How people, events and ideas affect each other

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   A Garden Above the Street (article)

   [1] During a long heat wave, the residents of the Alder Court apartments noticed that the top floor was always the hottest. [2] Lucia Ferrante, who lived there, read that plants on a roof can cool the building below by shading it and by releasing water vapor. [3] The idea seemed worth testing, so she asked the building manager, Mr. Osei, for permission to try a small garden.

   [4] Mr. Osei agreed, but only for one corner of the roof, because he worried about the weight of the soil. [5] An engineer checked the roof and said that shallow trays of light soil would be safe. [6] Lucia and four neighbors planted trays of sedum, a hardy plant that needs little water.

   [7] By summer's end, the top floor was several degrees cooler than it had been on days of similar heat the year before. [8] The cooler rooms lowered the building's electric bill for air conditioners. [9] Mr. Osei, who had been cautious, then offered to cover more of the roof.

   [10] Seeing the results, he asked the engineer to design trays for the whole roof, and the new design could hold deeper soil. [11] Lucia changed her plan too: she added a few herb beds, since the deeper soil they needed could now be spread safely. [12] The garden grew from one corner into a rooftop that residents visit.

2. 1.

   Jun is tracing the article's links. How did the first garden's results affect Mr. Osei's decisions?

   • Seeing the cooler rooms and lower bills, Mr. Osei stopped being cautious and agreed to cover more of the roof.
   • The engineer's check led Mr. Osei to worry about the weight of the soil, so he allowed one corner of the roof.
   • The results led Mr. Osei to pay for the garden himself and to ban other uses of the roof for good.
   • Mr. Osei's wish to cover more of the roof led to the cooler rooms and the lower electric bill for the building.
3. 2.

   Kira notices that the article shows influence in both directions. How did the engineer's new tray design affect Lucia's plan?

   • After the engineer designed the new trays, the garden grew from one corner into a rooftop that most residents visit.
   • The engineer's new trays let Lucia add herb beds, and the beds cut the building's electric bill by half.
   • Lucia's wish for herb beds persuaded the engineer to design deeper trays for the whole roof of the building.
   • The engineer's new trays for the whole roof could hold deeper soil, so Lucia added herb beds that need it.
4. 3.

   Luz wants evidence for one link in the article. Which detail best shows how Lucia's reading affected what happened on the roof?

   • After reading that roof plants can cool a building, she asked the manager for permission to try a garden.
   • An engineer checked the roof and said that shallow trays of light soil would be safe.
   • Her reading showed the manager that any roof in the city could be cooled with plants, so he agreed to plant roofs across the city.
   • She asked the manager for permission to try a garden, and Mr. Osei agreed to one corner of the roof.

5. The Boardwalk Through the Marsh (article)

   [1] When a fall storm flooded the salt marsh behind Pelican Cove, the water tore up a dirt path that visitors had used for years. [2] Park ranger Dina Walsh walked the damaged path and saw that the walkers' feet had already worn away much of the marsh grass beside it. [3] She wondered whether a raised boardwalk could protect the grass while still letting visitors reach the water.

   [4] Ranger Walsh sketched a boardwalk plan and shared it with a group of college students who studied marsh plants. [5] The students counted the grass along the old path and agreed that a boardwalk would give the grass a chance to regrow. [6] Their count gave the park board the evidence it needed to approve money for the project.

   [7] Volunteers built the boardwalk over two summers. [8] Because it kept feet off the ground, the marsh grass began to spread back toward the path. [9] Birdwatchers reported that more shorebirds were nesting in the thicker grass.

   [10] The increase in birds drew visitors who came especially to watch them. [11] Walsh used the visitors' counts to ask the board for a small viewing platform at the end of the walk. [12] The board approved the platform, and the boardwalk grew a little longer.

6. 4.

   Milo is tracing the article's links. How did the students' count affect the park board's decision?

   • The count persuaded the board to close the whole marsh to visitors until the grass had fully grown back.
   • The count gave the board evidence that a boardwalk would help the grass, so it approved the money.
   • After the students counted the grass, volunteers built the boardwalk over two summers on the marsh.
   • The board's approval of the project led the students to count the grass along the old path each week.
7. 5.

   Noah notices that the article shows influence in both directions. How did the visitors affect the length of the boardwalk?

   • After more visitors came, the board approved the viewing platform at the end of the walk.
   • The visitors raised the money for the platform themselves and built it in a single weekend with Walsh and a few volunteers.
   • The new viewing platform drew the visitors who came to watch the birds, and their counts followed.
   • Visitors' counts helped Walsh ask the board for a viewing platform, and its approval made the boardwalk longer.
8. 6.

   Pia wants evidence for one link in the article. Which detail best shows how the boardwalk affected the shorebirds?

   • The boardwalk brought back the full range of birds that had once nested in the marsh, from shorebirds to herons.
   • Because the boardwalk kept feet off the ground, the grass spread and more shorebirds nested in it.
   • The students counted the grass along the old path and agreed that a boardwalk would help.
   • Volunteers built the boardwalk over two summers, and later birdwatchers came to the marsh in large numbers.

9. A Comet over Dunmore (article)

   [1] On a clear night in March, Teodor Brandt, a baker who started work at three in the morning, saw a faint smudge of light above the bakery roof. [2] He photographed it with his phone and sent the picture to the university's astronomy club, which confirmed that it was a comet. [3] The club's president, Amira Nasser, thanked him and invited him to a meeting.

   [4] At the meeting, Teodor learned that the club's telescope was kept in a locked room and used only on weekends. [5] He suggested that a few members bring smaller telescopes to the bakery parking lot at dawn, when the comet was easiest to see. [6] The club agreed, and on the next clear morning thirty neighbors gathered with warm rolls from the bakery.

   [7] The crowd's questions surprised the club's members, who realized how many people wanted to look through a telescope. [8] Amira proposed a monthly public sky night in the park. [9] Teodor offered to bring baked goods and to wake early enough to help set up.

   [10] The public nights drew larger crowds each month, which helped the club win a small grant. [11] The grant paid for a telescope that stays in the park for visitors. [12] The club's membership has since grown.

10. 7.

    Tala is tracing the article's links. How did Teodor's suggestion affect the astronomy club's plans?

    • Teodor made his suggestion at the meeting, and on the next clear morning the comet was still in the sky.
    • The club's wish for public sky nights led Teodor to suggest the dawn gathering in the bakery parking lot.
    • His suggestion led the club to hold a dawn viewing, and the curious crowd it drew led to plans for public sky nights.
    • His suggestion made the club give up its own telescope and sell it to pay for the smaller ones.
11. 8.

    Zee notices that the article shows influence in both directions. How did the crowd's questions affect Amira's plans?

    • The questions convinced Amira to give up the university meetings and to hold the club's events in the park instead.
    • After the crowd gathered at dawn, Amira proposed a monthly public sky night in the park.
    • Amira's plan for a monthly sky night led the crowd to ask questions in the parking lot at dawn.
    • The questions showed Amira how many people wanted to look through a telescope, so she proposed public sky nights.

12. The Quiet Hour (article)

    [1] The Saturday market in Cedar Falls was loud, crowded and full of music from speakers at several stalls. [2] Ayesha Rahman, who sold hand-knit scarves, noticed that some shoppers left after only a few minutes with their hands over their ears. [3] When one of them told her that the noise made it hard to shop, she began to wonder how many others felt the same.

    [4] Ayesha asked the market manager, Mr. Lindqvist, whether the stalls could turn their music off for the first hour on Saturdays. [5] He doubted that vendors would agree, so she collected signatures from twenty-six of the thirty stall owners. [6] The signatures persuaded him to try a quiet hour for one month.

    [7] During the trial, shoppers who liked calm came early and stayed longer. [8] Vendors saw that sales in the first hour rose rather than fell. [9] Several of them said they had not expected to sell more without music.

    [10] The vendors who had been doubtful now supported the change, and Mr. Lindqvist made the quiet hour permanent. [11] A nearby farmers' market heard about the results and tried a quiet hour of its own. [12] Ayesha now keeps a small sign at her stall that explains how the idea began.

13. 9.

    Bo notices that the article shows influence in both directions. How did the rise in sales affect the doubtful vendors' views?

    • After sales rose in the first hour, the vendors who had been doubtful were still at their stalls.
    • The doubtful vendors' support for the change made sales rise in the first hour of the market.
    • Rising sales led the vendors to turn off their music for the entire market day and to cut their prices.
    • Seeing sales rise in the quiet hour changed the doubtful vendors' minds, and they came to support the change.
14. 10.

    Esme wants evidence for one link in the article. Which detail best shows how the Cedar Falls results affected another market's plans?

    • Mr. Lindqvist made the quiet hour a permanent part of the Saturday market.
    • A nearby farmers' market heard about the results and tried a quiet hour of its own.
    • Ayesha now keeps a small sign at her stall that explains how the idea began.
    • The farmers' market copied the quiet hour and soon had more shoppers than Cedar Falls.