Inside and outside story conflicts

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Flooded Field (story)

   [1] Noah had been named captain of the Hartwell soccer team in September, and the league final was scheduled for Saturday. [2] On Thursday night, a storm dropped four inches of rain on the town, and by morning the field was a shallow lake. [3] The coach said the league might cancel the game, and half the team groaned. [4] Ren, who played goalkeeper, suggested playing on the gravel lot behind the school instead. [5] Noah liked the idea at first, because a game on any surface was better than no game. [6] But the other team's coach had said at the start of the season that they would only play on grass. [7] Noah's phone buzzed with a message from the other captain, asking whether Hartwell wanted to postpone. [8] Postponing meant waiting two weeks, when three of Noah's best players would be away. [9] Noah typed "We'll play," deleted it, typed "Let's talk," and deleted that too. [10] Ren watched from the bench and said, "Whatever you pick, I'll back it." [11] Noah finally wrote a different message: "Can we split it? Half the game here on gravel, half at your grass field next week?" [12] The other captain answered within a minute: "Our coach will want to hear it first." [13] Noah put the phone away, still unsure, and walked to the coach's office to explain.

2. 1.

   Milo reads the story. Which choice names the outside conflict that begins in [2]–[3]?

   • Outside: Noah has been named captain of the Hartwell team.
   • Outside: a storm has flooded the field, so the final may be canceled.
   • Outside: Ren suggests playing on the gravel lot behind the school.
   • Inside: Noah fears that the final will be canceled and that the season will end badly.
3. 2.

   Ren reads the story. How does the outside conflict in [2]–[8] lead to the inside conflict in [9]?

   • Both conflicts are outside Noah, since the weather and the other captain cause them.
   • Ren's suggestion forces Noah to play on the gravel, so Noah has no choice.
   • Noah's disagreement with Ren about the gravel lot started the trouble, and the storm added to the trouble.
   • The flood and the grass rule leave Noah two options that each cost something.
4. 3.

   Tala reads the story. What does the split-game message in [11] show about how Noah handles the conflict?

   • Noah looks for a compromise that gives both teams something.
   • Noah sends a different message from the first two that Noah deleted.
   • Noah follows Ren's advice exactly as Ren said it on the bench.
   • Noah gives up on the final to avoid an argument with the other team.
5. 4.

   Zee reads the story. Which choice names what is still unsettled in [12]–[13]?

   • Outside: the storm will return on Saturday and cancel the final before anyone decides.
   • Ren and Noah disagree about whether to use the gravel lot.
   • Both: the other coach has not yet agreed, and Noah is still unsure the plan is right.
   • Ren still plans to back whatever Noah picks.

6. Page Forty (story)

   [1] Esme was editing the eighth-grade yearbook, and the printer's deadline was just three days away. [2] Page forty was supposed to be a double-page spread of the school's best photos, and Esme had chosen a sweeping photo of the whole grade on the front steps. [3] On Tuesday, Luz found Esme at the lockers and asked whether a different photo could be used, because Luz was blinking in the front row. [4] Esme explained that the photo showed the whole grade and was the one that fit across both pages. [5] Luz looked at the floor and said, "Everyone else looks great." [6] That night Esme opened the photo and zoomed in until Luz's face filled the screen. [7] The blink was real, but it lasted a single frame and was easy to miss. [8] Esme knew the other photos were smaller, with faces hard to tell apart, and that the deadline left time for exactly one change. [9] Esme thought about the other editors, who had already voted for the front-step photo, and about how they would feel about a late switch. [10] On Wednesday morning, Esme asked the photographer for the second shot from the same moment. [11] The second shot was nearly identical, but Luz's eyes were open and the whole row was in focus. [12] Esme replaced the photo, wrote a note to the other editors explaining the change, and met the printer's deadline with an hour to spare.

7. 5.

   Ari reads the story. In [3]–[4], what conflict does Luz's request create for Esme?

   • Outside: Luz's request for a different photo clashes with the photo that fits across both pages.
   • Inside: Esme cannot decide which of the photos shows the whole grade most clearly on the page.
   • Outside: Esme explains to Luz that the photo shows the whole grade.
   • Outside: Luz is blinking in the front row of the photo.
8. 6.

   Bo reads the story. What inner struggle does Esme have in [8]–[9]?

   • Inside: Esme zooms in on Luz's face until it fills the screen.
   • Outside: the printer's deadline is three days away.
   • Outside: the other editors order Esme to keep the front-step photo whatever Luz says.
   • Inside: Esme weighs being fair to Luz against the deadline and the editors' vote.
9. 7.

   Esme reads the story. Which choice names an outside conflict and the inside conflict it leads to?

   • Outside: the editors' vote on the photo; inside: Luz's feelings about the blink in the photo on page forty of the yearbook.
   • Outside: Esme's wish to be fair to Luz; inside: Luz's request and a near deadline.
   • Outside: Luz's request and a near deadline; inside: Esme's wish to be fair while keeping the editors' trust.
   • Outside: the printer refusing to print the book; inside: Esme's fear of losing the job.
10. 8.

    Jun reads the story. How does Esme settle both conflicts in [10]–[12]?

    • Esme zooms in on Luz's face until it fills the screen.
    • Esme persuades the printer to give the editors a week more.
    • Luz takes a new photo of the whole grade on Wednesday morning, and Esme prints that one.
    • Esme finds a second shot with Luz's eyes open and tells the editors about the change.
11. 9.

    Kira reads the story. Why does Esme write a note to the other editors in [12]?

    • To keep the editors' trust, since the change affects a choice they voted for.
    • To ask the printer for more time to finish the yearbook.
    • To list the other photos that were smaller on page forty.
    • To blame Luz for blinking in the front row of the first photo.
12. 10.

    Luz reads the story. Tala says Esme's main conflict is outside. Zee says it is inside. Which sentence best supports Zee?

    • [9] Esme thought about the other editors, who had already voted for the front-step photo, and about how they would feel about a late switch.
    • [3] On Tuesday, Luz found Esme at the lockers and asked whether a different photo could be used, because Luz was blinking in the front row.
    • [12] Esme replaced the photo, wrote a note to the other editors explaining the change, and met the printer's deadline with an hour to spare.
    • [1] Esme was editing the eighth-grade yearbook, and the printer's deadline was just three days away.