5th grade sub plans: reading

A 5th grade reading block for a substitute: “The Last Lap”, a 241-word fiction passage about sports and friendship, with 5 questions and an answer key. 4 steps, from handing it out to going over the answers.

Checked October 30, 2026. Made from Peabody Teach's own passages, worksheets and brain break cards.

Make the whole day at 5th grade ▸

The reading block

8:30–9:40Reading: The Last Lap

Hand out “The Last Lap”, a fiction passage of 241 words. Print 24: the student copy is in this packet.
Students read it on their own. Anyone who finishes reads it a second time and underlines the sentence they think matters most.
Students answer the 5 questions under the passage, in full sentences.
With five minutes left, go over two questions out loud. The answers are on the key page: keep it with you.

📄 The Last Lap (passage and key)

The sheets, on their own pages

The Last Lap: the passage, questions and answer key

Subbing 5th grade

Fifth graders are usually the oldest in the building and respond to being treated that way: tell them the plan, give a choice where you can, and hold them to the schedule. They can read a passage alone and write two paragraphs.

Explain the whole day in the first five minutes, including what happens if work is finished early.
Offer a small choice (which question to share, where to read) rather than a reward.
Hand out the extra-time sheet with the main sheet, so nobody waits for you.

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