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.
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.
- Cooler summers also shortened the growing season for many plants besides grain and potatoes.
- Because the harvests failed, bread became harder to buy, and more families began to go hungry.
- Grain and potatoes both failed, but grain failed in more places and caused larger losses.
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.
- Yes, because the move happened later in the same period, so the cold must be its direct reason.
- Not directly, because the cold harmed the crops, and the farmers left for reasons the article does not give.
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.
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] shows how the two bridges are alike, since both cross a gap and both cost money.
- 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.
Luz maps the article. Which choice describes what paragraphs 2 and 3 do, and then what paragraph 4 does?
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 describe the bridges one at a time; paragraph 4 sets them side by side on gap width, cost and sway.
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 show how the bridges are alike; paragraph 4 shows how the two bridges differ.
- 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.
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?
- Yes; the blooms became smaller, which means the problem no longer exists at Lake Alder.
- Yes; three summers passed, and the later summers show that the plan finished its work.
- No; the results appear in sentences [5] and [6], where the grass soaks up nutrients near the shore.
- No; the blooms became smaller, but sentence [8] says the lake still turned green after the wettest storms.
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 give a cause; paragraphs 3 and 4 give its effect on the lake over several summers.
- 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 describe the lake in summer; paragraphs 3 and 4 describe it in winter and compare the two.
Pia asks why the author explains the causes of the blooms before telling what the county did. Which reason fits?
- Each action aims at a cause already explained, so readers can see why grass strips and compost were chosen.
- The county acted after the scientists finished their study, so the author followed that calendar.
- Readers usually skip over causes, so the author saved the county's actions for the end to hold their attention.
- The article compares the lake's blooms with the county's plan, so it describes one and then the other.
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.
Ren maps the article. Which choice describes what paragraph 1, paragraphs 2 and 3, and paragraph 4 do?
- Paragraph 1 states a shared trouble, paragraphs 2 and 3 give one fix for each city, and paragraph 4 weighs the fixes against each other.
- Paragraph 1 compares the cities, paragraphs 2 and 3 give the trouble each one faced, and paragraph 4 gives the fix that finally solved it for both cities.
- Paragraph 1 starts the story of the traffic, paragraphs 2 and 3 continue it year by year, and paragraph 4 ends it.
- Paragraph 1 gives a cause, paragraphs 2 and 3 give its effects in each city, and paragraph 4 gives the final effect.
Tala asks why the author describes both fixes before comparing them in paragraph 4. Which reason fits?
- With each fix explained first, readers have the details that the final comparison depends on.
- The comparison explains why each city chose its fix, so it works as the cause of both plans.
- Ridgeton began its fee before Alder Bay finished its trains, so the author followed that calendar.
- Readers tend to remember how an article ends, so the author saved the comparison for the last paragraph.
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?
- 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.
- Because drivers had to pay the fee, traffic fell quickly, and the cost led some shoppers to complain.
