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Reading comprehension worksheet with poems and questions for students.

Reading comprehension worksheet featuring two poems, "The Spider" and "The Friendly Dark," with corresponding questions and illustrations of a spider and a sleeping child.

Reading comprehension worksheet featuring two poems, "The Spider" and "The Friendly Dark," with corresponding questions and illustrations of a spider and a sleeping child.

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Show Answer Key & Explanations Step-by-step solution for: Poem reading comprehension - ESL worksheet by sweetsuna
Let's solve the reading comprehension worksheet step by step. There are two poems, and each has five questions to answer based on the text.

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Poem 1: "The Spider"



Text:
> Big, black spider,
> Climbing up the wall,
> Never, never,
> Seems to fall.
>
> Yet I fall,
> When I climb the gate!
> But I've got two legs,
> And it's got eight.

#### Q1: What is the color of the spider?
- Answer: Black
- *Explanation:* The poem starts with "Big, black spider," so the color is clearly stated as black.

#### Q2: What is it climbing?
- Answer: The wall
- *Explanation:* The second line says "Climbing up the wall."

#### Q3: How many legs does the spider have?
- Answer: Eight
- *Explanation:* The last line says, "And it's got eight." This refers to the spider having eight legs.

#### Q4: Does the speaker fall when it climbs the gate?
- Answer: Yes
- *Explanation:* The line "Yet I fall, When I climb the gate!" shows that the speaker (the person) falls when climbing the gate.

#### Q5: What is the poem about?
- Answer: A comparison between a spider and the speaker (a person), highlighting how the spider never falls while climbing, but the speaker does when trying to climb a gate. It also contrasts the number of legs — the spider has eight, and the speaker has two.
- *Explanation:* The poem uses humor and contrast to show that although the spider seems to be better at climbing, the speaker is human and falls easily. It's a playful reflection on differences in abilities.

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Poem 2: "The Friendly Dark"



Text:
> The friendly dark
> Just fills my room
> When I'm in bed at night;
>
> It creeps on tiptoe
> All around to take
> The place of light.

#### Q1: What does the friendly dark fill?
- Answer: The room
- *Explanation:* The poem says "Just fills my room" — so the dark fills the room.

#### Q2: When does the dark fill the room?
- Answer: When the boy is in bed at night
- *Explanation:* The line "When I'm in bed at night" tells us the time when this happens.

#### Q3: How does the dark move?
- Answer: It creeps on tiptoe
- *Explanation:* The poem describes the dark as "creeping on tiptoe," which gives it a quiet, gentle movement.

#### Q4: What does it do?
- Answer: It takes the place of light
- *Explanation:* The final line says "to take the place of light," meaning darkness replaces the light in the room.

#### Q5: What is the boy going to do?
- Answer: He is going to sleep
- *Explanation:* Although not explicitly said, the context implies the boy is in bed at night, and the dark is filling the room. The image shows a sleeping boy, and the poem is about bedtime. So, he is going to sleep.

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Final Answers:



#### "The Spider"
1. Black
2. The wall
3. Eight
4. Yes
5. The poem compares a spider that never falls while climbing with a person who falls when climbing a gate, highlighting the difference in their abilities and number of legs.

#### "The Friendly Dark"
1. The room
2. When the boy is in bed at night
3. It creeps on tiptoe
4. It takes the place of light
5. He is going to sleep

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This worksheet helps children practice reading comprehension, attention to detail, and understanding figurative language like personification ("dark creeps on tiptoe").
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of poetry comprehension worksheet.
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