The Fragile Dome
Maya and Jonah had been inseparable since third grade, bonded by a shared fascination with astronomy and engineering. For weeks, the two sixth graders had poured every free hour after school into creating an elaborate scale model of a lunar research outpost for the regional science fair. Their project featured hand-sculpted crater topography, tiny working LED solar panels, and a center dome crafted from fragile, polished acrylic that represented a pressurized habitat. Every detail had been painstakingly calibrated, and after endless adjustments, the model was finally complete—or so they thought.
On Tuesday afternoon, while putting the finishing touches on the display in the school's science laboratory, tragedy struck. Jonah was trying to adjust the micro-wiring beneath the habitat dome when his elbow accidentally bumped a heavy metal toolbox resting on the edge of the workbench. The toolbox tipped, striking the delicate acrylic dome with enough force to send it crashing to the linoleum floor. The central piece of their weeks-long endeavor shattered into dozens of irrecoverable shards.
- topography:
- The surface features and shape of a landscape or terrain.
- habitat:
- A place or structure designed to provide suitable living conditions.
- endeavor:
- A serious, determined effort or undertaking to achieve a goal.
- irrecoverable:
- Not able to be repaired, regained, or restored to original condition.
- resentment:
- A persistent feeling of bitterness or anger resulting from perceived unfair treatment.
More sheets from this passage
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Sentences from the passage with the capitals and punctuation removed — rewrite each one correctly.
vocabulary worksheet
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Two writing tasks that build on the passage, with plenty of lines to write on.
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About this fiction passage for 6th Grade
“The Fragile Dome” is a fiction reading passage about Forgiveness and Friendship, written for 6th Grade. It takes about 3 minutes to read (521 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.