Story Structure

Grade 4 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Read the text. Circle what each part of the text tells the reader.

1. Read this first

   River Song

   CAST OF CHARACTERS
   ROHAN, eleven, a careful piano student who hates surprises
   ANAYA, his younger sister, who notices everything
   MS. BELLAMY, the piano teacher
   MR. KAPOOR, their father

   SCENE 1
   (The hallway behind the stage of a small concert hall. Students in dress clothes wait on a row of chairs. ROHAN flips through a red music folder, faster and faster.)
   ANAYA: Rohan, you've checked that folder six times.
   ROHAN: (not looking up) I'm just making sure. I'm fine. Totally fine.
   (He drops the folder. Pages slide across the floor. ANAYA helps gather them.)
   ANAYA: (holding up a page) This one says "Spring Waltz." Is that yours?
   ROHAN: No. Mine is "River Song." (He opens the folder again and goes still.) Where is it? It was right here.
   ANAYA: Maybe Dad has it.
   ROHAN: (whispering) Dad is in the third row. I'm on in ten minutes.
   (MS. BELLAMY hurries in with a clipboard.)
   MS. BELLAMY: Rohan, you play after Sofia. Ready?
   ROHAN: (forcing a smile) Ready.
   (MS. BELLAMY leaves. ANAYA looks at her brother, then slips quietly out the side door.)

   SCENE 2
   (The concert hall, five minutes later. MR. KAPOOR sits in the third row with a program on his knee. ANAYA crouches beside his seat.)
   ANAYA: (in a low voice) Dad, is Rohan's music in your bag?
   MR. KAPOOR: (checking) Only my keys and this program. Why?
   ANAYA: He can't find "River Song." He told Ms. Bellamy he was ready anyway.
   MR. KAPOOR: (frowning, then thinking) Wait. He practiced it every night this week. I heard it through the wall.
   ANAYA: So?
   MR. KAPOOR: So it may be in his fingers, even if it isn't in his folder.
   ANAYA: But what if he forgets in the middle?
   MR. KAPOOR: Then he starts the line again, the way he does at home. Tell him that.
   (Applause. On stage, a girl in a yellow dress bows.)

   SCENE 3
   (Backstage. ROHAN stands at the curtain, breathing slowly. ANAYA rushes up.)
   ANAYA: Dad doesn't have it. But he says you've played it every night.
   ROHAN: Without the page, I'll forget the middle part.
   ANAYA: Then hum it. Right now.
   (ROHAN hums softly. His fingers tap the notes on his knee. He hums the whole song without stopping.)
   ANAYA: (grinning) See? You didn't miss one note.
   MS. BELLAMY: (from the stage) Next, Rohan Kapoor, playing "River Song."
   (ROHAN takes a deep breath and walks into the light. A moment later, the first notes of "River Song" drift backstage. ANAYA closes her eyes and listens.)

2. 1.

   Why does the cast list describe Rohan as someone who "hates surprises"?

   • It helps explain why the missing page upsets him so much.
   • It warns the reader that Rohan will play badly.
   • It explains why Anaya leaves through the side door.
   • It shows that Rohan does not get along with Anaya.
3. 2.

   How does Scene 2 move the play forward, even though Rohan is not in it?

   • It shows Ms. Bellamy calling Rohan to the stage.
   • It shows Rohan finding the missing page.
   • It tells the audience the recital is over.
   • Dad's words give Anaya an idea to help Rohan.
4. 3.

   Why does the play end with a stage direction instead of a line of dialogue?

   • It shows that Rohan plays well without anyone saying so.
   • It explains what Rohan is thinking on stage.
   • It shows that Anaya has fallen asleep.
   • It tells the reader the recital is canceled.
5. 4.

   What does the setting description at the start of Scene 3 tell the reader?

   • It shows that Anaya is leaving the concert hall to find Dad.
   • It shows that the recital has ended and Rohan is going home.
   • It shows that Rohan has found his missing music at last.
   • It places the scene backstage and shows Rohan calming himself.