Name: Per:

Switching Places (answer all questions with complete sentences)

Colin, Latasha, Sidney, and Tony are in the eighth grade at Jefferson Middle School. They are close friends but have different interests. Colin tracks down "hot" school news and writes about it for the school newspaper. Latasha's passion is long-distance running for the school's track team. Sidney enjoys singing, dancing, and acting in school productions. Tony gets a thrill from the action-packed sport of soccer.

CONNECT What activities do you enjoy doing?

The four friends decided to switch places for one week during after-school activities. Their stories would be the topic for Colin's upcoming newspaper article.

A New Face on the Soccer Team Colin walked onto the soccer practice field on Monday wearing Tony's uniform. He was very nervous. Some of the other team members smirked when they saw Colin walking toward them. Colin never thought of himself as the athletic type, and he felt very unsure of himself when playing soccer.

After practice he thought to himself, "This practice was disastrous! It's so hard to kick the ball down the field without someone else kicking it away! And kicking a goal? No way! This sport is just stupid!" He wondered if the newspaper article was worth it.

INTERPRET Why does Colin question whether or not the newspaper article is worth it?

By midweek, Colin improved. He was able to kick the ball down the field, as well as stop the ball from reaching the goalkeeper. He admitted to himself that the game strategy was pretty awesome! He was beginning to see what kept Tony motivated to play soccer.

Friday was game day. Colin played the forward position. With one minute left in the game, he tried to make a goal. He aimed and kicked hard, but the opposing team's goalkeeper blocked it.

The team congratulated Colin on his smart kick and the hard work that he devoted to his playing.

INTERPRET In what ways does Colin change during the week?

Open Curtain! Latasha walked on stage holding Sidney's script. She whispered to herself, "This will be a piece of cake! It can't be as hard as getting ready for a track meet."

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MONITOR COMPREHENSION What does Latasha think about Sidney's activity of interest?

Sidney's lead role meant that she had many speaking, singing, and dancing parts. Latasha quickly became overwhelmed by the amount of material she had to learn.

Latasha never made the cuts for the school choir, nor did she ever attend a school dance. In fact, she thought she would embarrass herself at dances.

Her first attempt at performing dance routines and songs was tragic. She knew the other cast members were struggling to keep from laughing at her. Determined not to fail, all night long she worked on memorizing her speaking and singing parts.

Throughout the week, Latasha learned to apply some of her athletic practices to her performances. She learned to focus on the task at hand, not on the reactions of the people around her. As she approached each dance, she imagined herself at the starting line of a race. "FOCUS!" she told herself.

MONITOR COMPREHENSION List the challenges Latasha faces. How does she deal with them?

When Friday came, Latasha was able to sing most of the songs, although she was still a little off-key. Meanwhile, she proudly danced most of the routines with excellence. The director and cast gave her a standing ovation.

EVALUATE What do you think is Latasha's greatest achievement during her experience? Explain.

On Your Marks. Get Set. Run! Sidney was always late to play practice, but no one seemed to care. On Monday, she arrived at the track ten minutes late. The coach said impatiently, "Start running, Sidney! The rest of the team left ten minutes ago!"

A little embarrassed, Sidney began walking along the path. The coach yelled after her, "It's a running path, not a walking path!"

INTERPRET How do you think the coach feels about Sidney's future on the track team? Explain.

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Sidney barely finished the run-out of breath and tired, she walked more than she ran. She was the last one to cross the finish line by thirty minutes. "Running is hard! I can't imagine why Latasha spends her time this way!" she said to herself.

EVALUATE How do you feel about Sidney's attitude towards long-distance running and the track team? Explain.

After practice, Hannah approached Sidney, "It's nice to have you on the team, Sidney! Why don't we run together tomorrow? It helps to have a running partner. It takes your mind off being tired."

Sidney paused and then replied, "Okay. I don't want to hold you back, though."

"The only way you can hold me back is if you arrive late," Hannah responded with a smile.

The next day, Sidney arrived ten minutes early and found Hannah waiting. She learned that running with a partner took her mind off being tired, and she enjoyed being with Hannah.

Throughout the week, Sidney became stronger and better able to run the entire distance. The coach was pleased with her improvement. In fact, by the end of the week, Sidney not only gained a friend, but she also received "the most improved team member" ribbon from the coach.

MONITOR COMPREHENSION In what ways does Sidney change throughout the week?

Who's the Ghostwriter? "What can I write about?" Tony asked himself. "I know! I'll write about the school food drive for the homeless. Now, I need to make this good because I am using Colin's name."

MONITOR COMPREHENSION Based on this paragraph, what do you think a ghostwriter is?

Tony struggled with how to write a newspaper article. He asked Ms. Ruiz, the newspaper advisor, for help. She suggested that he interview people working on the food drive and then write a story about what they tell him. Tony spent the next two days setting up interviews. He was disappointed when some people forgot about the agreed upon interview times.

Each evening, Tony searched for the right words to put on paper. For many hours, he wrote and rewrote the story. He found it hard to have time for both the article and his homework. "How does Colin do this every week?" he thought.

On Friday morning, only one editor did not turn in a story-Tony.

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"Tony, why didn't you turn in your article?" asked Ms. Ruiz.

Frustrated, Tony replied, "What would Colin and the readers think? It's got no . . . zip!"

Ms. Ruiz asked him to let her read his article. She complimented its content and suggested a couple of small changes.

When the paper was published, Colin walked up to Tony and said, "Hey, Tony! Whenever I need a ghostwriter, I am calling YOU!"

Over the next week, Colin interviewed his friends about their experiences. The students all explained that they got a better understanding of what they enjoy and a new appreciation for what other people like to do. The article was a hit!

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