Free printable CAASPP practice test for Grade 6

English Language Arts

Circle the letter of the best answer. No time limit.

1. The Weaver Who Would Not Bow

   A myth from ancient Greece

   In the land of Lydia, in a hill town where sheep grazed on every slope, there lived a young woman named Arachne who could weave like no one else alive. Her father dyed wool for a living, soaking it in great vats until it came out the deep purple of ripe plums. Arachne spun that wool into thread and wove the thread into cloth so fine that people swore it had been made from mist.

   Visitors traveled for days just to watch her work. Her hands moved so quickly that the shuttle seemed to fly across the loom by itself. Flowers bloomed on her cloth, then rivers, then whole forests with deer stepping between the trees. Even the nymphs, the shy spirits of the springs and woods, crept out of hiding to watch.

   "Surely Athena herself taught you," an old shepherd said one afternoon. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and of crafts, and weavers all over Greece prayed to her before they began a new piece.

   Arachne did not look up from her loom. "No one taught me," she said. "My skill is my own. If Athena believes she can weave better, let her come here and prove it."

   The room went silent. A few visitors edged toward the door, as if they expected lightning.

   No lightning came. But the next morning, an old woman leaning on a staff shuffled in and sat down beside the loom. Her hair was white and her back was bent, but her gray eyes were sharp.

   "Child," she said, "long years teach a person a few things, so listen to an old woman. Be proud of your gift, but do not compare yourself to the gods. Take back your words and ask the goddess to forgive you. She is generous to those who ask."

   Arachne laughed. "Save your advice for your own grandchildren. If the goddess is offended, why doesn't she come herself? She must be afraid of losing."

   "She has come," said the old woman.

   The staff fell to the floor. The bent back straightened, the white hair became a gleaming helmet, and in place of the old woman stood Athena, tall and shining. The visitors dropped to their knees. Only Arachne stayed on her feet. Her cheeks flushed red and then went pale, but she did not take back a single word.

   So the contest began. Two looms were set up side by side, and the goddess and the young woman went to work.

   Athena wove the gods seated in glory on Mount Olympus, calm and powerful. In each corner of her cloth, she added a small scene of a mortal who had challenged the gods and been punished. They were warnings woven in thread, and she meant Arachne to read them.

   Arachne read them and kept weaving. On her cloth, she showed the gods at their worst: tricking people, quarreling, and changing shapes to fool anyone who trusted them. Every face was perfect. Every wave looked wet enough to touch. Around the edge, she wove a border of ivy as delicate as a whisper.

   When both looms were still, Athena studied Arachne's cloth for a long time. She could not find a single flaw. That was the trouble. The work was flawless, but its message was an insult, and the weaver who made it had never once bowed her head.

   Athena tore the cloth from the loom. Then she touched Arachne's forehead.

   "You love your weaving more than anything," the goddess said. "Then you will weave forever, you and your children and their children after them."

   Arachne felt herself shrinking. Her hair fell away, her head grew tiny, and her fingers stretched into thin, nimble legs. In a moment, a small spider dangled from the beam of the loom on a single silver thread.

   She has been weaving ever since. Look in the corner of a barn on a dewy morning, and you will find her work: a web as fine as mist, perfect in every strand. Scientists still call spiders arachnids, after her. The goddess never took away Arachne's skill. It was her pride that cost her everything else.

   1.

   Which statement best expresses a theme of the myth?

   1. AOlder people always give the wisest advice.
   2. BHard work is the only way to become truly skilled.
   3. CTalent is worth more than any other gift.
   4. DRefusing to admit any limits can cost a person dearly.
2. 2.

   People said Arachne's cloth was so fine that "it had been made from mist." What does this exaggeration suggest?

   1. AHer cloth was woven outdoors in the fog.
   2. BHer cloth was damp and gray.
   3. CHer cloth was amazingly light and delicate.
   4. DHer cloth was hard to see in the dark.
3. 3.

   How does the scene with the old woman fit into the myth as a whole?

   1. AIt introduces the person who judges the contest.
   2. BIt offers Arachne a way out, so her refusal matters more.
   3. CIt reveals why Arachne's father dyed wool.
   4. DIt explains how Arachne first learned to weave cloth so well.
4. 4.

   Why does Athena most likely visit Arachne disguised as an old woman first?

   1. ATo watch Arachne's work without being noticed
   2. BBecause she was afraid of losing to Arachne
   3. CTo give Arachne a chance to change her mind
   4. DTo keep the nymphs from recognizing her

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.

   Which detail does the speaker use to show that he follows through on what he says?

   1. AHe will read the suggestions every Friday.
   2. BThe art club offered to decorate the suggestion boxes.
   3. CHe noticed the line at the water fountain after gym.
   4. DHe got recycling bins put in the cafeteria.

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.

   According to the talk, what causes the gas to form?

   1. ACold air from the refrigerator turns into gas.
   2. BThe onion's papery outer skin gives off a gas whenever it touches the air.
   3. CCutting breaks cells, so chemicals that were kept apart mix and react.
   4. DThe knife heats the onion until it releases steam.
7. 7.

   Every Saturday, my grandpa takes me to the lake. We brought our fishing poles and a cooler.

   The verb in bold does not match the tense of the other verbs. Which word should replace it?

   1. Abring
   2. Bbringing
   3. Cwill bring
   4. Dbrings
8. 8.

   In which sentence should the words in bold be set off with commas?

   1. AStudents who play in the band will march in the Fourth of July parade.
   2. BThe only student who solved the bonus question was Amara.
   3. CThe trail that leads to the waterfall is closed until the snow melts.
   4. DMount Rainier an active volcano in Washington can be seen from Seattle on clear days.
9. 9.

   My older sister gave me good ______ about starting middle school.

   Which word best completes the sentence?

   1. Aadvise
   2. Bdevice
   3. Cadvice
   4. Dadvize
10. 10.

    Tornadoes are spinning columns of air that rank among the most violent storms on Earth. Most tornadoes form during strong thunderstorms when warm, wet air meets cool, dry air. My best friend is learning to bake bread from her grandfather's old recipes. The United States has more tornadoes than any other country, with more than 1,000 in a typical year. The strongest tornadoes have winds that blow faster than 200 miles per hour. As a result, these storms can rip houses apart and toss cars through the air. With their fierce, swirling winds, tornadoes are some of the most dangerous storms in nature.

    Which sentence does NOT belong in this paragraph?

    1. AMost tornadoes form during strong thunderstorms when warm, wet air meets cool, dry air.
    2. BThe United States has more tornadoes than any other country, with more than 1,000 in a typical year.
    3. CThe strongest tornadoes have winds that blow faster than 200 miles per hour.
    4. DMy best friend is learning to bake bread from her grandfather's old recipes.