Reading Worksheet · Grades 4–6
Foreshadowing Worksheet
A 3-page worksheet for grades 4-6 that teaches foreshadowing – the literary device authors use to drop early clues about events to come in a story. Students read a short narrative passage about Sara packing for a hike, then label 8 sentences from the passage as foreshadowing or descriptive in Section A (balanced 4 of each), and answer 6 short-response items in Section B about identifying and writing foreshadowing. Includes a strategy reference and a complete answer key.
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Subject
Reading
Grades
Grades 4–6
Skill Focus
Foreshadowing, reading comprehension
Lesson Length
25 minutes
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
Foreshadowing is the literary device that keeps readers turning pages: a small clue early on, picked up later when the predicted event finally arrives. Strong readers train themselves to notice details that feel placed on purpose – a small object, a piece of dialogue, a description of weather – and use those clues to make predictions about what comes next. This worksheet isolates the AUTHOR’S hint move so students can name the technique they have been responding to all along.
The reference box at the top of page 1 defines foreshadowing using a generic ship-and-storm example (an old ship that has not sailed in three storms without losing a crewmember). The example does NOT mention hikes, ponchos, or any passage content – the reference teaches the SKILL, not the answers. A short narrative passage about Sara packing for a hike to a waterfall follows. The passage contains 4 clear foreshadowing clues and 4 descriptive sentences, all balanced for Section A.
Section A on page 1 (just below the passage) quotes each passage sentence and asks students to label it as foreshadowing or descriptive. The 4 foreshadowing items (rain poncho on a sunny day, dad’s ‘better to have it and not need it,’ first-aid kit, dark clouds gathering) are all small-but-purposeful author choices. The 4 descriptive items (Sara packed her backpack, she walked it twice before, she tied her boots tightly, her dad waved from the porch) are normal scene-setting that do not telegraph a future event.
Section B on page 2 raises the difficulty to explanation and application. Students define foreshadowing in their own words, pick a foreshadowing sentence and explain what trouble it hints at, predict what happens to Sara, explain why a writer would have her pack a rain poncho on a sunny day, and write an original foreshadowing sentence for a beach trip. Page 3 is a complete answer key.
How to Use This Lesson
Read the reference box aloud and walk students through the ship-and-storm example – identify the hint and what it foreshadows.
Have students read the passage about Sara independently and underline anything that feels placed on purpose by the author.
Work Section A item 1 together; ask students how they decided DESCRIPTIVE rather than FORESHADOWING.
Assign the rest of Section A independently or with a partner; encourage students to defend each label by pointing at the specific cue word.
Use Section B item 11 (predict what happens to Sara) as a structured turn-and-talk so students share predictions before writing.
Use the answer key on page 3 for self-check or aide spot-check; the 8 Section A labels are unambiguous, the Section B samples are sample-only.
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Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages · Answer Key
Foreshadowing Worksheet
A 3-page worksheet for grades 4-6 that teaches foreshadowing – the literary device authors use to drop early clues about events to come in a story. Students read a short narrative passage about Sara packing for a hike, then label 8 sentences from the passage as foreshadowing or descriptive in Section A (balanced 4 of each), and answer 6 short-response items in Section B about identifying and writing foreshadowing. Includes a strategy reference and a complete answer key.
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