
Finding information (RL.4.1). Establishing the problem the rest of the story depends on.
3. Upset, embarrassed or discouraged. Evidence, for example: he stood with his arms folded, he mumbled, he did not look up. (2 points)
Inference (RL.4.1). The story never says how Ben felt. The child works it out from his actions and gives the clue that proves it.
4. She was nervous or torn, because it was her only spare wheel and she might need it herself. (2 points)
Inference (RL.4.1). A small action that reveals a hidden thought. The child connects it to the earlier detail about the “only one”.
5. Shook slightly (because she was nervous). (1 point)
Word meaning (RL.4.4). Using the surrounding sentences to work out what a word means.
6. No. It was her only spare wheel, she bit her lip, and her hand trembled. She was only pretending it did not matter. (2 points)
Inference (RL.4.1). What someone says and what they feel can be different. The child finds the clues that show the difference.
7. He was thankful and wanted to repay her. He wrote “I owe you one wheel. Maybe two” and drew a smiling car. (2 points)
Inference (RL.4.1). Reading a character’s feelings from what they do and write.
8. A (1 point)
Summarizing (RL.4.2). A theme is the big idea behind the whole story, not just one event.
What this practices
Finding information (RL.4.1), Inference (RL.4.1), Word meaning (RL.4.4), Summarizing (RL.4.2). The codes in brackets are Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (reading). Standards vary by state, so check what your child's school uses. Points and answers are a guide: accept any sensible answer that is backed up by the text.
Now try the writing task
Write a short story about a time someone shared something that was hard to give up.
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 grade. The Free plan includes 3 pieces a month and needs no card.
More Grade 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.