Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting

Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting
Print Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting Reading Comprehension with Fourth Grade Work

Print Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting Reading Comprehension

Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.58

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    luxurious, historian, theory, spite, immediately, interstate, interesting, scientist, actually, gracious, mystery, breast, disgust, valuable, backed, whose
     content words:    Aunt Rune, New York City, Ima Brush, Georges Seurat, Be Continued

Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting
By Colleen Messina 		  
1     Shelly, Brian, and their great-aunt Rayna were in the attic of Aunt Rayna's large and quaint Victorian-style house. The children were staying with their mother's aunt, their only other relative, while their parents were on a trip.
 
2     Brian wrinkled his nose in disgust. It was a nice nose, well-shaped and covered with freckles, but it did not like dust. "Achoo!" sneezed Brian. His eyes were still adjusting to the dim light.
 
3     "Bless you, dear," said Aunt Rayna. "Well, here it is. This is the painting I found up here recently. It is old, but I don't know if it's worth anything."
 
4     Shelly and Brian peered at the canvas. The painting was large, old, and dirty. It showed some flowers, lily pads, and stems of grass growing in a pond of water.
 
5     Shelly was eleven, and her brother Brian was eight. They were curious about the mystery painting. The attic was a little creepy, but the rest of the house was charming. Outside there was a well-manicured lawn that looked like a smooth green carpet. Apple trees in the small orchard next to the lawn reached out with gnarly branches that begged to be climbed. Brian had hooted with delight when he first saw them.
 
6     "My father, your great-grandfather, once lived in Paris. He hinted about leaving me something valuable before he died. He said it was in the "upper room," but he never said exactly what the item was. When I inherited his house, your mother and I searched through everything. I expected to find valuable stock certificates or gold coins! But nothing! Recently, though, I came across this old painting. I'm wondering if this is what he was talking about."
 
7     "How can you find out if it's worth anything?" asked Shelly. She was a serious, quiet girl whose nose was always in a book. She loved a good mystery! She felt an odd tingly feeling in her stomach at the thought of solving a real-life mystery.
 
8     "We could take it to an art museum in New York City. I know an art historian who works there. Maybe she can help us," said Aunt Rayna, her eyes sparkling.
 
9     Brian and Shelly smiled and nodded. They helped their great-aunt wrap the painting in a blanket and take it out to the car. Then, Aunt Rayna called the museum and made an appointment to meet her friend the next morning.

Paragraphs 10 to 23:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

Feedback on Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting
Leave your feedback on Art Mystery, Part 1 - The Mystery Painting   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

More Lessons
             Art Theme Unit: Reading Comprehensions



Copyright © 2025 edHelper