NB Grade 6 English Reading common mistakes
NB Grade 6 English Reading · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing an answer because it repeats words from the passage rather than because it states the main idea.
Students scan for familiar vocabulary and treat word overlap as proof of correctness, so a detail-heavy or off-topic option that echoes passage language feels safer than a paraphrased correct answer.
What to do instead
Have students cover the options, state the main idea in their own words first, then uncover options and eliminate any that only restate one detail or reuse passage wording without covering the whole text.
Treating the first or last sentence of a paragraph as the main idea even when the paragraph is organized around a middle sentence or an implied point.
Early reading instruction often teaches topic sentences as always first, so students stop analyzing how the paragraph actually develops.
What to do instead
Practice sorting paragraphs by structure: topic-first, topic-last, and implied. For each, ask which sentence all the other sentences support, and write a one-sentence summary that is not copied from the text.
Confusing a supporting detail with the main idea when summarizing, producing a summary that lists facts but has no overarching statement.
Students equate longer summaries with better summaries and include interesting facts regardless of whether they serve the central point.
What to do instead
Use a two-column organizer: 'must keep' versus 'nice to know.' Require every kept detail to answer 'What does this show about the main idea?' and cap summaries at two or three sentences.
Selecting an inference that is plausible in real life but not supported by the text.
Students rely on background knowledge and imagination instead of textual evidence, especially when the passage is about a familiar topic.
What to do instead
Require a text-evidence citation for every inference answer: the student must point to the sentence or detail that supports it. If no line can be cited, the option is unsupported and should be eliminated.
Missing the author's purpose by assuming every informational passage is written to inform and every story is written to entertain.
Students memorize a one-to-one genre-to-purpose rule instead of examining language, audience, and structure within the specific text.
What to do instead
Compare short paired texts on the same topic, such as a persuasive letter and a reference article, and have students identify clue words, audience, and what the writer wants the reader to do or feel.
Reading a question stem too quickly and answering a different question, such as explaining why a character acted when asked what the character learned.
Under time pressure, students match a keyword in the stem to a keyword in the passage and skip the specific task the question sets.
What to do instead
Teach a stem-annotation routine: underline the task verb (describe, explain, compare, infer) and circle the subject. Restate the question in the student's own words before returning to the text.
Ignoring text features such as headings, captions, bold words, and diagrams, then missing information that appears only in those features.
Students have been trained to read body text linearly and treat visuals as decoration rather than as part of the content.
What to do instead
Run feature-only previews: read headings and captions first and predict content, then after reading, answer questions using only the features to show how much information they carry.
Failing to recognize chronological, cause-effect, comparison, or problem-solution structure, so related ideas are treated as unrelated facts.
Students read for isolated facts rather than tracking signal words and organizational patterns that connect ideas.
What to do instead
Have students highlight signal words (because, however, first, unlike, as a result) and sketch the text as a simple map or flowchart before answering structure or relationship questions.
Guessing a word's meaning from its general sound or a familiar but wrong meaning instead of using surrounding context.
Students rely on the first association that comes to mind and do not check whether that meaning fits the sentence.
What to do instead
Practice the substitution test: insert the guessed meaning into the sentence and reread. If the sentence becomes illogical, use nearby clues such as examples, opposites, or definitions to revise the guess.
Judging a character's traits or feelings from a single action rather than from patterns across the whole story.
Students latch onto the most vivid event and ignore quieter evidence, dialogue, and changes over time.
What to do instead
Have students keep a three-column character log (event, what the character says or does, what it suggests) and require at least two pieces of evidence from different parts of the story before choosing a trait.