The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle: Grade 4 Reading Passage

About this worksheet

A fourth grade nonfiction passage about Frank Epperson, the 11-year-old whose forgotten drink froze into the first Popsicle. A free printable 4th grade nonfiction passage (182 words) with multiple-choice main idea/vocabulary/how questions, events to number in order and a short written answer. Answer key on page 2. It is written for fourth grade readers, around ages 9 to 10.

On this sheet

Some great inventions happen by accident. As the story is usually told, it was a chilly evening in 1905 in San Francisco, California. Eleven-year-old Frank Epperson mixed powdered soda flavoring with water to make a fruity drink. He stirred it with a wooden stick, left the cup on his porch and forgot about it. That night, the temperature dropped below freezing. The next morning, Frank found his drink frozen solid, with the stick standing straight up in the middle.

Tips for using it

• Before reading, look at the picture and the title together and guess what the passage will be about.
• Ask your child to underline the sentence in the passage that proves each answer.
• Talk about the story afterwards: what was the problem, how was it solved, and what would your child have done?

Printing tips

Download the PDF and print at 100% (or “fit to page” on A4). Page 1 is the worksheet and page 2 is the answer key with the answers in red; print just page 1 if you want to keep the answers for checking. Free for personal, family and classroom use.