What a poem says, and what else it could mean

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Open House (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] The agent says the light is "a real asset"
   [2] and opens every curtain I've kept closed.
   [3] Strangers drift through the kitchen, touching
   [4] the counters like they're testing fruit.

   Stanza 2
   [5] They admire the "original character":
   [6] the door that sticks, the stair that speaks,
   [7] the pencil marks beside the pantry door
   [8] where we have measured growing all these years.

   Stanza 3
   [9] "Is this one staying?" a woman asks,
   [10] pointing at the height marks. The agent laughs
   [11] and says that paint can fix anything.
   [12] I laugh too. It is easier than answering.

   Stanza 4
   [13] When they leave, I stand where the marks are.
   [14] The light, I admit, is very good.
   [15] It falls across the pencil lines
   [16] as if it had been hired to.
   Annotations: beside each stanza write the literal, mood, tone and purpose.

2. 1.

   Ari writes the speaker's tone in stanza 1 of “Open House.” Which choice names the tone and words that show it?

   • Resigned and gentle: “I stand where the marks are.”
   • Excited and grateful: “a real asset” and the curtains thrown open.
   • Dry and wary: “Strangers drift through the kitchen.”
   • Dry and wary: “a real asset” and “like they're testing fruit.”
3. 2.

   Esme reads the layers of all four stanzas of “Open House.” Which theme fits every stanza?

   • A speaker shows a house to strangers on the day it is for sale, and the agent talks.
   • Fresh paint can fix almost anything about a house, so a sale need not be sad.
   • Real estate agents do not care about the families who live in the houses they sell.
   • A house is sold as a list of features, but what makes it a home cannot be priced.
4. 3.

   Jun writes the speaker's tone in stanza 3 of “Open House.” Which choice names the tone and words that show it?

   • Amused and relaxed: “The agent laughs” and “I laugh too” at a good joke.
   • Dry and wary: “a real asset” and “like they're testing fruit.”
   • Politely hiding hurt: “Is this one staying?” a woman asks, pointing at the marks.
   • Politely hiding hurt: “I laugh too. It is easier than answering.”
5. 4.

   Kira annotates stanza 4 of “Open House.” Which set of four notes is correct?

   • Literal: the speaker stands by the height marks as light falls across them. Mood: quiet and bittersweet. Tone: wry, giving the agent's point grudging credit. Purpose: to end on what a sale cannot capture.
   • Literal: the speaker stands by the height marks as light falls across them. Mood: quiet and bittersweet. Tone: bitter, rejecting the agent's point. Purpose: to end on what a sale cannot capture.
   • Literal: the speaker paints over the height marks as the light fades. Mood: quiet and bittersweet. Tone: wry, giving the agent's point grudging credit. Purpose: to end on what a sale cannot capture.
   • Literal: the speaker stands by the height marks as light falls across them. Mood: relieved and cheerful. Tone: wry, giving the agent's point grudging credit. Purpose: to end on what a sale cannot capture.

6. Seed Packet (original poem)

   Stanza 1
   [1] In the junk drawer, between a tape measure
   [2] and a flashlight without batteries, a paper envelope:
   [3] "Tomatoes. Plant after the last frost.
   [4] Don't believe anyone who says it's too late."

   Stanza 2
   [5] It's April, and the ground is cold as a spoon.
   [6] I kneel anyway, because the handwriting
   [7] is Mrs. Okafor's, and she has never once
   [8] been wrong about weather or about me.

   Stanza 3
   [9] Nothing happens for nine days. Then something green
   [10] bends the soil like a question mark,
   [11] and I tell no one, the way you hold
   [12] your breath when a baby's asleep.

   Stanza 4
   [13] She moved to her daughter's in the fall.
   [14] This June I copy her note on a new envelope
   [15] and push it through the Kims' mail slot,
   [16] adding, in smaller print: it's not too late.
   Annotations: beside each stanza write the literal, mood, tone and purpose.

7. 5.

   Milo writes the speaker's tone toward the note in stanza 1 of “Seed Packet.” Which choice names the tone and words that show it?

   • Mocking and impatient: “Don't believe anyone who says it's too late.”
   • Fond and amused: “In the junk drawer, between a tape measure.”
   • Hushed and protective: “the way you hold your breath.”
   • Fond and amused: “Don't believe anyone who says it's too late.”
8. 6.

   Noah annotates stanza 2 of “Seed Packet.” Which set of four notes is correct?

   • Literal: the speaker kneels to plant in cold ground. Mood: hopeful but uneasy. Tone: affectionate trust in a neighbor. Purpose: to show that the speaker has no skill with plants.
   • Literal: the speaker kneels to plant in cold ground. Mood: hopeful but uneasy. Tone: resentful of a neighbor's advice. Purpose: to show why the speaker plants despite doubt.
   • Literal: the speaker kneels to plant in cold ground. Mood: gloomy and hopeless. Tone: affectionate trust in a neighbor. Purpose: to show why the speaker plants despite doubt.
   • Literal: the speaker kneels to plant in cold ground. Mood: hopeful but uneasy. Tone: affectionate trust in a neighbor. Purpose: to show why the speaker plants despite doubt.
9. 7.

   Pia reads the layers of all four stanzas of “Seed Packet.” Which theme fits every stanza?

   • Older neighbors know better than younger people about weather and about people.
   • Cold ground can hold a seed back for days before anything grows in the spring.
   • A person plants tomatoes in spring from an old note and then writes a note of their own.
   • Hope can be handed on through small, practical acts, and trust received is trust to pass on.
10. 8.

    Ren writes the speaker's tone in stanza 3 of “Seed Packet.” Which choice names the tone and words that show it?

    • Hushed and protective: “I tell no one, the way you hold your breath.”
    • Hushed and protective: “Nothing happens for nine days” and “a baby's asleep.”
    • Fond and amused: “Don't believe anyone who says it's too late.”
    • Boastful and eager: “something green bends the soil like a question mark.”
11. 9.

    Tala annotates stanza 3 of “Seed Packet.” Which set of four notes is correct?

    • Literal: after nine days a green shoot pushes up. Mood: hushed and expectant. Tone: boastful, planning to announce it. Purpose: to show how fragile the hope is.
    • Literal: after nine days a green shoot pushes up. Mood: hushed and expectant. Tone: protective tenderness. Purpose: to show that the speaker is frightened of the plant.
    • Literal: after nine days the speaker digs up the seeds to check them. Mood: hushed and expectant. Tone: protective tenderness. Purpose: to show how fragile the hope is.
    • Literal: after nine days a green shoot pushes up. Mood: hushed and expectant. Tone: protective tenderness. Purpose: to show how fragile the hope is.
12. 10.

    Zee reads the layers of all four stanzas of “Seed Packet.” Which theme fits every stanza?

    • Tomatoes need the last frost to pass before they can be planted outdoors in spring.
    • Gardening is a good hobby for anyone who lives near friendly neighbors with seeds.
    • People should follow the advice of someone older than themselves in most things.
    • Being trusted by someone can teach us to offer the same trust to the next person.