6th grade The message of a story worksheet

The message of a story

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Little Sailboat (story)

   [1] Luz brought a small sailboat model to the club’s pond test. [2] The club would compare boats by how far each traveled in one steady breeze, so each team would have a comparable chance during the official test. [3] Luz had folded a tall sail that caught the wind quickly. [4] During a practice run, the boat leaned and stopped beside a reed. [5] Noah suggested trimming the sail, though Luz liked its impressive height and worried that a smaller sail would be slower. [6] Luz tested the shorter sail and saw the boat stay upright much longer. [7] At the official test, another team’s string caught on a knot at the dock. [8] Luz pointed out the knot before the team released its boat, even though doing so might help a competing boat travel farther. [9] The team cleared the string, and both boats crossed the pond. [10] Luz’s boat traveled far, but the other boat reached the marker first. [11] Luz recorded both distances and asked what shape the other team had tried. [12] The teams planned to compare sail shapes at the next meeting, using what both groups learned about balance and distance.
   Event-and-response strip: 1. The tall sail tipped the boat → Luz tested a shorter sail | 2. A knot caught the other team’s string → Luz warned the team | 3. The other boat reached the marker first → Luz recorded results and planned another test

2. 1.

   Ari reads all three strip entries. Which message includes the unexpected turn and fits the whole story?

   • A shorter sail helps the boat stay upright, so a pond test is mostly about choosing sail size.
   • Changing a weak plan and helping a rival lead to a win.
   • Changing a weak plan, helping a rival, and learning from a loss can make a test worthwhile.
   • The first design should always be discarded.
3. 2.

   Ari considers this message: “Changing a flawed design and giving rivals a fair chance both matter in a test.” Which two strip entries together support it?

   • The tall sail tipped the boat → Luz tested a shorter sail; The rival won → Luz recorded the results and planned another test
   • The tall sail tipped the boat → Luz tested a shorter sail; Luz ignored the rival’s caught string
   • The tall sail tipped the boat → Luz tested a shorter sail; A knot caught the rival’s string → Luz warned the team
   • The tall sail tipped the boat → Luz tested a shorter sail
4. 3.

   Esme reads all three strip entries. Which message includes the unexpected turn and fits the whole story?

   • Adjusting a design and helping a rival are the whole point of the test.
   • Helping another team means giving up the test.
   • Trimming a tall sail can help a boat stay upright.
   • Fair play includes adjusting your own design, helping a rival, and learning even when that rival wins.
5. 4.

   Esme considers this message: “Fair play can lead to shared learning, even when the other team wins.” Which two strip entries together support it?

   • A knot caught the rival’s string → Luz warned the team; The rival won → Luz recorded the results and planned another test
   • The tall sail tipped the boat → Luz tested a shorter sail; The rival won → Luz recorded the results and planned another test
   • A knot caught the rival’s string → Luz warned the team; Luz refused to record the results after the rival won
   • A knot caught the rival’s string → Luz warned the team
6. 5.

   Kira reads all three strip entries. Which message includes the unexpected turn and fits the whole story?

   • A test is useful only when a team wins.
   • A fair test means fixing a plan and warning another team.
   • A smaller sail keeps a model boat upright, which is the main lesson of the whole pond test.
   • Adjusting a plan, helping rivals, and learning from losses make a fair test worthwhile.

7. The Right Place for a Tree (story)

   [1] Milo helped a neighborhood group choose a spot for a new shade tree, where summer sunlight made the paving stones uncomfortably warm. [2] Milo first marked the center of a bare plaza on a paper plan. [3] A caretaker pointed out that an underground pipe ran beneath that spot. [4] Milo moved the mark rather than arguing for the neat center, although the center had looked balanced on paper. [5] The second spot was safe for roots but blocked a narrow walking path. [6] A younger visitor showed where people often crossed the plaza. [7] Milo checked the path and shifted the mark beside an open bench, leaving enough space for people to walk across the plaza. [8] At the planting, the tree looked less centered than Milo had imagined. [9] The caretaker showed how its shade would reach the bench by afternoon. [10] Milo added a note asking volunteers to water the young tree each week, since young trees need steady care after planting. [11] Later, visitors rested on the bench without leaving the walking path. [12] Milo kept the marked plan to help the group choose future spots.
   Event-and-response strip: 1. A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the tree mark | 2. The second spot blocked a route → Milo checked it and moved the mark again | 3. The final tree looked less centered → Milo kept it and planned regular care

8. 6.

   Milo reads all three strip entries. Which message includes the unexpected turn and fits the whole story?

   • A useful plan must account for hidden facts, how people move, and the care needed later.
   • The best plan is always the least attractive one.
   • A tree cannot be planted above a pipe, so the plaza’s center was a poor spot for any shade tree.
   • Changing a plan for facts and paths is enough.
9. 7.

   Milo considers this message: “Practical facts and people’s routes can improve a planting plan.” Which two strip entries together support it?

   • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; Milo left the mark above the pipe
   • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; The second spot blocked a path → Milo moved the mark again
   • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark
   • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; The final tree looked less centered → Milo kept it and planned care
10. 8.

    Pia reads all three strip entries. Which message includes the unexpected turn and fits the whole story?

    • Checking a walking path can improve a tree spot, because visitors show where people cross.
    • Visitors always know more than caretakers.
    • Listening to facts and visitors can make a less tidy plan useful and easier to care for.
    • Listening to facts and visitors is all a plan needs.
11. 9.

    Pia considers this message: “Listening to a visitor and caring for a less tidy spot can serve people.” Which two strip entries together support it?

    • The second spot blocked a path → Milo moved the mark again; The tree looked less centered → Milo kept it and planned care
    • The second spot blocked a path → Milo moved the mark again; Milo blocked the path after the visitor warned Milo
    • The second spot blocked a path → Milo moved the mark again
    • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; The second spot blocked a path → Milo moved the mark again
12. 10.

    Tala considers this message: “A practical spot can be right even if it looks less centered.” Which two strip entries together support it?

    • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; The final spot looked less centered → Milo kept it and planned care
    • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark
    • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; The second spot blocked a path → Milo moved the mark again
    • A pipe lay under the first spot → Milo moved the mark; Milo returned the mark to the unsafe center spot