★Evaluate Reasons and Evidence
Grade 5 Reading Worksheet
Circle the answer.
Read this first
Every Town Needs a Tool Library
Most people need a tall ladder only a few times a year. A power drill might sit in a drawer for months. Yet many families buy these tools and store them in crowded garages. A tool library offers a better way. Like a book library, it lends tools to members for a week at a time. Every town should have one.
The first reason is that a tool library saves families money. A good power drill costs about $80, and a tall ladder can cost more than $200. A pressure washer, which many people use once a year, costs even more. Members of the tool library in Cedar Grove pay a yearly fee of $40. For that price, they can borrow from more than 1,500 tools. One member said she saved over $600 in her first year while fixing up her porch.
The second reason is that sharing tools is better for the environment. Making a drill uses metal, plastic and energy. Yet some estimates say a home drill is used for only about thirteen minutes in its whole life. When twenty families share one drill, nineteen fewer drills need to be made. Tools that are used again and again are also less likely to end up in the landfill.
The third reason is that a tool library helps people learn new skills. Many tool libraries offer free classes on Saturdays. Volunteers such as retired carpenters and plumbers teach them. Members learn how to fix a leaky faucet, build a birdhouse or patch a wall. The librarian in Cedar Grove reports that more than 400 people took a class last year. Some had never held a hammer before.
Some people say that borrowed tools might break. That does happen sometimes. However, tool libraries check each tool when it is returned. Volunteers repair broken tools or replace them with donated ones. In Cedar Grove, fewer than 2 out of 100 tools come back damaged.
A tool library costs a town very little. It can start in an empty room with donated tools and a few volunteers. Some towns even run one inside the public library. In return, it saves money, cuts waste and teaches skills. Our town council should open a tool library next spring.
What is the author's claim?
- Families should buy better tools.
- People should fix their own homes.
- Tool libraries should charge higher fees.
- Every town should have a tool library.
Which evidence supports the reason that a tool library saves families money?
- A home drill is used for about thirteen minutes.
- More than 400 people took a class last year.
- A drill costs about $80, but a yearly fee is $40.
- Fewer than 2 out of 100 tools come back damaged.
Some estimates say a home drill is used for about thirteen minutes in its life. Which reason does this support?
- A tool library helps people learn skills.
- Borrowed tools rarely come back broken.
- A tool library saves families money.
- Sharing tools is better for the environment.
How does the author support the reason that a tool library helps people learn?
- by explaining what a book library does
- by reporting how many people took a class
- by describing how volunteers repair tools
- by comparing the prices of drills and ladders
When twenty families share one drill, nineteen fewer drills need to be made. How does this sentence help the argument?
- It proves that drills break easily.
- It shows how sharing means fewer tools are made.
- It explains why the classes are free.
- It shows how much money each family saves.
What objection does the author answer?
- that borrowed tools might break
- that the classes are too hard
- that few people own a ladder
- that tools are too heavy to carry
