Write a story with pace, transitions and a reflective ending
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Creek Crossing (story draft)
[1] On the first morning of the camping trip, Milo and Jun hiked four miles along a forest trail, filling their water bottles at every stream and checking the map at every bend. [2] Jun liked to hurry ahead, but Milo liked to read each trail sign twice and test each step before trusting it. [3] By noon, they had followed the trail across two meadows and over a long ridge, and the tall pines had slowly given way to thin white birch trees. [4] At the bottom of the ridge, they reached the creek where the footbridge was supposed to be.
[5] The footbridge had been swept away in the spring floods, and only two gray posts stood on the muddy bank. [6] “I don't want to do it,” Milo said. [7] Milo crouched at the edge, studied the six flat stones one at a time, felt the cold spray on both cheeks, and listened to the creek gurgle around the second stone, which rocked whenever the water pushed. [8] The stones were slick with spray from the creek. [9] Milo crossed on hands and knees.
[10] Jun followed on the same stones, and the two of them reached the far bank with only wet sneakers. [11] By evening, Jun felt much braver. [12] They pitched the tent beside the water and watched the first stars come out over the birch trees.
Tala thinks sentence [6] of the creek story is flat. Which line should replace it so that the words and action show Milo's nature?
- “Give me a minute,” Milo said, pressing a palm against the first stone to see whether it would rock.
- “The sign back at the ridge had a spelling mistake,” Milo said, frowning at the map.
- “Race you across!” Milo shouted, and leaped onto the first stone without looking down.
- “I am worried about the creek,” Milo said, “and I do not feel ready to cross it.”
Ren wants one sentence to replace [8] and [9] and show why Milo crossed that way. Which sentence should replace them?
- Because the stones were slick with spray from the creek, Milo crossed on hands and knees.
- Because Milo crossed on hands and knees, the stones were slick with spray from the creek.
- Although the stones were slick with spray from the creek, Milo crossed on hands and knees.
- The stones were slick with spray from the creek, and then Milo crossed on hands and knees.
The Spelling Bee (story draft)
[1] The school spelling bee was set for the last Friday of October, and Esme and Ari both signed up on the first day. [2] Ari loved to show off and spelled every practice word with a grin and a flourish of the hand, while Esme quietly tapped each letter on the table with one finger. [3] For the next three weeks, they quizzed each other at lunch, in the hallway and on the bus, and by the final Friday both of them could spell nearly every word in the packet.
[4] On Friday afternoon, the gym was full of families, and only Esme and Ari were still standing on the stage. [5] The judge read the last word, “necessary,” and the whole gym went quiet. [6] “I will win,” Ari said. [7] Ari tossed a pencil into the air, caught it behind Ari's back, and spelled the word out loud with two c's, and a low groan rolled across the gym. [8] Ari's spelling was wrong. [9] Esme had a chance to win.
[10] Esme walked to the microphone, tapped each letter against the stand with one finger, and spelled the word one slow letter at a time. [11] The judge nodded, the crowd cheered, and Esme held the small gold cup over Esme's head while Ari clapped from the side of the stage. [12] By evening, Esme felt proud.
Pia is marking the pace of four sentences in the spelling bee story. A slow sentence stays in one moment; a jump covers a stretch of time. Which strip is right?
- Jumps ahead: [3] and [7]. Slows: [6] and [12].
- Jumps ahead: [3] and [12]. Slows: [6] and [7].
- Jumps ahead: [6] and [12]. Slows: [3] and [7].
- Jumps ahead: [6] and [7]. Slows: [3] and [12].
Milo wants one sentence to replace [8] and [9] and show why Esme had a chance to win. Which sentence should replace them?
- Although Ari's spelling was wrong, Esme had a chance to win the bee.
- Ari's spelling was wrong, and then Esme had a chance to win the bee.
- Because Ari's spelling was wrong, Esme had a chance to win the bee.
- Because Esme had a chance to win the bee, Ari's spelling was wrong.
The Morning Radio Show (story draft)
[1] At eight o'clock on the first Thursday of November, the red ON AIR light came on over the studio door, and Zee leaned toward the microphone. [2] Zee wrote the jokes and read them in a bouncy voice, while Tala sat beside the mixing board and checked every cable, every light and every switch twice. [3] “Something is wrong,” Tala said. [4] Zee kept reading the forecast with a bright smile, glanced up at the red light, and slowly noticed that none of the hallway speakers were making a sound.
[5] The cable had slipped out of the mixing board. [6] The microphone had gone silent. [7] Tala pushed the plug back into the board with a firm click, and Zee picked up the forecast exactly where the sentence had stopped.
[8] For the rest of November, the show ran smoothly, with a joke of the day, a lunch menu and a spelling quiz, and the principal even sent a note saying that the whole school was listening. [9] Before every show after that, Tala checked the cable twice and pressed the plug in with a thumb. [10] By December, Zee felt much calmer. [11] On the final show, Zee thanked Tala on the air, and the studio door filled with applause from the students in the hallway.
Luz is marking the pace of four sentences in the radio story. A slow sentence stays in one moment; a jump covers a stretch of time. Which strip is right?
- Jumps ahead: [4] and [8]. Slows: [3] and [10].
- Jumps ahead: [3] and [10]. Slows: [4] and [8].
- Jumps ahead: [3] and [4]. Slows: [8] and [10].
- Jumps ahead: [8] and [10]. Slows: [3] and [4].
Kira thinks sentence [3] of the radio story is flat. Which line should replace it so that the words and action show Tala's nature?
- “Keep reading,” Tala whispered, already tracing the cable with two fingers toward the loose plug.
- “I feel very calm right now,” Tala said, “because I stay calm when there is a problem.”
- “Everything is ruined, and we are done!” Tala cried, throwing both hands in the air.
- “The lunch menu says pizza on Friday,” Tala whispered, reading the schedule on the wall.
Jun wants one sentence to replace [5] and [6] and show why the microphone went silent. Which sentence should replace them?
- Although the cable had slipped out of the mixing board, the microphone had gone silent.
- The cable had slipped out of the mixing board, and then the microphone had gone silent.
- Because the microphone had gone silent, the cable had slipped out of the mixing board.
- Because the cable had slipped out of the mixing board, the microphone had gone silent.
The Sled Hill (story draft)
[1] After the first big snowfall of the winter, Pia and Ren carried an old wooden sled down the icy sidewalk and through the park gate to the steepest hill in Cedar Park. [2] Ren always answered a worry with a joke, while Pia grew quiet and studied the hill like a puzzle. [3] Pia stood at the top and studied the slope, noticing the frozen ruts, the line of bare oaks along the edge and a flat patch near the bottom where a sled would finally stop. [4] By noon, Pia felt warm and happy.
[5] They had ridden the gentle side of the hill all morning, but the steep side beyond the oaks was still waiting, and the afternoon light was already turning gold. [6] “I don't want to go,” Ren said. [7] They sat on the sled at the top, Pia in front and Ren behind, and pushed off with their boots against the packed snow. [8] The sled hit a frozen rut at the bottom of the slope. [9] Both of them tumbled into the soft snow.
[10] They lay in the snow, laughing and brushing flakes off their coats, while the empty sled slid slowly to the flat patch and stopped. [11] For the rest of the winter, Pia and Ren rode the steep side every Saturday, steered around the ruts, and even built a small snow wall near the bottom to catch the sled.
Esme is marking the pace of four sentences in the sled story. A slow sentence stays in one moment; a jump covers a stretch of time. Which strip is right?
- Jumps ahead: [3] and [11]. Slows: [4] and [6].
- Jumps ahead: [4] and [11]. Slows: [3] and [6].
- Jumps ahead: [4] and [6]. Slows: [3] and [11].
- Jumps ahead: [3] and [6]. Slows: [4] and [11].
Bo thinks sentence [6] of the sled story is flat. Which line should replace it so that the words and action show how Ren faces the hill?
- “I am nervous about the steep hill,” Ren said, “and my stomach feels strange.”
- “Nice little hill,” Ren said with a laugh that came out too loud, and tugged the sled rope twice.
- “I need to buy new gloves before Saturday,” Ren said, flexing both hands.
- “Please be quiet, because no one should joke right now,” Ren said in a stern voice.
Ari wants one sentence to replace [8] and [9] and show why Pia and Ren tumbled. Which sentence should replace them?
- Because the sled hit a frozen rut at the bottom of the slope, both of them tumbled into the soft snow.
- Although the sled hit a frozen rut at the bottom of the slope, both of them tumbled into the soft snow.
- Because both of them tumbled into the soft snow, the sled hit a frozen rut at the bottom of the slope.
- The sled hit a frozen rut at the bottom of the slope, and then both of them tumbled into the soft snow.
