Write an argument with reasons

Grade 6 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Lights for the Willow Path (argument draft)

   [1] The town should add lights along the Willow Park path. [2] The path is the shortest way from the library to the bus stop, but it is dark by five o'clock in winter, long before many people finish their errands. [3] The police log lists eight reports of lost or stolen items on the path last December, all after dark. [4] Also, the path floods sometimes. [5] A town survey of two hundred walkers found that eighty of them avoid the path after sunset and walk the long way around the park. [6] Honestly, walking there in the dark is kind of annoying. [7] Lights for the whole path would cost about eight thousand dollars, which is less than the town spends each year on mowing. [8] Some residents worry that lights will bother the homes beside the park and disturb the animals that live in the nearby trees. [9] Lights that point downward would keep the glow on the path itself and away from the windows, so the town should install them.

2. 1.

   Ari wants a new [4] that adds a second reason and links it to the survey in [5]. Which sentence does?

   • However, the path floods sometimes, which is a different problem from darkness and one the town has handled before.
   • A second reason is that the dark keeps people from using the path at all, as the survey that follows shows.
   • The town should add lights along the Willow Park path because lights are needed there and the path needs them.
   • The town should also pave the path and add benches along the way so that walkers can rest in the evening.
3. 2.

   Bo thinks [6] is too casual for a letter to the town. Which sentence keeps the point in a formal voice?

   • Residents use many different paths around the town each day, and some of those paths are long and quiet.
   • The town should also build a new parking lot beside the library so that visitors have more places to park.
   • Walking there in the dark is kind of a bummer, to be honest, and it makes the whole trip feel pretty long.
   • Many residents find the dark path uncomfortable to use, which is a concern the town can address.
4. 3.

   Esme wants a sentence after [5] that explains how the survey supports the reason. Which sentence does?

   • A town survey asked two hundred walkers about the path and counted how many of them answered each question.
   • Lights for the whole path would cost about eight thousand dollars, which is less than the yearly mowing cost.
   • Because eighty walkers avoid the path, lights will end theft in the park for good and keep the town calm.
   • Because forty percent of walkers avoid the path after dark, lights would likely bring many of them back to it.

5. A Plot for Every Class (argument draft)

   [1] The school should give each class its own garden plot behind the gym. [2] Gardening teaches students how plants grow, and it gives them a real reason to measure, record and compare their observations over several weeks. [3] The science teacher found that students who tended a plot scored higher on the plant unit test. [4] Dirt is cool. [5] Last spring, one sixth-grade class recorded the height of its beans every Friday and graphed the results in math. [6] That is how gardens help students. [7] Tending a plot also builds responsibility, because plants need water even on days when no one feels like coming outside to care for them. [8] Some teachers worry that the plots will take valuable time away from reading and math lessons. [9] Each class could tend its plot during the ten minutes before lunch, so no lesson would be shortened or moved.

6. 4.

   Jun wants an opener for [7] that shows the second reason adds to the first. Which opener does?

   • As a result of this,
   • To give one example,
   • On the other hand,
   • Beyond science lessons,
7. 5.

   Luz wants a new [6] that explains how the bean graph supports the reason. Which sentence does?

   • The class recorded the height of its beans each Friday and drew the results on a graph during math class.
   • Graphing beans shows that gardens improve test scores in each subject, including reading, math and science.
   • Plants need water, light and good soil to grow well, and they also need space for their roots to spread.
   • Measuring and graphing the same plants showed students how data can be collected, compared and used to explain growth.

8. A Quiet Table at Lunch (argument draft)

   [1] The cafeteria should set aside one quiet table at lunch. [2] The room is loud, and some students cannot finish homework or read during the thirty-minute break. [3] A student council survey of ninety students found that thirty-one said they would use a quiet table if one existed. [4] Moreover, the lunch aides have asked for a calmer space for students who feel overwhelmed. [5] Honestly, the cafeteria is just insane at noon. [6] A single table by the window would cost nothing, because the school already owns the table and the sign. [7] The table would hold eight students at a time. [8] Some students worry that a quiet table will feel like a punishment. [9] A sign that invites students to choose the table would make clear that it is a choice, not a rule.

9. 6.

   Milo wants a new [4] that adds a second reason supporting the survey in [3]. Which sentence does?

   • The cafeteria should also add a salad bar and a bigger sandwich line so that students can choose lunch faster.
   • The aides see the problem too: lunch aides have asked for a calmer space for students who feel overwhelmed.
   • The cafeteria should set aside one quiet table because a quiet table is needed and a table is a good idea.
   • In contrast, the lunch aides prefer a loud room because it is easier to notice problems from across the room.
10. 7.

    Pia thinks [5] is too casual for a letter to the principal. Which sentence keeps the point in a formal voice?

    • At noon, the cafeteria is loud enough that conversation and concentration are difficult.
    • At noon the cafeteria is totally nuts, no cap, and everybody is yelling across the tables.
    • The cafeteria is a large room where students sit at long tables and eat lunch each day.
    • The cafeteria should also have a quieter music system at noon, with softer songs and a lower volume.
11. 8.

    Noah wants a sentence after [3] that explains how the survey supports the claim. Which sentence does?

    • Because thirty-one students said yes, the whole school wants a quiet table at lunch and in the library.
    • A student council survey asked ninety students about the lunch table and wrote down each of their answers.
    • Because about one third of the students surveyed would use the table, there is clear demand for it.
    • The table would cost nothing, because the school already owns the table and the sign that would mark it.

12. Ending Late Fees (argument draft)

    [1] The town library should end late fees for children's books. [2] Fees can keep families from using the library at all, because a small debt may stop a child from borrowing a book. [3] Library records show that last year, sixty-four young borrowers stopped using their cards after fees reached five dollars. [4] In addition, collecting the fees costs time. [5] The staff spent about forty hours last year sending reminders and counting coins. [6] Honestly, nobody likes paying for a late book. [7] Library fees brought in only nine hundred dollars from children, which is under two percent of the yearly budget. [8] Some board members worry that books will not come back. [9] Libraries that ended late fees in other towns reported that most books still returned, so the board should end the fees.

13. 9.

    Tala wants a new [4] that adds a second reason, the cost of collecting fees. Which sentence does?

    • Fees also cost the library time, because collecting them takes staff hours that could be spent helping readers.
    • Fees also help the library, because collecting them keeps the staff busy and gives them a daily routine to follow.
    • The library should end late fees because ending late fees is the right thing to do for the town and its readers.
    • The library should also add more picture books and a reading corner for the youngest children in town.
14. 10.

    Ren wants a sentence after [3] that explains how the records support the reason. Which sentence does?

    • Because these children stopped borrowing after small fees, the fees reduced the number of young readers served.
    • Staff spent about forty hours last year sending reminders and counting coins in the front office of the library.
    • Library records show that sixty-four young borrowers stopped using their cards after fees reached five dollars.
    • Because sixty-four children stopped borrowing, fees will end reading for children across this whole town.