How a theme grows and is sharpened
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Four O'Clock Ferry (story)
[1] Every Saturday, Jun rode the Marigold, a small ferry that carried commuters across the bay, and watched Captain Reyes run the boat strictly by the clock. [2] The ferry left at four o'clock exactly, and Captain Reyes liked to say that a boat that kept its schedule kept its promises to everyone aboard. [3] Jun admired this rule, and copied each departure time into a notebook, pleased to have found a way of working that never seemed to fail.
[4] One Saturday, an older woman named Mrs. Idowu came hurrying down the dock at one minute past four, carrying a cello case that was nearly as tall as she was. [5] Captain Reyes glanced at a watch, then at the rope in Jun's hands, and repeated that the schedule was the schedule. [6] Jun looked at the woman, who had stopped to rest the case against a post, and asked quietly whether the boat could wait just a little. [7] The captain frowned for a moment, then nodded, and Jun ran down the plank to carry the cello aboard while the engine idled.
[8] The Marigold left at four-oh-four, and nothing went wrong; the late bus at the far dock was still pulling in when the ferry arrived. [9] Mrs. Idowu thanked them both, explaining that she was playing at a concert that night and that the next ferry would have made her miss the rehearsal. [10] The following week, a new line appeared beneath the posted timetable in Captain Reyes's careful handwriting. [11] It said that the ferry would leave at four o'clock, and that the captain would wait for anyone running toward the dock. [12] Jun read it twice, then rewrote the rule in the notebook so that it began with the passengers instead of the clock.
Ari reads the strip through sentence 3. What is the theme so far?
- A rule exists to serve people, so those who enforce it should be willing to adjust it when it stops serving them.
- Keeping a rule exactly is how you keep your promises to people.
- Hard work is noticed by the people who matter most.
- Ferries, schedules, and the clock.
Bo marks the turn. Which sentence shows the moment the rule is actually bent, moving the theme from “keeping the rule exactly” to “paying attention to the people the rule affects”?
- [7] The captain frowned for a moment, then nodded, and Jun ran down the plank to carry the cello aboard while the engine idled.
- [1] Every Saturday, Jun rode the Marigold, a small ferry that carried commuters across the bay, and watched Captain Reyes run the boat strictly by the clock.
- [5] Captain Reyes glanced at a watch, then at the rope in Jun's hands, and repeated that the schedule was the schedule.
- [8] The Marigold left at four-oh-four, and nothing went wrong; the late bus at the far dock was still pulling in when the ferry arrived.
Esme wants to state the theme of the whole story. Which choice is a theme, and not a summary or a topic?
- A rule exists to serve people, so those who enforce it should be willing to adjust it when it stops serving them.
- A ferry captain waits for a late passenger with a cello, and the ferry leaves a few minutes behind schedule.
- Rules, ferries, and being on time.
- A rule should be followed exactly, even when that makes a person miss something important.
The Flat Loaf (story)
[1] During the first month at Anders Bakery, Pia baked twenty loaves a day and inspected each one the way a jeweler inspects a stone. [2] Any loaf with a crooked crust or a flat top went into the bin behind the shop, because Pia believed that only a perfect loaf deserved a place on the shelf. [3] Mr. Anders, the baker, watched this in silence for weeks, and remarked only that the bin was filling faster than the shelves.
[4] On Friday, a customer named Mrs. Okoro came in asking for day-old bread, which she crumbled each week into the stuffing for a community dinner. [5] Pia reached toward the shelf, but Mr. Anders gently pointed to the bin out back, and Mrs. Okoro followed with a bright, curious face. [6] She chose six flat loaves and a handful of crooked ones, explaining that their dense crumbs held seasoning far better than any tall, airy loaf could. [7] Pia stood still beside the bin, watching it empty, and thought about all the loaves that had gone out the back door that month.
[8] The next morning, Pia still examined every loaf, but sorted them into two baskets, one marked for the shelf and one for the stuffing customers. [9] Mr. Anders noticed the second basket and, without being asked, wrote a lower price on a card for it. [10] By spring, Pia could tell which flaws in the oven were mistakes to fix and which were simply different uses, and the bin held only crusts. [11] The flat loaves were still flat; the difference was that nobody in the shop called them failures anymore. [12] Pia kept one flat loaf on the counter as a reminder that a result can be wrong for one purpose and exactly right for another.
Jun reads the strip through sentence 7. What is the theme so far?
- Customers understand what they want.
- Flawed work is not worth putting forward.
- A flawed result can still be valuable to someone.
- When a person stops judging everything by one standard, work once called a failure can find its use.
Kira marks the turn. Which sentence is the event that first shows a flat loaf has value, moving the theme from “flawed work is not worth putting forward” to “a flawed result can still be valuable”?
- [6] She chose six flat loaves and a handful of crooked ones, explaining that their dense crumbs held seasoning far better than any tall, airy loaf could.
- [4] On Friday, a customer named Mrs. Okoro came in asking for day-old bread, which she crumbled each week into the stuffing for a community dinner.
- [1] During the first month at Anders Bakery, Pia baked twenty loaves a day and inspected each one the way a jeweler inspects a stone.
- [2] Any loaf with a crooked crust or a flat top went into the bin behind the shop, because Pia believed that only a perfect loaf deserved a place on the shelf.
The Pharmacy Counter (story)
[1] Every month, Kira went with Mr. Petrov, an elderly neighbor who had moved to town from far away, to help with the forms at the pharmacy. [2] Kira was quick and confident, and usually finished the whole conversation with the pharmacist before Mr. Petrov had even found a place to set the paperwork. [3] Mr. Petrov always nodded and thanked Kira, and Kira left each visit certain that fast, efficient help was the best help there was.
[4] One afternoon, the pharmacist, Ms. Lund, asked a question about a new medicine, and Kira answered it before the question was even finished. [5] Mr. Petrov stood silent beside the counter, and his hands, which had been resting on the edge, slowly slid into his pockets. [6] Outside, Mr. Petrov said slowly, in careful English, that the question had been clear to him and that he had wanted to answer it himself.
[7] Kira felt the hot embarrassment of having been helpful in the wrong way, and said nothing for half a block. [8] At the next visit, Kira stood a step behind and let the pharmacist's questions land on Mr. Petrov first. [9] The answers came slowly, with long pauses and a few wrong words, and Ms. Lund waited patiently through every one. [10] Only once did Kira step in, when Mr. Petrov looked over and quietly asked for a word. [11] Walking home, Mr. Petrov carried the bag himself and stood a little straighter than he had in months. [12] The visit had taken three times as long as usual, and Kira decided it had been the best one yet.
Milo reads the strip through sentence 3. What is the theme so far?
- Pharmacies, forms, and medicine.
- Real help respects a person's right to speak and act for themselves, even when that is slower.
- The kindest help is help that is fast and complete.
- Learning a new language is the hardest part of moving to a new town.
Pia wants to state the theme of the whole story. Which choice is a theme, and not a topic or an unsupported message?
- Real help respects a person's right to speak and act for themselves, even when that is slower.
- The kindest help is whatever gets the job done fastest.
- Anyone who moves to a new country should learn the language before asking for help.
- Pharmacies, forms, and neighbors.
The Creek Map (story)
[1] When Mr. Castillo assigned the class a map of the creek behind the school, Milo decided to draw it alone, convinced that one steady hand would make cleaner lines than twenty. [2] Over the weekend, Milo walked the bank with a clipboard, measured the footbridge in paces, and inked a map so tidy that it looked printed. [3] On Monday, Mr. Castillo held it up, and the class admired the straight edges and the neat labels.
[4] Then Noah pointed out that the map showed no pool below the willow, where the creek was deep enough for the class to collect water samples. [5] Ari added that a concrete pipe on the east bank flooded after rain, so the path Milo had drawn beside it would be underwater by Thursday. [6] Milo studied the map again, seeing for the first time how much of the creek had been walked only once, on a single sunny afternoon.
[7] The class spent a week adding what they knew: where the frogs gathered, which stones were slippery, and where the water ran fastest in spring. [8] The finished map was crowded, with three colors of ink and many handwritings, and its lines were nowhere near as clean as the first draft. [9] Mr. Castillo pinned it beside the door, and a visiting ranger read it twice before saying it was more useful than the county's own sketch. [10] At the end of the day, Milo searched the map for the one line that was still Milo's own, and found that it no longer stood out. [11] The work had taken five times as long as working alone, and Milo was surprised to feel proud instead of cheated. [12] Milo added a small note in the corner naming every hand that had worked on the map.
Ren reads the strip through sentence 6. What is the theme so far?
- Neat handwriting makes a map more useful.
- One person cannot see everything that a group knows.
- Shared work holds knowledge that no single person has, so a group's result can be stronger even when it is slower and messier.
- Careful work by one person is stronger than work by a group.
Tala marks the turn. Which sentence shows Milo's own thinking beginning to change, from “careful work by one person is stronger than work by a group” to “one person cannot see everything a group knows”?
- [9] Mr. Castillo pinned it beside the door, and a visiting ranger read it twice before saying it was more useful than the county's own sketch.
- [6] Milo studied the map again, seeing for the first time how much of the creek had been walked only once, on a single sunny afternoon.
- [3] On Monday, Mr. Castillo held it up, and the class admired the straight edges and the neat labels.
- [11] The work had taken five times as long as working alone, and Milo was surprised to feel proud instead of cheated.
Zee wants to state the theme of the whole story. Which choice is a theme, and not a summary or an unsupported message?
- A single careful person produces better work than a group.
- Shared work holds knowledge that no single person has, so a group's result can be stronger even when it is slower and messier.
- Teachers should not assign maps as homework.
- A student draws a creek map alone, classmates point out what is missing, and the class adds what it knows.