7th grade The message of a poem, line by line worksheet

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?

   • A person who acts fast to clean up a space can finish a big job in one afternoon, with nothing left behind.
   • Clearing what looks worthless too quickly can destroy what is not yet seen, and some loss stays unknown.
   • 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.

   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?

   • [9] I pushed the bulbs back in. I could not tell + [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.
   • [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.
4. 3.

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

   • Hurrying to clear what seems useless can destroy unseen value, so a careful person learns to wait.
   • 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.
5. 4.

   Ari picks the summary of stanzas 3 and 4. Which sentence is objective and covers both stanzas?

   • The speaker patiently saves the bulbs, but the sad result shows that the replanting was a poor effort in the end.
   • These stanzas show that careful waiting can repair some mistakes but cannot undo the harm that was done to the garden.
   • The speaker pushes the bulbs back in and then waits through weeks of bare dirt with nothing coming up.
   • The speaker pushes the bulbs back in, waits through bare weeks, and finds six tulips in May; the rest are lost.
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?

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

   • 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.
   • The poem describes a neighbor's recipe card, a failed loaf and a second loaf that turned out lighter.
   • Written instructions are useless for cooking, so cooks should learn from neighbors instead.
9. 7.

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

   • 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.
   • 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.
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?

    • [8] The words were right. The bread was not the same. + [10] She did not measure. She pressed the dough, tilted
    • [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.
    • [2] The handwriting leans left. It lists, in my + [3] neighbor's language: flour, salt, some water, then
11. 9.

    Milo picks the summary of stanzas 3 and 4. Which sentence is objective and covers both stanzas?

    • The neighbor kindly takes pity on the speaker, and the speaker's clumsy hands still make a pretty loaf in the end.
    • The neighbor laughs, shows how to press the dough by feel, and the second loaf comes out light but lopsided.
    • These stanzas show that a skill is learned by working beside someone, not by copying down steps from a card.
    • The neighbor laughs, rolls up both sleeves, and shows the speaker how to press and tilt the dough.
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?

    • [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
    • [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.