Why an author wrote it and how the writing shows it
Grade 6 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Restaurant Review
The Lantern Noodle House (review): [1] The Lantern Noodle House opened last month on Cedar Avenue with a line out the door and a menu full of big promises. [2] After two visits, I still cannot find many of those promises in the bowls that arrive at the table.
[3] The broth in my first bowl was lukewarm, and it tasted mostly of salt. [4] The noodles, which the menu calls “hand-pulled,” came out limp and clumped together like wet string.
[5] The service deserves credit, because our server was friendly and refilled our water without being asked. [6] The dining room is also bright and clean, with paper lanterns that hang over every table.
[7] Still, a pleasant room cannot make up for a bowl that costs fourteen dollars and arrives half cold. [8] Cedar Avenue already has two dependable noodle shops, and I would send hungry friends to either of them first.
Ari reads the noodle shop review. Why does the writer include sentences [5] and [6], which praise the service and the room?
- To show the writer is being fair, so the complaint about the food is easier to believe
- To soften the review so that the shop's owner will not feel insulted by the writer
- To show the writer liked the restaurant overall but was just unlucky with one dish on the menu
- To describe the dining room so readers can picture where the meal took place
Bo swaps limp and clumped together like wet string in sentence [4] for soft and stuck together. What changes?
- The noodles would sound less unpleasant and the writer's disappointment would be harder to see
- The sentence would stop telling readers that the menu calls the noodles hand-pulled
- The sentence would describe the same noodles, because soft and limp mean the same thing
- The sentence would show that the writer was pleasantly surprised, and ended up liking the noodles
Pelican Grove Butterfly Count (report)
[1] Each November, volunteers at Pelican Grove count the monarch butterflies that cluster on the eucalyptus branches for the winter. [2] This year's total was 3,100, down from 12,400 in the count taken eight years ago.
[3] Monarch caterpillars feed on milkweed, and the county's roadsides have lost nearly half of their milkweed since the first count. [4] Mowing crews now cut those roadsides in midsummer, when many caterpillars are still growing.
[5] Volunteers also recorded a drop in the number of clusters, which fell from forty-one to nine. [6] The smaller clusters were quiet and scattered, and some branches that once glowed orange held only a few insects.
[7] This report does not claim that mowing alone explains the decline, since weather and winter habitat matter too. [8] Even so, it lists three roadside changes that the county could make before the next count, and each one is inexpensive.
Jun looks at sentence [2]. Why does the report give the counts 3,100 and 12,400 right at the start?
- To praise the volunteers for counting such a large number of butterflies
- To show the size of the drop with numbers that readers can compare for themselves
- To show that the monarch count at Pelican Grove is falling, and will keep falling in the years ahead
- To prepare readers for a list of ways to attract more butterflies
Kira reads sentence [6]. Why does the writer say branches that once glowed orange now hold only a few insects?
- To show that the volunteers were upset with the county's mowing crews
- To help readers see the loss for themselves so the numbers carry feeling too
- To give one more number, proving the clusters fell from forty-one to nine
- To describe the bright color of monarch wings for readers who have not seen one
Luz asks how the writer shows concern about the butterflies. Which choice describes it best?
- By suggesting that the county's mowing crews are mainly to blame for the drop in the count
- By describing how the volunteers felt as they counted each cluster of butterflies in the grove
- By urging readers to write to the county and demand the three changes
- By using plain numbers and words like drop and lost, while staying careful about causes
Camping Diary
Night One (diary): [1] I should have known our camping trip was in trouble when the tent instructions arrived in eleven languages and none of them made sense. [2] Dad and I spent forty minutes building something that leaned to the left like a very tired circus tent.
[3] Dinner was supposed to be roasted corn, but I held it over the fire for so long that it became a charcoal baton. [4] A chipmunk stared at the baton, politely declined it, and walked away.
[5] At bedtime, a steady tapping began on the tent roof and kept going until midnight. [6] In the morning we found the culprit, which was one very determined acorn bouncing down the sagging roof.
[7] I have decided that I am not an outdoorsy person and that the stars look better from a comfortable bed. [8] Still, I have already asked whether we can go back next month, because I refuse to let that tent win.
Noah swaps charcoal baton in sentence [3] for burned piece of corn. What changes?
- The sentence would sound angrier, as if the writer were upset about dinner
- The sentence would show the writer blaming Dad for ruining the dinner
- The meaning stays the same, since both phrases tell readers the corn was burned
- The sentence would lose a silly picture so the diary would sound less playful
Pia asks how the writer makes readers smile at each mishap instead of feeling sorry for the camper. Which choice describes it best?
- By saying that the trip went smoothly and that the writer had a wonderful time throughout
- By listing everything the writer packed for the trip, and how much each item cost
- By explaining how to pitch a tent so readers can avoid the same trouble
- By describing each mishap with playful comparisons and ending with a wish to return
Science Page
Why Do Your Ears Pop? (science page): [1] If you have ever ridden up a mountain road or taken off in an airplane, you have probably felt your ears pop. [2] The feeling seems odd, but it is really a sign that a small and clever part of your body is doing its job.
[3] Behind each eardrum is a little pocket of air, and a narrow channel called the Eustachian tube links that pocket to the back of your throat. [4] When you climb higher, the air pressure outside your ear drops, so the air inside pushes gently on the eardrum.
[5] Swallowing or yawning opens the channel for a moment and lets that extra air escape. [6] The pop you hear is the sound of the pressure on both sides of the eardrum becoming equal again.
[7] Chewing gum or sipping water on a plane can help, because both make you swallow more often. [8] So the next time your ears crackle, remember that nothing is wrong, and a quick yawn will take care of it.
Ren swaps the word clever in sentence [2] for ordinary. What changes?
- The sentence would stop telling readers that the ear is a small part of the body
- The sentence would suggest the ear can think, since clever means quick at thinking
- The sentence would show the author thinks the ear is faulty
- The author would sound less impressed with the ear, so the sentence would feel less warm
Tala asks how the author keeps readers calm about popping ears. Which choice describes it best?
- By explaining the cause in plain steps and calling the pop a sign of a working ear
- By promising readers that chewing gum will stop the popping, before it ever starts
- By describing mountain roads in detail and how quickly airplanes climb into the sky
- By listing the parts of the ear in the order that sound travels through them
Zee looks at sentence [1]. Why does the author start with mountain roads and airplanes?
- To tell readers the article is mostly about mountains and flying
- To start with a feeling readers know so the explanation feels useful
- To explain how airplanes take off, and how they climb into the sky above the mountains
- To warn readers that high places and airplanes can hurt their ears