The Forgotten Gift

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 to strengthen reading comprehension, literary analysis, and historical understanding through a rich holiday narrative set in Victorian-era London. Learners read a detailed story about Thomas, a young boy whose life is changed by an anonymous Christmas gift, then respond to comprehension questions that explore setting, symbolism, theme, and character development while building deeper literary thinking skills.

Skills Reinforced

• Historical Narrative Comprehension (Grades 4-6) – Students analyze a story grounded in a specific historical time and place.
• Symbolism, Theme, & Setting – Learners examine how objects, atmosphere, and context contribute to meaning.
• Character Development – Encourages analysis of how Thomas changes and grows throughout the story.
• Victorian Cultural Awareness – Introduces elements of 19th-century life, values, and traditions.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to support upper-elementary ELA and social studies standards.
• Rich, Descriptive Text – Atmospheric language promotes close reading and thoughtful interpretation.
• Balanced Comprehension Questions – Includes literal, inferential, and analytical prompts.
• Low-Prep & Printable – Easy to use for holiday lessons, literature units, or homeschool instruction.

This printable reading comprehension worksheet helps students engage deeply with a classic-style holiday story while strengthening critical reading and literary analysis skills. By exploring symbolism, setting, and character transformation in a Victorian context, learners connect imagination and creativity to historical understanding. Ideal for classroom or homeschool use, this activity offers a meaningful way to combine seasonal reading with thoughtful literary exploration.

This worksheet is part of our Christmas Worksheets Collection.