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Year 6 Reading Groups

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Year 6 Reading Groups

Read the story and answer the questions using clues from the text. When asked to explain, include a detail from the story to support your thinking.

The Lantern at Low Tide

On Saturday morning, Grace and her grandfather walked across the sand flats near their coastal town. They were checking the old wooden jetty before the afternoon sailing race. The tide had slipped far out, leaving shallow pools between the rocks. Grace spotted a silver lantern wedged beneath a broken plank. Its glass was cloudy, but the handle was still firm. Grandad turned it over carefully. A small brass plate read: HARBOUR LIGHT — 1948. “Someone must have dropped it years ago,” Grace said. She wanted to take it home and polish it. Grandad frowned. “It belongs to the harbour. The local museum might know its story.” A sudden gust rolled across the flats. The race flags on the jetty snapped hard, and one of the smaller boats began drifting away from its mooring. Grace looked from the lantern to the boat. She could not reach the boat safely, but she knew the signal bell was kept in the jetty’s storage shed. “Can you hold the lantern while I get help?” she asked. Grandad nodded. Grace hurried to the shed and rang the bell three times. The boat crew heard it and secured the drifting boat before it reached the rocks. Later, the harbour master explained that the lantern had once been used to guide boats into the inlet. The museum agreed to display it, with a note about how Grace found it. As they walked home, Grace realised the lantern had helped the harbour again—not by shining, but by reminding people to look after one another.

Understand the story

Answer all questions. Use complete sentences for questions asking you to explain.

1.Where and when does the story begin? Give one detail about the setting.

2.What does the brass plate on the lantern tell Grace and her grandfather?

3.At first, Grace wants to take the lantern home. Why does Grandad suggest the museum instead?

4.Which event creates the story’s main problem?

The museum refuses to display the lantern.
A gust of wind sends a small boat drifting from its mooring.
Grace cannot read the brass plate.
The tide rises and covers the jetty.

5.Why does Grace ring the bell instead of trying to reach the boat herself?

6.Which word best describes Grace when she notices the boat drifting? Choose one and give a clue from the story that supports your choice.

Careless
Resourceful
Selfish
Confused

7.What can you infer about Grandad from the way he handles the lantern and responds to Grace?

8.Put these events in the order they happen by writing 1, 2, 3 and 4 beside them: the museum agrees to display the lantern; Grace finds the lantern; Grace rings the bell; Grandad reads the brass plate.

9.The story says the lantern helped the harbour again “not by shining, but by reminding people to look after one another”. What does this mean?

10.What might the museum investigate about the lantern’s history? Use one clue from the story to support your prediction.

11.How does Grace’s attitude towards the lantern change from the beginning to the end? Support your answer with a detail from the story.