What the reader knows that the character does not

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Number Fourteen (story)

   [1] Pia had waited twenty minutes at the corner of Alder Street, clutching a museum ticket and a sandwich wrapped in foil, when the number 14 bus finally swung around the bend. [2] The route map in the shelter showed the 14 stopping at the museum, and Pia climbed aboard with the relief of someone whose plan was working. [3] Clipped to the dashboard behind the driver's seat was a small card in hurried handwriting that read: Detour today. Maple Road, then straight to the depot. [4] Pia counted out the fare, thanked the driver, Mr. Okafor, and took a seat beside the window. [5] For a few minutes Pia rehearsed a question for the museum guide about the age of the blue whale hanging in the great hall. [6] When the bus rolled past the library, Pia checked the time and decided that the ride would leave a comfortable half hour before the tour began. [7] A woman across the aisle looked up from a crossword at the street signs and then at Pia, as if about to speak, before returning to the puzzle. [8] On Maple Road, Pia hummed along with the radio and unwrapped half the sandwich. [9] Outside the window the shops thinned out, and the buildings gave way to a long fence topped with coils of wire. [10] "Funny," Pia said to nobody in particular, "I never noticed how green this part of town is." [11] Mr. Okafor's mouth tightened as he caught sight of Pia in the mirror above the windshield, but the bus rumbled on toward the depot.

2. 1.

   Ari reads the story. After sentence [3], what does the reader know that Pia does not?

   • Pia has been waiting at the corner of Alder Street for twenty minutes.
   • The museum is closed today, so the tour Pia wants has been canceled.
   • The bus is heading for the depot, not the museum, because of a detour.
   • Pia knows the bus is being detoured and has chosen to ride it anyway.
3. 2.

   Esme wants the first sentence that lets the reader see Pia is not headed for the museum. Which sentence is it?

   • [7] A woman across the aisle looks at the street signs and then at Pia.
   • [3] A card on the dashboard announces a detour to the depot.
   • [9] Outside the window, the shops thin out and a wire fence appears.
   • [2] The route map shows the number 14 stopping at the museum.

4. The Bake Sale Jar (story)

   [1] On the morning of the school bake sale, Esme arrived early, carrying a recipe card in a plastic sleeve and the confident look of someone who had practiced the recipe four times at home. [2] Zee, who had been assigned to set up the tables, was wiping the counter in the home economics room when the large glass sugar jar slipped and shattered on the tile. [3] Panicking, Zee swept up the pieces, found the nearest unlabeled canister on the shelf, poured its white powder into a fresh jar and pressed a sticker marked sugar onto the side. [4] The canister, as its faded lid would have shown, had held flour since the start of the term. [5] Zee hurried off to help at the sixth-grade table, hoping that nobody would think to ask about the old jar. [6] Esme measured two cups from the new jar with the care of a scientist and noticed only that the powder felt slightly softer than usual. [7] "The oven here runs hot," Esme murmured, setting the timer two minutes short, "so these should come out perfect." [8] Principal Hale, who had promised to judge the cookies, wandered over to inspect the trays and praised the buttery smell rising from the oven. [9] Across the room, Zee glanced at the clock, then at the jar, and then very quickly at the floor. [10] When the timer rang, Esme lifted a tray of pale, puffy disks that looked nothing like the golden rounds in the photograph. [11] "They look different today," Esme admitted, lining up a plate for the judge, "but I think that's just the humidity." [12] Principal Hale picked up the first cookie with a polite smile and raised it toward an eager mouth.

5. 3.

   Jun wants the sentence that names what is really in the new jar. Which sentence is it?

   • [6] Esme notices that the powder feels slightly softer than usual.
   • [3] Zee pours white powder from an unlabeled canister into a fresh jar.
   • [10] Esme lifts a tray of pale, puffy disks from the oven.
   • [4] The canister had held flour since the start of the term.
6. 4.

   Luz reads sentence [9]. What does Zee's glance at the clock, the jar and the floor tell the reader that Esme cannot see?

   • Zee is uneasy about the swapped jar and hopes nobody will notice it.
   • Zee is planning to trade the jar for the original one before the judge arrives.
   • Zee is checking the time to see when the cookies will come out of the oven.
   • Esme has noticed Zee acting strangely and has begun to suspect the jar.

7. The Missing Whistle (story)

   [1] Coach Reyes had supervised the Thursday soccer scrimmage for eleven years, and in all that time the silver whistle had never once been out of reach. [2] That afternoon, as the two teams lined up across the field in their mismatched practice shirts, the coach patted one jacket pocket, then another, and frowned at the empty grass. [3] "Somebody has taken my whistle," Coach Reyes announced, looking pointedly along the row of players, "and I would like it returned before the first kick." [4] Bo, who had borrowed a stopwatch from the equipment shed earlier that day, stared at the ground and said nothing, which made the coach's eyebrows rise even higher. [5] Behind the coach, the line of players began to shift and cough, and Luz pressed a fist against both lips with tremendous determination. [6] "I am not angry," Coach Reyes went on, folding both arms, "but a whistle does not simply walk away." [7] With each word, the silver whistle flashed in the afternoon sun, swinging from its cord against the coach's chest. [8] Milo bit down on the inside of a cheek and studied the clouds with great attention, while Noah's shoulders began to shake in a way that no amount of coughing could disguise. [9] "Bo, you were at the shed," the coach said at last, in the patient tone of someone who expected a confession. [10] "Is there something you would like to tell me?" [11] Bo gave a slow shake of the head, since there was honestly nothing to confess, and Coach Reyes sighed like a detective who had run out of suspects. [12] The first kick, it seemed, would have to wait until the mystery was settled.

8. 5.

   Milo reads the story. After sentence [7], what does the reader know that Coach Reyes does not?

   • Coach Reyes knows where the whistle is and is testing the players.
   • Coach Reyes has run the Thursday scrimmage for eleven years.
   • Bo hid the whistle in the equipment shed to cause trouble.
   • The whistle is hanging from a cord around the coach's own neck.
9. 6.

   Noah wants the first sentence that shows Coach Reyes is wrong to suspect anyone. Which sentence is it?

   • [5] The players shift and cough while Luz presses a fist to both lips.
   • [4] Bo stares at the ground and says nothing about the stopwatch.
   • [11] Bo shakes a head slowly, with nothing to confess.
   • [7] The silver whistle swings from its cord against the coach's chest.
10. 7.

    Pia reads sentences [9] to [11]. What does Coach Reyes believe about Bo?

    • That Bo borrowed the whistle along with the stopwatch.
    • That the whistle is on the coach's own cord and the players are teasing.
    • That Bo may know something about the whistle but has not decided to say it.
    • That Bo took the whistle and is lying about it.

11. The Knocking Wall (story)

    [1] Our band had been practicing in the garage for three weeks when the knocking began. [2] It started on a Tuesday, a hard, steady thumping from the other side of the shared wall, and it grew louder whenever Bo kicked off the chorus on drums. [3] "That's Mr. Vance telling us to be quiet," I whispered to Luz, who winced and shortened the guitar solo. [4] Mr. Vance, our elderly neighbor, had always seemed a stern man who watered his lawn at exactly six and wore the same gray cap in every kind of weather. [5] On Wednesday we played softer, and the knocking softened too, tapping out a quick pattern that I found far too irritating to ignore. [6] On Thursday, Bo suggested that we keep going anyway, and the knocking returned in a rhythm that fell, almost eerily, on the exact beat of each measure. [7] "He's doing it on purpose," I told the others. "He wants us to know that he's listening." [8] By Friday I had written a polite apology note, folded it into thirds and tucked it into his mailbox with a single trembling sigh. [9] That afternoon the knocking stopped in the middle of a song, and a moment later the doorbell rang. [10] Through the glass I saw Mr. Vance on the step, the gray cap in one hand and a pair of worn wooden drumsticks in the other. [11] I took a deep breath and opened the door, bracing myself for the lecture I had been rehearsing in my head all week.

12. 8.

    Ren reads the story. What can the reader work out about the knocking that the narrator has not?

    • Mr. Vance is angry and is using the knocking to warn the band to stop.
    • Mr. Vance has written to the neighborhood group to complain about the noise.
    • Mr. Vance is probably keeping time with the music instead of complaining.
    • The band has been practicing in the garage for three weeks.
13. 9.

    Tala reads sentence [7]. What does the narrator believe the knocking means?

    • That Mr. Vance is knocking on purpose to show he is listening and wants quiet.
    • That Mr. Vance plans to report the band to the police if the noise continues.
    • That Mr. Vance wants the band to switch to a different song.
    • That Mr. Vance enjoys the music and is knocking along with the beat.
14. 10.

    Zee wants the sentence that shows the knocking matching the music itself, not just its volume. Which sentence is it?

    • [10] Mr. Vance stands on the step holding worn wooden drumsticks.
    • [4] Mr. Vance, a stern man, waters his lawn at exactly six each day.
    • [2] The thumping grows louder whenever Bo kicks off the chorus.
    • [6] The knocking returns in a rhythm that falls on the exact beat of each measure.