Write a story with dialogue and pacing

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Backyard Ramp (story draft)

   [1] All summer, Tala and Zee saved their allowance to buy wood for a small skate ramp in the empty lot behind Zee's building. [2] They measured the boards, sawed them to length, drilled the holes and screwed everything together over three long weekends. [3] On the first morning of testing, the ramp stood in the middle of the lot, smelling of fresh sawdust. [4] Tala rolled up the slope, and the middle board gave a sharp crack. [5] Tala jumped off. [6] "We messed up the ramp," Zee said glumly. [7] A neighbor, Mr. Barrow, wandered over from the apartment building and watched them kneel beside the split board for several minutes. [8] That night, Tala drew a new plan on a sheet of graph paper, with a thicker beam under the middle. [9] The following Saturday, the two friends carried a stronger board across the lot and fitted it carefully into place.

2. 1.

   Tala wants the ramp story to speed through the building and slow down at the crack. Which plan for [1], [2], [4] and [5] does both?

   • Add more detail to [1], [2], [4] and [5], so the saving, the building, the crack and the jump are told in equally slow, careful sentences.
   • Squeeze [1] and [2] into one quick line about building the ramp, and stretch [4] and [5] into sentences that show the crack and the jump.
   • Stretch [1] and [2] with more detail about the saving and the sawing, and squeeze [4] and [5] into one short line that mentions the crack and the jump.
   • Squeeze [1] to [5] into two quick lines, so the saving, the building, the crack and the jump are told in a hurry, one right after another.
3. 2.

   Zee wants to replace Zee's line in [6] with dialogue and an action that show what went wrong. Which version does?

   • "Look at that crack," Zee said, pressing a thumb into the split wood. "The middle board was too thin."
   • "Great job, everybody," Zee said with a grin, tapping the ramp and nodding at the neighbors nearby.
   • "I feel completely disappointed," Zee said glumly, and Zee looked sad and tired about the ramp and the lost summer.
   • "Ramps are made of boards and screws," Zee said, staring across the lot at the empty street beyond.
4. 3.

   Noah wants a closing for [9] that shows how Tala sees building differently now, without a stated lesson or a new event. Which closing does?

   • The friends fitted the thick board into place, and the city offered them money for a much larger skate park near the river, where a ribbon was cut.
   • The friends fitted the thick board into place while the afternoon sun lit the whole lot and the neighbors watched from their windows and porches.
   • The two friends fitted the thick board into place, and Tala ran a hand along the seam, checking not for the weak spot but for how strong it had become.
   • The friends learned that careful planning and a thicker beam make a project stronger and much safer to use, and Tala nodded firmly at that thought.

5. Dawn at the Pond (story draft)

   [1] For the school science fair, Kira and Noah wanted to record the dawn chorus of birds in the park, so they set an alarm for five in the morning and walked there in the cool, gray light. [2] They carried a small digital recorder, a notebook and a thermos of warm cocoa to the bench beside the pond. [3] They sat for an hour and wrote down each song they heard, with the exact time and the name of the bird that they thought had sung it. [4] Then a gust of wind rattled the reeds. [5] The recorder fell into the water. [6] "We lost everything," Noah said miserably. [7] Kira waded in up to the knees, lifted the recorder out, dripping, and shook the water from its case. [8] At home that afternoon, they dried the parts carefully on a towel and replayed the clip from the beginning. [9] The recording had saved the first ten minutes of birdsong, clear and bright, before the water reached the microphone.

6. 4.

   Kira wants to speed through the waiting and slow down the fall, and keep the wind as its cause. Which plan for [2] to [5] does both?

   • Add more detail to [2], [3], [4] and [5], so the cocoa, the notebook, the gust and the fall are told in equally slow, careful sentences with the same amount of detail.
   • Stretch [2] and [3] with more detail about the cocoa and the notebook, and squeeze [4] and [5] into one short line about the gust and the fall into the pond.
   • Squeeze [2] and [3] into one quick line about the waiting, and stretch [4] and [5] to show the gust rattling the reeds and the recorder tipping into the water.
   • Squeeze [2] to [5] into one quick line, so the waiting, the gust and the fall are told in a hurry, with the wind, the reeds and the splash given a few words.
7. 5.

   Noah wants to replace Noah's line in [6] with dialogue and an action that show how much was lost. Which version does?

   • "Our whole morning is in there," Noah whispered, staring at the ripples where the recorder had gone under.
   • "At least the cocoa is still warm," Noah said with a laugh, lifting the thermos in the cool morning air.
   • "I am extremely upset about this whole thing," Noah said miserably, shaking both hands in the air and stamping a foot.
   • "Ponds are full of water and mud," Noah said, looking at the pond and then at the bench.
8. 6.

   Luz wants a closing for [9] that shows what the saved clip means to Kira and Noah, without a stated lesson or a new event. Which closing does?

   • Kira and Noah learned that patience, careful notes and teamwork bring good results in a science project, and both of them agreed that the lesson was clear.
   • The recorder was black, with a silver switch, a scratch near the speaker and a strap that was still a little damp from the pond water.
   • Kira and Noah won first prize at the national science fair for the clip and were invited to a television show about birds and technology.
   • Kira pressed play again and listened to the opening notes, and for a long moment neither friend spoke, leaning closer to the small speaker.

9. The Fork on Cedar Ridge (story draft)

   [1] Luz and Bo had planned the hike to the top of Cedar Ridge since early spring, studying the trail map at the kitchen table and packing sandwiches and extra socks the night before. [2] They climbed steadily for three hours along a narrow, rocky path, stopping twice to drink water and check the painted markers. [3] Near the top, thick clouds covered the ridge, and a cold drizzle began to fall on the loose stones. [4] The trail forked. [5] Neither fork had a sign. [6] "We should turn back," Bo said worriedly. [7] Luz studied the map, the compass and the pattern of stones beside the path for several long minutes, and finally pointed to the left fork. [8] Ten minutes later, the clouds opened, and the summit stood in front of them, wet and shining in the new light, with the whole valley spread out below. [9] On the way down, Luz tucked the map carefully into a pocket of the backpack.

10. 7.

    Luz wants to speed through the climb and slow down the fork. Which plan for [1], [2], [4] and [5] does both?

    • Squeeze [1] to [5] into two quick lines, so the planning, the climb, the fork and the missing signs are told in a hurry, one right after another, with no pause at the fork.
    • Stretch [1] and [2] with more detail about the sandwiches and the markers, and squeeze [4] and [5] into one short line that mentions the fork and the missing signs.
    • Squeeze [1] and [2] into one quick line about planning and climbing, and stretch [4] and [5] into sentences that show the two paths and the missing signs.
    • Add more detail to [1], [2], [4] and [5], so the planning, the climb, the fork and the signs are told in equally slow, careful sentences with the same detail.
11. 8.

    Bo wants to replace Bo's line in [6] with dialogue and an action that show the worry. Which version does?

    • "Hikers walk on trails most days," Bo said, looking up at the clouds and then at the map.
    • "I feel confused and worried," Bo said, and Bo looked very uneasy standing there in the cold drizzle.
    • "This is the easiest hike ever," Bo laughed, kicking a pebble down the path and grinning.
    • "Which way did the markers go?" Bo asked, peering up the left fork and then the right, shoulders tight.

12. The Last Round (story draft)

    [1] Every Tuesday after school, Esme and Ren met in Room 12 to practice chess, setting up the board carefully and studying the opening moves from a thick library book. [2] In March, the two players entered the district tournament, which lasted a full day in a crowded gym where hundreds of people moved between the tables. [3] In the final round, Esme sat across from a tall player who had not lost a single game all day and who had won the trophy the year before. [4] Esme moved a bishop. [5] The tall player smiled. [6] "That was a mistake," Esme muttered. [7] The game continued for forty minutes, and each side lost several pieces as the crowd leaned in and the clock ticked above the table. [8] When the last piece fell, Esme shook hands politely and walked toward the door of the gym. [9] Ren was waiting beside the door with two cups of cold water.

13. 9.

    Ren wants to replace Esme's line in [6] with dialogue and an action that show what went wrong. Which version does?

    • "I feel really annoyed at myself," Esme said, and Esme looked upset and slumped in the chair for a moment.
    • "What a perfect move," Esme laughed, tapping the board with a finger and smiling at the crowd.
    • "My bishop," Esme murmured, staring at the empty square where the bishop had stood. "I left it open."
    • "Chess is played on a board with sixty-four squares," Esme muttered, looking at the table and the clock.
14. 10.

    Pia wants a closing for [9] that shows how Esme thinks about the game now, without a stated lesson or a new event. Which closing does?

    • The gym was loud, with colorful banners, folding tables, a hot snack stand and a long row of trophies on a velvet table.
    • Esme understood that losing a game teaches a player to think more carefully about each move that comes next, and Esme nodded slowly at that idea.
    • Esme took the cup from Ren, drank slowly and looked back at the board, already seeing the move that should have come first.
    • Esme was invited to play at the national championship in another state, with a trophy and a scholarship for the winner.