Why an author wrote it and how the writing shows it
Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Rider Information
The Sunrise Shuttle (information sheet): [1] The Sunrise Shuttle picks up riders at six convenient stops across Marlow Heights, and the first van leaves at 4:30 each morning. [2] Every van is cleaned daily, and each seat includes a free phone charger and a cup holder.
[3] Because the shuttle travels in the express lane for most of the trip, it reaches the terminal in about thirty-five minutes. [4] Drivers carry extra blankets for chilly mornings and help riders lift their luggage into the rack.
[5] More than nine thousand travelers rode the Sunrise Shuttle last year, and most of them rode it again within a month. [6] Parking at the airport, by comparison, can mean circling a crowded garage while the minutes tick away.
[7] Tickets are sold at every stop and online, so planning ahead takes only a minute. [8] Riders arrive at their gate rested, on time, and free of every parking worry.
Ari reads a classmate's note: The sheet only gives facts, so it has no point of view. Which reply is accurate?
- Wrong, because the sheet lists only good points and compares the shuttle with a frustrating option
- Right, because the sheet is written without I or we, so the writer states no opinion about the shuttle
- Right, because each sentence gives a number or a feature that a rider could check for themselves
- Wrong, because the sheet names six pickup stops spread across the neighborhood of Marlow Heights
Town Council Report
Mill Road (news report): [1] On Tuesday, the Fenwick Town Council heard from residents about a proposal to place two speed cameras on Mill Road. [2] The cameras would fine any driver who passes the school zone at more than five miles per hour over the limit.
[3] Resident Dana Okafor said that traffic has grown heavier every year and that she worries about children crossing near the school. [4] Police Chief Alan Reyes said that a similar camera on Pine Street lowered the average speed from thirty-eight to thirty-one miles per hour.
[5] Business owner Carl Ibsen said that the fines would fall hardest on workers who drive that road daily, and he asked whether the town needed the money. [6] Council member Teresa Wong said that the cameras would cost eighty thousand dollars to install, most of it due up front.
[7] Speakers on both sides said that drivers on Mill Road go too fast, but they disagreed about whether cameras or a new crosswalk should come first. [8] The council will vote on the proposal at its meeting on the fourteenth of next month.
Jun reads a classmate's note: The report favors cameras because it mentions the Pine Street camera. Which reply is accurate?
- Wrong, because the report ends before the council has voted on the proposal
- Right, because the Pine Street result is the report's single fact about what cameras actually do
- Wrong, because speakers on both sides get a turn, and each one is introduced the same plain way
- Right, because the writer begins with a resident who worries about children near the school
Kira imagines a writer who wants readers to support the cameras. Which change would that writer most likely make?
- Put the date and time of the council's vote in the very first sentence
- Use vivid words about danger near the school and call the cost a small price to pay
- State the speed limit on Mill Road and the hours when the school zone is in effect
- Add more of the business owner's words about how hard the fines would be on workers
Luz asks who the report is mainly written for. Which choice names the likely readers and how you can tell?
- Drivers who speed on Mill Road, because the report explains how the fines would work near the school
- Police officers in the county, because the report quotes a police chief about a camera on Pine Street
- Fenwick residents who missed the meeting, because the report tells what was said and when the vote is
- Council members who want a record, because the report describes their meeting and the speakers in detail
Morning Notes
My Alarm Clock (essay): [1] Every morning at 6:15, my alarm clock begins a performance that I can only describe as a small electric rooster having a crisis. [2] It does not beep politely; it screams, with the confidence of a clock that has never once been told no.
[3] I have tried everything to quiet it, including a pillow, a blanket, and a firm speech about respect. [4] The clock ignored all of it, and the speech actually seemed to make it louder.
[5] My sister has started keeping a calendar of the days it won the argument, and the clock is currently ahead by a landslide. [6] Our neighbor, who works nights, once knocked on the door at dawn to ask whether we had bought a new tea kettle or a new emergency.
[7] I would replace the clock, but it was a gift from my grandmother, who calls it a good, honest worker. [8] So each morning we face off again, and each morning, as far as I can tell, the clock enjoys it more than I do.
Milo imagines a writer who truly wants readers to buy a quieter alarm clock. How would that writer change sentence [2]?
- By keeping the screaming clock and adding a joke about the neighbor who works nights
- By adding the exact time the clock goes off, 6:15, so readers know how early it is
- By swapping the joke about confidence for plain facts, such as how loud the clock is
- By making the clock sound even more heroic, so readers admire how stubborn it is
Noah asks why the author compares the clock to a small electric rooster having a crisis. What is the effect on readers?
- It makes readers feel sorry for a clock that is struggling and about to stop working
- It convinces readers that electric alarm clocks are a danger to sleeping people
- It tells readers the clock makes a sound like a rooster crowing at dawn
- It turns a daily annoyance into a comic scene so readers laugh with the author
Pia reads a classmate's note: The author really hates the clock, because the words are so harsh. Which reply is accurate?
- Right, because the clock screams each morning and the author's firm speech fails to quiet it
- Right, because the family keeps a calendar showing the days when the clock has won
- Wrong, because the harsh words are jokes, and the author keeps the clock and plays along
- Wrong, because the neighbor is the one who is annoyed by the clock, and the author is not
Fact Check
The Goldfish Story (fact check): [1] Most of us have heard that a goldfish forgets everything every three seconds, and plenty of people repeat the claim as if it were settled. [2] No one seems to know who first said it, and no one has ever produced an experiment that backs it up.
[3] Scientists who have actually tested goldfish tell a very different story. [4] In one set of trials, the fish learned to push a small lever to receive food, and they remembered the trick weeks later.
[5] Other researchers have taught goldfish to swim through mazes and to gather at a feeding spot when a certain sound plays. [6] Goldfish owners notice the same thing at home, when their fish swim to the glass the moment someone walks toward the food.
[7] The popular story likely lasted so long because it is short, funny, and easy to repeat. [8] Memory in a fishbowl, it turns out, is a lot more impressive than the jokes give it credit for.
Ren imagines a writer who believes the three-second claim. Which change to sentence [2] would fit that writer?
- Add the names of the scientists who tested goldfish and a line praising their careful work
- Remove the doubt about where the claim came from and present it as established fact
- Add proof that goldfish can learn tricks and remember them for weeks after the lessons
- Keep the doubt about where it came from but add that many people enjoy repeating the claim
Tala reads sentence [7]. How does it affect the way readers see the three-second story?
- It shows the author enjoys the story and wants readers to keep telling it
- It explains why the story spread without blaming anyone so readers can let it go
- It tells readers the story has been told for so long that it feels like a tradition
- It makes readers feel they were fooled by people who meant to lie
Zee wonders who this fact check is written for. Which choice names the likely readers and how you can tell?
- Students writing a report on memory, because the article describes several experiments
- Scientists who study fish, because the article describes the trials and mazes in careful detail
- Ordinary readers who repeat the story, because it starts with what most of us have heard
- Goldfish owners looking for care tips, because the article mentions a feeding spot and the glass