Soccer Struggles

This reflective reading and writing worksheet helps students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 strengthen comprehension, empathy, and problem-solving skills through a relatable fictional scenario. After reading about Eli’s challenges on the soccer team, students write an advice-column style response directly to the character, using story details to offer realistic, supportive suggestions for improving skills, confidence, and teamwork.

Learning Goals

• Character Challenge Analysis (Grades 4-6): Identify the problems Eli faces and understand their impact on his emotions and performance.
• Advice Writing & Application: Write clear, constructive advice that addresses specific challenges from the text.
• Using Text Evidence: Refer to story details to support recommendations and explanations.
• Social-Emotional Reasoning: Practice empathy, encouragement, and problem-solving related to self-management and teamwork.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource: Designed by educators to align with upper elementary ELA and SEL standards.
• Blends Reading & Writing: Moves students from comprehension to meaningful, real-world application.
• Supports Positive Communication: Encourages respectful tone and actionable suggestions.
• Flexible Classroom Use: Ideal for writing workshops, small-group discussion, homework, or assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students develop confidence in offering thoughtful advice while deepening their understanding of character experiences. By responding to Eli’s struggles with empathy and practical solutions, learners strengthen reading comprehension, written expression, and interpersonal awareness. Whether used in a classroom or homeschool setting, this resource provides meaningful practice with advice writing, character analysis, and real-world problem-solving through literature.

This worksheet is part of our reading applications worksheets collection.