Free printable CAASPP practice test for Grade 6

English Language Arts

Circle the letter of the best answer, or two letters where a question asks for two. No time limit.

1. When the Sky Went Dark

   April 14, 1935, began as the kind of Sunday Opal Harper had almost forgotten was possible. The sky over the Oklahoma Panhandle was a clean, bright blue, and the wind, which had been flinging dirt against the farmhouse for weeks, had finally gone still.

   "Open every window," Ma announced after breakfast. "We are going to let this house breathe."

   For the next few hours, the Harpers cleaned as if company were coming. Opal dragged the rugs into the yard and beat them with a broom until brown clouds drifted off them, while her little brother, Wesley, chased the chickens around the coop. Pa walked the fence line, frowning at fields where the wheat should have been green by now. Instead, the ground lay bare and cracked, because the rains had failed for so many years that Opal could barely remember the smell of mud.

   In the middle of the afternoon, Opal noticed the birds.

   At first there were only a few, flying low and fast out of the north. Then there were dozens, then hundreds, sparrows and blackbirds, all racing south as if something were chasing them. The chickens stopped scratching and hurried into the coop on their own, and as the air turned suddenly cooler, the hair on Opal's arms prickled.

   "Pa," she called. "Look."

   Along the northern edge of the sky sat a dark line, like a range of mountains that had not been there that morning. But mountains do not move, and this was moving. It grew taller as she watched, a black wall that boiled at the top and swallowed the fields in front of it.

   Pa dropped his fence pliers. "Everybody in the house. Now!"

   Opal grabbed Wesley's hand and ran while Ma raced ahead of them, slamming windows one after another. They tumbled through the kitchen door just as the light changed, and in less than a minute, the bright afternoon was gone.

   It was darker than any night Opal had ever known, because even the darkest night had stars or the red glow of the stove. When she held her hand in front of her face, she could not see it. Wesley began to cry.

   "Nobody move," Pa said. His voice was calm, and Opal held on to that calm the way she held on to Wesley's hand. Ma found the lamp by feel and lit it, but the flame was only a weak yellow smudge in the brown air.

   Dust hissed against the walls. It sifted through the cracks around the doors and windows, no matter how tightly they were shut. Ma soaked dish towels in the water bucket for everyone to tie over their noses and mouths. The wet towel smelled of soap and dirt, but breathing through it helped.

   When Opal reached for the metal pump handle beside the sink, a spark snapped against her fingers, and she yelped. "The air's full of electricity," Pa explained. "All that blowing dust does it."

   They sat close together at the table for hours, listening to the wind, while Pa told stories about the summer he was Wesley's age, when the wheat grew so tall that he could hide in it.

   That night, the wind finally died down. In the morning, Opal stepped out into a strange new world. Fine dust, soft as flour, lay over everything, and it had drifted against the fence posts and the side of the barn in long, smooth piles, the way snow drifts in winter. The chickens were safe in the coop, fluffed up and offended.

   Ma stood on the porch with her broom for a long moment. Then she began to sweep.

   A few days later, Pa brought a newspaper home from town. A reporter had written about the storm and called the whole dry region by a name Opal had never heard before: the Dust Bowl.

   Opal turned the words over in her mind. A bowl could be emptied, she thought, but it could also be filled. She looked out at the bare fields and pictured them green again, heavy with rain.

   "It won't always be like this, will it?" she asked.

   Pa folded the paper and looked out the window beside her. "No," he said. "Dry years end. We just have to be here when they do."

   1.

   In the story, what does the word "sifted" mean in "It sifted through the cracks around the doors and windows"?

   1. Aslipped through in fine bits
   2. Bmelted slowly into
   3. Cpushed open by force
   4. Dpounded loudly and heavily against
2. 2.

   Which theme does the ending of the story develop?

   1. AHope and patience can help people endure hard times.
   2. BNewspapers rarely report events accurately.
   3. CIt is foolish to stay on land that keeps failing year after year.
   4. DChildren should never question their parents.
3. 3.

   The story is told in the third person but follows Opal closely. How does this affect what the reader learns?

   1. AThe reader learns Pa's private worries about the farm.
   2. BThe reader hears the reporter interview the Harpers.
   3. CThe reader learns the scientific cause of the storm.
   4. DThe reader notices the warning signs one at a time, as Opal does.
4. 4.

   Which TWO details best show that animals sensed the storm before the people did? Choose two answers.

   1. APa dropped his fence pliers and shouted.
   2. BThe chickens hurried into the coop on their own.
   3. CThe chickens were fluffed up and offended in the morning.
   4. DWesley chased the chickens around the coop.
   5. EHundreds of birds raced south as if something were chasing them.

5. Read this aloud to your child.

   A Voice for Every Sixth Grader

   Good morning, sixth graders. My name is Gabriel Santos, and I am running to be your representative on the student council.

   I want to talk about one thing: being heard. Every one of us has an idea that could make this school better. Maybe it's a club that doesn't exist yet. Maybe it's a fix for the line at the water fountain after gym. But most of those ideas never leave our heads, because we don't know who to tell.

   If you elect me, I will change that. First, I will put a suggestion box in every sixth-grade homeroom. I have already asked Principal Whitfield, and she said yes. The art club has even offered to decorate the boxes. Every Friday, I will read every suggestion and bring the most popular ones to the student council meeting.

   Second, I will report back. Each month, I will post a short update on the sixth-grade bulletin board telling you what happened to your ideas: which ones the council is working on, which ones it turned down, and why.

   You might be wondering whether I'll actually follow through. Last spring, I noticed that our school had no place to recycle cans at lunch. I wrote a letter, collected 212 signatures, and met with the custodians. Now there is a blue bin at the end of every cafeteria table. When I say I'll do something, I do it.

   And finally, if you vote for me, I promise that our class will have the best field day this school has ever seen.

   So when you fill out your ballot on Thursday, vote for the person who will make sure you are heard. Vote for Gabriel Santos. Thank you.

   5.

   Why does the speaker mention the line at the water fountain?

   1. ATo give an example of a small idea that might never be shared
   2. BTo show where the suggestion boxes will go
   3. CTo explain why the student council turned down one of the ideas
   4. DTo prove that he has fixed problems before

6. Read this aloud to your child.

   Why Onions Make You Cry

   You start chopping an onion for dinner, and within a minute your eyes are stinging and tears are rolling down your cheeks. You are not sad, of course. Your eyes are defending themselves against a chemical attack, one that the onion launches the moment your knife slices into it.

   An onion is made of millions of tiny cells. Inside each cell, certain chemicals that contain sulfur are stored separately from enzymes, substances that can change those chemicals into something new. As long as the cells remain whole, the chemicals and the enzymes never meet. A knife, however, slices thousands of cells open at once. The chemicals and enzymes mix, and within seconds they react to produce a new substance, a gas that drifts up from the cutting board.

   When this gas reaches your eyes, it irritates the sensitive nerves on their surface. Your eyes respond in the only way they can: they produce tears to wash the gas away. The more you chop, the more cells break, and the more you cry.

   Scientists think onions developed this chemical trick as a defense. An animal that bites into an onion gets a mouthful of stinging chemicals and may decide to leave the rest of it alone.

   Fortunately, you can still make salsa without sobbing. Try these tips.

   Chill it. Put the onion in the refrigerator for about half an hour before cutting it. Cold temperatures slow the chemical reaction, so less gas forms and less of it rises toward your face.

   Keep your knife sharp. A sharp blade slices cleanly through cells, while a dull one crushes and breaks many more of them.

   Let it blow away. Work near a fan or an open window so the gas drifts away before it reaches your eyes.

   6.

   In the talk, what does the word "irritates" mean in "it irritates the sensitive nerves on their surface"?

   1. Amakes much stronger
   2. Bbothers or causes discomfort to
   3. Cdries out completely
   4. Dheals and repairs
7. 7.

   The puppy was tired. The puppy still wanted to play.

   Which sentence best combines the two sentences without changing what they mean?

   1. AAlthough the puppy was tired, it still wanted to play.
   2. BAlthough the puppy was tired it, still wanted to play.
   3. CBecause the puppy was tired, it still wanted to play.
   4. DThe puppy was tired, it still wanted to play.
8. 8.

   The audience clapped loudly after the play I bowed with the rest of the cast.

   This is a run-on sentence. Which choice fixes it correctly?

   1. AThe audience clapped loudly after the play and, I bowed with the rest of the cast.
   2. BThe audience clapped loudly after the play I bowed with the rest of the cast.
   3. CThe audience clapped loudly after the play. I bowed with the rest of the cast.
   4. DThe audience clapped loudly after the play, I bowed with the rest of the cast.
9. 9.

   The word "hot" is the ______ of "cold."

   Which word is spelled correctly and completes the sentence?

   1. Aopposite
   2. Bopposet
   3. Coppisite
   4. Doposite
10. 10.

    Mayor Delgado, our city should paint a crosswalk on Maple Street in front of our middle school. Hundreds of students cross Maple Street every morning on their way to class. Drivers on Maple Street are supposed to slow down when they pass the school. However, many drivers speed by without noticing the students waiting at the curb. A painted crosswalk with bright white stripes would remind drivers to stop for people on foot. For the safety of every student, please paint a crosswalk on Maple Street, Mayor Delgado.

    Who is the writer most likely writing this paragraph for?

    1. Athe city's mayor
    2. Ba class of second graders
    3. Cthe cast of a school play
    4. Da group of campers at a summer camp