GRADE 6 READING

[Pages:32]VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING Spring 2011 Released Test

GRADE 6 READING

Form R0111, CORE 1

Property of the Virginia Department of Education

Copyright ?2011 by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Education, P.O. Box 2120, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120. All rights reserved. Except as permitted by law, this material may not be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Commonwealth of Virginia public school educators may reproduce any portion of these released tests for non-commercial educational purposes without requesting permission. All others should direct their written requests to the Virginia Department of Education, Division of Student Assessment and School Improvement, at the above address or by e-mail to Student_Assessment@doe..

Reading

Directions

Read the passage. Then read each question about the passage and choose the best answer. Fill in the circle on your answer document for the answer you have chosen.

SAMPLE A

Mia's Art

1 Mia rushed home and threw open the front door. Her mother whirled around, surprised that Mia was home from school so early. "I won first place in the art contest!" she said with pride.

2 Though Mia had been working eagerly on her art submission for weeks, her mother wasn't sure what the project involved. "That's wonderful, Mia! What was the subject of your art project?" her mother asked.

3 Grinning from ear to ear, Mia handed over her artwork. It was a portrait of her mother.

This story is mostly about Mia --

A working on a project at home B choosing a new art project C winning an art contest D completing a painting

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Directions You do not need to read a passage to answer the following question. Read and answer the question.

SAMPLE B Read these sentences. Michael was almost ready to leave when he realized that he had misplaced his keys. After searching for ten minutes, he found the keys in his backpack. What does the word misplaced mean? F lost G changed H broken J hidden

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Go to the next page and continue

working.

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Directions: Read the story and answer the questions that follow.

Finding Niesha's Courage

1 Gold and brown leaves crunched under Niesha's boots as she made her way down the sidewalk. She could not wait to be home. The chill from the autumn winds was bad, but it was not nearly as hard to bear as the chill she felt in her heart.

2 She could not forget the way she had frozen in front of the class today. Mr. Roberts had divided the class into groups to do presentations. Each person in the group would speak for five minutes in front of the class. Today had been Niesha's turn. Her legs had wobbled all the way to the front of the classroom. Her hands had shaken so badly she could not read her notes. As Niesha had spoken, her voice had become softer, trailing off to silence. Mr. Roberts had kindly ended Niesha's part of the presentation even though she had clearly not finished. He had also asked Niesha to stay after class for a moment.

3 "Niesha, I know you're shy, but you worked hard on this project. I'd hate to see you give up on yourself." Mr. Roberts had hesitated, "If I give you until tomorrow, do you think you can find your courage?"

4 Niesha had nodded, grateful for the chance. She had gone as quickly as she could to her next class. She had kept her head down and hoped the school day would end soon.

5 When she reached her back steps that afternoon, she could see an inviting light coming from the kitchen windows. Momma was baking. When Momma baked, Niesha always watched and chatted with her. Momma always said it was Niesha's company that made her baked goods taste so sweet.

6 Momma studied Niesha's face as she came into the kitchen. "What's wrong, Niesha?"

7 Tears shone in Niesha's brown eyes. She let the whole story tumble out. Momma was silent for a moment, her hands still busy with the cake.

8 "Why is it that you can talk to me about anything and everything, but you can't talk to your class?" Momma asked, sliding the round, aluminum cake pans into the oven. She set the timer and then said, "Let me show you something."

9 Niesha followed Momma to her bedroom. There was a trunk at the foot of the bed filled with Momma's old things. Momma dug around for a minute and pulled out a book filled with newspaper clippings and pictures. She flipped the dry, brown pages until she found what she was looking for--a blue ribbon that said "First Place" and a picture of herself when she was very young, standing with her parents.

10 "I won it for public speaking. I started the school year as the shyest girl on the speech team, but I ended the year as the blue ribbon winner. It wasn't easy because I was a very timid girl--not sure of myself at all. I worked hard, and mostly I faced my fears. You just need to find your courage."

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11 That was the second time someone had told her that today. Niesha followed Momma back to the kitchen. What was it that made her so afraid?

12 Soon Momma's gooey, sweet Caramel Melt Cake had risen in the pans, and Niesha sat down in the kitchen. Momma pulled the pans from the oven and put them on a wire rack to cool a little bit while she melted the caramel for the cake topping. When the caramel looked about as thick as honey, Momma let Niesha stir the chopped pecans into the mixture. The smell of the lumpy topping comforted Niesha as she wondered where she would find her courage. When the topping was ready, Momma poured it over the cake. Niesha watched the topping slide down the sides of the cake. Momma then cut a thick slab and put it in front of Niesha.

13 "There's nothing better for heartache than Momma's love baked in a cake," said Momma. 14 Niesha raised a forkful of warm cake to her mouth. She could taste the caramel, the

pecans--and lots of Momma's love. All the fear in the world could not take away that love. Niesha felt safe in Momma's kitchen. 15 The next day Niesha again walked to the front of the classroom to give her presentation. She could feel herself becoming nervous once more. Earlier that morning before school, Niesha had borrowed Momma's blue ribbon for encouragement and folded it into her front pocket to take with her. As Niesha faced the class, preparing to speak, she remembered the ribbon in her pocket. She thought of the smell of Momma's kitchen, the old newspaper clippings, the safety she felt at home, but most importantly, Momma's supportive words. Niesha took a deep breath and began to speak with confidence. Today she found her courage.

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1 Read this sentence from paragraph 1.

The chill from the autumn winds was bad, but it was not nearly as hard to bear as the chill she felt in her heart.

In this sentence, the author draws an analogy between the -- A cold of autumn and a feeling of sadness B strength of autumn winds and a feeling of shame C need to dress warmly and a feeling of shyness D fall weather and a feeling of power

2 Read this dictionary entry. trail (tral) n. 1. A pathway, footpath, or track. v. 2. To follow behind. 3. To grow weak or quiet. 4. To hang, droop, or spill over.

Which definition of trail is used in paragraph 2? F1 G2 H3 J4

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3 Read this sentence from paragraph 4. She had kept her head down and hoped the school day would end soon.

What caused Niesha to act this way? A She was worried that her teacher was frustrated with her. B She was hurt because her group did not help with the project. C She knew that her mother would be upset to learn what happened. D She was embarrassed because she did not do well presenting her project.

4 Read this sentence from paragraph 8. "Why is it that you can talk to me about anything and everything, but you can't talk to your class?"

Which of these says the same thing in a different way? F Maybe you should try talking to your class but not to me. G I don't understand why you can talk to me but not your class. H You should pretend you're talking to me when you talk to your classmates. J You should be able to tell your classmates the same things you tell me.

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