Stuck Together - Mrs. Lamkin's Sixth Grade

Name

Comprehension and Fluency

Read the passage. Use the make, confirm, and revise predictions strategy to help you understand the theme.

Stuck Together

Rosa entered her apartment building just as a woman with red hair was

13 coming out. The woman nodded at Rosa but didn't say anything. Rosa

25 remembered seeing the woman when she was getting mail, but other than

37 that, Rosa had no idea who she was. Then again, Rosa didn't know anyone

51 in the building. She and her mother had just moved in a month ago, and

66 while people weren't rude, they weren't exactly friendly, either. Everyone

76 kept to himself or herself. Rosa missed the people in her old building

89 where tenants knew one another and chatted in the lobby, knocked on

101 doors to borrow milk, and had a big holiday party annually.

112

Rosa pushed the "up" button on the elevator and allowed her backpack

124 to drop to the floor as she waited for the elevator to arrive. And waited.

139 And then she waited some more. "Oh no," she muttered quietly to herself,

152 "not again."

154

Rosa lived on the seventh floor. Sighing, she slung the strap of her

167 heavy backpack over her shoulder and trudged slowly up the stairs. By the

180 time she got to her floor, there were beads of sweat rolling down her face.

195 Rosa's mother was inside the apartment, painting the walls. "Que pasa,

206 mija?" asked her mother.

210

"I had to walk up the stairs, again. Somebody should do something

222 about that elevator," Rosa answered.

227

"I called the landlord several times, but I haven't heard anything back,"

239 her mother told her.

243

The next morning, Rosa and her mother walked to the elevator and

255 hoped for the best. Luckily, the elevator actually arrived. There were a

267 few people already on it, including the red-haired lady. Rosa and her

279 mother entered, and the doors closed behind them. People smiled, but

290 no one spoke. That is, nobody spoke until they realized that the elevator

303 wasn't moving.

305

"Great," the woman with the red hair said sarcastically.

Copyright ? The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Practice ? Grade 6 ? Unit 3 ? Week 1 103

Name

Comprehension and Fluency

"I've written to the landlord about how frequently this broken elevator malfunctions," said a man with a black briefcase. He pulled the red alarm button, and it began to clang outside the door. "Now we just have to wait until someone hears the signal and pushes a button for the elevator."

Rosa looked at her mom, who smiled and said, "It doesn't seem like the landlord is listening to our complaints. Maybe if we all got together and pressured him, he would fix the elevator."

"I don't know," said a man in jogging shorts. "I don't really like to get involved in problems."

Rosa smiled at him. "You're stuck in an elevator. You're already involved." She put out her hand. "I'm Rosa, in 7L, and this is my mom, Maria."

The man shook Rosa's hand. "Okay, you have a point. I'm Saul, 8R." One by one, everyone in the elevator introduced himself or herself, and as they waited, they talked about the difficulties they'd been having with the elevator and ways to get the landlord to fix it. "Perhaps if we could write a letter and have everyone in the building sign it, the landlord would listen," someone suggested. "We could say that we are going to contact the city's housing department," Saul put in. "Or if we all say that we won't pay our rent, I bet we get the elevator fixed." "I can write the letter," offered Rosa's mother. The other people in the elevator agreed to review the letter and help get signatures from all the building's tenants. Just then the elevator started descending again. As it made its way down to the first floor, Rosa felt proud of her mother for getting everyone to agree to work together. Maybe this building would turn out to be as friendly as the old one. At the very least, it would have a working elevator.

Copyright ? The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

104 Practice ? Grade 6 ? Unit 3 ? Week 1

Name

Comprehension: Theme and Fluency

A. Reread the passage and answer the questions.

1. At the beginning of the story, how does Rosa feel about living in her new building?

2. What had happened when Rosa's mother called the landlord about the broken elevator?

3. How do the people in the elevator respond when Rosa's mother says they should get together and pressure the landlord to fix the elevator?

Copyright ? The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

4. Based on the events of the story, what do you think the theme of this story is?

B. Work with a partner. Read the passage aloud. Pay attention to expression. Stop after one minute. Fill out the chart.

First Read Second Read

Words Read

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? ?

Number of Errors

=

Words Correct Score

=

=

Practice ? Grade 6 ? Unit 3 ? Week 1 105

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