Free printable i-Ready practice test for Grade 6

Reading

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

1. 1.

   The students started a boycott of the cafeteria to protest the new rules.

   This sentence is from a social studies book. What does boycott mean?

   1. Aa parade through town
   2. Brefusing to buy or use something as a protest
   3. Ca kind of vote
   4. Da sale with low prices

2. 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.

   2.

   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 explains how Arachne first learned to weave cloth so well.
   3. CIt reveals why Arachne's father dyed wool.
   4. DIt offers Arachne a way out, so her refusal matters more.
3. 3.

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

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

   In the myth, what does the word "flaw" mean in "She could not find a single flaw"?

   1. Aa mistake or weak spot
   2. Ba pattern of ivy
   3. Ca hidden picture in the cloth
   4. Da kind of loom
5. 5.

   Which TWO details best show Arachne's pride? Choose two answers.

   1. AShe says no one taught her and dares Athena to prove she is better.
   2. BHer father soaks wool in vats until it turns deep purple.
   3. CVisitors travel for days just to watch her work.
   4. DShe weaves a border of ivy around the edge of her cloth.
   5. EShe mocks the old woman's advice and claims the goddess must be afraid.
6. 6.

   cast
   1. n. a hard cover that holds a broken bone in place while it heals
   2. n. all the actors in a play or movie
   3. v. throw a fishing line or net into the water
   4. v. give your vote in an election
   
   The fishermen cast their nets off the side of the boat.

   Which meaning of cast is used in the sentence?

   1. AMeaning 1
   2. BMeaning 2
   3. CMeaning 3
   4. DMeaning 4

7. A Safer Crossing on Elm Street

   To the Editor:

   Every school morning, more than 300 students cross Elm Street at Fifth Avenue to reach Lincoln Middle School, and the only thing protecting us is a set of faded white stripes painted on the pavement. I am asking the city to add flashing warning lights and a crossing guard at that corner before someone gets hurt.

   The most serious problem is that drivers do not stop. Elm Street is wide and straight, and many drivers treat it like a highway, even though the speed limit near the school is 20 miles per hour. Last Tuesday, my dad and I stood at the corner from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and counted the cars that drove through the crosswalk while someone was waiting at it or crossing, and in that single hour there were 14. Last spring, a sixth grader had to jump back onto the curb when a delivery van sped through the crosswalk without slowing down.

   Lincoln is also the oldest middle school in the county, and our marching band won first place at the county fair this summer. A school like ours deserves a street that looks as good as we do.

   Some people will say that warning lights and a crossing guard cost too much. But a flashing light costs far less than a trip to the emergency room, and no one can put a price on a student's safety.

   Please do not wait for a serious accident before making this dangerous corner safe.

   Sincerely,
   Hana Sato, seventh grade, Lincoln Middle School

   7.

   Which reason in the letter is irrelevant to the writer's claim?

   1. AMany drivers treat Elm Street like a highway.
   2. BMore than 300 students cross Elm Street each morning.
   3. CA delivery van sped through the crossing without slowing down.
   4. DLincoln's marching band won first place at the county fair.
8. 8.

   How does the writer respond to people who say lights and a guard cost too much?

   1. AShe says that the school band will pay for the lights.
   2. BShe argues that a light costs far less than an injury would.
   3. CShe says the county fair should raise the money.
   4. DShe claims that crossing guards would be happy to work for free.
9. 9.

   Which detail best supports the writer's point that drivers do not stop at the crossing?

   1. AShe counted 14 cars that drove through the crosswalk in one hour.
   2. BElm Street is wide and straight.
   3. CThe speed limit on Elm Street near the school is 20 miles per hour.
   4. DMore than 300 students cross there each morning.
10. 10.

    What does the root vis mean in the word visible?

    1. Asay or speak
    2. Btrust or faith
    3. Csee
    4. Dbelieve