Response Skills: Personal Connections to Texts (TEKS.ELA.7.6.A) Practice Test

In the hallway after lunch, Maya and Jordan barely looked at each other. The week before, their science project had fallen apart when they couldn't agree on a testable question. Maya wanted to try three different soil types; Jordan insisted they should focus on light. Their argument grew louder until their teacher asked them to pause and write down what each person wanted the project to show. Later, the class debriefed the conflict. The teacher explained that disagreements are normal, but they can become useful when people slow down and listen for the problem beneath the words. She modeled using I-statements and asking questions that start with what and how. That afternoon, Maya and Jordan met again. This time, they discovered they both cared about helping the school garden grow, and they designed an experiment combining soil and light. The results weren't perfect, but the conversation felt different—less about winning, more about building something together.

By late August, the grass on our block had faded to the color of straw. The city issued Stage 2 water restrictions: sprinklers only twice a week, no car washing. Neighbors began carrying buckets from the kitchen to the porch plants. At the library, a flyer invited residents to a Saturday workshop on conserving water. A retired science teacher showed how to set up a simple rain barrel from a food-safe drum, even though rain was rare; he said the point was to be ready. People swapped tips: saving pasta water for plants, mulching, fixing leaky hoses. At first, I thought it was just about lawns, but as the weeks went on, I noticed how the heat changed our routines—practices moved to early mornings, the park posted signs about watering trees. When a small storm finally arrived, families stood on porches, smiling at the smell of wet dust. The workshop leader waved from his truck, reminding us that solving big problems can start with small, shared habits.