Make an inference and support it

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   At the Bottom of the Tower (story)

   [1] Kaito stood at the bottom of the diving tower, a damp towel wrapped around his shoulders, and watched the older kids climb the ladder one rung at a time. [2] His towel stayed wrapped tightly around him even though the afternoon sun was hot enough to dry the concrete around the pool. [3] “I'm just waiting for the line to get shorter,” he told his sister, Hana, without turning around. [4] The line had been short for ten minutes, and the two boys at the end of it were more interested in their snacks than in the ladder.

   [5] Hana did not argue, because she had learned that arguing with Kaito only made him dig in harder. [6] She settled on the edge of the pool, kicking her feet, and remarked that the low board was nearly as much fun anyway. [7] Kaito's eyes followed a boy who bounced twice on the platform and then stepped off without any pause at all. [8] He pulled the towel tighter, as though the cloth could hold him in place.

   [9] Then an older girl climbing past paused on the third rung and admitted that she had been frightened of the tower for two whole summers. [10] “My legs shook the whole way up,” she said, “but I counted every rung out loud, and by the top I had almost forgotten to be afraid.” [11] Kaito listened without answering, his eyes on the ladder instead of the water. [12] Then he dropped the towel on a bench and placed one foot on the first rung.

2. 1.

   Ari reads sentences 2 to 4. What is the best inference about why Kaito says he is waiting for the line to get shorter?

   • He feels cold after swimming and is waiting for the sun to warm him up.
   • He is nervous about the high dive and is using the line as an excuse to delay.
   • He is waiting because the line is long and he does not want to push ahead of others.
   • He wants Hana to climb first so that he can copy exactly what she does.
3. 2.

   Bo thinks Kaito is afraid of the high dive. Which detail from the story supports that best?

   • Kaito pulled the towel tighter as a boy stepped off the high platform without any pause.
   • An older girl stopped on the third rung and said she counted the rungs out loud.
   • Hana sat on the edge of the pool, kicking her feet, and talked about the low board while he watched.
   • Kaito told his sister, without turning around, that he was waiting for the line to get shorter.
4. 3.

   Esme lists inferences about Kaito. Which inference is NOT supported by the story?

   • The older girl's story about being scared helps Kaito decide to try the first rung.
   • Kaito feels anxious about climbing the high tower and is hiding it from his sister.
   • Kaito does not care about diving and came to the pool only to please Hana.
   • Hana can tell that Kaito is nervous, so she does not push him toward the tower.
5. 4.

   Jun reads sentences 9 to 12. What is the best inference about why Kaito puts one foot on the first rung?

   • Hana dared him to climb, and he could not stand to let his sister win.
   • The older girl's story made him feel that his fear was normal and could be beaten.
   • The boy who jumped without pausing made the high dive look easy to Kaito.
   • The line finally got shorter, so Kaito felt that the right moment had come at last.

6. The Last Box (story)

   [1] The moving truck was due at noon, and Imani had been packing her grandfather's workshop since breakfast, wrapping each item in newspaper and labeling every box. [2] Every few minutes, Grandpa Osei lifted a tool out of a box she had just sealed and returned it to the workbench, as though the box might be a mistake. [3] “I might need that hammer before Tuesday,” he said, although the new apartment had no garage, no workbench, and no place to hang a hammer. [4] By ten o'clock, the bench held a hammer, three chisels, a level, and a coffee can of nails that Imani had packed twice already.

   [5] Imani wrapped the wooden plane he had used for forty years in a dish towel and placed it in the last box, which she padded with old shirts. [6] Grandpa Osei watched her tape the lid shut, and his hand rose slightly before he lowered it again. [7] “That plane belonged to my father,” he said quietly. [8] “He taught me how to make the shavings curl, back when this shop was only a shed with a dirt floor.”

   [9] When the truck backed up to the garage, Grandpa Osei carried the box himself, though Imani offered twice and the movers offered once. [10] He set it on the seat of the truck, where he could see it, instead of among the furniture in the back. [11] Then he looked once around the empty shop, ran his palm along the edge of the bench, and turned off the light. [12] On the drive to the new apartment, he kept one hand on the box and watched the road without saying a word.

7. 5.

   Kira reads sentences 2 to 4. What is the best inference about why Grandpa Osei keeps taking tools out of the boxes?

   • He finds it hard to pack away the tools he works with and looks for reasons to keep them close.
   • He is eager to move and has stopped caring about the old tools in the workshop.
   • He does not trust Imani to pack carefully and wants to wrap each tool himself.
   • He really needs the hammer before Tuesday for a repair at the new apartment and has jobs to finish.
8. 6.

   Luz thinks Grandpa Osei cares about the plane in a way that shows in what he does, not only in what he says. Which detail shows it?

   • He lifted a hammer, three chisels and a level out of the boxes and onto the bench.
   • He told Imani that the plane belonged to his father and taught him to curl the shavings.
   • He carried the plane's box himself and set it on the truck seat where he could see it.
   • Imani wrapped the plane in a dish towel before she placed it in the last box.
9. 7.

   Milo lists inferences about Grandpa Osei. Which inference is NOT supported by the story?

   • Grandpa Osei wants the box close to him on the drive to the new apartment.
   • The plane is tied to his memories of his father and of learning the trade.
   • Grandpa Osei is relieved to be leaving the workshop behind for good.
   • Grandpa Osei feels sad about leaving the workshop where he spent so many years.

10. The Empty Feeder (article)

    [1] Last winter, a sixth-grade class hung a seed feeder outside their classroom window and counted the birds that visited each morning. [2] In December, they logged between twenty and thirty visits a day, mostly finches and sparrows. [3] In late January, the daily count dropped to fewer than ten. [4] The students first guessed that cold weather had driven the birds away, but the temperature that week was mild.

    [5] Then a student noticed that the feeder was empty by Monday morning each week. [6] The class had been filling it only on Fridays, and the weekend crowd of birds finished the seed by Sunday night. [7] On Mondays, the birds arrived, found nothing to eat, and moved on. [8] The class also saw fewer birds on Tuesdays, which suggested that the birds took several days to return.

    [9] The class changed its routine and refilled the feeder on Mondays and Thursdays. [10] Within two weeks, the daily count climbed above twenty again. [11] The students wrote in their report that the empty feeder, not the weather, had caused the drop. [12] They added that more tests would be needed to learn how long birds remember a feeding spot.

11. 8.

    Pia reads sentences 5 to 7. What do the details about Mondays suggest about the drop in the bird count?

    • The birds ate so little seed that the feeder stayed full for most of the week.
    • The birds had found a different feeder that offered a better kind of seed.
    • The class filled the feeder on Fridays, so the birds could eat on that day.
    • The birds kept coming but found the feeder empty, so fewer stayed to be counted.
12. 9.

    Ren thinks the weather did not cause the drop in birds. Which detail supports that best?

    • The students first guessed that cold weather had driven the birds away.
    • The students wrote that more tests would be needed about birds and feeding spots.
    • The students first guessed cold weather, but the temperature that week was mild.
    • In December the class logged between twenty and thirty visits a day.
13. 10.

    Zee lists conclusions from the class report. Which conclusion goes beyond the evidence?

    • The class needs more tests to learn how long birds remember a spot.
    • Birds remember a feeding spot for exactly one week before they stop returning.
    • The empty feeder, not the weather, probably explains the drop in the daily count.
    • The count rose after the class changed the days it refilled the feeder.