★Story Structure
Grade 4 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Read the text. Circle what each part of the text tells the reader.
Read this first
River Song
CAST OF CHARACTERS
ROHAN, eleven, a careful piano student who hates surprises
ANAYA, his younger sister, who notices everything
MS. BELLAMY, the piano teacher
MR. KAPOOR, their fatherSCENE 1
(The hallway behind the stage of a small concert hall. Students in dress clothes wait on a row of chairs. ROHAN flips through a red music folder, faster and faster.)
ANAYA: Rohan, you've checked that folder six times.
ROHAN: (not looking up) I'm just making sure. I'm fine. Totally fine.
(He drops the folder. Pages slide across the floor. ANAYA helps gather them.)
ANAYA: (holding up a page) This one says "Spring Waltz." Is that yours?
ROHAN: No. Mine is "River Song." (He opens the folder again and goes still.) Where is it? It was right here.
ANAYA: Maybe Dad has it.
ROHAN: (whispering) Dad is in the third row. I'm on in ten minutes.
(MS. BELLAMY hurries in with a clipboard.)
MS. BELLAMY: Rohan, you play after Sofia. Ready?
ROHAN: (forcing a smile) Ready.
(MS. BELLAMY leaves. ANAYA looks at her brother, then slips quietly out the side door.)SCENE 2
(The concert hall, five minutes later. MR. KAPOOR sits in the third row with a program on his knee. ANAYA crouches beside his seat.)
ANAYA: (in a low voice) Dad, is Rohan's music in your bag?
MR. KAPOOR: (checking) Only my keys and this program. Why?
ANAYA: He can't find "River Song." He told Ms. Bellamy he was ready anyway.
MR. KAPOOR: (frowning, then thinking) Wait. He practiced it every night this week. I heard it through the wall.
ANAYA: So?
MR. KAPOOR: So it may be in his fingers, even if it isn't in his folder.
ANAYA: But what if he forgets in the middle?
MR. KAPOOR: Then he starts the line again, the way he does at home. Tell him that.
(Applause. On stage, a girl in a yellow dress bows.)SCENE 3
(Backstage. ROHAN stands at the curtain, breathing slowly. ANAYA rushes up.)
ANAYA: Dad doesn't have it. But he says you've played it every night.
ROHAN: Without the page, I'll forget the middle part.
ANAYA: Then hum it. Right now.
(ROHAN hums softly. His fingers tap the notes on his knee. He hums the whole song without stopping.)
ANAYA: (grinning) See? You didn't miss one note.
MS. BELLAMY: (from the stage) Next, Rohan Kapoor, playing "River Song."
(ROHAN takes a deep breath and walks into the light. A moment later, the first notes of "River Song" drift backstage. ANAYA closes her eyes and listens.)Why does the cast list describe Rohan as someone who "hates surprises"?
- It helps explain why the missing page upsets him so much.
- It warns the reader that Rohan will play badly.
- It explains why Anaya leaves through the side door.
- It shows that Rohan does not get along with Anaya.
How does Scene 2 move the play forward, even though Rohan is not in it?
- It shows Ms. Bellamy calling Rohan to the stage.
- It shows Rohan finding the missing page.
- It tells the audience the recital is over.
- Dad's words give Anaya an idea to help Rohan.
Why does the play end with a stage direction instead of a line of dialogue?
- It shows that Rohan plays well without anyone saying so.
- It explains what Rohan is thinking on stage.
- It shows that Anaya has fallen asleep.
- It tells the reader the recital is canceled.
What does the setting description at the start of Scene 3 tell the reader?
- It shows that Anaya is leaving the concert hall to find Dad.
- It shows that the recital has ended and Rohan is going home.
- It shows that Rohan has found his missing music at last.
- It places the scene backstage and shows Rohan calming himself.
