Free printable STAAR practice test for Grade 6

Reading Language Arts

Circle the letter of the best answer, or two letters where a question asks for two, and one letter in each row of a table and for each numbered blank. No time limit.

1. The Other Side of the Camera

   For seven months, my whole job on the Ridgeview Morning Report had been to stay invisible. Every school day at 7:40, I set up the camera in Room 114, tested the microphones, and typed the day's script into the old laptop that we used as a teleprompter. At 8:05, when the red light came on, Jaylen Brooks, our anchor, smiled into the lens and told six hundred students what was for lunch.

   I liked being invisible. Behind the camera, nobody could see my hands shake when the red light blinked on, and nobody noticed that I silently mouthed every word along with Jaylen, like a backup singer whose microphone had been switched off.

   On the second Tuesday in March, Ms. Albright, our faculty adviser, looked up from her phone at 7:52. "Jaylen has a fever," she said. "He's staying home today."

   "So we skip today?" I asked hopefully.

   "We never skip." She studied me the way a coach studies the last player left on the bench. "Marisol, you're anchoring."

   My stomach tried to escape through the soles of my sneakers. "I can't," I said. "I run the camera. Benny can anchor instead."

   From the corner, Benny Kowalski held up a half-eaten breakfast burrito. "I have salsa on my shirt," he pointed out, "and honestly, I would rather be chased by a swarm of bees."

   "Benny will run the camera," Ms. Albright said calmly, "and you will anchor, because you've already done it about a hundred and forty times."

   "I've never done it even once," I protested.

   "You've done it silently. I've watched you, and every morning your lips move with every single line. You type the script yourself, so you know it better than Jaylen does, and you know exactly where he pauses and where he takes a breath. The only part you haven't practiced is the part where people can actually hear you."

   I wanted to argue, but the clock already said 8:01, and she was right about my lips.

   I sat down in Jaylen's chair, which suddenly felt much too big. Benny squinted through the camera and said, "Can you scoot left? Right now I'm getting mostly forehead."

   At exactly 8:05, the red light came on.

   For one long second, my mind was a blank sheet of paper. Then I heard Jaylen's voice in my head, the way he always started, and my mouth followed it, the way it had followed him every morning since September.

   "Good morning, Ridgeview Hawks! Here's what's happening today."

   My voice wobbled on "Hawks," but it held, and I made it through the club meetings and the bus change for Route 9. Then, halfway through the lunch menu, the laptop froze. The words stopped on "chicken tenders with" and sat there like a car stalled in an intersection.

   Behind the camera, Benny's eyes went wide, and he started waving both arms, which did not help at all.

   But I didn't need the screen, because I had typed those words myself at 7:45 that morning. "Chicken tenders with green beans and a fruit cup," I said. "And happy birthday to Ana Reyes, who turns twelve today."

   I got through the weather and the quote of the day without glancing at the frozen screen once. Then I reached the closing line, the one I had heard Jaylen say more times than I could count.

   "That's the Morning Report. I'm Jaylen Brooks. I mean, I'm Marisol Ortega. Have a great day, Hawks."

   When the red light went off, Benny laughed so hard that he had to hang on to the tripod. Ms. Albright laughed too, and then she gave me a thumbs-up and held it there.

   In the hallway, two eighth graders I had never met called me "Jaylen" and grinned. At lunch, a message from Jaylen popped up on my phone: "Heard you were great. Also heard you introduced yourself as me."

   The next morning, Jaylen was back in his chair, and I was back behind the camera, where my hands could shake in private. But before the show, I walked to the bulletin board and wrote my own name on the sign-up sheet for spring anchors.

   I was still afraid of the red light. I just understood now that being scared and being ready could sit in the same chair.

   1.

   Which sentence best states a theme of the story?

   1. ASteady preparation can give a person the courage to face a fear.
   2. BTechnology tends to fail at the worst possible moment.
   3. CPeople who feel nervous should stay out of the spotlight.
   4. DBeing popular at school matters more than doing good work.
2. 2.

   Marisol says, "My stomach tried to escape through the soles of my sneakers." What does this exaggeration show?

   1. AShe is annoyed that Benny is eating.
   2. BShe feels a sudden rush of panic.
   3. CShe wants to go home and change her shoes.
   4. DShe is hungry because she skipped breakfast.
3. 3.

   When she hears that Jaylen is sick, Marisol asks, "So we skip today?" The narrator says she asked "hopefully." What does the word "hopefully" show?

   1. AShe wants to anchor the show herself.
   2. BShe is worried that the camera is broken.
   3. CShe would be glad if the show did not go on that day.
   4. DShe hopes that Jaylen will feel well enough to come in by lunch.
4. 4.

   Why does Marisol say "I'm Jaylen Brooks" at the end of the broadcast?

   1. AShe wants viewers to believe Jaylen is still at school.
   2. BMs. Albright told her to use Jaylen's name to end the show.
   3. CShe has forgotten her own lines for the ending.
   4. DShe has heard Jaylen say that line so often it slips out.
5. 5.

   How does Marisol change from the beginning of the story to the end?

   1. AShe goes from feeling fearless to being afraid of the red light.
   2. BShe goes from trusting Ms. Albright to doubting her advice.
   3. CShe goes from disliking Jaylen to wishing she could be him.
   4. DShe goes from wanting to stay hidden to choosing to try anchoring again.
6. 6.

   Which TWO details best support Ms. Albright's claim that Marisol is ready to anchor? Choose two answers.

   1. AMarisol mouths every word of the script along with Jaylen.
   2. BMarisol types the day's script into the laptop each morning.
   3. CTwo eighth graders call Marisol "Jaylen" in the hallway.
   4. DMarisol's voice wobbles on the word "Hawks."
   5. EBenny tells Marisol to scoot to the left.
7. 7.

   Grace can (1) ______ sing and dance.

   Which word or words best complete the sentence?

   (1)	Aneither	Beither	Cboth	Dwhether

8. 8.

   Which sentence uses commas correctly?

   1. ADiego read a book about Jackie Robinson who first played in the major leagues in 1947.
   2. BDiego read a book about, Jackie Robinson who first played in the major leagues in 1947.
   3. CDiego, read a book about Jackie Robinson, who first played in the major leagues in 1947.
   4. DDiego read a book about Jackie Robinson, who first played in the major leagues in 1947.
9. 9.

   The human heart is a strong muscle that pumps blood to every part of the body. An adult's heart is about the size of a fist and sits in the chest between the lungs. The heart has four chambers, with two on the top and two on the bottom. A healthy heart beats about 100,000 times every day without ever taking a break. ______, it pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood through the body each day. Day and night, this hardworking muscle keeps the whole body supplied with the blood it needs.

   Which word or phrase best fills the blank?

   1. AHowever
   2. BIn addition
   3. CNevertheless
   4. DIn contrast
10. 10.

    Which sentence has a pronoun that is unclear?

    1. AMr. Lopez explained to Mr. Hill that Mr. Hill's car had a flat tire.
    2. BThe coach moved practice to Saturday and canceled the team dinner. The canceled dinner upset many players.
    3. CWhen Jalen played catch with Omar, Omar dropped the ball twice.
    4. DOn the cereal box, it says that each bowl has ten grams of protein.