Words That Allude to Myth is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on meanings that point back to a mythological character, aligned to Common Core standard RL.4.4. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 23 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.
23 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.
Words That Allude to Myth
RL.4.4
NameDate
Read the text, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Clock That Was Wrong
The church clock in our village had been four minutes fast for thirty years.
Everybody knew. The bus timetable was written around it. Weddings started on it. My grandmother set her oven by it, four minutes back.
Then the council paid a specialist to come and correct it.
He was there two days. When he left, the clock was exact.
Within a month, three people had missed the bus, the choir arrived late twice, and my grandmother burned a cake she had made two hundred times. The vicar wrote to the council. In March they set it four minutes fast again.
1. "The clock that was wrong" — in what sense was it wrong, and in what sense was it right?
2. "The bus timetable was written around it" — is this literal?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Arachne
Arachne could weave. Shepherds left their flocks to watch her hands.
She was asked once whether the goddess Athene had taught her. "Nobody taught me," she said. "Let Athene weave against me and we shall see who learned from whom."
An old woman at the edge of the crowd advised her to take it back. Arachne laughed at her. The old woman straightened up and was Athene.
They wove for a day. Athene's cloth showed the gods in glory. Arachne's showed the gods behaving badly, and it was — everyone could see it — the better work.
Athene tore it to pieces. Then she touched Arachne's forehead and made her into a spider, so that she could go on weaving for ever and nobody would ever look.
1. "Nobody would ever look" — what does this mean beyond the literal?
2. Spiders are called "arachnids". What does that allusion carry?
LessonPrint · RL.4.4 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Words That Allude to Myth
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Wrong against real time, right for the village, which had built everything on it. 2. Nearly. It means the timetable was designed to fit the fast clock.
2.1. Her skill continues but is never admired again, which is the real punishment. 2. It names them after Arachne, the weaver turned into a spider.
Questions about Words That Allude to Myth
What does the Words That Allude to Myth worksheet cover?
It practises meanings that point back to a mythological character — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core RL.4.4: Work out what words mean here, including ones that point back to myths. 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 Words That Allude to Myth practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.4 — RL.4.4, in the Reading: Literature domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Words That Allude to Myth is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on RL.4.4, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Words That Allude to Myth 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 Words That Allude to Myth can I print?
25 versions, of which 23 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 Words That Allude to Myth free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Words That Allude to Myth, 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 RL.4.4?
Yes — “Allusions and Figurative Meaning” is a 40-minute Grade 4 plan for RL.4.4, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Words That Allude to Myth is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RL.4.4
Work out what words mean here, including ones that point back to myths.