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?

   • The poem tells about a rainy day, a borrowed umbrella, some days by a door and a boy at a gate.
   • 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.
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 returning the umbrella to the woman from the bus stop.
   • It repeats that the umbrella is a weight in the hall that the speaker still owes to the woman.
   • It adds details about the rain and the gate, but the speaker's view stays the same.
   • It shows the speaker acting differently by lending the umbrella instead of keeping it.
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,
   • [3] until a woman tipped her umbrella my way. + [5] For days the umbrella leaned beside my door,
   • [7] I thought of it as something I still owed, + [10] by sight alone stood soaking by the gate.
   • [7] I thought of it as something I still owed, + [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.
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.
   • The poem is about an umbrella that moves from a woman at a bus stop to the speaker and then to a boy.
   • Receiving help can feel like owing someone, until it becomes a reason to help another person.
6. 5.

   Pia looks at the final stanza. What does stanza 4 add to the events of stanza 3?

   • It adds that the speaker bought a new umbrella and kept the old one.
   • It shows the speaker feeling the debt has finally been paid back to the woman at the bus stop.
   • It explains what the speaker now thinks the gift means: something to pass on, not repay.
   • It retells that the speaker walked a boy home in the rain.
7. 6.

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

   • [3] until a woman tipped her umbrella my way. + [6] a gift I had no way to give back.
   • [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 + [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

8. 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.

9. 7.

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

   • Real knowledge begins when a person admits what was missed and goes back to look again.
   • Drawing a map from memory can make a person feel proud and certain about a place.
   • A map drawn by someone who walks the streets is better than a map made from memory alone, however carefully.
   • The poem is about a map of a neighborhood with a bakery, a library and a park.
10. 8.

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

    • [2] each street in ink, the park a perfect green. + [4] I taped the map above my desk with pride.
    • [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. + [15] I know the place less than I thought I did,
    • [3] I could have walked it blind, I told myself. + [12] a gate, a puddle, bicycles, a hill.
11. 9.

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

    • Feeling certain about a place is what makes a person want to learn more about it.
    • The poem describes a person who makes a map and then walks outside to check it.
    • Admitting what you have missed can make your understanding of a place better than before.
    • Walking outside shows a person things that the first map did not hold, such as a footpath.
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 widens the discovery: the real street holds far more than the straight lines of a map.
    • It repeats that the bakery was farther away than the map showed, one block down the street.
    • It shows that the real street is simpler and straighter than the straight lines of the map.