Story Structure

Grade 5 Reading Worksheet

Circle the answer.

1. Read this first

   The Smudged Recipe: A Play in Three Scenes

   CHARACTERS: MIN-JI, age eleven. JUN, her brother, age eight. AUNT SORA, their aunt. HALMEONI, their grandmother.

   SCENE 1

   SETTING: The family kitchen on a Friday afternoon. A recipe card lies on the counter. Its ink is blurred by a water stain.

   MIN-JI: (holding up the card) Halmeoni's birthday is tomorrow, and this is her honey rice cake recipe. We could make it for her as a surprise.

   JUN: (squinting) Half the words are gone. Somebody spilled water on it.

   MIN-JI: I can read "rice flour" and "honey." But how much rice flour? And what's this word? It could be "sesame" or "seven."

   JUN: Seven what?

   MIN-JI: Exactly. (She sighs.) We need help.

   SCENE 2

   SETTING: Aunt Sora's apartment, one hour later. Aunt Sora is watering plants on the balcony.

   AUNT SORA: (looking at the card) Oh, I remember these cakes. Halmeoni made them every autumn. The word is "sesame." You fill the middle with sesame seeds and honey.

   MIN-JI: And the rice flour?

   AUNT SORA: (laughing) I never saw her measure anything. She used a blue cup with a chip on the rim. She filled it twice.

   JUN: Two cups! (He writes it on the back of the card.)

   AUNT SORA: One more thing. She always said the dough should feel like your earlobe. Soft, but not sticky.

   JUN: (touching his ear, confused) My earlobe?

   MIN-JI: Don't worry. We'll figure it out.

   SCENE 3

   SETTING: The family kitchen, Saturday morning. Flour dusts the counter. A plate of small half-moon cakes sits in the middle.

   JUN: (proudly) They look like little moons.

   MIN-JI: The first batch was too sticky. The second batch cracked. But this batch felt just like an earlobe.

   (The door opens. HALMEONI enters with a gift bag.)

   HALMEONI: What is that smell? (She stops at the table.) Honey rice cakes?

   MIN-JI and JUN: Happy birthday!

   HALMEONI: (tasting one slowly, then smiling) Who told you about the blue cup?

   MIN-JI: Aunt Sora. And about the earlobe.

   HALMEONI: (laughing) Then you know my real recipe. (She picks up the smudged card and turns it over to Jun's notes.) I will keep this one. Now it has your handwriting on it, too.

2. 1.

   What is the main purpose of Scene 1?

   • It shows the children solving the recipe's mystery.
   • It introduces Halmeoni and her birthday gift bag.
   • It sets up the problem of the blurred recipe.
   • It explains how Aunt Sora learned to bake.
3. 2.

   Why does the setting change from the kitchen in Scene 1 to Aunt Sora's apartment in Scene 2?

   • The children want to bake in a bigger kitchen.
   • The children go to someone who can fill in the missing words.
   • Halmeoni has invited them over for her birthday.
   • Aunt Sora needs help watering her plants.
4. 3.

   Which question from Scene 1 is answered in Scene 2?

   • why Halmeoni's birthday is on Saturday
   • whether the blurred word is 'sesame' or 'seven'
   • who spilled water on the recipe card
   • whether Halmeoni will like the surprise
5. 4.

   Aunt Sora says the dough should feel like an earlobe. How does this detail matter later?

   • Min-ji uses it in Scene 3 to tell when the dough is right.
   • Jun writes it on the card in Scene 1.
   • It causes the children's first batch to crack.
   • Halmeoni explains it to the children in Scene 2.
6. 5.

   What do the setting lines at the start of Scene 3 show before anyone speaks?

   • The children have given up on the recipe.
   • Halmeoni has arrived to help them bake.
   • The children have already made the cakes.
   • Aunt Sora is baking in the family kitchen.
7. 6.

   Min-ji mentions a first and a second batch in Scene 3. Why doesn't the play show those batches?

   • Halmeoni made those batches before she left.
   • The play skips ahead and reports them in one line.
   • Those batches were made in Scene 2 at Aunt Sora's.
   • The children forgot to make them before the party.