How an article is organized and what each part does
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Bridge at Marlow Creek (article)
A FLOOD TAKES THE CROSSING
[1] For many years, the people of Marlow Creek crossed the water on a row of flat stones. [2] Then a spring flood swept the stones away, and the two halves of town were cut off from each other. [3] Children on the east side had to ride a bus five miles around to reach the library.
CHOOSING A PLAN
[4] The town council studied three ideas: a small ferry, a new set of stones, and a footbridge. [5] A ferry would need a worker every day, and new stones would wash away in the next flood. [6] A footbridge would cost more at first, but it would stand through high water for many years.
THE BRIDGE OPENS
[7] Builders finished the footbridge in October, and most of the town came to walk across it. [8] Now a trip to the library takes two minutes, and the long bus ride is no longer needed. [9] The council has promised to inspect the bridge every spring. Section map: Box 1 'A Flood Takes the Crossing' [1]-[3], the stones are lost; Box 2 'Choosing a Plan' [4]-[6], three ideas are weighed; Box 3 'The Bridge Opens' [7]-[9], the new bridge is in use.
Ari studies the section map. What job does the middle section, 'Choosing a Plan,' do for the article?
- It argues that a footbridge is the right fix for any town that has floods.
- It turns the town's problem into a decision by weighing three ways to fix it.
- It tells readers that a footbridge costs more at first than the other two ideas.
- It shows how the crossing was lost and which children were cut off from the library.
Bo looks at all three boxes. Which pattern organizes the article from the first box to the last?
- Problem and solution: the flood cuts off the town, the council picks a plan, and the bridge opens.
- Cause and effect: the flood is the cause and the loss of the stones is the effect.
- Compare and contrast: a ferry, new stones and a footbridge are weighed side by side.
- Argument: the writer wants readers to vote for a bridge in their own town.
The Dance of the Honeybee (article)
A DANCER IN THE HIVE
[1] When a honeybee finds a patch of flowers, it flies back to the hive and begins to dance. [2] The bee moves in a figure-eight pattern, and in the middle of the figure it runs straight ahead while shaking its body from side to side. [3] Other bees crowd close to feel the dance.
WHAT THE DANCE TELLS
[4] The direction of the straight run shows which way to fly, measured against the Sun. [5] The length of the run shows how far away the flowers are, so a longer run means a longer trip. [6] A scientist named Karl von Frisch worked out this code, and he shared a Nobel Prize in 1973 for his studies of bees.
WHY IT MATTERS
[7] Because of the dance, a hive can send workers straight to a rich patch of flowers instead of searching everywhere. [8] Many bees can then gather food in a short time, which helps the colony store honey for winter. [9] Scientists still study the dance to learn how animals share information. Section map: Box 1 'A Dancer in the Hive' [1]-[3], what the bee does; Box 2 'What the Dance Tells' [4]-[6], the code in the dance; Box 3 'Why It Matters' [7]-[9], what the hive gains.
Jun studies the section map. What job does the section 'What the Dance Tells' do for the article?
- It names the scientist Karl von Frisch and the year of his Nobel Prize.
- It shows what the bee does when it returns, so readers can picture the dance.
- It shows that bees understand maps and plan their trips the way people do.
- It explains what the direction and the length of the dance tell other bees.
Kira looks at all three boxes. Which pattern organizes the article from the first box to the last?
- Explaining a behavior: what the bee does, what it means, and what the colony gains.
- Steps in order: how to find flowers, fly to them, and carry food back.
- Cause and effect: a longer run causes a longer trip to the flowers.
- Argument: bees are smarter than any other insect and should be protected.
Luz asks why 'A Dancer in the Hive' comes first. Which reason fits the article?
- Readers must picture the dance before they can learn what its direction and length mean.
- The writer wants readers to remember the dance more than any other bee behavior.
- Readers must know how much honey a colony stores before they can picture the dance.
- Readers must learn what the dance means before they can picture the bee that performs it.
The Lot on Finch Street (article)
AN EMPTY LOT
[1] For ten years, the lot on Finch Street held only weeds and pieces of broken glass, and a rusty fence sagged along one side. [2] Neighbors walked past it on the way to the bus stop and rarely looked twice, because nothing there invited anyone to stay.
NEIGHBORS GET TO WORK
[3] In March, volunteers hauled away the glass and spread fresh soil in twelve long beds, which they built from boards donated by a lumber yard. [4] A hardware store gave tools, and a nearby farm gave seedlings so that the planting could start in April. [5] By June, tomatoes, beans, and squash were growing in tidy rows, and bees had begun to visit the flowers.
A PLACE TO SHARE
[6] Anyone on the street may pick vegetables from the front beds. [7] The back beds belong to families who signed up to care for them, and a chalkboard by the gate lists whose turn it is to water. [8] On Saturday mornings, neighbors who have never met often end up weeding side by side. [9] The lot is now one of the busiest corners on the block. Section map: Box 1 'An Empty Lot' [1]-[2], weeds and glass; Box 2 'Neighbors Get to Work' [3]-[5], March to June; Box 3 'A Place to Share' [6]-[9], the garden today.
Noah looks at all three boxes. Which pattern organizes the article from the first box to the last?
- Steps in order: how to plant tomatoes, beans, and squash in twelve long beds.
- Problem and solution: neighbors have a problem with weeds, and a hardware store solves it.
- Argument: neighbors should join the garden because gardening makes a street safer.
- Time order: the empty lot, the spring work that changes it, and how the garden is used now.
Pia asks why 'A Place to Share' comes last. Which reason fits the article?
- It must come last because the lot has to be empty before any volunteers can work.
- It must come last because the garden is the most important place on the block.
- It shows how the garden is used today, which only makes sense after the work in the middle.
- Readers must learn how the garden is used today before they can follow the work that built it.
Why Ice Floats (article)
A STRANGE FACT
[1] Most materials grow denser when they freeze, so the solid sinks in its own liquid, but water does the opposite. [2] A cube of ice floats in a glass of water because ice is lighter than the liquid it came from, even though both are made of the same molecules.
WHY IT HAPPENS
[3] As water freezes, its tiny molecules lock into a rigid pattern with open spaces between them. [4] Those spaces make a block of ice take up more room than the same amount of liquid water. [5] Since the ice is spread out more, it is less dense, and so it rises to the top.
WHY IT MATTERS
[6] In winter, a pond freezes from the top down, not from the bottom up. [7] The layer of ice acts like a lid that slows the loss of heat from the water below, so the pond does not freeze all at once. [8] Fish and other pond animals can then stay alive in the liquid layer under the ice. [9] If ice sank, a pond could freeze solid from the bottom, and many animals would not make it through the winter. Section map: Box 1 'A Strange Fact' [1]-[2], ice floats; Box 2 'Why It Happens' [3]-[5], the open pattern of frozen water; Box 3 'Why It Matters' [6]-[9], ponds in winter.
Ren studies the section map. What job does 'Why It Happens' do for the article?
- It shows that water is the one material that floats when it freezes.
- It says that ice takes up more room than the same amount of liquid water.
- It gives the cause behind the surprising fact in the first section.
- It shows what the frozen layer means for fish and other pond animals in winter.
Tala looks at all three boxes. Which pattern organizes the article from the first box to the last?
- Compare and contrast: how ice differs from most materials that grow denser.
- Time order: what happens first, next, and last as a pond freezes through the winter.
- Cause and effect: a surprising fact, the reason it happens, and what follows from it.
- Problem and solution: ponds freeze solid, so people must find a way to keep fish alive.
Zee asks why 'Why It Happens' comes before 'Why It Matters.' Which reason fits the article?
- The writer wants readers to see that science can explain surprising facts about nature.
- Readers must learn what a floating lid does to a pond before they can follow why ice is lighter.
- Readers need the cause of floating ice before they can follow what a floating lid does to a pond.
- Readers need the fact that ice floats first, or the cause would not mean anything to them.