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.

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

   • Kaito told his sister, without turning around, that he was waiting for the line to get shorter.
   • Hana sat on the edge of the pool, kicking her feet, and talked about the low board while he watched.
   • An older girl stopped on the third rung and said she counted the rungs out loud.
   • Kaito pulled the towel tighter as a boy stepped off the high platform without any pause.
3. 2.

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

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

4. 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.

5. 3.

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

   • He really needs the hammer before Tuesday for a repair at the new apartment and has jobs to finish.
   • He is eager to move and has stopped caring about the old tools in the workshop.
   • He finds it hard to pack away the tools he works with and looks for reasons to keep them close.
   • He does not trust Imani to pack carefully and wants to wrap each tool himself.
6. 4.

   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 carried the plane's box himself and set it on the truck seat where he could see 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.
   • Imani wrapped the plane in a dish towel before she placed it in the last box.
7. 5.

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

   • Grandpa Osei feels sad about leaving the workshop where he spent so many years.
   • Grandpa Osei wants the box close to him on the drive to the new apartment.
   • Grandpa Osei is relieved to be leaving the workshop behind for good.
   • The plane is tied to his memories of his father and of learning the trade.
8. 6.

   Noah thinks Grandpa Osei is sad to leave his shop. Which detail supports that best?

   • The moving truck was due at noon, and the packing began at breakfast.
   • He looked once around the empty shop before he turned off the light.
   • He said he might need the hammer before Tuesday and left it out on the bench.
   • Imani offered twice to carry the last box out to the truck for him.

9. 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.

10. 7.

    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 kept coming but found the feeder empty, so fewer stayed to be counted.
    • The class filled the feeder on Fridays, so the birds could eat on that day.
    • The birds had found a different feeder that offered a better kind of seed.
11. 8.

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

    • The students wrote that more tests would be needed about birds and feeding spots.
    • The students first guessed that cold weather had driven the birds away.
    • 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.
12. 9.

    Tala lists inferences about the feeder count. Which inference is NOT supported by the article?

    • The birds finish the seed within about two days of a refill.
    • Refilling the feeder more often helped the daily count of birds rise again soon after.
    • The birds stopped visiting because the class made too much noise at the window.
    • The students wanted to test their explanation before they claimed it as fact.
13. 10.

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

    • 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 class needs more tests to learn how long birds remember a spot.
    • The count rose after the class changed the days it refilled the feeder.