Footprints Erased

This creative reading and writing worksheet supports students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 as they combine comprehension, narrative structure, creative writing, and theme analysis skills through a mysterious fictional passage. After reading about Jonah’s unsettling discovery of disappearing footprints on the beach, students imagine a new ending that remains logically connected to the original plot while exploring how different conclusions can change a story’s message or meaning.

Learning Goals

• Alternate Ending Writing (Grades 4-6): Write a coherent 4-6 sentence ending that fits the established characters, setting, and events.
• Plot Structure Understanding: Analyze how the original story builds toward an ending and how changes affect resolution.
• Theme Exploration: Reflect on how altering the conclusion can shift or deepen the story’s theme or message.
• Creative Problem-Solving: Use imagination while maintaining logical consistency with the narrative.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource: Designed by educators to align with upper elementary reading and writing standards.
• Blends Reading & Writing: Encourages students to move from comprehension to creative application.
• Guided Reflection Prompts: Helps students explain their thinking and evaluate author choices.
• Flexible Classroom Use: Suitable for writing workshops, literacy centers, homework, enrichment, or assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students strengthen creative writing, narrative comprehension, and thematic reasoning skills. By crafting alternate endings and reflecting on open or mysterious conclusions, learners gain insight into author craft, story structure, and the power of narrative choices. Whether used in a classroom or homeschool setting, this resource provides meaningful practice with imaginative writing, plot development, and thoughtful analysis of fiction.

This worksheet is part of our reading fiction texts worksheets collection.