A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on identifying what supports a speaker's point, aligned to Common Core standard SL.4.3. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.
A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence
SL.4.3
NameDate
Read the text, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
What a Coral Reef Is
A coral reef looks like rock and is built by animals.
A coral polyp is a soft creature the size of a pinhead. It draws calcium from the sea water and builds a hard cup around itself. Millions of polyps, cup upon cup, become a reef.
Inside each polyp live tiny algae. The algae make food from sunlight and pass most of it to the polyp. In exchange they get shelter and the polyp's waste. Neither could build a reef alone.
When the water gets too warm, the polyps expel the algae. Without them the coral turns white and starves. That is what bleaching means.
A reef takes centuries to build and can bleach in a single hot summer.
1. What is the author's purpose, and how do you know?
2. The text says neither organism could build a reef alone. What evidence supports that?
3. Quote the words that explain what the algae give the polyp.
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
How Penicillin Was Found
In 1928 Alexander Fleming went on holiday and left a stack of dishes on a bench. Each held a colony of bacteria.
When he came back, one dish had a spot of mould on it. Around the mould was a clear ring where the bacteria had died.
Fleming realised the mould was producing something that killed bacteria. He named it penicillin and published a paper. Almost nobody noticed.
Ten years later, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain read that paper and tried to make penicillin in quantity. That turned out to be the hard part: it took two thousand litres of mould fluid to treat one patient.
By 1944 the problem had been solved and penicillin was reaching soldiers in the field.
1. Quote the sentence that explains why Fleming's discovery went nowhere at first.
2. What is the author's purpose, and how do you know?
3. The text says the hard part was not the discovery. What evidence supports that?
LessonPrint · SL.4.3 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. To explain what a reef is and why it is fragile — the last line makes the contrast explicit. 2. The algae make the food; the polyp makes the cup and gives them shelter. 3. "The algae make food from sunlight and pass most of it to the polyp."
2.1. "He named it penicillin and published a paper. Almost nobody noticed." 2. To correct the idea that penicillin was one lucky accident — the second half is all about the work that followed. 3. It took ten years for anyone to act, and two thousand litres of fluid to treat one patient.
Questions about A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence
What does the A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence worksheet cover?
It practises identifying what supports a speaker's point — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core SL.4.3: Pick out a speaker's reasons and evidence for each point. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.3 — SL.4.3, in the Speaking & Listening domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on SL.4.3, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence can I print?
25 versions, of which 24 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two pupils still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.
Is A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence free to print and photocopy?
Yes. A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach SL.4.3?
Yes — “A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence” is a 40-minute Grade 4 plan for SL.4.3, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. A Speaker's Reasons and Evidence is the practice that follows it.
More practice for SL.4.3
Pick out a speaker's reasons and evidence for each point.