Worksheet

Link sections with the right words

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    A Crossing Light for Birch Street (student draft: argument)

    [1] Every school morning, about 300 students at Hollins Middle School cross Birch Street at the corner of Fourth Avenue, where there is a painted crosswalk but no traffic light. [2] The town council should install a crossing light at that corner before the next school year begins, because the crosswalk alone no longer keeps walkers safe.

    [3] Students and parents have already seen how dangerous the corner can be. [4] Last spring, the parent association counted 14 near misses in six weeks, including two cars that drove through the crosswalk while a group of sixth graders was halfway across. [5] Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work. [6] Many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.

    [7] ______, a light would help the many older residents who walk to the Birch Street health clinic, which opens at the same hour that school begins. [8] The clinic's director, Ms. Okafor, told the council in March that several of her patients now walk four extra blocks to reach a crossing with a signal. [9] A light with a push button and a countdown timer would give these walkers enough time to cross at a steady pace.

    [10] Admittedly, a new signal would cost the town about $80,000, which is money the council had planned to spend on repaving side streets. [11] Even so, the repaving could wait a year, while the danger at Birch and Fourth grows each time the morning traffic builds. [12] For the students who cross there and the neighbors who share the corner, a light is a small price for a crossing that people can trust.

  2. Ari is filling the blank that opens paragraph 3. Which phrase links the new paragraph to the one before it?

    • As an example of protecting students
    • Despite protecting students
    • Because it would protect students
    • In addition to protecting students

  3. Bo wants to join sentences [5] and [6] with a semicolon and a linking word. Which version shows how the ideas connect and is punctuated correctly?

    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work; however, many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.
    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work therefore; many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.
    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work, therefore, many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.
    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work; therefore, many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.

  4. How a Water Tower Keeps the Taps Running (student draft: informative)

    [1] In many towns, a huge tank on tall legs rises above the rooftops, and most people pass it every day without wondering what it does. [2] A water tower stores treated water high above the ground, and that height is what pushes the water through the pipes and out of the faucets in homes and shops.

    [3] Water is heavy, and gravity pulls the water in the tank down into the pipes below with a steady force. [4] The higher the water sits, the harder it pushes: each foot of height adds a little less than half a pound of pressure on every square inch of pipe. [5] Consequently, engineers build towers on high ground and make them taller than the buildings they serve, so that the water can rise to an upstairs sink.

    [6] Pumps at the treatment plant fill the tank mostly at night, when few people are using water and the pipes are quiet. [7] Because so little water is flowing out, the pumps can raise the level in the tank slowly and steadily without working at full speed.

    [8] ______, during the morning rush, when thousands of people shower, wash dishes and make breakfast, water flows out of the tank far faster than the pumps can send it in. [9] The stored water makes up the difference, so the pressure at each faucet stays steady even when the whole town turns on its taps at once. [10] A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses. [11] It keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out. [12] The plain tank above the rooftops is a quiet machine that uses height and gravity to do the work of a pump that would otherwise run every minute of the day.

  5. The first words of sentence [8] are missing. Which phrase should Jun write there to link paragraph 4 to paragraph 3?

    • Unlike these quiet nighttime hours
    • Along with these quiet nighttime hours
    • As an example of these quiet nighttime hours
    • Because of these quiet nighttime hours

  6. Kira plans to combine sentences [10] and [11] into one sentence with a semicolon. Which version links the two jobs of the tower correctly?

    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses, in addition, it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.
    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses; in addition, it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.
    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses in addition; it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.
    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses; however, it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.

  7. Luz circles "Consequently" at the start of sentence [5]. What does this link tell the reader?

    • [5] gives an example of one town where the water tower stands on a hill.
    • [5] gives a result of the fact in [4], that water sitting higher pushes harder.
    • [5] adds a separate fact about how engineers design towers, apart from pressure.
    • [5] turns against [4], showing that the height of the water does not matter.

  8. Keep the Makerspace Open Until Five (student draft: argument)

    [1] The makerspace on the second floor of Ridgeway High School holds a laser cutter, two 3D printers, a sewing machine and a long bench of hand tools. [2] The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home. [3] Its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw. [4] The school should keep the room open until five o'clock on weekdays, because it now closes before most students can reach it.

    [5] Right now, the makerspace closes at 3:15 p.m., only ten minutes after the last bell rings. [6] By the time students walk over from the gym or the far wing of the building, the supervisor, Mr. Castellanos, is often already locking the door. [7] For instance, in a survey of 120 students last month, 71 said that they had been turned away from the makerspace at least once this fall.

    [8] ______, the robotics club and the theater crew have fallen weeks behind on their projects this fall. [9] The theater crew needed six weeks to cut the panels for the fall play, a job that the crew leader says could have taken two.

    [10] Some teachers worry that a later closing would mean paying a supervisor for almost two more hours each day. [11] However, the parent association has offered to train volunteer supervisors, and two retired shop teachers have already signed up. [12] With longer hours, the tools that the school already owns would finally be used by the students they were bought for.

  9. Milo must fill the blank at the start of sentence [8]. Which phrase links paragraph 3 to paragraph 2?

    • Because of this early closing time
    • As an example of this early closing time
    • Along with this early closing time
    • Despite this early closing time

  10. Noah wants sentences [2] and [3] to become one sentence joined by a semicolon. Which version is linked and punctuated correctly?

    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home for example; its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.
    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home; for example, its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.
    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home; as a result, its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.
    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home, for example, its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.

  11. Sentence [7] begins with "For instance". Which note says what that link tells the reader?

    • [7] turns against [6], showing that most students reach the room in time.
    • [7] gives evidence that the early closing turns students away, as [5] and [6] describe.
    • [7] adds a second, separate reason for keeping the room open later.
    • [7] gives the reason that the makerspace closes at 3:15 p.m. each day.

  12. Why a Hot-Air Balloon Rises (student draft: informative)

    [1] A hot-air balloon has no engine and no wings, yet it can lift a basket of passengers hundreds of meters above the fields. [2] The secret lies in a simple fact about air: warm air is lighter than the same amount of cooler air, because its molecules move faster and spread farther apart.

    [3] When the pilot fires the burner, a tall flame heats the air trapped inside the fabric envelope above the basket. [4] The heated air weighs less than the cooler air that the envelope pushes aside, so the surrounding air presses the balloon upward. [5] This lift is strongest on a cool morning, when the air outside is far colder than the air inside the envelope, and many pilots take off soon after sunrise for that reason.

    [6] ______, a hot summer afternoon gives a balloon much less lift, so the burner must work harder and the basket can carry fewer people. [7] Afternoon sunshine also heats the ground unevenly, which stirs up rising gusts of air that can toss a balloon from side to side.

    [8] A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it. [9] A pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car. [10] Instead, the pilot climbs or sinks to find a wind blowing in the wanted direction, since the wind often blows one way near the ground and another way higher up. [11] In addition, a cord in the basket opens a vent at the top of the envelope, which lets hot air escape when the pilot needs to come down quickly. [12] Every part of the flight depends on the difference between warm air and cool air.

  13. Tala is joining sentences [8] and [9] with a semicolon and a linking word. Which version is correct?

    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it; for example, a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.
    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it, however, a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.
    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it however; a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.
    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it; however, a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.

  14. Zee marks "In addition" at the start of sentence [11]. What does this link tell the reader?

    • [11] adds a second way to bring the balloon down, the vent, besides cooling the air in [8].
    • [11] gives an example of the winds that the pilot looks for in [10].
    • [11] gives a result of the winds in [10], which force hot air out of the vent.
    • [11] turns against [10], showing that a pilot can steer a balloon left or right.
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Link sections with the right words

Answer Key - Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    A Crossing Light for Birch Street (student draft: argument)

    [1] Every school morning, about 300 students at Hollins Middle School cross Birch Street at the corner of Fourth Avenue, where there is a painted crosswalk but no traffic light. [2] The town council should install a crossing light at that corner before the next school year begins, because the crosswalk alone no longer keeps walkers safe.

    [3] Students and parents have already seen how dangerous the corner can be. [4] Last spring, the parent association counted 14 near misses in six weeks, including two cars that drove through the crosswalk while a group of sixth graders was halfway across. [5] Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work. [6] Many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.

    [7] ______, a light would help the many older residents who walk to the Birch Street health clinic, which opens at the same hour that school begins. [8] The clinic's director, Ms. Okafor, told the council in March that several of her patients now walk four extra blocks to reach a crossing with a signal. [9] A light with a push button and a countdown timer would give these walkers enough time to cross at a steady pace.

    [10] Admittedly, a new signal would cost the town about $80,000, which is money the council had planned to spend on repaving side streets. [11] Even so, the repaving could wait a year, while the danger at Birch and Fourth grows each time the morning traffic builds. [12] For the students who cross there and the neighbors who share the corner, a light is a small price for a crossing that people can trust.

  2. Ari is filling the blank that opens paragraph 3. Which phrase links the new paragraph to the one before it?

    • As an example of protecting students
    • Despite protecting students
    • Because it would protect students
    • In addition to protecting students

  3. Bo wants to join sentences [5] and [6] with a semicolon and a linking word. Which version shows how the ideas connect and is punctuated correctly?

    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work; however, many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.
    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work therefore; many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.
    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work, therefore, many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.
    • Traffic on Birch Street is heaviest between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning, when parents are rushing to work; therefore, many students wait more than two minutes for a gap in the cars, and some give up and dash across.

  4. How a Water Tower Keeps the Taps Running (student draft: informative)

    [1] In many towns, a huge tank on tall legs rises above the rooftops, and most people pass it every day without wondering what it does. [2] A water tower stores treated water high above the ground, and that height is what pushes the water through the pipes and out of the faucets in homes and shops.

    [3] Water is heavy, and gravity pulls the water in the tank down into the pipes below with a steady force. [4] The higher the water sits, the harder it pushes: each foot of height adds a little less than half a pound of pressure on every square inch of pipe. [5] Consequently, engineers build towers on high ground and make them taller than the buildings they serve, so that the water can rise to an upstairs sink.

    [6] Pumps at the treatment plant fill the tank mostly at night, when few people are using water and the pipes are quiet. [7] Because so little water is flowing out, the pumps can raise the level in the tank slowly and steadily without working at full speed.

    [8] ______, during the morning rush, when thousands of people shower, wash dishes and make breakfast, water flows out of the tank far faster than the pumps can send it in. [9] The stored water makes up the difference, so the pressure at each faucet stays steady even when the whole town turns on its taps at once. [10] A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses. [11] It keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out. [12] The plain tank above the rooftops is a quiet machine that uses height and gravity to do the work of a pump that would otherwise run every minute of the day.

  5. The first words of sentence [8] are missing. Which phrase should Jun write there to link paragraph 4 to paragraph 3?

    • Unlike these quiet nighttime hours
    • Along with these quiet nighttime hours
    • As an example of these quiet nighttime hours
    • Because of these quiet nighttime hours

  6. Kira plans to combine sentences [10] and [11] into one sentence with a semicolon. Which version links the two jobs of the tower correctly?

    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses, in addition, it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.
    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses; in addition, it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.
    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses in addition; it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.
    • A full tower covers the gap between what the pumps can send and what the town uses; however, it keeps a reserve ready in case a pump breaks down or the power goes out.

  7. Luz circles "Consequently" at the start of sentence [5]. What does this link tell the reader?

    • [5] gives an example of one town where the water tower stands on a hill.
    • [5] gives a result of the fact in [4], that water sitting higher pushes harder.
    • [5] adds a separate fact about how engineers design towers, apart from pressure.
    • [5] turns against [4], showing that the height of the water does not matter.

  8. Keep the Makerspace Open Until Five (student draft: argument)

    [1] The makerspace on the second floor of Ridgeway High School holds a laser cutter, two 3D printers, a sewing machine and a long bench of hand tools. [2] The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home. [3] Its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw. [4] The school should keep the room open until five o'clock on weekdays, because it now closes before most students can reach it.

    [5] Right now, the makerspace closes at 3:15 p.m., only ten minutes after the last bell rings. [6] By the time students walk over from the gym or the far wing of the building, the supervisor, Mr. Castellanos, is often already locking the door. [7] For instance, in a survey of 120 students last month, 71 said that they had been turned away from the makerspace at least once this fall.

    [8] ______, the robotics club and the theater crew have fallen weeks behind on their projects this fall. [9] The theater crew needed six weeks to cut the panels for the fall play, a job that the crew leader says could have taken two.

    [10] Some teachers worry that a later closing would mean paying a supervisor for almost two more hours each day. [11] However, the parent association has offered to train volunteer supervisors, and two retired shop teachers have already signed up. [12] With longer hours, the tools that the school already owns would finally be used by the students they were bought for.

  9. Milo must fill the blank at the start of sentence [8]. Which phrase links paragraph 3 to paragraph 2?

    • Because of this early closing time
    • As an example of this early closing time
    • Along with this early closing time
    • Despite this early closing time

  10. Noah wants sentences [2] and [3] to become one sentence joined by a semicolon. Which version is linked and punctuated correctly?

    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home for example; its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.
    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home; for example, its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.
    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home; as a result, its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.
    • The makerspace has tools that most students cannot use at home, for example, its laser cutter can shape a wooden part in about five minutes, while the same part can take an hour with a hand saw.

  11. Sentence [7] begins with "For instance". Which note says what that link tells the reader?

    • [7] turns against [6], showing that most students reach the room in time.
    • [7] gives evidence that the early closing turns students away, as [5] and [6] describe.
    • [7] adds a second, separate reason for keeping the room open later.
    • [7] gives the reason that the makerspace closes at 3:15 p.m. each day.

  12. Why a Hot-Air Balloon Rises (student draft: informative)

    [1] A hot-air balloon has no engine and no wings, yet it can lift a basket of passengers hundreds of meters above the fields. [2] The secret lies in a simple fact about air: warm air is lighter than the same amount of cooler air, because its molecules move faster and spread farther apart.

    [3] When the pilot fires the burner, a tall flame heats the air trapped inside the fabric envelope above the basket. [4] The heated air weighs less than the cooler air that the envelope pushes aside, so the surrounding air presses the balloon upward. [5] This lift is strongest on a cool morning, when the air outside is far colder than the air inside the envelope, and many pilots take off soon after sunrise for that reason.

    [6] ______, a hot summer afternoon gives a balloon much less lift, so the burner must work harder and the basket can carry fewer people. [7] Afternoon sunshine also heats the ground unevenly, which stirs up rising gusts of air that can toss a balloon from side to side.

    [8] A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it. [9] A pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car. [10] Instead, the pilot climbs or sinks to find a wind blowing in the wanted direction, since the wind often blows one way near the ground and another way higher up. [11] In addition, a cord in the basket opens a vent at the top of the envelope, which lets hot air escape when the pilot needs to come down quickly. [12] Every part of the flight depends on the difference between warm air and cool air.

  13. Tala is joining sentences [8] and [9] with a semicolon and a linking word. Which version is correct?

    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it; for example, a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.
    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it, however, a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.
    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it however; a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.
    • A pilot can make a balloon climb or sink by heating or cooling the air inside it; however, a pilot cannot steer a balloon left or right the way a driver steers a car.

  14. Zee marks "In addition" at the start of sentence [11]. What does this link tell the reader?

    • [11] adds a second way to bring the balloon down, the vent, besides cooling the air in [8].
    • [11] gives an example of the winds that the pilot looks for in [10].
    • [11] gives a result of the winds in [10], which force hot air out of the vent.
    • [11] turns against [10], showing that a pilot can steer a balloon left or right.