Free printable Iowa practice test for Grade 6

Reading

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 14 minutes.

1. Two Texts About Bats

   Text 1: Seeing with Sound

   Many bats hunt insects at night, when it is too dark to see well. To find their food, these bats use echolocation. A bat makes high-pitched calls, usually too high for people to hear. The sound bounces off objects and returns to the bat as echoes. By listening to the echoes, the bat can tell where an insect is, how big it is, and which way it is flying. Some bats can even find insects as thin as a human hair.

   Text 2: Bats on the Farm

   Farmers have good reasons to welcome bats. One bat can eat hundreds of insects in a single night, including many that damage crops. That means farmers may not need to spray as many chemicals on their fields. Some bats also help plants grow. Bats that sip nectar carry pollen from flower to flower, and bats that eat fruit spread seeds as they fly.

   1.

   What is the main idea of Text 2?

   1. ABats damage many crops each night.
   2. BBats help farmers and plants in several ways.
   3. CBats eat only fruit and nectar.
   4. DFarmers build homes for bats in their barns.
2. 2.

   How is Text 2 different from Text 1?

   1. AText 1 explains how bats sleep, while Text 2 explains how they fly.
   2. BText 1 gives an opinion, while Text 2 gives only facts.
   3. CText 1 explains how bats find food, while Text 2 explains how bats are helpful.
   4. DText 1 is about fruit bats, while Text 2 is about echoes.

3. The Radiator in 4B

   Every winter morning, before the sun, the radiator under our window clears its iron throat. It knocks once, twice, three times, like an old man rapping his cane on the floor to tell the whole building he is awake. Then it hisses, long and low, grumbling about the cold the way Grandpa grumbles about the weather report, complaining and complaining but never once leaving its post. All day it works without a word of thanks. It dries the mittens we drape across its ribs. It lets the cat sleep along its warm shoulders. It wrestles the drafts that sneak under the door and pins them to the floor. Outside, the wind shakes the fire escape, and snow buries the parked cars to their mirrors. Inside, the radiator stands its ground. At night, when the building goes quiet, I hear it ticking as it cools, muttering to itself in the dark like someone humming a song whose words they have forgotten. Mom says it was already here before she was born, that it knocked and hissed and kept her warm while she did homework at this same table. People who visit call it noisy. I call it loyal. Not everything that grumbles is unkind. Some things complain all winter long and keep you warm anyway.

   3.

   The poem says the radiator "clears its iron throat." What does this personification help the reader understand?

   1. AThe radiator is broken and needs to be repaired before the winter is over.
   2. BThe radiator sings loudly whenever it is happy.
   3. CThe radiator is shaped like a person's neck.
   4. DThe radiator makes noises as it starts, like a person about to speak.
4. 4.

   How does the speaker's view of the radiator differ from the view of visitors?

   1. AVisitors admire its age, but the speaker wishes it were newer.
   2. BVisitors think it makes the room too hot, but the speaker thinks it is too cold.
   3. CVisitors find it loyal, but the speaker finds it annoying.
   4. DVisitors notice only its noise, but the speaker values how dependable it is.
5. 5.

   In the poem, what does the word "post" mean in "never once leaving its post"?

   1. Athe place where someone is on duty
   2. Ba wooden pole set deep in the ground
   3. Ca letter delivered by mail
   4. Da message shared online

6. The Lost-and-Found Table

   CHARACTERS: JAVIER and NADIA, fifth graders who run the lost-and-found table; PRINCIPAL GRANT

   (A table in the school lobby, piled with jackets, water bottles, and one rubber boot. NADIA holds a clipboard.)

   NADIA: Forty-two items, and nobody has come by all morning.

   JAVIER: Maybe we need a sign. Something exciting, like "Your Stuff Misses You!"

   (PRINCIPAL GRANT hurries in, patting his pockets.)

   PRINCIPAL GRANT: Good morning. Has anyone turned in a silver whistle? I need it for the fire drill in five minutes.

   NADIA: (searching through a box) Two mittens, a recorder, a lunch box... no whistle.

   JAVIER: (staring at the principal) Um, Principal Grant?

   PRINCIPAL GRANT: I've looked everywhere. My office, the gym, the cafeteria...

   JAVIER: (pointing) Is it the one hanging around your neck?

   (PRINCIPAL GRANT looks down. A silver whistle hangs from a red string.)

   PRINCIPAL GRANT: (laughing) Well. I suppose I should fill out a form.

   NADIA: (handing him the clipboard) Item forty-three: one whistle, found on its owner.

   6.

   What does Nadia's last line show about her?

   1. AShe is upset with the principal.
   2. BShe has a good sense of humor.
   3. CShe is bored with her job.
   4. DShe cannot count the items on the table.
7. 7.

   What happens right after Javier asks about the whistle around the principal's neck?

   1. APrincipal Grant asks whether anyone turned in a whistle.
   2. BPrincipal Grant looks down and sees the whistle.
   3. CNadia searches through a box of lost items.
   4. DNadia counts forty-two items.

8. Make a Water Filter from a Bottle

   How do towns clean the water that comes out of a faucet? One important step is filtering, which means passing water through layers that trap dirt. You can build a simple model of a water filter and watch muddy water come out much clearer.

   Materials
   an empty, clean plastic bottle (a large one works best)
   scissors, used by an adult
   a coffee filter or a few cotton balls
   activated charcoal, sold for aquarium filters
   clean sand
   small gravel or pebbles
   a cup of muddy water
   a clear glass or jar

   Steps

   1. Have an adult cut the bottle in half. Keep the top half to use as a funnel.

   2. Rinse the charcoal, sand, and gravel in a strainer until the water runs clear, so their dust does not cloud your results.

   3. Push the coffee filter or cotton balls into the neck of the bottle. Turn the top half upside down and set it in the glass or jar.

   4. Add the layers in this order: about an inch of charcoal first, then about two inches of sand, then about two inches of gravel on top.

   5. Slowly pour the muddy water over the gravel. Watch it trickle through the layers and drip into the glass.

   6. Compare the filtered water with the muddy water you started with.

   How It Works
   Each layer traps something different. The gravel catches large bits, such as leaves and twigs. The sand catches smaller grains of dirt. The charcoal is full of tiny holes that hold on to some of the chemicals that give water a bad color or smell.

   Safety Note
   Your filtered water may look clean, but it is not safe to drink. Germs and some chemicals are far too small for sand and charcoal to catch, and real water treatment plants use other steps to kill germs. Pour your filtered water on a plant instead.

   8.

   What should you do right before you pour the muddy water?

   1. APour the filtered water on a plant.
   2. BRinse the sand in a strainer until it runs clear.
   3. CAdd the charcoal, sand, and gravel in layers.
   4. DCompare the filtered water with the muddy water.
9. 9.

   Why does the author include the Safety Note?

   1. ATo warn that clear-looking water can still carry germs
   2. BTo describe how charcoal removes bad smells
   3. CTo tell readers that an adult should do the cutting
   4. DTo explain which layer catches the largest bits
10. 10.

    Where should a reader look to find out what the sand in the filter catches?

    1. AThe first paragraph
    2. BHow It Works
    3. CThe Materials list
    4. DStep 4