The message of a poem, line by line

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Inherited Beds (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The people before us left a garden here,
   [2] or what was left: tall weeds, a rusted gate.
   [3] In March I took a shovel to the beds
   [4] and cleared them in an afternoon. Done. Clean.

   Stanza 2
   [5] The neighbor leaned across the fence and watched.
   [6] “Those green spikes were tulips,” she said, “coming up.”
   [7] I looked down at the heap of pulled-out green
   [8] and found small bulbs among the tangled roots.

   Stanza 3
   [9] I pushed the bulbs back in. I could not tell
   [10] which ones would live, or if I'd done it right.
   [11] The beds sat bare for weeks. I watched the dirt.
   [12] I wanted to be sure, and nothing came.

   Stanza 4
   [13] In May, six crooked tulips. Only six.
   [14] The rest were gone for good, and I will not
   [15] know how many I took out that day.
   [16] I water these. Before I pull a thing, I wait.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the quick clearing; stanza 2 = the warning; stanza 3 = the repair; stanza 4 = the result.

2. 1.

   Pia marks the quick clearing, the warning and the result. Which theme keeps the loss that cannot be undone?

   • Clearing what looks worthless too quickly can destroy what is not yet seen, and some loss stays unknown.
   • A person who acts fast to clean up a space can finish a big job in one afternoon, with nothing left behind.
   • The poem tells how a person cleared old beds and later found six tulips in bloom.
   • Replanting what was pulled up will bring back everything that was lost within one season.
3. 2.

   Ren writes a summary of the whole poem. Which sentence is an objective summary, with the events in order and no opinions?

   • The speaker clears the old beds in March, hears from a neighbor that the green spikes were tulips, and pushes the bulbs back in.
   • The speaker foolishly clears the old beds in March, then luckily saves a few bulbs and finally learns to wait.
   • The speaker clears old beds in March, hears that tulips were coming up, replants the bulbs, and sees six bloom in May.
   • The poem teaches that acting fast can cost something that cannot be replaced, so a careful person waits before pulling anything up.
4. 3.

   Tala looks for proof of the poem's two sides. Which two lines show the speaker trying to repair the damage and a loss that stayed?

   • [3] In March I took a shovel to the beds + [4] and cleared them in an afternoon. Done. Clean.
   • [9] I pushed the bulbs back in. I could not tell + [14] The rest were gone for good, and I will not
   • [14] The rest were gone for good, and I will not + [15] know how many I took out that day.
   • [9] I pushed the bulbs back in. I could not tell + [2] or what was left: tall weeds, a rusted gate.
5. 4.

   Zee marks the clearing in stanza 1 and the new habit in stanza 4. Which message keeps both the lesson and the loss?

   • Pulling out plants without asking a neighbor first will destroy a garden for good, however it is replanted.
   • Waiting through a bare spring is pointless, since the bulbs that were replanted did not come up.
   • The poem is about a gardener, a neighbor and a set of tulip bulbs in a spring that starts bare.
   • Hurrying to clear what seems useless can destroy unseen value, so a careful person learns to wait.
6. 5.

   Bo looks for proof that the speaker changed after the loss. Which two lines show how the speaker acted at the start and at the end?

   • [3] In March I took a shovel to the beds + [5] The neighbor leaned across the fence and watched.
   • [14] The rest were gone for good, and I will not + [16] I water these. Before I pull a thing, I wait.
   • [4] and cleared them in an afternoon. Done. Clean. + [12] I wanted to be sure, and nothing came.
   • [4] and cleared them in an afternoon. Done. Clean. + [16] I water these. Before I pull a thing, I wait.

7. Enough (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The card is stained and soft along the folds.
   [2] The handwriting leans left. It lists, in my
   [3] neighbor's language: flour, salt, some water, then
   [4] “enough.” Enough of what? The card won't say.

   Stanza 2
   [5] I wrote it out in English, line by line.
   [6] I measured, stirred, and baked a heavy loaf
   [7] that sat like a stone in the middle of the plate.
   [8] The words were right. The bread was not the same.

   Stanza 3
   [9] She laughed, kindly, at the loaf, then rolled her sleeves.
   [10] She did not measure. She pressed the dough, tilted
   [11] her head, and seemed to listen to its give.
   [12] “Like this,” she said. “Now you.” My hands were slow.

   Stanza 4
   [13] The second loaf was lopsided but light.
   [14] I keep the card. It tells me where to start.
   [15] The rest of it is somewhere in the kneading,
   [16] and someone has to sit beside you there.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the card; stanza 2 = the first loaf; stanza 3 = the lesson; stanza 4 = the second loaf.

8. 6.

   Esme marks the card, the heavy loaf and the lopsided loaf. Which theme keeps both what words can do and what they cannot?

   • Written instructions are useless for cooking, so cooks should learn from neighbors instead.
   • The poem describes a neighbor's recipe card, a failed loaf and a second loaf that turned out lighter.
   • Following a written recipe line by line is how a person learns to bake a good loaf.
   • Words can keep a tradition and give a start, but the rest has to be learned by doing it with someone.
9. 7.

   Jun summarizes the whole poem. Which sentence is objective and keeps the events in order?

   • The poem shows that written steps give just a start, and that a skill is learned by doing it with someone.
   • The speaker writes out a neighbor's recipe in English, bakes a heavy loaf, and watches the neighbor knead the dough by hand at the table.
   • The speaker carelessly bakes a stone-like loaf, then gratefully learns from a neighbor who is clearly the better baker.
   • The speaker writes out a neighbor's recipe in English, bakes a heavy loaf, watches the neighbor knead, then bakes a lighter loaf.
10. 8.

    Kira looks for proof that written steps fell short. Which two lines show the words being right and the neighbor working without measuring?

    • [2] The handwriting leans left. It lists, in my + [3] neighbor's language: flour, salt, some water, then
    • [8] The words were right. The bread was not the same. + [13] The second loaf was lopsided but light.
    • [6] I measured, stirred, and baked a heavy loaf + [8] The words were right. The bread was not the same.
    • [8] The words were right. The bread was not the same. + [10] She did not measure. She pressed the dough, tilted
11. 9.

    Luz marks stanzas 2, 3 and 4. Which message shows what the card gives and what it leaves out?

    • A recipe card has no value to a person who cannot already bake without it, however old the card is.
    • Kneading by hand is what makes bread light, no matter what the recipe says or how it is written.
    • A written recipe can start a skill, but the rest is passed on hand to hand, beside someone.
    • The poem is about the bread that two neighbors bake from a stained recipe card, one loaf after another.
12. 10.

    Noah looks for proof that the neighbor's teaching needs the speaker's hands too. Which two lines show the neighbor's invitation and the speaker's own try?

    • [12] “Like this,” she said. “Now you.” My hands were slow. + [13] The second loaf was lopsided but light.
    • [12] “Like this,” she said. “Now you.” My hands were slow. + [1] The card is stained and soft along the folds.
    • [9] She laughed, kindly, at the loaf, then rolled her sleeves. + [11] her head, and seemed to listen to its give.
    • [5] I wrote it out in English, line by line. + [6] I measured, stirred, and baked a heavy loaf