Write a story with a clear point of view
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Wobbly Tower (story draft)
[1] On Friday afternoon, our class held a contest to see which team could build the tallest tower from a big basket of wooden blocks. [2] My name is Tala, and my partner Milo and I had exactly twenty minutes to build before the timer rang. [3] The room was loud and nice.
[4] We stacked the biggest blocks first, and the tower reached my shoulder before it began to lean toward the window. [5] Milo secretly wished that I would stop checking the clock and just let the tower stand. [6] I held my breath, slid one block underneath the lean, and the whole tower steadied like a tree after a strong gust.
[7] The judge came over. [8] The judge measured our tower with a long ruler and wrote a number on a clipboard near the window. [9] We finished second, and Milo and I shook hands with the winners while the rest of the class cheered and clapped loudly.
Ari sees that sentence [5] in the tower story slips out of the narrator's point of view. Which sentence should replace it?
- Tala glanced at the clock again and again while the minutes crept slowly toward the final bell.
- Down the hall, the principal was already walking toward the room with a tall stack of ribbons.
- Milo secretly feared that the tower would topple and that the class would laugh at the whole team.
- Milo tapped the table and nodded at the tower, so I guessed that Milo wanted me to stop checking the clock.
Bo wants a detail that lets readers hear and smell the contest room. Which sentence should replace [3]?
- I felt excited and nervous and happy at once in that room full of blocks and busy teams.
- Snow tapped against the windows, and the hallway smelled like hot chocolate from the cafeteria.
- The room buzzed with chattering voices and smelled like sharpened pencils and warm wood.
- The room looked really nice, and everything in it was good and pretty in the afternoon.
Esme wants sentence [7] of the tower story to open the last scene and show time passing. Which sentence should replace it?
- Meanwhile, the judge looked at the clock and decided to visit each table in turn.
- Twenty minutes later, the timer rang, and the judge came over to our table.
- The judge walked over to our table with a notebook and a pencil in hand.
- Before the contest began, our teacher had poured the blocks into a big basket by the door.
One Big Umbrella (story draft)
[1] Our class went on a field trip to the science museum, and the sky turned gray and cloudy on the long bus ride there. [2] I am Ren, and Esme sat next to me with an umbrella that looked as wide as a kitchen table. [3] The weather was bad outside the windows of the bus.
[4] When we reached the museum, rain poured off the roof, and Esme opened the umbrella over both of us. [5] Esme was secretly worried that the umbrella would blow inside out and embarrass everyone in line. [6] A gust yanked the umbrella upward, and I grabbed the handle just in time to pull it back down toward the wet ground.
[7] We reached the entrance. [8] Inside, a guide handed out paper towels, and the whole class laughed about our soggy shoes and wet socks. [9] I decided that the best part of the trip was sharing one enormous umbrella with a friend.
Luz wants sentence [7] of the umbrella story to open the last scene and show time passing. Which sentence replaces it?
- Meanwhile, the guide was waiting inside with a stack of paper towels in both hands.
- We stood under the wide awning and shook the water from our wet jackets and hats.
- Earlier that morning, I had packed my lunch and zipped my jacket at the front door.
- A few minutes later, we ducked under the wide awning and shook the water from our jackets.
The Club Tomato (story draft)
[1] For three months, our garden club had watered a single tomato plant that grew beside the fence behind the school building. [2] My name is Luz, and Zee and I were in charge of checking the plant every Monday afternoon after school. [3] The plant looked nice and healthy in the sun.
[4] On Monday we found one small tomato at the bottom of the vine, still hard and pale green like a tiny apple. [5] Zee thought privately that the tomato would never turn red and that the whole club was wasting precious time. [6] I promised that we would keep watching carefully, and I wrote a reminder on the calendar to check again.
[7] Time passed. [8] Zee picked the tomato carefully and cut it into thin slices so that every member of the club could share a taste. [9] It tasted warm and sweet, and I was grateful that we had waited so patiently for it.
Milo sees that sentence [5] in the tomato story slips out of the narrator's point of view. Which sentence replaces it?
- Zee crouched beside the vine and sighed, so I guessed that Zee doubted the tomato would ripen.
- Inside the school, the principal was announcing that the garden club would meet on Tuesday.
- Zee secretly believed that the tomato would stay green and that the club was wasting time on a plant.
- Luz crouched beside the vine and watched the tomato while the afternoon sun slowly sank.
Noah wants a detail that lets readers feel and smell the plant. Which sentence should replace [3]?
- I felt hopeful and proud because the plant seemed to be doing very well in the sun.
- Its green leaves felt fuzzy and smelled sharp, like the inside of a warm greenhouse.
- The plant looked really nice and pretty, and everything about it was good to see.
- Ocean waves crashed on the rocks, and the air tasted like salt and sand at the shore.
Pia wants sentence [7] of the tomato story to open the last scene and show time passing. Which sentence replaces it?
- Meanwhile, the school cook was slicing vegetables in the kitchen for the lunch line.
- Two weeks later, the tomato had turned a deep red that glowed against the green leaves.
- Back in the spring, our club had planted a seed in a small pot of soil by the window.
- I looked at the tomato, and it was bright red and glowing against the green leaves.
The Cymbal Crash (story draft)
[1] Our band had practiced one song for several weeks, and the last page held a loud cymbal crash that everyone in the room waited for. [2] My name is Jun, and I play the cymbals, so the crash was my one important moment in the whole song. [3] The practice room was noisy and good.
[4] At the final rehearsal, I counted the beats carefully, but I came in one beat too early and the whole song stumbled. [5] Noah secretly decided that I would never learn the timing, no matter how much I practiced. [6] The band director smiled gently and told me to watch the baton and breathe slowly before the count.
[7] The concert began. [8] When the last page came, I watched the baton, took a slow, steady breath, and crashed the cymbals right on the beat. [9] The audience clapped warmly, and Noah gave me a quick thumbs-up from behind the drums.
Ren sees that sentence [5] in the cymbal story slips out of the narrator's point of view. Which sentence replaces it?
- Jun lowered the cymbals and stared at the music stand while the others waited for the next count.
- Noah silently doubted that I would ever learn the timing, even with a lot more practice.
- Noah looked up from the drums and raised both eyebrows, so I knew that I had come in early.
- In the hallway, the janitor was pushing a cart toward the gym doors at the end.
Tala wants a detail that lets readers hear and feel the music. Which sentence should replace [3]?
- Drums thumped through the floor, and the cymbals rang with a shimmer that hummed in my fingers.
- Waves hissed against the sand, and a seagull cried from the top of the pier by the water.
- I felt brave and nervous and a little proud as I stood there with the cymbals in my hands.
- The practice room sounded really good, and the music was nice and pretty to hear in there.
Zee wants sentence [7] of the cymbal story to open the last scene and show time passing. Which sentence replaces it?
- Meanwhile, the band director was arranging the music stands at the front of the gym.
- The gym lights dimmed, and my hands felt cold on the cymbal handles as the crowd settled.
- Last winter, our band had borrowed the cymbals from a music store near the school on Main Street.
- On the night of the concert, the gym lights dimmed, and my hands felt cold on the cymbal handles.
