Worksheet

Characters with mixed or clashing motives

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    The Tide-Pool Survey (story)

    [1] On the last day of the marine camp, Esme and Noah were given a clipboard and told to count the creatures in six tide pools before the tide returned at noon. [2] Esme counted every snail twice, touching each shell with a pencil, and wrote the totals in a neat column. [3] Noah, who took a quick look at each pool and wrote down a number, finished the first three pools while Esme was still on the second. [4] Esme wanted the survey to be exactly right, and also wanted to finish in time to hand in the clipboard with the other teams.

    [5] By eleven o'clock, Noah's list was complete, and the water had begun to creep over the rocks at the far end of the beach. [6] Esme looked at the three pools left, and then at the pencil, and realized that careful counting would carry only half the survey to the tide line. [7] Instead of counting the last pools snail by snail, Esme took a slower, wider look at each, and wrote the totals in a different color beside the word estimated. [8] Noah leaned over, frowned at the colored numbers, and asked why they were not in black like the others.

    [9] Esme explained that a count and a guess were different kinds of information, and that the leader should know which was which. [10] The camp leader, Ms. Delacroix, read the clipboard at noon and said that the estimated columns were the most useful part, because they showed where the survey needed a second visit. [11] Noah looked at the colored numbers again and asked if next time Esme could teach the pencil-touch method for the snails. [12] Esme laughed, and wrote it in the notes under the heading ways of counting, with a second heading for ways of guessing.

  2. Ari reads the strip. Which statement explains Esme's choice in sentence 7 by using both of Esme's wants?

    • Esme has no conflict, because Esme simply decides to copy Noah's quick method for the last pools and to write down one number for each.
    • Esme wants an exactly right survey and also wants to beat Noah's count, so Esme takes a wider look at the last pools and labels the totals estimated.
    • Esme wants an exactly right survey and also wants to hand it in on time, so Esme takes a wider look at the last pools and labels the totals estimated.
    • Esme wants an exactly right survey and wants each snail counted, so Esme takes a wider look at the last pools and labels the totals estimated.

  3. Bo compares two characters on the strip. How does Noah, as a foil, make Esme's trait clearer?

    • Esme takes a quick look at each pool and writes a number, which makes Noah's habit of counting every snail twice stand out.
    • Noah takes a quick look and writes a number, which makes Esme's habit of counting every snail twice stand out.
    • Noah does not listen to the camp leader and wanders off to other pools, which makes Esme's habit of following directions stand out clearly.
    • Noah finishes the first three pools early, which shows that Noah likes the beach more than Esme does.

  4. Esme fills in the what-changed cell for Esme. Which choice gives what Esme is like in sentence 2 and what Esme is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time. After: gives an honest estimate and labels it as one.
    • Before: gives an honest estimate and labels it as one. After: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time.
    • Before: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time. After: stops caring whether the numbers are right.
    • Before: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time. After: still counts every snail twice and refuses to guess.

  5. The Solo (story)

    [1] When the choir director, Ms. Okonkwo, announced one solo for the winter concert, Ari practiced the verse on the bus, in the shower, and under the covers. [2] The other candidate, Jun, rehearsed with the whole choir in the room, singing the harmonies of other sections and offering pointers to the altos. [3] Ari found this irritating, because it seemed like a way of earning favor, and quietly resolved to be the better singer. [4] Ari wanted the solo, and also wanted the concert to sound as good as it possibly could, even if that meant someone else singing it.

    [5] On audition day, Ari sang the verse cleanly, and Jun sang it slightly flat in the second line. [6] Ms. Okonkwo thanked both of them, and then asked the choir which voice carried the words better to the back of the room. [7] The choir pointed toward Jun, whose flat note was smaller than the warmth that made the words clear. [8] Ari felt a hard disappointment, and then, watching Jun's mouth shape the final line, a small honest admiration. [9] When Ms. Okonkwo announced that Jun would sing the solo, Ari clapped first and loudest.

    [10] At the concert, Ari stood in the second row and sang the harmony beneath the solo, and for the first time noticed how a harmony could lift a melody. [11] After the last note, Jun looked toward the second row and nodded. [12] Ari had not won the solo, but the concert sounded the way Ari had wanted it to, which turned out to be the better prize.

  6. Jun reads the strip. Which statement explains Ari's choice in sentence 9 by using both of Ari's wants?

    • Ari wants the concert to sound as good as possible, so Ari applauds Jun's win first and loudest in front of the choir.
    • Ari wants the solo and also wants the concert to sound as good as possible, so Ari applauds Jun's win first and loudest.
    • Ari has no conflict, because Ari did not want the solo in the first place and was simply glad to hear someone else sing it.
    • Ari wants the solo and also wants Jun's friendship, so Ari applauds Jun's win first and loudest in front of the choir.

  7. Luz fills in the what-changed cell for Ari. Which choice gives what Ari is like in sentence 3 and what Ari is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: sees Jun as a rival to beat. After: values how the whole concert sounds and sings the harmony gladly.
    • Before: Ms. Okonkwo announces one solo. After: Jun sings it at the concert.
    • Before: sees Jun as a rival to beat. After: decides to stop singing solos for good.
    • Before: values how the whole concert sounds and sings the harmony gladly. After: sees Jun as a rival to beat.

  8. The Old Bike (story)

    [1] Jun's bike was a blue three-speed with a dented fender, passed down from an older cousin, and Jun had ridden it to school every day for three years. [2] Milo, a classmate, traded bikes every spring, each time for something faster, and spoke of the old ones the way people speak of old phones. [3] In March, the bike shop on Cedar Street advertised a spring exchange for students, and the shopkeeper, Mr. Rivera, offered to swap the blue bike for a lightweight red one with ten gears. [4] Jun wanted the faster bike, and also wanted to keep the blue one, which still carried the scratch from the first week of fourth grade.

    [5] Jun rode the red bike around the block twice and felt the wind in a way the blue bike had never given. [6] Then Jun rode past the school's bike rack, where the blue bike used to lean against the same post every morning, and stopped. [7] Milo, riding past on a brand-new bike, called out that holding on to old things was just a way of being afraid of better ones. [8] Jun answered that the blue bike was not the problem, and that being afraid was not the same as being loyal.

    [9] Jun accepted the red bike and, with Mr. Rivera's help, gave the blue one to the shop's bike program for students. [10] A week later, Jun saw a younger student riding the blue bike, scratch and all, and waved. [11] Milo asked later whether Jun regretted the trade, and Jun said that the red bike was faster and the blue one had gone somewhere it was needed. [12] Jun kept a photograph of the blue bike, taken on the last morning, taped inside the closet door.

  9. Milo reads the strip. Which statement explains Jun's choice in sentence 9 by using both of Jun's wants?

    • Jun wants the faster bike, so Jun takes the red bike and gives the blue one to the student bike program without worrying about who rides it or how it is kept.
    • Jun has no conflict, because Jun is simply afraid of better things, as Milo says, and trades the bikes after being pushed to by the shopkeeper.
    • Jun wants to keep the old blue bike, so Jun gives it to a younger student and waves whenever the blue bike goes past on the street.
    • Jun wants the faster bike and also wants to keep the old blue bike, so Jun takes the red bike and passes the blue one to a student who needs it.

  10. Pia fills in the what-changed cell for Jun. Which choice gives what Jun is like in sentence 4 and what Jun is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: Jun owns the blue bike with the scratch from fourth grade. After: a younger student rides the blue bike around the school.
    • Before: torn between the faster bike and the loyal old one. After: no longer cares about either bike.
    • Before: torn between the faster bike and the loyal old one. After: settled, and glad the old bike went where it is needed.
    • Before: torn between the faster bike and the loyal old one. After: still torn, and sorry about the trade.

  11. The Front Page (story)

    [1] Luz edited the school newspaper, and wanted every story to be true, fair, and finished before the Friday deadline. [2] Zee, the sports reporter, wrote fast, filed early, and liked to say that a good story needed a good headline more than a second source. [3] One Thursday, Zee turned in a story saying that the cafeteria would stop serving hot lunches next month, based on a remark overheard in a hallway. [4] Luz knew the story would be the most-read item of the week, and also knew that no one in the office had confirmed it.

    [5] Luz called the principal, Ms. Reyes, who confirmed that the cafeteria was changing its menu but not ending hot lunches, and who suggested sources for the real details. [6] This left four hours to the deadline, a headline that no longer fit, and a sports reporter who sulked in the corner. [7] Luz rewrote the lead, cut the sentence about ending hot lunches, and added the new menu with a quote from the cafeteria manager, Mr. Dunbar. [8] The story ran smaller than Zee had wanted, and a reader wrote to ask why the paper had been so cautious.

    [9] A week later, a newspaper at a neighboring school printed the rumor as fact, and had to run a correction on the front page. [10] Zee read the correction in silence, then walked over to Luz's desk and asked how to find a second source. [11] Luz handed over a list of phone numbers and the one rule, which was to ask who else would know. [12] The next Friday, Zee's story included three sources, and the headline was only a little smaller than the one Zee had first wanted.

  12. Ren reads the strip. Which statement explains Luz's choice in sentence 7 by using both of Luz's wants?

    • Luz wants a most-read story, so Luz keeps the claim about ending hot lunches in the lead and runs it under a large headline on the front page.
    • Luz wants a most-read story and also wants the paper to be true, so Luz cuts the unconfirmed claim and adds the confirmed menu change.
    • Luz wants the paper to be true and also wants to punish Zee for rushing, so Luz cuts the claim and adds the confirmed menu change from the principal.
    • Luz wants the paper to be true, so Luz cuts the claim and runs a much smaller story on an inside page that few readers will notice.

  13. Tala compares two characters on the strip. How does Zee, as a foil, make Luz's trait clearer?

    • Zee wants the paper to lose readers, which makes Luz's loyalty stand out.
    • Zee also calls the principal before filing, which shows that Zee and Luz work in the same way.
    • Zee reports on sports and Luz edits, which makes the two jobs look different from each other in the newsroom.
    • Zee files early on an overheard remark, which makes Luz's habit of confirming each claim stand out.

  14. Zee fills in the what-changed cell for Zee. Which choice gives what Zee is like in sentence 2 and what Zee is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: believes a good headline matters more than a second source. After: includes three sources and values confirming a claim.
    • Before: believes a good headline matters more than a second source. After: still believes it, but files a little later.
    • Before: the cafeteria story is a rumor. After: a neighboring paper prints a correction.
    • Before: includes three sources and values confirming a claim. After: believes a good headline matters more than a second source.
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Characters with mixed or clashing motives

Answer Key - Grade 9 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    The Tide-Pool Survey (story)

    [1] On the last day of the marine camp, Esme and Noah were given a clipboard and told to count the creatures in six tide pools before the tide returned at noon. [2] Esme counted every snail twice, touching each shell with a pencil, and wrote the totals in a neat column. [3] Noah, who took a quick look at each pool and wrote down a number, finished the first three pools while Esme was still on the second. [4] Esme wanted the survey to be exactly right, and also wanted to finish in time to hand in the clipboard with the other teams.

    [5] By eleven o'clock, Noah's list was complete, and the water had begun to creep over the rocks at the far end of the beach. [6] Esme looked at the three pools left, and then at the pencil, and realized that careful counting would carry only half the survey to the tide line. [7] Instead of counting the last pools snail by snail, Esme took a slower, wider look at each, and wrote the totals in a different color beside the word estimated. [8] Noah leaned over, frowned at the colored numbers, and asked why they were not in black like the others.

    [9] Esme explained that a count and a guess were different kinds of information, and that the leader should know which was which. [10] The camp leader, Ms. Delacroix, read the clipboard at noon and said that the estimated columns were the most useful part, because they showed where the survey needed a second visit. [11] Noah looked at the colored numbers again and asked if next time Esme could teach the pencil-touch method for the snails. [12] Esme laughed, and wrote it in the notes under the heading ways of counting, with a second heading for ways of guessing.

  2. Ari reads the strip. Which statement explains Esme's choice in sentence 7 by using both of Esme's wants?

    • Esme has no conflict, because Esme simply decides to copy Noah's quick method for the last pools and to write down one number for each.
    • Esme wants an exactly right survey and also wants to beat Noah's count, so Esme takes a wider look at the last pools and labels the totals estimated.
    • Esme wants an exactly right survey and also wants to hand it in on time, so Esme takes a wider look at the last pools and labels the totals estimated.
    • Esme wants an exactly right survey and wants each snail counted, so Esme takes a wider look at the last pools and labels the totals estimated.

  3. Bo compares two characters on the strip. How does Noah, as a foil, make Esme's trait clearer?

    • Esme takes a quick look at each pool and writes a number, which makes Noah's habit of counting every snail twice stand out.
    • Noah takes a quick look and writes a number, which makes Esme's habit of counting every snail twice stand out.
    • Noah does not listen to the camp leader and wanders off to other pools, which makes Esme's habit of following directions stand out clearly.
    • Noah finishes the first three pools early, which shows that Noah likes the beach more than Esme does.

  4. Esme fills in the what-changed cell for Esme. Which choice gives what Esme is like in sentence 2 and what Esme is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time. After: gives an honest estimate and labels it as one.
    • Before: gives an honest estimate and labels it as one. After: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time.
    • Before: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time. After: stops caring whether the numbers are right.
    • Before: counts only exact numbers, one snail at a time. After: still counts every snail twice and refuses to guess.

  5. The Solo (story)

    [1] When the choir director, Ms. Okonkwo, announced one solo for the winter concert, Ari practiced the verse on the bus, in the shower, and under the covers. [2] The other candidate, Jun, rehearsed with the whole choir in the room, singing the harmonies of other sections and offering pointers to the altos. [3] Ari found this irritating, because it seemed like a way of earning favor, and quietly resolved to be the better singer. [4] Ari wanted the solo, and also wanted the concert to sound as good as it possibly could, even if that meant someone else singing it.

    [5] On audition day, Ari sang the verse cleanly, and Jun sang it slightly flat in the second line. [6] Ms. Okonkwo thanked both of them, and then asked the choir which voice carried the words better to the back of the room. [7] The choir pointed toward Jun, whose flat note was smaller than the warmth that made the words clear. [8] Ari felt a hard disappointment, and then, watching Jun's mouth shape the final line, a small honest admiration. [9] When Ms. Okonkwo announced that Jun would sing the solo, Ari clapped first and loudest.

    [10] At the concert, Ari stood in the second row and sang the harmony beneath the solo, and for the first time noticed how a harmony could lift a melody. [11] After the last note, Jun looked toward the second row and nodded. [12] Ari had not won the solo, but the concert sounded the way Ari had wanted it to, which turned out to be the better prize.

  6. Jun reads the strip. Which statement explains Ari's choice in sentence 9 by using both of Ari's wants?

    • Ari wants the concert to sound as good as possible, so Ari applauds Jun's win first and loudest in front of the choir.
    • Ari wants the solo and also wants the concert to sound as good as possible, so Ari applauds Jun's win first and loudest.
    • Ari has no conflict, because Ari did not want the solo in the first place and was simply glad to hear someone else sing it.
    • Ari wants the solo and also wants Jun's friendship, so Ari applauds Jun's win first and loudest in front of the choir.

  7. Luz fills in the what-changed cell for Ari. Which choice gives what Ari is like in sentence 3 and what Ari is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: sees Jun as a rival to beat. After: values how the whole concert sounds and sings the harmony gladly.
    • Before: Ms. Okonkwo announces one solo. After: Jun sings it at the concert.
    • Before: sees Jun as a rival to beat. After: decides to stop singing solos for good.
    • Before: values how the whole concert sounds and sings the harmony gladly. After: sees Jun as a rival to beat.

  8. The Old Bike (story)

    [1] Jun's bike was a blue three-speed with a dented fender, passed down from an older cousin, and Jun had ridden it to school every day for three years. [2] Milo, a classmate, traded bikes every spring, each time for something faster, and spoke of the old ones the way people speak of old phones. [3] In March, the bike shop on Cedar Street advertised a spring exchange for students, and the shopkeeper, Mr. Rivera, offered to swap the blue bike for a lightweight red one with ten gears. [4] Jun wanted the faster bike, and also wanted to keep the blue one, which still carried the scratch from the first week of fourth grade.

    [5] Jun rode the red bike around the block twice and felt the wind in a way the blue bike had never given. [6] Then Jun rode past the school's bike rack, where the blue bike used to lean against the same post every morning, and stopped. [7] Milo, riding past on a brand-new bike, called out that holding on to old things was just a way of being afraid of better ones. [8] Jun answered that the blue bike was not the problem, and that being afraid was not the same as being loyal.

    [9] Jun accepted the red bike and, with Mr. Rivera's help, gave the blue one to the shop's bike program for students. [10] A week later, Jun saw a younger student riding the blue bike, scratch and all, and waved. [11] Milo asked later whether Jun regretted the trade, and Jun said that the red bike was faster and the blue one had gone somewhere it was needed. [12] Jun kept a photograph of the blue bike, taken on the last morning, taped inside the closet door.

  9. Milo reads the strip. Which statement explains Jun's choice in sentence 9 by using both of Jun's wants?

    • Jun wants the faster bike, so Jun takes the red bike and gives the blue one to the student bike program without worrying about who rides it or how it is kept.
    • Jun has no conflict, because Jun is simply afraid of better things, as Milo says, and trades the bikes after being pushed to by the shopkeeper.
    • Jun wants to keep the old blue bike, so Jun gives it to a younger student and waves whenever the blue bike goes past on the street.
    • Jun wants the faster bike and also wants to keep the old blue bike, so Jun takes the red bike and passes the blue one to a student who needs it.

  10. Pia fills in the what-changed cell for Jun. Which choice gives what Jun is like in sentence 4 and what Jun is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: Jun owns the blue bike with the scratch from fourth grade. After: a younger student rides the blue bike around the school.
    • Before: torn between the faster bike and the loyal old one. After: no longer cares about either bike.
    • Before: torn between the faster bike and the loyal old one. After: settled, and glad the old bike went where it is needed.
    • Before: torn between the faster bike and the loyal old one. After: still torn, and sorry about the trade.

  11. The Front Page (story)

    [1] Luz edited the school newspaper, and wanted every story to be true, fair, and finished before the Friday deadline. [2] Zee, the sports reporter, wrote fast, filed early, and liked to say that a good story needed a good headline more than a second source. [3] One Thursday, Zee turned in a story saying that the cafeteria would stop serving hot lunches next month, based on a remark overheard in a hallway. [4] Luz knew the story would be the most-read item of the week, and also knew that no one in the office had confirmed it.

    [5] Luz called the principal, Ms. Reyes, who confirmed that the cafeteria was changing its menu but not ending hot lunches, and who suggested sources for the real details. [6] This left four hours to the deadline, a headline that no longer fit, and a sports reporter who sulked in the corner. [7] Luz rewrote the lead, cut the sentence about ending hot lunches, and added the new menu with a quote from the cafeteria manager, Mr. Dunbar. [8] The story ran smaller than Zee had wanted, and a reader wrote to ask why the paper had been so cautious.

    [9] A week later, a newspaper at a neighboring school printed the rumor as fact, and had to run a correction on the front page. [10] Zee read the correction in silence, then walked over to Luz's desk and asked how to find a second source. [11] Luz handed over a list of phone numbers and the one rule, which was to ask who else would know. [12] The next Friday, Zee's story included three sources, and the headline was only a little smaller than the one Zee had first wanted.

  12. Ren reads the strip. Which statement explains Luz's choice in sentence 7 by using both of Luz's wants?

    • Luz wants a most-read story, so Luz keeps the claim about ending hot lunches in the lead and runs it under a large headline on the front page.
    • Luz wants a most-read story and also wants the paper to be true, so Luz cuts the unconfirmed claim and adds the confirmed menu change.
    • Luz wants the paper to be true and also wants to punish Zee for rushing, so Luz cuts the claim and adds the confirmed menu change from the principal.
    • Luz wants the paper to be true, so Luz cuts the claim and runs a much smaller story on an inside page that few readers will notice.

  13. Tala compares two characters on the strip. How does Zee, as a foil, make Luz's trait clearer?

    • Zee wants the paper to lose readers, which makes Luz's loyalty stand out.
    • Zee also calls the principal before filing, which shows that Zee and Luz work in the same way.
    • Zee reports on sports and Luz edits, which makes the two jobs look different from each other in the newsroom.
    • Zee files early on an overheard remark, which makes Luz's habit of confirming each claim stand out.

  14. Zee fills in the what-changed cell for Zee. Which choice gives what Zee is like in sentence 2 and what Zee is like by sentence 12?

    • Before: believes a good headline matters more than a second source. After: includes three sources and values confirming a claim.
    • Before: believes a good headline matters more than a second source. After: still believes it, but files a little later.
    • Before: the cafeteria story is a rumor. After: a neighboring paper prints a correction.
    • Before: includes three sources and values confirming a claim. After: believes a good headline matters more than a second source.