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 names six pickup stops spread across the neighborhood of Marlow Heights
- Wrong, because the sheet lists only good points and compares the shuttle with a frustrating option
- Right, because each sentence gives a number or a feature that a rider could check for themselves
- Right, because the sheet is written without I or we, so the writer states no opinion about the shuttle
Esme wonders who the sheet is written for. Which choice names the likely readers and how you can tell?
- Residents of Marlow Heights who need a daily ride, because the sheet lists six stops there across the neighborhood
- Airport managers who run the parking garages, because the sheet talks about crowded garages and circling cars
- Families packing for a long vacation, because the sheet mentions luggage racks and extra blankets for chilly mornings
- Travelers who must reach the airport early, because the sheet stresses the 4:30 van and the parking trouble
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?
- State the speed limit on Mill Road and the hours when the school zone is in effect
- Put the date and time of the council's vote in the very first sentence
- Add more of the business owner's words about how hard the fines would be on workers
- Use vivid words about danger near the school and call the cost a small price to pay
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 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
- By adding the exact time the clock goes off, 6:15, so readers know how early 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 turns a daily annoyance into a comic scene so readers laugh with the author
- It tells readers the clock makes a sound like a rooster crowing at dawn
- 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
Pia reads a classmate's note: The author really hates the clock, because the words are so harsh. Which reply is accurate?
- Wrong, because the neighbor is the one who is annoyed by the clock, and the author is not
- Right, because the family keeps a calendar showing the days when the clock has won
- Right, because the clock screams each morning and the author's firm speech fails to quiet it
- Wrong, because the harsh words are jokes, and the author keeps the clock and plays along
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
- Keep the doubt about where it came from but add that many people enjoy repeating the claim
- Add proof that goldfish can learn tricks and remember them for weeks after the lessons
Tala reads sentence [7]. How does it affect the way readers see the three-second story?
- It explains why the story spread without blaming anyone so readers can let it go
- It makes readers feel they were fooled by people who meant to lie
- It shows the author enjoys the story and wants readers to keep telling it
- It tells readers the story has been told for so long that it feels like a tradition
Zee wonders who this fact check is written for. Which choice names the likely readers and how you can tell?
- Scientists who study fish, because the article describes the trials and mazes in careful detail
- Goldfish owners looking for care tips, because the article mentions a feeding spot and the glass
- Students writing a report on memory, because the article describes several experiments
- Ordinary readers who repeat the story, because it starts with what most of us have heard