The message of a poem, line by line

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Borrowed Umbrella (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The bus stop roof was built for only three.
   [2] I stood in rain, my backpack on my head,
   [3] until a woman tipped her umbrella my way.
   [4] “Take it,” she said. “I'm almost home.” And left.

   Stanza 2
   [5] For days the umbrella leaned beside my door,
   [6] a gift I had no way to give back.
   [7] I thought of it as something I still owed,
   [8] a small weight in the hall that said “not yet.”

   Stanza 3
   [9] Then Monday, rain again. A boy I knew
   [10] by sight alone stood soaking by the gate.
   [11] I opened it above us both and walked
   [12] him to his door. “Keep it,” I said. “I'm close.”

   Stanza 4
   [13] I did not feel I'd paid the debt. It felt
   [14] like something else: the same umbrella, passed.
   [15] It never was the sort of thing you return.
   [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the gift; stanza 2 = the weight; stanza 3 = the choice; stanza 4 = the meaning.

2. 1.

   Kira marks how the idea grows from stanza 1 to stanza 4. Which theme includes how the speaker's view of the gift changes?

   • A kindness received can feel like a debt at first, but it is meant to be passed along.
   • A stranger's kindness can rescue a person from the rain at a crowded bus stop.
   • Anyone helped by a stranger should find that person again and give the umbrella back.
   • The poem tells about a rainy day, a borrowed umbrella, some days by a door and a boy at a gate.
3. 2.

   Luz compares stanza 2 with stanza 3. What does stanza 3 add to the idea that stanza 2 began?

   • It shows the speaker acting differently by lending the umbrella instead of keeping it.
   • It repeats that the umbrella is a weight in the hall that the speaker still owes to the woman.
   • It shows the speaker returning the umbrella to the woman from the bus stop.
   • It adds details about the rain and the gate, but the speaker's view stays the same.
4. 3.

   Milo looks for proof that the speaker's view of the gift changed. Which two lines together show it?

   • [6] a gift I had no way to give back. + [7] I thought of it as something I still owed,
   • [7] I thought of it as something I still owed, + [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.
   • [7] I thought of it as something I still owed, + [10] by sight alone stood soaking by the gate.
   • [3] until a woman tipped her umbrella my way. + [5] For days the umbrella leaned beside my door,
5. 4.

   Noah marks the owed umbrella in stanza 2 and the passed umbrella in stanza 4. Which message carries the poem's whole development?

   • Feeling that a gift must be repaid can make a small kindness feel heavy.
   • Helping a stranger once will make that person want to help someone else soon.
   • Receiving help can feel like owing someone, until it becomes a reason to help another person.
   • The poem is about an umbrella that moves from a woman at a bus stop to the speaker and then to a boy.
6. 5.

   Ren wants proof that the speaker's action matches the final message. Which two lines show the umbrella being shared and what that means?

   • [13] I did not feel I'd paid the debt. It felt + [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.
   • [11] I opened it above us both and walked + [9] Then Monday, rain again. A boy I knew
   • [11] I opened it above us both and walked + [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.
   • [3] until a woman tipped her umbrella my way. + [6] a gift I had no way to give back.

7. The Map from Memory (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] I drew our neighborhood without a look,
   [2] each street in ink, the park a perfect green.
   [3] I could have walked it blind, I told myself.
   [4] I taped the map above my desk with pride.

   Stanza 2
   [5] Then Saturday I carried it outside.
   [6] The bakery was one block farther down.
   [7] A footpath cut between the library
   [8] and the fence, a shortcut I had never drawn.

   Stanza 3
   [9] I stood there with my pencil. On the page
   [10] the streets were straight and sure. In the real air
   [11] a thousand things were happening at once:
   [12] a gate, a puddle, bicycles, a hill.

   Stanza 4
   [13] I added what I'd missed in smaller lines.
   [14] The map looks messier now, and it is better.
   [15] I know the place less than I thought I did,
   [16] which is the first good thing I've learned about it.
   Annotations: stanza 1 = the confident map; stanza 2 = the walk; stanza 3 = the real street; stanza 4 = the new map.

8. 6.

   Tala marks the proud map in stanza 1 and the corrected map in stanza 4. Which theme shows how the speaker's thinking develops?

   • A map drawn by someone who walks the streets is better than a map made from memory alone, however carefully.
   • Drawing a map from memory can make a person feel proud and certain about a place.
   • Real knowledge begins when a person admits what was missed and goes back to look again.
   • The poem is about a map of a neighborhood with a bakery, a library and a park.
9. 7.

   Zee compares stanza 1 with stanza 2. What does stanza 2 add to the speaker's proud claim in line 3?

   • It repeats that the speaker could walk the neighborhood blind and draw each street.
   • It tests the claim against the real streets and finds things the map left out.
   • It shows the speaker finding each street exactly where the map put it.
   • It adds that the paper was too small to hold everything the speaker knew.
10. 8.

    Ari looks for proof that confidence turned into curiosity. Which two lines together show it?

    • [3] I could have walked it blind, I told myself. + [15] I know the place less than I thought I did,
    • [13] I added what I'd missed in smaller lines. + [14] The map looks messier now, and it is better.
    • [3] I could have walked it blind, I told myself. + [12] a gate, a puddle, bicycles, a hill.
    • [2] each street in ink, the park a perfect green. + [4] I taped the map above my desk with pride.
11. 9.

    Bo marks all four stanzas. Which theme includes the speaker's confidence, the discovery and what the speaker does about it?

    • The poem describes a person who makes a map and then walks outside to check it.
    • Walking outside shows a person things that the first map did not hold, such as a footpath.
    • Admitting what you have missed can make your understanding of a place better than before.
    • Feeling certain about a place is what makes a person want to learn more about it.
12. 10.

    Esme looks at stanza 3. What does it add to the discovery in stanza 2?

    • It adds the names of places on the map, such as the library and the fence.
    • It shows that the real street is simpler and straighter than the straight lines of the map.
    • It repeats that the bakery was farther away than the map showed, one block down the street.
    • It widens the discovery: the real street holds far more than the straight lines of a map.