Write a story with pace, tension and reflection
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The Puppet Show (story draft)
[1] Over three weeks of lunch breaks, Bo and Luz built a cardboard puppet theater, painted a blue curtain across the front, and sewed two sock puppets, a turtle and a heron, for a show they would perform for the kindergarten class next door. [2] Each lunch break, they measured the cardboard twice, traced every window with a ruler, mixed the blue paint until it matched the sky in a picture book, and argued for a long time about whether the heron's beak should be orange or yellow. [3] Bo's cousin Jun was in that kindergarten class, and the teacher had mentioned that Jun had not spoken a single word at school since September.
[4] On the morning of the show, the class sat cross-legged on a rug, and Jun sat at the very back, hugging both knees and watching the curtain. [5] The show began well, and the class laughed when the turtle tried to fly and fell into the heron's nest. [6] Then the left side of the cardboard theater bent a little, and the class giggled, sure that it was part of the joke. [7] Luz kept the heron talking while Bo tried to hold the wall with one elbow, but the whole stage leaned farther with every line.
[8] Then Jun got up, came to the front and helped, and the show was saved. [9] Kneeling beside the stage with both hands pressed against the bending wall, Jun said in a small, clear voice that the turtle should hold on to the heron's leg so they could fly away together. [10] Bo made the turtle grab the heron's leg, Luz flew both puppets across the top of the leaning stage, and the class shouted the last line of the story along with them. [11] When the curtain closed, the kindergarten teacher was still staring at Jun, who had not moved from the wall. [12] Bo and Luz folded the theater into a flat stack of cardboard and carried it back across the field.
Esme sees that the mood should shift from cheerful to tense at sentence [6]. Which version of [6] makes that shift?
- Then, with a soft tearing sound, the tape on the left wall let go, and the cardboard began to lean out over the rug.
- Then the left wall bent a little, and the class giggled again, sure that the wobble was part of the funny story.
- Then the mood in the room became very tense and worried as the left wall of the theater started to bend.
- Then the left wall bent outward, and the class groaned and slumped on the rug, bored and waiting for the show to be over.
Kira sees that the draft stops at sentence [12]. Which ending reflects on what was resolved in both plot lines, the show and Jun?
- Walking back, Bo thought that the tape had failed at the right moment, because a falling wall had given Jun a reason to speak.
- Walking back, Bo thought that next time they would use glue instead of tape, so the walls would stand on their own without any help.
- Walking back, Bo and Luz saw a poster for the spring talent show and began planning a brand-new act.
- Walking back, Bo understood that people should try new things, because life is full of surprises for anyone.
The Top Bell (story draft)
[1] All winter, Ren went to the climbing wall at the community center every Tuesday and Thursday and worked on the same gray route, which ended at a small brass bell forty feet above the floor. [2] On each of those evenings Ren chalked both hands, tied the same figure-eight knot, checked it twice, climbed to the same orange hold halfway up, reached for the next hold, missed it, and was lowered slowly back to the mat while the lights hummed overhead. [3] Esme, who climbed on the same nights, was working toward the belay test, which would allow Esme to hold the rope for other climbers without an instructor's hand on it.
[4] On the last Thursday in March, the instructor, Mr. Daley, announced that Esme would take the test that evening by belaying Ren on the gray route. [5] Ren passed the orange hold for the first time and climbed higher than ever before, until the bell hung just above a narrow ledge. [6] Ren grinned down at the people below and waved, enjoying the view from so high on the wall. [7] Below, Esme pulled the slack through the belay device and kept both eyes on Ren, exactly as the test required.
[8] Ren slipped, Esme caught the rope, and Ren went back up and rang the bell. [9] Mr. Daley let out a long breath, made a mark on the clipboard, and told Esme to lower Ren slowly to the mat. [10] When Ren's feet touched the floor, the two of them stood without talking, both still holding the rope. [11] Mr. Daley said that Esme had passed the test, and that Ren had just finished the hardest route in the building. [12] Ren untied the knot and coiled the rope over one shoulder.
Milo is marking the scene strip. Which plan for the three scenes makes the tension peak at the turning point, the slip?
- Tighten the winter of tries into short, sharp lines; tighten the climb toward the ledge; slow the moment Ren slips.
- Jump through the winter of tries; tighten the climb toward the ledge; slow the moment Ren slips and the rope holds.
- Jump through the winter of tries; tighten the climb toward the ledge; jump past the moment Ren slips and the rope holds.
- Slow the winter of tries with each evening's chalk and knots; tighten the climb toward the ledge; slow the slip.
Noah sees that the mood should shift from proud to tense at sentence [6]. Which version of [6] makes that shift?
- Ren grinned down at the people far below and waved one hand, proud to be higher on the gray wall than ever before.
- Suddenly the mood on the wall became tense and frightening as Ren looked up at the last hold.
- Ren looked out over the gym, where the late evening light turned the blue mats gold, and felt warm, sleepy and slow.
- Ren's arms began to shake, and the last hold below the bell was a small, rounded bump that offered almost nothing to grip.
Zee sees that the draft stops at sentence [12]. Which ending reflects on what was resolved in both plot lines, the climb and the test?
- Ren thought that the small rounded hold near the top would feel easier now that the gray route was finished.
- Ren thought that the slip had settled two things at once: Esme could hold the rope, and Ren could keep climbing after a fall.
- Ren understood that climbers who practice hard succeed in the end, which is a lesson worth remembering.
- Then Mr. Daley pointed to a new blue route on the far wall, and Ren walked over to try it.
The Paper Tower (story draft)
[1] At the regional science olympiad, each team of two had thirty minutes, twenty sheets of paper and one roll of tape to build the tallest tower that could stand in front of an electric fan for ten seconds. [2] Pia and Noah sat down at table six, smoothed the stack of paper, peeled the label off the tape, set the roll on its side, looked at the clock, looked at each other, and folded the first sheet in half and then in half again, very slowly and carefully. [3] For the next twenty minutes they rolled the sheets into tight tubes and taped the tubes into a tall, thin column that rose past Noah's shoulder. [4] At the next table, Kira and Zee had used their whole roll of tape in the first ten minutes, and Pia quietly tore off half of table six's tape and passed it across. [5] Noah frowned at the thinner roll but said nothing.
[6] With five minutes left, Zee leaned over and pointed out that a column with a square base would twist in the wind, while a base of three tubes taped into a triangle would hold its shape. [7] Pia and Noah rebuilt the base into a triangle with the tape they had left, finishing just as the judge called time. [8] The judge carried the fan to table six and switched it on, and everyone in the room kept chatting and packing up their tape.
[9] The tower bent but stayed up, and they won. [10] The judge measured the tower at one hundred forty-two centimeters, the tallest of the day. [11] Kira and Zee's tower, built with the borrowed tape, stood through its ten seconds too and placed fourth. [12] After the awards, Noah handed the last of the tape back across to Kira and Zee's table.
Ari is marking the scene strip. Which plan for the three parts makes the tension peak at the turning point, the fan test?
- Tighten the twenty minutes of rolling tubes into short, sharp lines; tighten the last five minutes; slow the fan test.
- Slow the twenty minutes of rolling tubes, sheet by sheet; tighten the last five minutes of rebuilding; slow the fan test.
- Jump through the twenty minutes of rolling tubes; tighten the last five minutes of rebuilding; slow the ten seconds in front of the fan.
- Jump through the twenty minutes of rolling tubes; tighten the last five minutes of rebuilding; jump past the fan test.
Bo sees that the mood should shift from busy to hushed and tense at sentence [8]. Which version of [8] makes that shift?
- The judge carried the fan to table six while the other teams kept chatting, laughing and packing up their tape.
- The room went quiet as the judge set the fan before table six, and the first gust bent the tower's tip toward the window.
- The judge carried the fan to table six, and Pia and Noah sighed and slumped in their chairs, sure that the contest was already lost.
- The mood in the room became tense and full of suspense as the judge switched on the fan at table six.
Esme sees that the draft stops at sentence [12]. Which ending reflects on what was resolved in both plot lines, the tower and the shared tape?
- Noah thought that a triangle base was the smartest design trick of the whole olympiad and well worth using again next year.
- Noah learned that people who help others are rewarded in the end, which is a lesson worth remembering.
- Noah thought about the thinner roll: the half they gave away had come back as the triangle that kept the tower up.
- Then the judge announced a bridge-building event after lunch, and Noah ran to put both names on the list.
Flag Seven (story draft)
[1] The fall orienteering meet at Harlow State Forest gave each pair of runners a map, a compass and ninety minutes to find eight orange-and-white flags hidden among the hills and to punch a card at each one. [2] Ari and Milo found the first flag beside a fallen log, then the second beside a stream where small stones lay in the shallow water, then the third at the corner of a mossy stone wall, and then the fourth in a clearing full of ferns, checking the compass each time. [3] Behind them, all morning, came Noah and Luz, two first-year runners who had decided that following the older pair was easier than reading their own map. [4] Ari muttered that the younger pair would not learn anything that way, but Milo only shrugged and kept the pace steady.
[5] With twenty minutes left, Ari and Milo reached the place where the map showed flag seven, a boulder at the edge of a marsh, but there was no boulder and no flag. [6] Milo checked the map, and the two of them laughed about how easy the course had been so far. [7] Noah and Luz, still trailing behind, stopped a little way off and began to read their own map for the first time all day.
[8] Then Luz found the flag, and everyone finished in time. [9] The flag was behind the next rise, fifty yards to the north, because Ari and Milo had come out of the woods one path too early. [10] The four runners punched their cards at flag seven together and raced on to flag eight and the finish with three minutes to spare. [11] At the finish table, the officials handed Noah and Luz a ribbon for the highest first-year score. [12] Ari untied the punch card from one wrist and looked at it for a long moment.
Jun is marking the scene strip. Which plan for the three scenes makes the tension peak at the turning point, when Luz finds the flag?
- Tighten the first hour of easy flags into short, sharp lines; tighten the search at the marsh; slow the find.
- Jump through the first hour of easy flags; tighten the search where flag seven should be; jump past the find.
- Slow the first hour, flag by flag, with each log and stream; tighten the search at the marsh; slow the moment Luz spots it.
- Jump through the first hour of easy flags; tighten the search where flag seven should be; slow the moment Luz spots it.
Pia sees that the draft stops at sentence [12]. Which ending reflects on what was resolved in both plot lines, the race and the followers?
- Ari decided that the pair who had followed all morning had led when it counted, and their first look at their own map had saved all four.
- Ari decided that it is wrong to judge people, because anyone can surprise others in life.
- Ari decided that next year it would be smarter to count the paths more carefully before leaving the woods.
- Then the officials posted the results, and Ari ran over to see who had won the older division.
