Cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution
Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Year Without a Summer (article)
[1] In April 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with enough force to throw ash far into the sky. [2] Fine particles and gas drifted around the planet, where they spread into a thin veil that reflected some sunlight back into space.
[3] With less sunlight reaching the ground, the following year was unusually cold across Europe and eastern North America. [4] Frost struck in June and July, and snow fell in places that normally had warm summer weather.
[5] The cold ruined harvests, since grain and potatoes could not ripen before the early frosts. [6] As crops failed, the price of bread rose sharply, and many families struggled to afford enough food.
[7] Hungry farmers left their land to search for work in cities or for better soil in the west. [8] Historians therefore link the eruption to a wave of migration, even though the volcano itself sat thousands of miles away.
Ari wonders why the author puts the ash veil (paragraph 1) before the frosts (paragraph 2). Which reason fits?
- The frosts explain the ash veil, so the veil has to come after them for readers to follow.
- The veil is the first link in the chain, so readers can see how a faraway eruption cooled a whole year.
- The eruption happened first in history, and a writer must tell events in the order they happened.
- The ash veil is the most surprising detail, so the author puts it where readers will notice it.
Bo imagines paragraph 3 (sentences [5] and [6]) rewritten as a trouble followed by an answer to it. Which added sentence fits that rewrite?
- Some governments answered by buying grain from distant farms and selling it at a lower price.
- Grain and potatoes both failed, but grain failed in more places and caused larger losses.
- Because the harvests failed, bread became harder to buy, and more families began to go hungry.
- Cooler summers also shortened the growing season for many plants besides grain and potatoes.
Esme reads a classmate's note: The cold in sentence [3] directly caused the farmers' move in sentence [7]. Which reply is accurate?
- Yes, and the cold also explains the ash veil, since cold air held the ash up around the planet.
- Not directly: the cold ruined the harvests, and the failed crops and rising prices pushed farmers to leave.
- Not directly, because the cold harmed the crops, and the farmers left for reasons the article does not give.
- Yes, because the move happened later in the same period, so the cold must be its direct reason.
Two Ways to Cross a Gap (article)
[1] Engineers have two classic answers to the question of how to carry a road across a wide gap. [2] An arch bridge and a suspension bridge both move the weight of traffic into the ground, but they do it in opposite ways.
[3] An arch bridge is a curve of stone or steel that presses outward and downward as it carries a load. [4] Solid supports at each end, called abutments, push back against that outward force and hold the curve in place.
[5] A suspension bridge hangs its road from steel cables that pull upward on the deck. [6] Those cables stretch over tall towers and are anchored deep in the ground at both ends of the bridge.
[7] Arches work well over short and medium gaps where firm rock lies on both sides of the crossing. [8] Suspension bridges can cross far wider gaps, though they cost more and sway more in strong wind.
Jun imagines paragraph 2 (sentences [3] and [4]) rewritten as a chain of causes and results instead of a comparison. Which added sentence fits the new version?
- Long ago, arches kept failing, so engineers invented the abutment to keep the curve from giving way.
- Stone arches often last for centuries, which is why some old arches still carry roads today.
- Because the curve presses outward, the supports at each end must push back, or the curve would flatten.
- Unlike a suspension bridge, an arch is made of stone or steel and has no cables to hold up the road.
Kira reads a classmate's note: Sentence [8] points out flaws in suspension bridges, so the article is mainly about a problem and its solution. Which reply is accurate?
- No; sentence [8] describes the suspension bridge alone and adds nothing to the comparison of the two bridges.
- No; sentence [8] sets suspension bridges beside the arches of [7] on gap width and cost, so the comparison continues.
- Yes; sway and cost are problems, and the wider gap is the fix that the suspension bridge offers.
- No; sentence [8] shows how the two bridges are alike, since both cross a gap and both cost money.
Luz maps the article. Which choice describes what paragraphs 2 and 3 do, and then what paragraph 4 does?
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 set the bridges side by side on gap width; paragraph 4 explains how the arch works.
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 tell which bridge was built first; paragraph 4 tells which one was built last and which has lasted longer.
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 show how the bridges are alike; paragraph 4 shows how the two bridges differ.
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 describe the bridges one at a time; paragraph 4 sets them side by side on gap width, cost and sway.
A Lake Too Green (article)
[1] Every summer, parts of Lake Alder turn a thick green as tiny algae multiply on the surface. [2] The algae block sunlight from reaching plants below, and when they die, bacteria use up the oxygen in the water.
[3] Scientists traced the blooms to fertilizer that washes off nearby fields and lawns after heavy rain. [4] The fertilizer feeds the algae just as it feeds crops, so more fertilizer in the lake means larger blooms.
[5] To cut the flow, the county asked farmers to plant strips of tall grass between their fields and the shore. [6] The grass soaks up nutrients and traps soil before the runoff can reach the lake.
[7] The county also helped homeowners swap fertilizer for compost and aim their gutters onto lawns instead of the street. [8] Three summers later, the blooms were smaller, although the lake still turned green after the wettest storms.
Milo reads a classmate's note: Paragraph 4 shows that the county's plan completely solved the problem. Which reply is accurate?
- No; the blooms became smaller, but sentence [8] says the lake still turned green after the wettest storms.
- Yes; the blooms became smaller, which means the problem no longer exists at Lake Alder.
- No; the results appear in sentences [5] and [6], where the grass soaks up nutrients near the shore.
- Yes; three summers passed, and the later summers show that the plan finished its work.
Noah maps the article. Which choice describes what paragraphs 1 and 2 do, and then what paragraphs 3 and 4 do?
- Paragraphs 1 and 2 give the county's actions and their results; paragraphs 3 and 4 describe what the blooms do and what causes them.
- Paragraphs 1 and 2 describe the lake in summer; paragraphs 3 and 4 describe it in winter and compare the two.
- Paragraphs 1 and 2 describe what the blooms do and what causes them; paragraphs 3 and 4 give the county's actions and results.
- Paragraphs 1 and 2 give a cause; paragraphs 3 and 4 give its effect on the lake over several summers.
Two Cities, Two Plans (article)
[1] Ridgeton and Alder Bay are about the same size, and in both cities cars once crawled through downtown every weekday morning. [2] Each city tried a different plan to clear its streets, and each plan helped in ways the other did not.
[3] Ridgeton charged drivers a small fee to enter the center of town during rush hour. [4] Traffic dropped by almost a quarter within a month, and the money paid for extra buses.
[5] Alder Bay spent its money on a new train line that links the suburbs to downtown. [6] The train took years to finish, but it now carries thousands of riders who leave their cars at home.
[7] Ridgeton's plan worked quickly, yet some shoppers complained about the fee. [8] Alder Bay's plan was slow and costly, but few residents objected once the trains began running.
Tala asks why the author describes both fixes before comparing them in paragraph 4. Which reason fits?
- The comparison explains why each city chose its fix, so it works as the cause of both plans.
- Readers tend to remember how an article ends, so the author saved the comparison for the last paragraph.
- Ridgeton began its fee before Alder Bay finished its trains, so the author followed that calendar.
- With each fix explained first, readers have the details that the final comparison depends on.
Zee imagines paragraph 4 (sentences [7] and [8]) rewritten as a chain of causes and results instead of a comparison. Which sentence fits the new version?
- Because drivers had to pay the fee, traffic fell quickly, and the cost led some shoppers to complain.
- The fee was quick to start and brought results at once, while the train was slow and costly to build.
- The fee paid for extra buses within a month, as sentence [4] reports, which helped riders.
- To answer the complaints, Ridgeton could lower the fee or give shoppers free bus tickets.