Henry Hudson Reading Comprehension | Printable Grade 4

This Grade 4 informational text worksheet guides students through the life and voyages of Henry Hudson, focusing on his search for a northern passage to Asia. Students will read a detailed biographical narrative and apply critical thinking skills to evaluate historical evidence, determine cause and effect, and infer character traits from an explorer's actions.

At a Glance

• Grade: 4 · Subject: English Language Arts
• Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 — Explain events and ideas in a historical text based on specific information
• Skill Focus: Chronological analysis and trait inference
• Format: 4 pages · 8 problems · Answer key included · PDF
• Best For: Independent reading or Social Studies integration
• Time: 30–45 minutes

What's Inside: This comprehensive 4-page PDF contains a multi-paragraph biography written with an academic yet accessible tone. The resource includes 8 numbered tasks ranging from multiple-choice recall to open-ended written reasoning. A dedicated "Think a Little Deeper" section encourages students to analyze the author's purpose and sequence complex historical events. A full model answer key is provided to facilitate quick grading or student self-correction.

Skill Progression

• Guided Practice: The first set of tasks uses 3 evidence-based questions to establish a factual baseline, including multiple-choice options that model high-quality historical reasoning and detail identification.
• Supported Practice: Students move to 2 fill-in-the-blank and short-response items where they must connect Hudson's 1609 discoveries to the broader goals of European trading companies using textual support.
• Independent Practice: The final 3 "Think a Little Deeper" tasks require students to evaluate character traits and sequence events without scaffolds, culminating in a 3-sentence written opinion on Hudson's legacy.

This structure follows the gradual release of responsibility model, ensuring students master the informational content before engaging in higher-order analysis.

Standards Alignment

The primary focus of this resource is `CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3`, which requires students to explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. By tracing Hudson's multiple attempts to find a sea route and the resulting mutiny, students practice explaining the "why" behind historical outcomes. Supporting standard `CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1` is also addressed as students must quote accurately from the text to support their inferences about Hudson's determination. Both standard codes can be copied directly into lesson plans, IEP goals, or district curriculum mapping tools.

How to Use It

This worksheet is ideal for use during the "explore" phase of a unit on the Age of Discovery. Assign the reading as a quiet independent task after a brief introductory lecture on 17th-century maritime technology. To use this as a formative assessment, observe students during the sequencing task (Question 7) to identify those struggling with chronological text structures. Expected completion time is approximately 40 minutes, making it a perfect fit for a standard ELA block or a targeted Social Studies rotation.

Who It's For

This resource is designed for Grade 4 students but is highly effective for Grade 5 review or as a high-interest text for Grade 3 advanced readers. It provides natural differentiation through tiered questioning, making it suitable for general education classrooms, small group intervention, or as a robust sub plan. It pairs naturally with a physical map of North America or a timeline anchor chart of world explorers to help students visualize the geography of Hudson's journeys.