5th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets - Free Printable

Let’s go through the text step by step to understand what it says and answer any questions that might come from it.

The title is “History of New York City” by Katie Clark.

First paragraph:
- New York City is one of the most recognized cities in the world.
- It held the record for largest city many times, but now Tokyo holds that record.

Second paragraph:
- NYC is made up of five areas called boroughs: Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.
- These are like big neighborhoods within the city.

Third paragraph:
- The city was first founded in 1624 — that’s over 390 years ago!
- It was originally named “New Amsterdam.”
- Dutch people bought the land from Native Americans.
- They paid with goods worth about $24 (in today’s money).

Fourth paragraph:
- In the 1600s, the British took control from the Dutch.
- They renamed it “New York” after the Duke of York.

Fifth paragraph:
- Over the next few hundred years, many immigrants came to NYC.
- Many came from European countries.
- When the Revolutionary War happened between America and Britain, the British still controlled NYC.
- But under a treaty signed in 1783, they gave it back to the U.S.

Sixth paragraph:
- At the end of the war, Americans had won and now owned NYC.
- For a short time, NYC was even the capital of the United States!
- George Washington was sworn in as president there.

Seventh paragraph:
- Because NYC is near the ocean, it became a major port.
- Ships brought goods in and out — so it became very important for buying and selling things.

Now, since you didn’t ask a specific question, I’ll assume you want to know something basic like:

What were the original name and current name of New York City?

Step-by-step thinking:
1. Look at third paragraph → says it was first called “New Amsterdam.”
2. Look at fourth paragraph → says British renamed it “New York.”
3. So, original = New Amsterdam; current = New York City.

Another possible question:
How many boroughs does New York City have?

Step-by-step:
1. Second paragraph lists them: Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn.
2. Count them → 5 total.

Or maybe:
Who lived in New York City before Europeans arrived?

Step-by-step:
1. Third paragraph says: “The Dutch people bought the land from a native tribe.”
2. So, Native American tribes lived there first.

Since no exact question was asked, I’ll give you the most common fact students need to remember:

Final Answer:
New York City was originally called New Amsterdam and has five boroughs: Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.