Reading ~ Chapters, Scenes, and Stanzas (RL 5.5)

It's quiet when I enter the forest,

Leaves crunching beneath my feet

Wind softly rustling the treetops,

Their limbs dancing silently

As the sun gently peeps through

To keep watch over me.

As I step farther into this world,

It comes alive with sound,

For they know I'm here;

The woodland dwellers—

Chirping, croaking, skittering, peeping

As the forest awakens.

How many stanzas does this poem have?

• 4

• 3

• 6

• 2

Once there was a young girl in a small town. She seemed to be a plain, normal girl. During the day, people at the market would not even look at her twice. She was polite, quiet, and smart. Most people in the town barely noticed her. Those who did notice her could never remember her name. She was just a girl to them.

To her father, however, she was special. You see, her father owned a small bakery. He did not enjoy baking. In fact, he hated it. He really wanted to be an inventor. He had all kinds of inventions sitting around the house, collecting dust. After he made one, he moved on to the next. The girl had to keep the bakery open so that her father could have money to invent and to buy food to eat. So, the girl used her talents.

What was her talent, you ask? It's very simple. The girl would make one of each item the bakery sold. Then, she would tell that roll, cookie, or cake, "Make twenty more." Before her very eyes, the baked good would multiply until it reached the number she wanted.

A reader can tell this selection is fiction because

• the girl works every day at her dad's bakery.

• the girl lives in a small town with her dad.

• the girl makes something magical happen.

• the passage gives facts about the town.

For Rosa Parks

by J. Robbins

They said, "Stand," but Rosa sat;

She knew it wasn't right

to treat her as if she was wrong

because she wasn't white.

She knew that freedom is a fight

that only brave souls win;

She also knew our value lies

in what's beneath our skin.

Rosa fought for what is right;

Her courage paved the way

for kids like you and me to ride

the freedom train today.

What genre does this piece belong in?

• a biography

• poetry

• drama

• a legend

Alice:(in an angry tone of voice) You took my bicycle without even asking. Then, you didn't bother to lock it up, and now it's stolen!

James:(very near tears) My bike had a flat tire. I couldn't take it, but I had to run an errand to the store for Mom. It's not all my fault.

How is Alice supposed to read her lines?

• like she does not care about her bicycle

• like she is confused about her bicycle

• like she is very angry about her bicycle

• like she is about to cry about her bicycle

The Black Box

by J. Robbins

The night was lonely and full of shadows as Sarah and Abe drove up to a deserted park. They looked nervously out the window as they pulled through the open gates. No one had come by this park for years.

“Are you sure about this, Sarah?” Abe asked, his voice sounding loud in the silence all around them. Sarah jumped at his words and looked around one more time. She knew that she and Abe had no choice but to carry out their plan, but she was still nervous.

“I know we have to do this, Abe. If we don’t bury this secret tonight, it will haunt us and our family forever,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Both of them turned slowly and looked at the black box in the back seat. The box was covered by a dark blanket, and it was almost invisible in the dark night. I only wish it were invisible, Sarah thought. If it were invisible, our lives would never have been ruined by the ghost that haunts this box.

What type of writing is this?

• biography

• poetry

• drama / play

• fiction

Against the Tide:

A Play in Five Acts

by J. Robbins

CHARACTERS:

Amy, School Improvement Club president

José, School Improvement Club vice-president

Mary, a fifth-grade student

Vicki, a fifth-grade student

Mrs. Sunni, a fifth-grade teacher

Mrs. Allen, the school principal

Act 1

Setting: The curtains open on a fifth-grade classroom at Allen Elementary School during a student meeting. The students are sitting around in a circle, with their teacher sitting at the back of the classroom. Mary and Vicki are sitting away from the other kids; they are not friends with Amy and José, who are very popular at school.

Amy:(speaks loudly) Okay, I want to call this meeting to order. The School Improvement Club is now in session.

José, what should we do first?

José:Well, I want to talk about something very serious. (Everyone leans forward to listen.) I think we should throw a party!

(Mary and Vicki look at each other, upset.)

Amy:That is a great idea! We can sell cookies to raise a bunch of money, and we can have balloons and music and cake. Of course, not everybody will be able to come.

(Amy looks over at Mary and Vicki.)

Mary:Wait a minute. I thought this was supposed to be the School Improvement Club. How does a party improve our school?

(Amy and José roll their eyes.)

Vicki:Mary and I came here today to talk about an idea we have to really improve our school.

José:(annoyed) Oh, yeah? What idea is that?

Mary:We want to start a recycling program at our school.

(Mrs. Sunni looks interested and moves closer to the kids.)

Amy:What? That sounds like a lot of work. Who needs to recycle, anyway?

Vicki:Recycling is easy, Amy. You've seen how many kids bring soda cans to drink at lunch. Instead of throwing those cans away, we could set up bins to recycle them.

Amy:This is a dumb idea. I vote with José that we should throw a party. All in favor—

Mrs. Sunni: Wait a minute, Amy. I think Mary and Vicki are on to something. Let's talk more about this recycling program.

(Mary and Vicki give each other high-fives. Amy and José look at each other angrily.)

What do the stage directions tell us about the kids?

• The kids do not all get along.

• The kids do not all speak in the play.

• The kids are painting the gym.

• The kids are cleaning up the cafeteria.

Wonder

by J. Robbins

I see the old man in the park;

I wonder who he is—

Does he have a place to live?

Does he have any kids?

I watch him feed the pigeons,

and I wish I knew his name.I'll come back to the park next week,but will he ?

Which line would complete this poem with a rhyme?

• feed the pigeons

• come back to the park

• watch me, too

• do the same

Days on the Beach

Every summer, Tory, her older sister Bella, and their parents would go to Florida and stay in their house near the beach. The two sisters would wake up early in the morning and take a walk on the beach with their mom. Tori and Bella would collect seashells of different shapes and colors. They would also ride their pony Beauty on the beach. Beauty loved to run near the waves and splash water all around. She was brown and gold and had a lovely tail. Bella would also allow other children to ride Beauty because she was friendly and safe to ride.

One morning as they were leading Beauty to the beach, they found her walking very slowly. Bella examined Beauty's hooves and said, "Her hoof looks swollen, let's take her back home."

They took Beauty back home and called the local vet, Dr. Barry. Beauty neighed and looked up when she saw Dr. Barry. She was fond of him because he was very gentle with her.

"You need to see that her hoof is rested for a week. She will be fine then," said the doctor. When the other kids on the beach heard that Beauty was not well, they came to see her and brought her carrots. They knew she liked them. Soon, Beauty's hoof had healed and she again began giving rides to Tori, Bella, and the other children on the beach.

The reader can tell that this is a story because

• it gives information about beaches

• it has characters and a setting.

• it describes the bond between two sisters.

• it is written in lines and stanzas.