Why an author wrote it and how the writing shows it

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Letter to the Editor

   The Alder Street Pool (letter): [1] Last July, forty-one children in our neighborhood learned to float at the Alder Street Pool, and many of them had never been in deep water before. [2] The council now says the pool costs too much to operate, and it plans to fill the basin with gravel before next summer.

   [3] I have lived two blocks from that pool for nineteen years, and I have watched it become the busiest spot on our street. [4] Teenagers have worked there as lifeguards, grandparents have walked laps at dawn, and no family has ever been turned away for lack of a ticket.

   [5] The repair bill is real, and I do not pretend otherwise. [6] But a pile of gravel will not teach a single child to swim, and the nearest public pool is a forty-minute bus ride away.

   [7] When parents ask where their children will learn next summer, what answer can this council give them? [8] A budget can be balanced in many ways, but a pool that has been buried cannot be brought back.

2. 1.

   Ari reads this letter from a neighbor. Why did the author most likely write it?

   • To warn families that the pool's repairs could put swimmers in danger
   • To explain how much money the town would save by closing the pool
   • To convince the council to keep the pool open for the neighborhood
   • To describe how busy and useful the pool has been for different neighbors
3. 2.

   Bo reads the pool letter. Which choice best describes how the author feels about the council's plan?

   • The author thinks the plan is a mistake that families could not undo
   • The author doubts that the council has listened to what the neighborhood wants
   • The author accepts the plan as a sensible way to cope with the repair bill
   • The author is proud of the lifeguards and swimmers who use the pool
4. 3.

   Esme looks at the words pile of gravel in sentence [6]. What does the author's choice of those words show?

   • The plan sounds empty and useless when set beside what the pool gives children
   • The author finds gravel an acceptable way to use the old pool space
   • The words name the material the council would pour into the empty basin before next summer
   • The author believes the council is spending the town's money carelessly

5. How to Patch a Bike Tire (guide)

   [1] A flat tire looks like a disaster, but fixing one takes about fifteen minutes and a handful of cheap tools. [2] First, pry the tire off the wheel with two plastic levers and slide out the inner tube.

   [3] Pump the tube up a little and hold it near your cheek until you feel a thin stream of air. [4] Mark the spot with a pen, because the hole can be so small that it vanishes once the tube goes limp.

   [5] Rough up the area with the sandpaper from the kit, spread on a thin coat of glue, and wait until it turns tacky. [6] Press the patch down firmly for a full minute, and the repair is finished.

   [7] Slip the tube back inside the tire, check that nothing is pinched, and pump it to the pressure printed on the side. [8] After you have done this once, you will probably wonder why you ever felt nervous about it.

6. 4.

   Jun reads the bike tire guide. Which choice best describes how the author feels about fixing a flat?

   • The author thinks it is a tricky job that most riders should leave to a shop
   • The author thinks riders will come to enjoy fixing flats as a hobby
   • The author thinks it is a simple job that a new rider can handle
   • The author is mostly worried that the hole will be hard to find
7. 5.

   Kira reads sentence [1]. What does the author's use of the word disaster show about the author's view?

   • The word means a sudden event that causes great harm to many people or places
   • The author is telling readers the repair takes about fifteen minutes
   • The author agrees that a flat tire is a serious problem for a rider
   • A flat seems like a huge problem but the author sees it as a small one
8. 6.

   Luz wants the sentence that best shows how the author feels about fixing a flat. Which sentence is it?

   • [2] First, pry the tire off the wheel with two plastic levers and slide out the inner tube.
   • [6] Press the patch down firmly for a full minute, and the repair is finished.
   • [8] After you have done this once, you will probably wonder why you ever felt nervous about it.
   • [4] Mark the spot with a pen, because the hole can be so small that it vanishes once the tube goes limp.

9. Gallery Card

   The Gull Point Lens (museum card): [1] Look closely at the tall glass tower in front of you, and you will see hundreds of prisms set in rings of polished brass. [2] Each prism was cut by hand, and every one bends the light at a slightly different angle.

   [3] Before lenses like this one, a lighthouse flame lit only a small patch of the water around it. [4] The ringed glass gathered that scattered glow into a single beam that sailors could spot from many miles away.

   [5] This lens guided ships past the rocks off Gull Point for ninety years, turning slowly through every night of wind and fog. [6] Keepers climbed the tower stairs each evening to wind its clockwork and to polish the glass until it shone.

   [7] Notice how the brass has worn smooth where their hands rested on it. [8] Few machines have done their work as quietly or as faithfully as this one did.

10. 7.

    Milo reads sentence [7]. The author points out that the brass has worn smooth where hands rested. What does that choice show?

    • The author admires the long and careful work of the keepers who tended the lens
    • The author thinks the old brass looks shabby and should be replaced
    • The author is sad that the keepers were not thanked for their work
    • The author is explaining that years of rubbing make brass lose its rough surface
11. 8.

    Pia reads this card in a museum. Why was it most likely written?

    • To show visitors how to wind the lens's clockwork as the keepers did
    • To tell the story of one keeper's long life beside the sea
    • To teach visitors how the lens works and why it mattered to ships
    • To ask visitors for money so the lens can be repaired

12. Home Column

    Pickles Versus the Vacuum (column): [1] Every Saturday morning, our dog Pickles hears the vacuum cleaner roll out of the closet and begins to bark like a tiny, furious opera singer. [2] She backs under the couch, and from there she glares at the machine with an expression of deep personal betrayal.

    [3] My brother says she believes the vacuum is a huge, noisy animal that has moved into the closet. [4] I tell him that is ridiculous, but then I remember how the vacuum swallows every crumb it meets, and I stop talking.

    [5] Last week Pickles finally crept out, sniffed the hose, and stood perfectly still for a full ten seconds. [6] Then she sneezed so hard that her ears flapped, marched back under the couch, and refused to speak to any of us until dinner.

    [7] I admit that I have never seen anyone lose to a vacuum cleaner with such dignity. [8] Next Saturday we are all hoping for a braver dog, although secretly we are rooting for the opera to go on.

13. 9.

    Ren reads sentence [1]. The author says Pickles barks like a tiny, furious opera singer. What does that comparison show about the author's view of the barking?

    • Pickles barks in a high, ringing voice that carries through the house, as singers do
    • The author is annoyed that the barking is so loud on a Saturday morning
    • The author thinks Pickles should be trained to bark more quietly
    • The author finds the barking funny and a little grand rather than truly troublesome
14. 10.

    Zee reads the whole column. Which choice best describes how the author feels about Pickles?

    • The author is embarrassed by Pickles and wishes the dog would behave
    • The author is annoyed that Pickles makes cleaning day so difficult
    • The author is amused by Pickles and fond of the dog's dramatic act
    • The author is mostly puzzled about why Pickles dislikes the vacuum