The Message in the Bottle
A story about a girl who finds a bottle on a beach, with eight questions on citing evidence and understanding how a character changes.
Read the passage
The tide had pulled far out, leaving the beach littered with shells and tangled seaweed. Noor wandered along the waterline, kicking at pebbles, bored. Her family’s vacation on the Oregon coast was supposed to be relaxing, but after three days of gray skies and cold wind, she had run out of things to do.
Then something glinted in the sand. She dropped to her knees and brushed away the wet grit. It was a glass bottle, green and cloudy, with a cork jammed in its neck. Inside, a tightly rolled piece of paper pressed against the glass.
It took Noor several minutes of twisting and tugging to pull out the cork. Her fingers shook as she unrolled the page, which was yellowed and soft as cloth. The ink had faded, but she could still read the words: “To whoever finds this: I’m ten years old, and I live in Japan. I wonder if you’re a kid, too. Please write back.” Below it was an address in Yokohama and a date. The date was fourteen years ago.
Noor sat back on her heels. Whoever wrote this was now twenty-four, almost grown up. Would the address even be the same? Would anyone still live there? She thought of all the miles of ocean the bottle must have crossed, tossed by storms and tugged by currents. The questions buzzed in her mind like bees. For the first time all week, she wasn’t bored at all.
She ran up the beach, clutching the bottle to her chest, her sandals slapping against the wet sand. Her mother looked up from her book, startled. “Mom! Dad!” Noor shouted. “You will not believe what I just found!”
That night, Noor sat at the rickety table in the rental cabin and pulled out a sheet of paper. Outside, the wind rattled the window, but Noor barely noticed. She chewed on her pen for a long time. Then she began to write: “Dear stranger, I found your bottle. It took fourteen years, but it reached me.”
Answer the questions
- Where was Noor’s family on vacation? (1 point)
- How did Noor feel at the start of the story? Cite two details from the first paragraph that show this. (2 points)
- The story says something “glinted” in the sand. What does this word tell you about how the bottle looked? (1 point)
- The story says, “The questions buzzed in her mind like bees.” What does this comparison suggest about Noor’s thoughts? (2 points)
- Quote the sentence that shows Noor’s feelings had changed. Then explain how it shows the change. (2 points)
- What can you infer about how old the bottle was? Cite evidence from the text. (2 points)
- Why do you think Noor decided to write back? Support your answer with evidence from the text. (2 points)
- Choose the statement that best expresses a theme of the story. Write its letter. (1 point)A. Vacations are always boring.B. Beaches are dangerous places.C. Glass bottles last forever.D. A small surprise can turn a dull day into an adventure and connect strangers.
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. On the Oregon coast. (1 point)
Finding information (RL.6.1). A fact to find in the first paragraph before the harder questions begin.
2. Bored. Any two of: she wandered along the waterline kicking pebbles; the word “bored”; three days of gray skies and cold wind; she had “run out of things to do”. (2 points)
Inference (RL.6.1). Citing evidence means naming specific details from the text that prove a claim.
3. It shone or sparkled briefly, catching the light. (1 point)
Word meaning (RL.6.4). Understanding a precise verb and what it shows.
4. There were many questions, they were busy and hard to ignore, and she was excited and curious. (2 points)
Language choices (RL.6.4). Explaining what a simile suggests about a character’s mind.
5. “For the first time all week, she wasn’t bored at all.” It shows that her boredom has been replaced by excitement and curiosity. (2 points)
Quoting from the text (RL.6.1). A quote plus an explanation: the Grade 6 skill of using the text as proof.
6. It was very old, or had been floating for a long time. The paper was “yellowed,” the ink had “faded,” and the date was fourteen years ago. (2 points)
Inference (RL.6.1). A conclusion that has to be supported with more than one detail.
7. She was curious and excited. The note asked for a reply (“Please write back”), she wondered who the writer was now, and it ended her boredom. (2 points)
Explaining from the text. Linking a character’s choice to evidence in the story.
8. D (1 point)
Summarizing (RL.6.2). A theme is a big idea the whole story supports. The wrong answers focus on small or untrue details.
What this practices
Finding information (RL.6.1), Inference (RL.6.1), Word meaning (RL.6.4), Language choices (RL.6.4), Quoting from the text (RL.6.1), Explaining from the text, Summarizing (RL.6.2). The codes in brackets are Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (reading). Standards vary by state, so check what your child's school uses. Points and answers are a guide: accept any sensible answer that is backed up by the text.
Now try the writing task
Write the reply that comes back from Yokohama, or the next scene when Noor posts her letter.
Aim for eight to twelve sentences. Read it back aloud together and fix anything that does not sound right.
Want feedback on your child's own writing?
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Free to print and copy for your own family or classroom. Please do not sell or republish. The passage and questions were written for LiteracyLab AI.