Two texts, two shapes: what the order adds

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Two Tellings of an Open Gate (paired stories)

   Text A: “The Open Gate”
   [1] On Friday afternoon, Noah noticed that the wooden gate of the school garden was hanging open, swinging slightly in the breeze. [2] Inside, the lettuce rows that had been so green on Thursday had been chewed down to ragged stubs. [3] Noah followed a trail of small prints across the soft dirt, past the bean poles and the watering cans, toward the compost bin. [4] A rabbit sat beside the bin, calmly eating a leaf as if nothing at all had happened. [5] Noah closed the gate, set a brick against the bottom, and wrote “Rabbit” in the garden log with a satisfied nod. [6] The lettuce would have to be replanted, but the mystery was solved, and that was a comfort.

   Text B: “Who Opened the Gate?”
   [7] Who left the garden gate open on Friday afternoon, when the whole school had already gone home? [8] Noah asked the question aloud, standing over the lettuce rows that had been chewed down to ragged stubs. [9] The question followed Noah across the soft dirt, along a trail of small prints, past the bean poles and the watering cans, all the way to the compost bin. [10] A rabbit sat there, calmly eating a leaf, but a rabbit cannot lift a latch or swing a wooden gate wide open. [11] Noah closed the gate and set a brick against the bottom, still turning the question over like a stone in a pocket. [12] In the garden log, Noah wrote “Rabbit,” and then, in smaller letters below it, “But who opened the latch?”

2. 1.

   Ari reads the two stories. How is Text B built differently from Text A?

   • Text B follows the events to a solved ending, while Text A is organized around a question that is still open at the end.
   • Text A follows the events to a solved ending, while Text B is organized around a question that is still open at the end.
   • Both texts follow Noah from the open gate to the rabbit and end with the mystery solved, so they are built the same way.
   • Text A is about a rabbit in a garden, and Text B is about someone asking questions about a gate.
3. 2.

   Bo looks at Text B. Which sentence shows that Text B ends with its question still open?

   • [7] Who left the garden gate open on Friday afternoon, when the whole school had already gone home?
   • [6] The lettuce would have to be replanted, but the mystery was solved, and that was a comfort.
   • [12] In the garden log, Noah wrote “Rabbit,” and then, in smaller letters below it, “But who opened the latch?”
   • [11] Noah closed the gate and set a brick against the bottom, still turning the question over like a stone in a pocket.
4. 3.

   Esme compares the endings. What does ending Text B with a new question do for the reader that Text A's ending does not?

   • It leaves the reader still wondering about the mystery after the text ends, instead of closing it.
   • It confirms that someone broke the latch on purpose, since a rabbit could not have done it.
   • It gives the reader more facts about the rabbit and the lettuce, such as what the rabbit ate and how many stubs were left.
   • It lets the reader relax, certain that the mystery is solved and that the garden is safe again.

5. Two Tellings of a Spelling Bee (paired stories)

   Text A: “My Word”
   [1] When the judge leaned toward the microphone and said “rhythm,” my mouth went completely dry. [2] I knew that word perfectly well, because I had seen it on the practice list a hundred times and written it on my bedroom wall. [3] I spelled four letters confidently and then stopped, because the rest of the word had vanished from my mind like a bird out of an open window. [4] The seconds stretched on while the audience coughed and shifted in their seats and somewhere a chair creaked. [5] At last I guessed an “e” where a “y” belonged, and the small silver bell rang once, clear and final. [6] Walking back to my chair, I felt my face begin to burn all the way up to my ears. [7] Strangely, I also felt light, as if a heavy backpack that I had carried for weeks had slid off my shoulders.

   Text B: “Pia's Word”
   [8] When the judge leaned toward the microphone and said “rhythm,” Pia's hands tightened around the microphone stand until the knuckles turned pale. [9] The word was on the practice list, and the front rows had heard Pia spell it perfectly the day before. [10] Pia spelled four letters confidently and then paused, staring at the floor as though the rest of the word might be written there. [11] The seconds stretched on while a parent coughed and someone in the third row whispered a letter that nobody wanted to hear. [12] At last Pia guessed an “e” where a “y” belonged, and the small silver bell rang once, clear and final. [13] Pia walked back to the chair with a red face and eyes fixed on the carpet. [14] Then Pia smiled a little at the empty seat nearby and sat down slowly, as if setting something heavy aside.

6. 4.

   Jun compares who is telling each story. How is Text B told differently from Text A?

   • Text A is told by the speller in the first person, while Text B is told from outside by a narrator who watches Pia.
   • Text A is about missing a word, and Text B is about missing a word with a parent coughing in the third row.
   • Text B is told by the speller in the first person, while Text A is told from outside by a narrator who watches Pia.
   • Text B is told as a letter to a friend, while Text A is told as a speech given to the audience.
7. 5.

   Kira looks at Text A. Which sentence shows what the speller is thinking inside?

   • [4] The seconds stretched on while the audience coughed and shifted in their seats and somewhere a chair creaked.
   • [2] I knew that word perfectly well, because I had seen it on the practice list a hundred times and written it on my bedroom wall.
   • [9] The word was on the practice list, and the front rows had heard Pia spell it perfectly the day before.
   • [5] At last I guessed an “e” where a “y” belonged, and the small silver bell rang once, clear and final.
8. 6.

   Luz thinks about the first-person telling. What does it give the reader of Text A that Text B cannot?

   • A list of the words the speller practiced before the bee, along with the dates on which each one was studied.
   • Proof that the speller wanted to lose the bee and felt no disappointment when the bell rang.
   • A view from the audience of how the speller looked from outside, including the red face and the quiet walk back.
   • A close look at the speller's own feelings, including the surprising feeling of relief.

9. Two Tellings of a Borrowed Book (paired stories)

   Text A: “At the Lockers”
   [1] “You borrowed my book without asking,” Kira said, holding the door of the locker open with one elbow. [2] “I put it back the same afternoon,” Luz answered, trying to sound calmer than the voices echoing down the hallway. [3] “It has a bent cover now, and the bend runs straight through the title,” said Kira. [4] Luz stared at the floor tiles, counting the cracks between them. [5] “It was already bent when I borrowed it,” Luz said at last. [6] “No, it wasn't,” Kira said quietly, and the quiet was somehow worse than shouting. [7] A locker door slammed somewhere down the hall, and neither of them spoke until the bell rang.

   Text B: “The Book Problem”
   [8] Kira was upset that Luz had borrowed a book without asking, and the feeling had been growing since the previous afternoon. [9] Luz said that the book had been put back the same day and that the cover had already been bent before it was borrowed. [10] Kira disagreed, and the two of them went back and forth for several minutes without either giving way. [11] The conversation ended without either of them being convinced, and neither could say exactly who had started it. [12] For the rest of the afternoon, both of them felt uncomfortable around each other, though they pretended not to. [13] Later that week, they agreed to talk about it again once they had both cooled down.

10. 7.

    Pia reads both texts. How does Text B tell the argument differently from Text A?

    • Text B shows the argument through the characters' own words, while Text A summarizes it in the narrator's words.
    • Both texts show the argument through the characters' own words, so they are built the same way.
    • Text A is about a bent book cover, and Text B is about a book that was borrowed without asking.
    • Text A shows the argument through the characters' own words, while Text B summarizes it in the narrator's words.
11. 8.

    Ren looks at Text B. Which sentence sums up several minutes of talk in a single line?

    • [13] Later that week, they agreed to talk about it again once they had both cooled down.
    • [6] “No, it wasn't,” Kira said quietly, and the quiet was somehow worse than shouting.
    • [10] Kira disagreed, and the two of them went back and forth for several minutes without either giving way.
    • [9] Luz said that the book had been put back the same day and that the cover had already been bent before it was borrowed.
12. 9.

    Tala thinks about the dialogue. What does it give the reader of Text A that the summary in Text B does not?

    • A clear list of the facts about who borrowed the book, when it was returned, and what its cover looks like.
    • A faster, calmer account of the argument that keeps the reader outside the characters' feelings.
    • The reader hears the exact words and the tension in how they are said, such as Kira speaking quietly.
    • Proof that Luz is lying about the cover and that Kira is the one telling the truth.

13. Two Texts About the Bicycle (paired texts)

    Text A: “A Short History of the Bicycle”
    [1] The first bicycle-like machine, built by Karl von Drais in 1817, had two wheels and no pedals. [2] Riders pushed it along with their feet. [3] In the 1860s, inventors added pedals to the front wheel, which made the ride faster but very bumpy. [4] In the 1870s, riders sat high above a huge front wheel, and falls from that height were common. [5] In the 1880s, the safety bicycle appeared, with two equal wheels and a chain, and it soon became the standard. [6] Air-filled rubber tires followed in 1888, making rides smoother.

    Text B: “How Bicycles Got Better”
    [7] Early bicycles had a serious problem: they were hard to power. [8] The first machines had no pedals, so riders had to push along the ground with their feet. [9] Pedals on the front wheel fixed that problem, but riders then needed a bigger wheel to go faster, and falling from a tall bicycle hurt. [10] The safety bicycle solved the new problem by using a chain to turn the back wheel, so both wheels could be the same size. [11] One problem remained: hard tires made every bump painful. [12] Air-filled rubber tires, introduced in 1888, solved it.

14. 10.

    Ari compares the two texts. How are they organized differently?

    • Text A is about the first bicycle, and Text B is about the bicycles that were built last.
    • Text A is organized by dates in order, while Text B is organized as problems and the solutions that answered them.
    • Text B is organized by dates in order, while Text A is organized as problems and the solutions that answered them.
    • Both texts are organized by dates in order, and Text B simply uses fewer dates.