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 A is about a rabbit in a garden, and Text B is about someone asking questions about a gate.
   • 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 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.
3. 2.

   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 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.
   • It leaves the reader still wondering about the mystery after the text ends, instead of closing it.

4. 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.

5. 3.

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

   • 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 A is told by the speller in the first person, while Text B 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.
   • Text A is about missing a word, and Text B is about missing a word with a parent coughing in the third row.
6. 4.

   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.
   • [5] At last I guessed an “e” where a “y” belonged, and the small silver bell rang once, clear and final.
   • [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.
7. 5.

   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.
   • 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.
   • Proof that the speller wanted to lose the bee and felt no disappointment when the bell rang.

8. 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.

9. 6.

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

   • Both texts show the argument through the characters' own words, so they are built the same way.
   • Text A shows the argument through the characters' own words, while Text B summarizes it in the narrator's words.
   • Text B shows the argument through the characters' own words, while Text A summarizes it in the narrator's words.
   • Text A is about a bent book cover, and Text B is about a book that was borrowed without asking.
10. 7.

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

    • [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.
    • [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.
    • [13] Later that week, they agreed to talk about it again once they had both cooled down.

11. 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.

12. 8.

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

    • 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.
    • Text A is organized by dates in order, while Text B is organized as problems and the solutions that answered them.
    • Text A is about the first bicycle, and Text B is about the bicycles that were built last.
13. 9.

    Bo looks at Text B. Which sentence names the first problem that Text B is organized around?

    • [5] In the 1880s, the safety bicycle appeared, with two equal wheels and a chain, and it soon became the standard.
    • [12] Air-filled rubber tires, introduced in 1888, solved it.
    • [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.
14. 10.

    Esme thinks about the organization. What does the problem-and-solution order give the reader of Text B that the date order of Text A does not?

    • Proof that today's bicycle is perfect.
    • A longer list of dates for each invention.
    • A clear reason for each change, because every change is shown as an answer to a problem.
    • A sense that the bicycle did not change over time.