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.

   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.
3. 2.

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

   • [7] I thought of it as something I still owed, + [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.
   • [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.
   • [6] a gift I had no way to give back. + [7] I thought of it as something I still owed,
4. 3.

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

   • It shows the speaker feeling the debt has finally been paid back to the woman at the bus stop.
   • It adds that the speaker bought a new umbrella and kept the old one.
   • It retells that the speaker walked a boy home in the rain.
   • It explains what the speaker now thinks the gift means: something to pass on, not repay.
5. 4.

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

   • [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.
   • [13] I did not feel I'd paid the debt. It felt + [16] It was the sort of thing you hand along.

6. 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.

7. 5.

   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.
   • The poem is about a map of a neighborhood with a bakery, a library and a park.
   • 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.
8. 6.

   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 adds that the paper was too small to hold everything the speaker knew.
   • It shows the speaker finding each street exactly where the map put it.
9. 7.

   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. + [12] a gate, a puddle, bicycles, a hill.
   • [13] I added what I'd missed in smaller lines. + [14] The map looks messier now, and it is better.
   • [2] each street in ink, the park a perfect green. + [4] I taped the map above my desk with pride.
   • [3] I could have walked it blind, I told myself. + [15] I know the place less than I thought I did,
10. 8.

    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.
    • Feeling certain about a place is what makes a person want to learn more about it.
    • Admitting what you have missed can make your understanding of a place better than before.
11. 9.

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

    • 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.
    • 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.
12. 10.

    Jun looks for proof of the speaker's change. Which two lines show a gap in the first map and the speaker accepting a messier map?

    • [14] The map looks messier now, and it is better. + [4] I taped the map above my desk with pride.
    • [5] Then Saturday I carried it outside. + [6] The bakery was one block farther down.
    • [2] each street in ink, the park a perfect green. + [10] the streets were straight and sure. In the real air
    • [8] and the fence, a shortcut I had never drawn. + [14] The map looks messier now, and it is better.