Grade 6 Worksheets
Ten worksheets for Grade 6: four grammar, three reading and three writing, each with the answers.
Grammar
Worksheet 1 — Common and proper nouns
Focus: telling a common noun from a proper noun, and using capital letters correctly.
Task A. Underline the nouns and write C for common or P for proper above each one.
1. Kamal went to Kandy on Monday. 2. My sister keeps a rabbit. 3. We crossed the Mahaweli river. 4. The teacher opened the window. 5. Nimali reads the Daily News every morning.
Task B. Rewrite each sentence with the capital letters put right.
6. we visited galle in april. 7. my brother studies at ananda college. 8. the shop on temple road sells bread. 9. sri lanka is an island. 10. mrs perera teaches english.
Answers. A: 1. Kamal (P), Kandy (P), Monday (P) 2. sister (C), rabbit (C) 3. Mahaweli (P), river (C) 4. teacher (C), window (C) 5. Nimali (P), Daily News (P), morning (C). B: 6. We visited Galle in April. 7. My brother studies at Ananda College. 8. The shop on Temple Road sells bread. 9. Sri Lanka is an island. 10. Mrs Perera teaches English.
Worksheet 2 — Verbs: is, are, was, were
Focus: matching the verb to a singular or plural subject, in present and past.
Task A. Fill in is or are.
1. The boy ____ hungry. 2. My shoes ____ new. 3. There ____ a bird on the roof. 4. The children ____ in the garden. 5. Rice and curry ____ my favourite meal.
Task B. Fill in was or were.
6. The market ____ crowded yesterday. 7. We ____ late for school. 8. She ____ very kind to me. 9. The books ____ on the shelf. 10. It ____ raining all night.
Answers. 1. is 2. are 3. is 4. are 5. is 6. was 7. were 8. was 9. were 10. was.
Teaching note. Question 5 catches many children: rice and curry is treated as one dish, so the verb is singular. Accept are if the child can explain that they mean two separate things.
Worksheet 3 — a, an and the
Focus: choosing the right article, including an before a vowel sound.
Task A. Fill in a or an.
1. ____ elephant 2. ____ book 3. ____ hour 4. ____ umbrella 5. ____ university 6. ____ orange 7. ____ house 8. ____ honest man
Task B. Fill in a, an or the.
9. I saw ____ cat. ____ cat was black. 10. She is ____ best student in ____ class. 11. My father bought ____ old bicycle. 12. Please shut ____ door.
Answers. 1. an 2. a 3. an 4. an 5. a 6. an 7. a 8. an 9. a / The 10. the / the 11. an 12. the.
Teaching note. 3, 5 and 8 are the ones to spend time on. It is the sound, not the letter: hour begins with a vowel sound, university begins with a y sound.
Worksheet 4 — Prepositions of place and time
Focus: in, on, at, under, between, behind — for place and for time.
Task A. Fill in the correct preposition of place.
1. The cat is ____ the table (below it). 2. The picture hangs ____ the wall. 3. She sat ____ Amal and Nimal. 4. The keys are ____ my bag. 5. He hid ____ the door.
Task B. Fill in in, on or at for time.
6. School starts ____ 7.30. 7. We go to the temple ____ Sunday. 8. My birthday is ____ May. 9. It is cold ____ the morning. 10. The bus leaves ____ night.
Answers. 1. under 2. on 3. between 4. in 5. behind 6. at 7. on 8. in 9. in 10. at.
Teaching note. For time the rule is worth writing on the board: at a clock time, on a day or date, in a month, year or part of the day. At night is the exception, and children remember it better if you call it that.
Reading
Worksheet 5 — The new pupil
Focus: finding facts stated directly in a short passage.
Passage. A new pupil joined our class on Tuesday. Her name is Dilini and she came from a school in Matara. She sat beside me because the seat next to mine was empty. At the interval she showed me a photograph of her dog. By the end of the day she knew everybody's name.
Questions. 1. When did the new pupil join? 2. What is her name? 3. Which town did she come from? 4. Why did she sit beside the writer? 5. What did she show at the interval? 6. What had she done by the end of the day?
Answers. 1. On Tuesday. 2. Dilini. 3. Matara. 4. Because the seat next to the writer was empty. 5. A photograph of her dog. 6. She knew everybody's name.
Marking note. Insist on full sentences. She joined on Tuesday earns the mark; Tuesday is the right answer badly written, and this is the year to fix that.
Worksheet 6 — The power cut
Focus: sequence — putting events in the order they happened.
Passage. The lights went out just as we sat down to eat. My father found the torch, but the battery was flat. My mother lit two candles instead. We ate by candlelight, and my little brother said it was better than a birthday party. The lights came back an hour later.
Questions. 1. What happened first? 2. Why was the torch no use? 3. What did the mother do? 4. What did the brother say? 5. How long were the lights off? 6. Number these in order: the candles were lit / the lights went out / the lights came back / the torch did not work.
Answers. 1. The lights went out as they sat down to eat. 2. The battery was flat. 3. She lit two candles. 4. That it was better than a birthday party. 5. About an hour. 6. the lights went out (1), the torch did not work (2), the candles were lit (3), the lights came back (4).
Marking note. Question 6 is the one that matters. A child who can order events can retell a story, and retelling in order is the base of every summary they will ever write.
Worksheet 7 — The mango seller
Focus: working out a word from the sentence around it.
Passage. Every morning an old man pushes his cart to the corner of our lane and sells mangoes. His voice is hoarse from calling out all day, but he never stops smiling. Yesterday a boy took a mango without paying. The old man saw him, said nothing, and let him go.
Questions. 1. Where does the old man stop? 2. What does he sell? 3. What does hoarse mean here — sweet, rough, or loud? Which words in the passage helped you decide? 4. What did the boy do? 5. What did the old man do about it? 6. What kind of person is the old man? Give one reason from the passage.
Answers. 1. At the corner of the writer's lane. 2. Mangoes. 3. Rough. From calling out all day is the clue. 4. He took a mango without paying. 5. Nothing — he said nothing and let the boy go. 6. Accept any reasonable answer with evidence: kind or forgiving, because he let the boy go; or cheerful, because he never stops smiling.
Marking note. In question 3 the reason is worth more than the word. A child who guesses rough without the clue has not done the exercise.
Writing
Worksheet 8 — Building a sentence
Focus: capital letter, word order, full stop.
Task A. Put the words in order and write the sentence correctly.
1. school / to / walk / I / every / day 2. garden / the / playing / are / children / in / the 3. is / my / a / mother / teacher 4. rained / it / night / all 5. bag / where / my / is
Task B. Rewrite each line with the capital letter and full stop or question mark put right.
6. the dog barked loudly 7. do you like mangoes 8. we went to colombo on friday 9. what is your name 10. my brother can swim
Answers. A: 1. I walk to school every day. 2. The children are playing in the garden. 3. My mother is a teacher. 4. It rained all night. 5. Where is my bag? B: 6. The dog barked loudly. 7. Do you like mangoes? 8. We went to Colombo on Friday. 9. What is your name? 10. My brother can swim.
Worksheet 9 — Describing a person
Focus: writing five linked sentences about one person.
Task. Write five sentences about someone in your family. Use one sentence for each of these, in this order:
1. Who they are and their name. 2. What they look like. 3. What they do each day. 4. One thing they are good at. 5. Why you like them.
Model answer. My grandmother's name is Somawathie. She is small and thin, and her hair is completely white. Every morning she waters the plants before anyone else wakes up. She is very good at making string hoppers. I like her because she never shouts, even when I break something.
Marking guide. One mark for each of the five points covered; one mark for capital letters and full stops throughout; one mark for the sentences being about the same person all the way through. Six marks in all.
Teaching note. Do not accept a list. The point of the exercise is five sentences, each one complete.
Worksheet 10 — A short paragraph: my morning
Focus: joining sentences into one paragraph using first, then, after that, finally.
Task. Write one paragraph of six to eight sentences describing your morning from waking up to reaching school. Use first, then, after that and finally at least once each.
Model answer. I wake up at half past five, when it is still dark. First I wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I put on my uniform and polish my shoes. After that I eat breakfast, which is usually bread and tea. My mother checks my bag while I eat. Finally I walk to the junction and catch the school bus. I reach school just before half past seven.
Marking guide. Two marks for using all four linking words correctly; two marks for the events being in a sensible order; two marks for capital letters and full stops; two marks for staying on the topic. Eight marks in all.
Teaching note. Children often use then five times. Reading the model aloud and asking them to count the different linking words fixes this faster than telling them.