Unit 4, Week 5: A Friendly Contest & The Rockin’ Rhymer

Which sentence best states the theme of the passage? (A Friendly Contest)

• Learn from your mistakes.

• Not everyone can be trusted.

• If you don’t try, you won’t succeed.

• Friends come in all shapes and sizes.

Which detail from the passage best supports the theme?

• “The contest was for ages 8–15, and the deadline was two weeks

  away.”

• “This contest might be a good way to see if anyone else liked his

  poems,”

• “Before Jason emailed his poem to the newspaper, he changed

  the name to his own”

• “When a girl named Ashley told him she had memorized the last

  part, he blushed.”

Read the sentences from the passage.

What if no one liked it? What an embarrassment that would be!

What does the use of the word embarrassment suggest about Jason?

• He is trying to not upset his parents.

• He is sure no one will like his poem.

• He will feel ashamed if no one likes his poem.

• He thinks that his poem might upset someone.

Based on the passage,

what does Jason consider to be true success?

Pick two choices.

• A winning a poetry contest

• Having a poem published

• Sharing your poems with others

• Having your friends congratulate you

• Having your friends enjoy your poems

Suddenly Jason was regretful, telling himself that he should have

trusted Kyle to read his poems.

What does the word regretful mean?

• feeling sorry

• thinking hard

• not understanding

• changing his mind

Which word has a similar connotation to that of regretful?

• proud

• puzzled

• shocked

• upset

Circle three sentences that Support the Theme of

“A Friendly Contest”

• “A poetry contest sounded interesting, so Jason read the rest of

  the article in the local newspaper.”

• “He still couldn’t decide whether to put his real name on his poem.”

• “He still couldn’t decide whether to put his real name on his poem.”

• “Jason told Kyle, ‘I’ll bring my poems over right now because I do

  want to know what you think, and maybe you could even give me

  some ideas for more poems!’”

• “Still, he was even happier when kids at school asked if they could

  read more of his poems.”

What does the narrator’s point of view help to explain in the

passage? Pick two choices.

• where Daisy went for the day

• who Celia thinks is writing the poems

• why the narrator writes poems for Celia

• how much the narrator enjoys writing poems

• why the narrator writes poems for Celia

Which sentence best states the theme of the passage?

• Helping others makes you feel good.

• People love to read good poems.

• Everyone has a hidden talent.

• Don’t let your pets run loose.

Which evidence from the passage best supports the theme?

• “I am in my usual disguise as an ordinary fourth-grade girl, and

  my friends have no idea that I am actually the Rockin’ Rhymer.”

• “I rush back and stick the poem in Celia’s locker before sprinting

  to get to history on time.”

• “At lunchtime, Celia meets me in the cafeteria, looking more

  puzzled than worried.”

• “I pet Daisy too, glad that my poems finally have a good use!”