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The Plain Gray Hat: Evidence from a Story worksheet preview

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The Plain Gray Hat: Evidence from a Story

Grade 4 writing: read an original story set in a hat-making shop and use its details as evidence about the characters, a comparison and the theme.

Grade 4ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toW.4.9.a

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 9 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 4
Subject
ELA
Question types
Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students choose details from a story that support a claim about a character.
  • Students match claims about a story to the sentences that support them.
  • Students write short answers that use story evidence to explain a character's change and the theme.

How to use

Read the story aloud once, then have students reread it and mark details as they answer. Discuss the written answers in the last section as a class.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

W.4.9.a

Draw evidence from literature to support analysis, reflection, and research, applying grade 4 reading standards to stories, dramas, and poems.

Preview

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Name Date

The Plain Gray Hat: Evidence from a Story

Use details from a story to support ideas about characters and theme.

Read the story

The Plain Gray Hat

1Every Saturday, Esperanza helped Tía Ofelia in her small hat shop on Pemberton Street. Round hatboxes were stacked on the shelves, and wooden blocks shaped like heads stood in a row on the workbench. Tía Ofelia was a milliner, which meant she made and repaired hats by hand. Esperanza loved the drawer of trimmings best: ribbons, silk flowers and feathers in every color.

2One morning a tall man named Mr. Osgood came in holding a faded gray hat. The brim was bent, and the band was frayed. "This was my father's," he said quietly. "He wore it to work every day. I would like it fixed so I can wear it to my granddaughter's graduation."

3After he left, Esperanza pulled open the trimmings drawer. "Let's add a bright red band and a tall green feather," she said. "It will look brand-new!" Tía Ofelia smiled but shook her head. "Did you notice how he held it?" she asked. Esperanza thought about it. Mr. Osgood had held the hat with both hands, the way someone holds a bird's nest.

4All week, they worked slowly. Tía Ofelia steamed the brim and stretched it over a wooden block until it was smooth and round again. Esperanza carefully picked out the old stitches, and together they sewed on a new gray band that matched the old one almost exactly. Esperanza wanted to hurry, but her aunt reminded her, "A hat with a story needs patient hands."

5On Saturday, Mr. Osgood returned. When Esperanza handed him the hat, he turned it around and around. Then he put it on and looked in the mirror for a long time. "It still looks like his," he whispered. "Thank you for not changing it."

6When the bell over the door stopped jingling, Esperanza put the green feather back in the drawer. "Some hats need feathers," she said. "This one needed to stay the same." Tía Ofelia laughed and handed her a broom. "Now you are thinking like a milliner."

Find the evidence

Use details from the story to answer each question.

1.
Which claim about Mr. Osgood does paragraph 2 support best?
  • A. He wants his hat to look bright and brand-new.
  • B. He cares about the hat because it was his father's.
  • C. He plans to sell the hat once it has been fixed.
  • D. He wants Esperanza to pick a new color for it.
2.
Tía Ofelia asks, "Did you notice how he held it?" Underline the sentence in paragraph 3 that shows how Mr. Osgood held the hat.

After he left, Esperanza pulled open the trimmings drawer."Let's add a bright red band and a tall green feather," she said.Tía Ofelia smiled but shook her head.Esperanza thought about it.Mr. Osgood had held the hat with both hands, the way someone holds a bird's nest.

3.
In paragraph 3, Mr. Osgood held the hat "the way someone holds a bird's nest." What does this comparison show?
  • A. He held it gently because it was precious to him.
  • B. He held it tightly so the wind could not take it.
  • C. He held it upside down to keep the brim flat.
  • D. He held it far away because it was so dusty.
4.
Sort the details. Which show what Esperanza wants at the start of the story, and which show what she thinks at the end?
says this hat needed to stay the samewants to add a bright red bandsays the hat will look brand-newputs the green feather back in the drawer
Esperanza at the startEsperanza at the end
5.
Match each claim about the story to the detail that supports it.
  1. Mr. Osgood's hat is old and worn.
  2. Mr. Osgood is pleased with the repair.
  3. Esperanza enjoys colorful trimmings.
  4. Fixing the hat takes careful work.
  1. A. "Thank you for not changing it."
  2. B. Esperanza carefully picked out the old stitches.
  3. C. The brim was bent, and the band was frayed.
  4. D. Esperanza loved the drawer of trimmings best.
6.
Which sentence from the story is the best evidence that Tía Ofelia wants the hat fixed with care?
  • A. Tía Ofelia was a milliner, which meant she made and repaired hats by hand.
  • B. "I would like it fixed so I can wear it to my granddaughter's graduation."
  • C. When the bell over the door stopped jingling, Esperanza put the green feather back in the drawer.
  • D. Esperanza wanted to hurry, but her aunt reminded her, "A hat with a story needs patient hands."
7.
Which sentence best states a theme of the story?
  • A. Bright colors make old things look much better.
  • B. Fixing things alone is faster than asking for help.
  • C. Listen closely to what matters to other people.
  • D. New hats are worth more than hats from long ago.

Write with evidence

Answer in complete sentences. Use details from the story.

8.
Claim: Esperanza changes during the story. Write two details from the story that support this claim.
9.
Why does Tía Ofelia say, "Now you are thinking like a milliner"? Use evidence from the story in your answer.

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