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END OF SEMESTER 2

2018-2019

YEAR 6

Grammar & Reading

PRACTICE SHEETS

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Content Page:

Part A: Comprehension (page 3 to 20)

Part B: Grammar (from page 21 to 38)

Comma to clarify meaning

Use tense consistently

Use colons to introduce lists

Punctuation bullet points consistently

Use brackets, dashes and commas for parenthesis.

Spell words with suffixes and prefixes (un, dis, de, mis…)

Passive verbs

Subjunctive forms

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Part A: Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension 1

The Final Push

It had been raining when they set off and the top of the mountain was covered in cloud but they couldn’t let anything slow them down, not if they wanted to beat the clock and achieve their goal, climbing three mountain summits in twenty-four hours. It had been dad’s idea; a unique way to celebrate his special birthday. When he’d suggested that they could do it together, Ben had been really thrilled. They’d been training for months, right through the year, every season and in all weathers and now as they set off on the final push to the last summit, it looked as though the wind and rain were going to be their companions right to the top. It was a steep climb and the pathway was narrow and very rocky. The overnight rain had made it very slippery and Ben was glad that his boots were strong with a good, thick tread. He glanced ahead to Devil’s Crag, the towering rock face they would soon be climbing. It was the last big hurdle before the summit and the biggest challenge of all. It would take all their energy and strength to get to the top. “It’s not just about being fit,” dad had said earlier, “sometimes it’s more about strength of character. You just have to set your mind to it and tell yourself that you can do it.” They rested briefly at the base of Devil’s Crag waiting for a party of walkers to come down. The person bringing up the rear, was dressed in a bright orange waterproof jacket that seemed to shine in the gloom. Ben sipped from his

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water bottle and ate a chocolate biscuit, watching them picking their way carefully down the slope. “You all right?” said dad. Ben nodded, “Nearly there, aren’t we? I think we’re going to do it in time. We’ll be champion walkers then won’t we, dad?” Dad pushed up his sleeve and glanced at his watch, “It’s looking good,” he said, “and the weather’s getting better. With any luck, we might even be able to look at the view when we get to the top. Are you ready to push on? Only one more man to come down.” The words were hardly out of his mouth when there was a sharp cry followed by the sound of stones and rocks rattling down the hillside as the man in the orange jacket crashed down from the rock face and landed in a heap at the feet of his companions. Dad slipped the rucksack from his shoulders and dropped it at Ben’s feet. “Don’t move!” he said, “look after the bags, I’ll see if I can help.” The man was conscious but it looked like he might have broken his leg and he was in a lot of pain. Dad offered to help in any way he could but one of the man’s friends was a doctor and he said that they would be able to make him comfortable. Another was already phoning for help. Reluctantly, dad turned away. “Do you still want to climb up?” he said, hitching the rucksack back onto his shoulder. “I think so,” said Ben, “we’re so close to the top now, I don’t want to give up.” When they finally hauled themselves on to the top of Devil’s Crag, they could see the cairn on the summit and when at last they trudged to the pinnacle of the mountain, Ben cheered loudly and punched the air in triumph. A mixture of relief and elation surged through him as they looked around at the hills and valleys below them. They picked up two stones and added them to the cairn, “That should bring us good luck!” said dad, “We’d better start making our way down if we want to get back to the car for six o’clock.” “I wonder if the man who fell put a stone on the cairn?” said Ben. “Well it didn’t bring him much luck if he did,” said dad and they turned to begin the descent, “Listen! Can you hear that?” Way below them, they could see a flash of yellow as the Mountain Rescue helicopter, its blades whirring, came in to pick up the injured climber. By the time Ben and dad reached the foot of Devil’s Crag, there was no sign that it had been the site of an accident and emergency rescue. It was almost as if they had imagined the whole event! They continued on their way back to the car happily recalling the highlights and challenges of their own mountain adventure.

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Section 1: 1. Choose the best word or group of words to fit the passage and put a ring

around your choice.

a. They wanted to beat the clock and achieve their goal of climbing three

mountain summits in….

12 hours 18 hours 24 hours 30 hours.

b. They had been training right through the year in all…

weathers winters winds locations

c. And now they were setting off up the final summit. Ben was glad his

boots had…

tight laces comfortable insoles

a good, thick tread been polished

d. Just as dad looked at the time they heard the sound of…

a man a rucksack stones and rocks a sheep

e. Rattling down the hillside. Dad ran to help. The man had…

cracked his skull broken his arm broken his leg

fainted

f. As the man’s friends were able to make him comfortable, dad put

his………………. back on and they continued towards the final summit.

fleece jacket rucksack boots

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Section 2:

1. Why do you think Ben was really thrilled when his dad suggested they

could do the climb together?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. Why did dad say “You just have to set your mind to it and tell yourself

you can do it.”?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. Why did Ben think they would be ‘champion walkers’? __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. Why do you think dad told Ben not to move when he went to see if he

could help?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Why did dad ‘reluctantly’ turn away from the injured walker?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6. After the accident, dad asked Ben if he still wanted to climb. Why did he

do this?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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7. Why do you think the rescue helicopter looked like a ‘flash of yellow’ to

Ben and his dad?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

8. Which of the following phrases suggests they did not find the climb easy?

Give a reason for your choice.

‘trudged to the pinnacle’ ‘set off on the final push’

‘they’d been training for months’ ‘hauled themselves to the top’

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Reading Comprehension 2

Louis Braille 1809 - 1852

Early Life Louis Braille, the son of a saddler and harness maker, was born in Coupvray near Paris in 1809 and was the youngest of four children. At the age of three, Louis was playing with his father’s tools in the workshop when he slipped and cut one of his eyes. He was taken to the doctor immediately but the damaged eye became infected. The infection spread to his other eye and by the age of five Louis was blind.

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Louis was befriended by the new village priest, Abbe Palluy, who encouraged him to attend the village school where he became one of the best pupils. When he was ten, Louis was offered a place at the Royal Institution for the Blind in Paris with a small scholarship to help with the fees. Louis, a talented pupil, learned history, geography, grammar, arithmetic and crafts which included basket weaving, slipper making, knitting and music. He learned to play the piano and had lessons from a local organist. He had natural talent and ability and his love of music remained with him all his life. The School and its Founder The Royal Institute for Blind Children in Paris was in a poor area of the city near the River Seine. Valentin Hauy, a man aware of people’s negative attitudes towards teaching the blind, founded the school in 1773. Hauy invented a way of producing books to teach his pupils to read. It was called ‘embossing’ and entailed pressing the shapes of large letters onto soft, damp paper thus producing letter shapes that children could feel with their fingertips. Although this method created the opportunity for the children to read, the letters were so big and it took so long to feel them, that they found it difficult to remember the beginning of a sentence by the time they had come to the end. Louis’ Alphabet Frustrated by the need to read as quickly as sighted people, Louis pondered on the best way to teach the blind to read. Charles Barbier, a captain in the French army, had invented a method of ‘night reading’ for his soldiers based on a system of dots and dashes. Barbier suggested that this system could be used as an alphabet for the blind. The system was an improvement on Hauy’s books, but still far from satisfactory. Louis used Barbier’s idea to develop his own and after two years of experimenting, he had invented a new alphabet. It was based on a series of dots put together in groups of six, each forming a letter. His system even included punctuation marks, numbers and music. To write, Louis had a flat piece of metal in a frame, with six holes in it. A stylus was pushed through the holes to make dents in the paper that could easily be ‘read’ when turned over. Now blind people could not only write, but also read back what they or someone else had written.

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Louis eventually became a teacher at the Institute and was popular with all his students because of his gentle manner and lively mind. He also became an organist at several churches and lived a contented and busy life. Louis had always been frail and in 1835 was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The Institute reduced his teaching load so he could continue to develop and refine his alphabet over the next few years.

By now Louis’ health was rapidly deteriorating but he remained at the Institute, teaching a little, playing his music and visiting his family at Coupvray. In 1851, he went into the Institute’s hospital and died in January 1852. He was buried in Coupvray. Two years later, ‘Braille’ became the standard reading method for the blind in France and gradually his system was, and still is, used by people all over the world.

Section 1:

1. Choose the best word or group of words to fit the passage and put a ring

around your choice.

a. At the age of…

three six seven nine

b. Louis Braille slipped and cut one of his

Hands ears eyes feet

c. By the age of…

four five eight teH

d. he was blind. Louis loved music and learned to play the…

violin recorder piano trumpet

e. He went to school in Paris and learned to read letters pressed into soft

damp…

Wood paper sand card

f. Because these letters took so long to read, Louis invented a new system

based on a series of…

dots lines circles squares

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Section 2:

1. How did Louis Braille become completely blind? __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. What unusual subjects were taught at the School for the Blind?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. What do you understand by the phrase ‘people’s negative attitudes

towards teaching the blind’?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. What did blind people find so difficult about Valentin Hauy’s embossed

books?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Why do you think books invented for soldiers to read in the dark would

be

suitable for blind people?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6. How do you think Louis Braille felt when he finally came up with an

effective method to enable blind people to read and write easily?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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7. Which of the following phrases suggests Louis Braille would be a good

teacher? Give a reason for your choice.

‘contented and busy life’ ‘lively mind’

‘gentle manner’ ‘always been frail’

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

8. How do you think Louis would have felt if he had lived to see his teaching

method used all over the world?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Reading Comprehension 3

Endangered Animals

Endangered animals are these species that are considered likely to become

extinct, based on a current population trend. Their numbers known in the wild

are low and thought to be decreasing.

Sadly, some species of animals are already now considered Extinct or Extinct in

the Wild, including the famous dodo a flightless bird thought to have been

about one metre tall. Further examples include the passenger pigeon, the

Tasmanian Tiger and recently the West African black rhino.

According to a recent update of the ‘Red List’ produced by the international

Union for Conservation of Nature (IU’CN), 835 different species have now been

classified as ‘Extinct’ with another 69 as ‘Extinct in the Wild’.

Some other species are currently classed as Endangered or Critically

Endangered if facing a high or extremely high risk of extinction. There are

further categories including Vulnerable and Near-Threatened for species which

may face a risk of endangerment in the near future.

A large proportion (such as apes, lemurs and monkeys) are at risk. However,

there are success stories too. Some animals, like the bald eagle and the

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American alligator were once on the brink of extinction but are no known to be

recovering.

What causes endangerment or extinction?

Animal extinction can occur due to natural or human causes. Natural causes

include change of climate or sea levels. In more modern times, the most

common causes are from human intervention such as hunting or habitat

destruction. There are other possibilities too such as pollution, new diseases or

a single catastrophic event.

Why save them?

Plants and animals can be extremely important for the ecosystem of the Earth.

Species depend on each other for survival. Aside from this, we want to be able

to enjoy the beauty of nature and once a species becomes extinct, it has gone

forever.

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Questions

1. According to the introduction of the text, how many species have now

been classified as ‘Extinct in the Wild’?

____________________________________________________________

2. How tall was the dodo bird thought to be?

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

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3. What other animals does the text list as being now extinct? (circle 3)

Passenger Pigeon Tasmanian Tiger

West African Black Rhino Black Rhino

Mountain Gorilla Giant Panda

4. Look at this sentence:

‘Some animals, like the bald eagle and the American alligator were once on

the brink of extinction but are now known to be recovering.’

What is the meaning of the word brink in this sentence?

______________________________________________________________

5. Complete this table of information about some of the animals’ features

in the text:

Animal Status Population

mountain

gorilla

critically

endangered

critically

endangered

More than 5000

giant panda 1800 in the wild

6. In what year did the Chinese government introduce a hunting ban?

_________________________

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7. Look at the section on the South China Tiger.

According to the text, why is this species of tiger considered to be

‘functionally extinct’?

________________________________________________________

8. Find and copy a word which means reducing or getting smaller in

number.

_____________________________________________________________

9. Look at the section about the Giant Panda.

Why might it be surprising that the giant panda is endangered? Give two

reasons

a) __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

b) _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

9. Why are pandas important for the bamboo forests?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

10. How do pandas, living in the wild, benefit other species?

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

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12. Match these facts with the correct animal in the text by writing the

correct letter in the column. One has been done for you.

a. bald eagle Killed for the illegal trade of their horn.

b. mountain gorilla Flightless bird, now extinct

c. black rhino Once at risk of extinction but now recovering

d. dodo b Suffered from years of war, hunting, habitat destruction and disease.

13. Give two reasons why animals should be saved from extinction. Use

evidence from the text to support your answer.

a) ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

c) ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

14. Look at the section called ‘What causes endangerment or extinction?’

The text says ‘Animal extinction can occur due to natural or human

causes.’

Which reason do you think is more likely to be responsible for species

becoming extinct in recent years? Give evidence from the text to

support your answer.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

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Reading Comprehension 4

Running

Running is free, you can do it almost anywhere

and it has many potential health benefits.

Suitable for adults and children, it can improve

your fitness, reduce your risk of illness and help

to maintain a healthy active lifestyle. It’s no

wonder an estimated six million people in the

UK are now going jogging at least once a week.

Beginner’s Guide

If you’ve never been a runner and are thinking of giving it a try, there are a few

useful tips for beginners. It is always a good idea to build your fitness gradually.

The key is consistency and a slow increase in speed and distance. Try to run

regularly - a few times per week – but there’s no need to go too far or too fast

straight away. Begin each run with a gentle warm-up for at least five minutes.

1. If you’re totally new to running, start by walking for any amount that feels

comfortable from about 10 to 30 minutes.

2. When you can walk comfortably for at least 30 minutes, include some short

running intervals of one or two minutes.

3. As time goes on, make the running intervals longer and the walking sections

shorter until you’re just running the whole way!

4. Keep an upright posture, smooth stride and aim to have your arms and

shoulder relaxed with elbows bent.

5. Always give yourself time to cool down properly when you finish a run by

walking and gently stretching for at least 5-10 minutes.

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Staying Motivated Goals

Set yourself regular targets of either time, frequency or distance. You don’t

need to be involved in a race to be in competition. Sometimes, competing with

yourself can be just as much of an exciting challenge. Clubs and Company - Run

with a friend or local group. Most clubs cater for all ages and ability levels,

including beginners, and are usually a very friendly bunch. According to

research, you’re more likely to stick with regular exercise if it’s a sociable

activity that you do with someone else. Diary - Keep a training log of your runs.

This could include as much or as little detail as you like. You could note your

route, distance, time and how you felt. If you ever feel like you’re not making

as much progress as you wanted, look back over your past achievements!

Variety – mix up your routes and distances to avoid the same old routine

becoming boring. Doing other forms of exercise is known as cross-training.

Swimming and cycling are other great ideas to support and improve your

running, as well as being enjoyable exercise too.

Specialist Gear and Gadgets

Running doesn’t have to require much equipment but a good pair of running

shoes are an essential investment in order to reduce the risk of injury. Specialist

running retailers can give advice and fit running shoes to individual runners,

based on your ability and goals. Running shoes should fit snugly to avoid

slipping and sliding that can lead to blisters. A good

design allows your foot to strike the ground properly,

reducing the amount of shock that travels up your

leg. They should be replaced over time, typically

every 300 miles. When you get started, you can wear

whatever feels comfortable to run in. After a while,

you may choose some clothing with more technical sports fabric, which is

designed to draw the sweat away from your body. As your running advances,

you may decide to use a digital sports watch to record and monitor your runs

or even a heart-rate monitor to check your effort level is where it should be.

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Questions

1. According to the introduction, how many people in the UK are estimated

to be going jogging at least once a week?

____________________________________________________________

2. Look at the ‘Beginner’s Guide’

Complete this table with the correct amounts of time.

Activity/Stage Time to spend

Gentle warm-up before each activity Cool

down by walking or gently stretching

Start by walking any amount that feels

comfortable

Short running intervals

Cool down by walking or gently stretching

3. Look at the sentence: It is always a good idea to build your fitness

gradually.

What does the word gradually tell you?

____________________________________________________________

4. How often should running shoes be replaced?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Which other item of equipment does the author suggest you might need

as your running advances’.

__________________________________________________________________

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6. Look at the section ‘Staying Motivated’. Which of these ideas are

suggested in the text to help with motivation? Tick four ideas.

Set yourself regular targets Keep a training log

Run with a friend or group Mix up routes and distances

Run once every week Eat healthy food

7. What does the guide suggest you might write in a running diary?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

8. Why do you think you are more likely to continue running if you join a

group or run with a friend?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

9. What is cross training?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

10. Look at the section ‘Specialist Gear and Gadgets’

Explain why a good pair of running shoes are the most important

equipment recommended for running?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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Part B: Grammar L.O: Comma to clarify meaning.

Add commas to the following sentences to clarify their meaning.

1. I would like to buy a football a book some pens and a computer game.

2. I keep fit by running swimming dancing and playing tennis.

3. My uncle who lives in Australia sent me a toy kangaroo.

4. My best friend a girl called Janine lives down the road.

Which sentence has the correct punctuation? Tick one.

1. Slowly turning the key, the girl tried to unlock the cellar door.

2. Slowly, turning the key the girl, tried to unlock the cellar door.

3. Slowly turning the key the girl tried to unlock, the cellar door.

Look at each sentence and work out why commas have been used. Draw a line

to match each sentence to the correct reason.

1. Although I enjoy helping with the cooking, I hate doing the washing up.

a) To separate items in a list

2. My favourite fruits are apples, bananas, strawberries and melons.

b) To mark the end of a subordinate clause

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3. The town’s only swimming pool, where I’ve been swimming since I was a baby, is unfortunately closing down.

c) To mark the start and end of a relative clause

Tick the sentences with meanings which could be changed with the addition of a comma. a) She found a mouse trap and cheese all in the bucket as planned.

b) David had said he didn’t care.

c) The weather was horrible all day so they stayed in.

d) He asked for money and Lego for his birthday.

e) Don’t risk it Grandma.

Insert a comma into the following sentence, so that its meaning is clear.

My favourite things are climbing my dog and reading. ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Explain why the comma is important in this sentence. ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

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L.O: Use tense consistently.

Complete the verb table.

Regular verbs (we add –ed to form the past tense)

Present Past Future

bake

washed

will paint

dance

walked

kick

Irregular verbs

Present Past Future

see will see

found

will run

catch

brought

will sing

teach

went

think will think

take

will make

draw

buy

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Write whether the underlined verbs are in the present, past or

future tense.

1. I gave a gift to my brother. __past tense___

2. John will go to Spain next week. ______________

3. The bird is sitting on the fence. ______________

4. Amna brought her pet rabbit to school. ______________

5. The children took part in the play. ______________

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Use the verb ‘play’ to make sentences of your own in the present,

past and future tense.

1. ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

L.O: Use colons to introduce lists.

Colour the sentences that use the colon correctly in red and the ones

incorrectly in blue.

1. We had: coffee, cheese and crackers, and grapes.

2. The heart has four chambers: left artium, left ventricle, right atrium and

right ventricle.

3. Different exercises help to keep the body healthy: swimming, jogging,

walking and stretching.

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Underline the independent clauses then insert colons in the following

sentences to introduce a list.

1. Mohammed spotted a lot of buildings on his way to the store the library,

museums, hospitals and banks.

2. The stripes on the bag were of different colours pink, white, black and blue.

3. He needed three more things to complete his costumes a mask, wigs and a

black jacket.

4. She saw her three friends at the park Moza, Abrar and Lolwa.

5. Mohammed couldn’t decide where to have his party the cinema, the

swimming pool or at the restaurant.

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Write your own sentences, using a colon to introduce a list.

1. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

L.O: Punctuation bullet points consistently.

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30

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L.O: Use brackets, dashes and commas for parenthesis.

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L.O: Passive verbs.

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L.O: Subjunctive forms.

Unreal situation

desire wish hope dream

If Noun/ pronoun Were Situation If I were famous

If I were stronger If I were you

If I were to attend the match

If I were rich

Look at the start of the sentences above. Complete them with an appropriate

ending.

For example: If I were rich, I would donate all my money to the poor.

The subjunctive form can be used in formal language.

It can be used to give advice, to suggest or to recommend something.

The subjunctive form often used the verb to be in an unusual way.

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1. If I were famous,

_____________________________________________________.

2. If I were stronger,

______________________________________________________.

3. If I were you,

___________________________________________________________.

4. If I were to attend the match,

______________________________________________.

5. If I were rich,

__________________________________________________________.

Complete the sentences below with the subjunctive verb.

1. I recommend the classroom

_______________________________________________.

2. I suggest the meeting

____________________________________________________.

3. Miss Susan require that each pupil

__________________________________________.

4. I suggest the holiday

_____________________________________________________.

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Tick the sentence in the subjunctive mood.

I wish I were a bird, so I could fly.

I wish I could fly like a bird.

To Advise:

advise demand recommend

ask insist request

command propose

Noun/ Pronoun

Verb that Noun/ pronoun

Infinitive Verb

I demand that she be

Miss Fatima suggests that he listen

Sara commanded that Moza write

They ask that the children focus

My mum insists that we attend

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Look at the start of the sentences above. Complete them with an appropriate

ending.

For example: I demand that she be present for the concert tomorrow.

1. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

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Complete the sentences below with the subjunctive verb.

1. If I __________________ to go back in time, I would _________________.

2. If Hind _______________chosen to play, she would _________________.

3. If Hamad ___________________ taller, he could ____________________.

4. I recommend the classroom ___________________________________.

5. Miss Susan require that each pupil _______________________________.