Make an inference and support it

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Winning Goal (story)

   [1] I scored the winning goal in the semifinal, and I am still not sure why the team makes such a big deal of Priya's pass. [2] A goal is a goal, and the scoreboard does not record who passed. [3] The ball was rolling along the left side when Priya spotted me, but that was luck, because I happened to be standing in the right place. [4] Coach Dunmore said I “had perfect timing,” and I agreed with him.

   [5] Looking back, I remember that two defenders were drifting toward the center of the field, leaving the far corner unguarded. [6] Priya shouted my name, and I broke away to the open corner a full second before she kicked the ball. [7] She also waited, her foot raised, until the goalie turned the wrong way. [8] The ball reached me at the exact spot where I could shoot without being blocked, as if someone had measured the distance.

   [9] At practice the next day, Priya was unusually quiet. [10] She laughed at the jokes, but she sat at the far end of the bench instead of next to me, as she usually did. [11] I told myself she was tired, and I did not think about it again until later. [12] That afternoon I found a note in my locker that said, “Nice shot. Next time I'll just keep the ball.”

2. 1.

   Ari compares the narrator's view of the goal in paragraph 1 with the details in paragraph 2. Which statement describes them best?

   • The narrator gives luck the credit, but the details show Priya planned and timed the pass.
   • The narrator and the details agree that the goal came from the narrator's perfect timing.
   • The narrator is modest about the goal, and the details show the narrator planned the shot alone.
   • The details show the pass was luck, as the narrator says, with no plan behind it.
3. 2.

   Bo first thinks Priya is simply tired at practice (sentences 9 to 11). How should the note in sentence 12 change that inference?

   • The note shows that Priya is angry at the coach, so the narrator should go and speak to the coach.
   • The note suggests Priya is hurt by the lack of credit, so tiredness is a weaker explanation.
   • The note shows that Priya does not mind, since she begins by saying “Nice shot.”
   • The note confirms that Priya is tired, since she says she will keep the ball next time to save effort.
4. 3.

   Esme lists conclusions about the narrator. Which conclusion goes beyond the evidence in the story?

   • The narrator does not see how Priya feels until the note makes it clear.
   • The narrator is a selfish person who wants to hurt teammates on purpose.
   • The narrator tends to explain events in a way that favors the narrator.
   • The narrator's memory in paragraph 2 does not match the claims in paragraph 1.
5. 4.

   Jun reads Priya's note in sentence 12. Reader A says Priya is joking and has moved on. Reader B says Priya is hurt and is warning the narrator. Which reading is better supported?

   • Reader A, because she wrote “Nice shot,” which makes the whole note friendly.
   • Reader B, because Priya shouted the narrator's name before she kicked the pass.
   • Reader A, because the narrator says she was probably tired at practice that day.
   • Reader B, because her quiet behavior and the word “just” point to hurt, not a joke.

6. The Man With the Notebook (story)

   [1] For three mornings, Tomás watched a man stand across the street from his family's bakery, holding a notebook and a pencil. [2] The man never came in, and he never bought so much as a roll. [3] He walked slowly along the front, looked up at the roof, and wrote something down before moving on to the next building. [4] Tomás told his aunt that the stranger was planning something, and he said it twice so that she would listen.

   [5] His aunt kept kneading dough and said only that the man looked polite. [6] On the fourth morning, Tomás went outside with a tray of rolls and stood close enough to read the notebook. [7] The pages were filled with sketches of the doorway, the arched window, and the carved sign that had hung over the entrance since before his grandfather's time. [8] The man looked up, startled, and then smiled.

   [9] “I'm sorry to stand like a statue,” he said. [10] “I draw old storefronts for the historical society, and yours is one of the oldest on the street.” [11] Tomás's face grew warm as he thought about what he had told his aunt. [12] He handed the man a roll, which was accepted with thanks, and invited him inside to see the original brick oven.

7. 5.

   Kira reads sentence 7. Tomás first thinks the man is planning something. How should the sketches change that inference?

   • They show Tomás was wrong to read the notebook, which becomes the main point of the story.
   • They show the man draws well, which tells nothing about his purpose or about the bakery itself.
   • They confirm the man is studying the building closely to plan something, so the suspicion grows.
   • They suggest the man admires the bakery's old features, so the earlier suspicion weakens.
8. 6.

   Luz compares Tomás and his aunt in sentences 4 and 5. Which statement describes how they read the stranger?

   • Tomás has the stronger reading, because the man came on three mornings in a row and wrote things down.
   • They agree the man is suspicious, but his aunt is too busy to do anything about it today.
   • They read different behavior: Tomás watches the man’s notebook, and his aunt watches the roof.
   • They read the same behavior differently: Tomás sees a plan, and his aunt sees politeness.
9. 7.

   Milo lists conclusions about the man. Which conclusion goes beyond the evidence in the story?

   • The bakery's front has been part of the street for a long time.
   • The man was startled to be watched and then tried to be friendly to Tomás.
   • The man was drawing the bakery's front for a purpose he had not yet explained.
   • The man runs the historical society and decides what the bakery must look like.
10. 8.

    Noah reads sentences 11 and 12. Tomás's face grows warm, and then he invites the man inside. What do the two actions together suggest?

    • Tomás sees that he misjudged the man and tries to make up for it with kindness.
    • Tomás is angry that the man drew the bakery without asking for permission first today.
    • Tomás is hot from carrying the tray of rolls outside, so he offers the man one.
    • Tomás is afraid the man will take the oven away for the historical society later.

11. Why Did the Scores Rise? (article)

    [1] At Maplewood Middle School, the average reading score rose from 71 to 78 between last year and this year. [2] Principal Vega credited the new library reading corner, which opened in September. [3] Students did check out about 40 percent more books than the year before.

    [4] Other things changed at the school too. [5] A tutoring program for sixth graders began in October, and the school added twenty minutes of silent reading to each morning. [6] The test itself was also shorter this year, with fewer long passages.

    [7] A teacher named Mr. Osei noted that scores rose most in the sixth grade, the only grade that received tutoring. [8] The seventh and eighth grades, which used the reading corner just as much, improved by only one or two points. [9] He said this pattern did not prove the tutoring was the cause, but it made the reading corner a weaker explanation by itself.

    [10] The district decided to keep all three changes and look at the scores again next year. [11] Principal Vega agreed that one year of data could not settle the question. [12] She asked each grade to keep track of how many minutes students read at home so that the next report would have more to compare.

12. 9.

    Pia reads paragraphs 1 and 2. Principal Vega credits the reading corner. Which statement describes how well that credit is supported so far?

    • It is possible, but other changes came at the same time, so the credit is not earned.
    • It is well supported, because the students checked out about 40 percent more books that year.
    • It is supported, because a principal knows the school better than an outside reader.
    • It is false, because the test was shorter, which means the reading corner had no effect on the scores.
13. 10.

    Ren reads sentences 7 and 8. How does Mr. Osei's pattern change the inference about the reading corner?

    • Grades that used the corner equally gained different amounts, so the corner alone cannot explain the gains.
    • It shows the reading corner failed, because the seventh and eighth graders improved by so little.
    • It shows the grades improved by the same amount, so the cause was the shorter test this year.
    • It shows tutoring caused the whole rise, because the sixth graders improved the most among the grades.