How a new story reuses an old pattern
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Stone Soup, and The Blue Circle (pair: an old tale and a new story)
The old tale: Stone Soup
[1] A hungry traveler walked into a village at dusk and knocked on every door. [2] At each house, the villagers said they had nothing to spare and shut their doors. [3] So the traveler set a pot of water on the square, dropped in a smooth stone, and began to stir. [4] A curious neighbor asked what was cooking, and the traveler answered, “Stone soup, though it would be better with a carrot.”[5] The neighbor fetched a carrot, and soon other villagers came with onions, barley and salt. [6] Each gave only a little, and each thought the gift too small to matter. [7] By evening the pot held a rich, hot soup, enough for every person in the village. [8] The villagers ate together on the square and agreed that nobody had known how much they had until they shared. [9] The traveler fished out the stone, thanked everyone, and walked on at sunrise.
The new story: The Blue Circle
[10] The fence along Pine Street had been bare gray boards for years, and nobody on the block had found the time to fix it. [11] One Saturday, Milo carried a brush and a single can of blue paint to the middle of the fence. [12] Milo painted one blue circle and said it was the start of a mural, though it needed a few more colors. [13] Mrs. Okafor, who was watering her porch plants, brought over a jar of yellow paint and added a ring around the circle.[14] Soon Tala arrived with green paint, and Mr. Lindqvist painted a row of tall grass. [15] Others came to see, and each added a small piece: a bird, a kite, a wave. [16] Noah worried that one small kite did not matter, but Milo said the kite was exactly what the corner needed. [17] By sunset the whole fence glowed with color, and the block gathered on the sidewalk for lemonade. [18] Milo said nobody had known the street had so many artists until everyone picked up a brush. [19] Before leaving, Milo hung a note on the fence asking everyone to keep adding.
Esme wants the sentence that most strongly shows the story keeps the villagers' worry that a small gift is too small to matter. Which is it?
- [15]: Others came to see, and each added a small piece: a bird, a kite, a wave.
- [16]: Noah worried that one small kite did not matter, but Milo said the kite was exactly what the corner needed.
- [12]: Milo painted one blue circle and said it was the start of a mural, though it needed a few more colors.
- [18]: Milo said nobody had known the street had so many artists until everyone picked up a brush.
Pia wants the sentence that most strongly shows Milo starts small and says more is needed, as the traveler does. Which sentence is it?
- [11]: One Saturday, Milo carried a brush and a single can of blue paint to the middle of the fence.
- [13]: Mrs. Okafor, who was watering her porch plants, brought over a jar of yellow paint and added a ring around the circle.
- [12]: Milo painted one blue circle and said it was the start of a mural, though it needed a few more colors.
- [19]: Before leaving, Milo hung a note on the fence asking everyone to keep adding.
Ren compares [2] in the tale with [10] in the story. The villagers shut their doors, but the neighbors simply never found time. What changed, and why?
- The villagers' refusal became neighbors who were simply too busy, so Milo needs only a start, not a trick.
- The neighbors became greedy, so Milo has to trick them into painting with a made-up story about the mural.
- The refusal stayed, since the neighbors shut their doors in both and Milo must win them over.
- The stone was dropped because paint costs less than soup ingredients, so Milo can afford to start alone.
Bo reads the endings in [8] and [18]. Which statement is a lesson that both the tale and the story support?
- Gifts that seem small to the giver should be kept at home until they have grown larger.
- A clever trick is how people who are stingy can be made to share what they have.
- People often have more to give than they know, and small pieces from many make something large.
- A project belongs most to the person who starts it, since that person had the first idea.
Jun thinks Milo plays the traveler's part. Which phrase best names that part in both texts?
- The judge who decides whose gift is the largest and rewards that giver.
- The starter who makes a small beginning and invites others to add.
- The leader who orders the group to give something up for the common good.
- The stranger who arrives with nothing and begs for food at each door.
The Bundle of Reeds, and The Craft-Stick Bridge (pair: an old tale and a new story)
The old tale: The Bundle of Reeds
[1] In a river village lived a basket-maker with many children, and the children quarreled from morning until night. [2] They argued over who should cut the reeds, who should weave, and who should carry the baskets to market. [3] One evening the basket-maker called them together and set a bundle of reeds on the table. [4] “Whoever can snap this whole bundle,” the basket-maker said, “may choose the first basket to sell.”[5] Each child took the bundle in both hands and strained, but none could even bend it. [6] Then the basket-maker untied the bundle and handed each child a single reed. [7] Every reed snapped with a quick crack. [8] “Alone you break easily,” the basket-maker said, “but together you are hard to break.” [9] After that, the children shared the work, and their baskets were the finest in the valley.
The new story: The Craft-Stick Bridge
[10] Ms. Tran's class had one week to build a bridge of craft sticks that could hold a full can of beans. [11] Pia wanted a single thick arch, Ren wanted a flat deck, and Esme wanted a tall tower, so the three argued every afternoon. [12] By Friday their bridge sagged in the middle and folded under a half-full can. [13] Ms. Tran gathered the team around a table and handed Pia one craft stick.[14] Pia snapped it in half with a quick crack. [15] Next Ms. Tran bound five sticks together with a rubber band, and Ren could only bend the bundle a little. [16] “A bundle stays strong only if the team holds it together,” Ms. Tran said, and went back to the other groups. [17] That night the three agreed on Pia's arch for strength, Ren's deck for the road, and Esme's tower for the center. [18] On Monday the joined bridge held the full can of beans without a creak. [19] Esme laughed and said the bridge was three ideas pulling the same way.
Milo wants the sentence that most strongly shows Ms. Tran tying the bundle test to the team's quarrel. Which sentence is it?
- [11]: Pia wanted a single thick arch, Ren wanted a flat deck, and Esme wanted a tall tower, so the three argued every afternoon.
- [14]: Pia snapped it in half with a quick crack.
- [16]: “A bundle stays strong only if the team holds it together,” Ms. Tran said, and went back to the other groups.
- [15]: Next Ms. Tran bound five sticks together with a rubber band, and Ren could only bend the bundle a little.
Noah wants the sentence that most strongly shows the team's cooperation paying off, as the tale's last sentence does. Which sentence is it?
- [17]: That night the three agreed on Pia's arch for strength, Ren's deck for the road, and Esme's tower for the center.
- [18]: On Monday the joined bridge held the full can of beans without a creak.
- [19]: Esme laughed and said the bridge was three ideas pulling the same way.
- [12]: By Friday their bridge sagged in the middle and folded under a half-full can.
Tala compares [2] in the tale with [11] in the story. Children argue over chores, but the team argues over designs. What changed, and why?
- Chores became designs, so the team no longer needs the bundle lesson Ms. Tran gives.
- Chores became designs because craft sticks cannot be shared out as separate jobs among three people.
- The quarrel stayed the same, so the team still fights over chores such as who cuts and who carries.
- The quarrel over chores became a quarrel over ideas, so the team's fix is to join their designs.
Zee compares [8] in the tale with [16] in the story. The basket-maker speaks straight to the children, but Ms. Tran speaks of the team and walks away. What does this change do?
- It makes the lesson longer, since Ms. Tran keeps explaining at the table for a while.
- It shows that Ms. Tran does not care whether the team ever learns the lesson.
- It shows that the team had understood the lesson well before Ms. Tran's test.
- It leaves the team to apply the lesson to themselves, which Esme does in [19].
Kira reads the lessons in [8] and [16]. Which statement is a lesson that both the tale and the story support?
- People who join their strengths can hold up under what each alone could not.
- Quarreling is how a group finds out whose idea is right before the work begins.
- A leader should step in to end a quarrel before the group has a chance to start it.
- Dividing the chores fairly is how a family can finally stop its daily quarrels.
