Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

Plot I took back all the complaints about not having enough "alone time" when my father barged into my room that night. "You think you can hang out by yourself till your aunt gets here tomorrow morning, Hyde?" he asked, looking flustered. "Sure, what's up?" I asked, wanting to find out what was wrong and not feeling ready for the answer. When my stomach growled at the same moment, I realized we had not eaten dinner yet. It was almost nine at night, and Mom was not in the kitchen. I hope Mom is okay, I thought as I feared the worst. "Your mom needs an operation—it's nothing major," my father responded in a hurry as he gathered a few things in a duffle bag. "But, I'll probably be at the hospital all night. Aunt Sara will be here as soon as she gets off from night shift. Fix yourself some dinner and keep the doors locked. Call me on my cell if anything happens." Before I knew it, he was out the door and out of sight. As the clock started to tick louder and louder, I felt the night was getting longer by the minute. I was old enough to fix myself a meal and take care of the house, but I realized I was not ready to face my fears alone. That night, I fixed my first meal. I could have eaten a sandwich or a microwave dinner, but I wanted to eat something Mom could have cooked. So, I made my first pasta and ate it with garlic bread. Nothing about dinner was close to what Mom would have prepared, but it helped me grow up a little that night. 1. What is the main conflict in the passage? A. The narrator has to help the father with his crisis. B. The narrator has to give up his "alone time." C. The narrator has to manage being home alone. D. The narrator has to deal with losing his Mom. Write your response here: (show your work)

Tomas was worried. Ms. Garnett had given the deadline for the paper three times when she had given the assignment. She had even made the class write it down. But he had still put it off. He could have done it without any trouble if he had used an hour a day after school to do the research, but instead he played soccer with his friends for two or three hours. At night, he watched TV and did his other homework assignments, which were shorter and didn’t require as much writing. He even did all his chores. The lead time Ms. Garnett had given had vanished, and the 500 words about the civil rights leader Cesar Chavez were due in two days. After school, Tomas went to the library to do some research, but every search terminal was taken. He went to the card catalog and found several promising books, but when he went to get them from the shelves, there was nothing there. Evidently, quite a few of his classmates had put off the assignment just like Tomas. On the way home, he played with the Fulbright’s new dog and stopped by the soccer field. “Come play with us,” Hector called. Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

“I can’t, I have to write a paper,” Tomas said. At home, he hit another brick wall. The family had lost its Internet connection because his mother had not paid the bill, and pay day wasn’t until after his paper was due. Now, he was really scared. “Mom, what am I going to do? Where am I going to find information about Cesar Chavez?” “Oh, that’s easy,” his mother said. “Go talk to Mateo’s grandfather, he used to be a farm worker.” “Was Cesar Chavez a farm worker? I thought he was a civil rights leader.” “Maybe that’s why Ms. Garnett wanted you to write the paper,” his mother said. “Go find Mateo’s grandfather. I bet he can tell you.” Tomas called Mateo’s house, and the grandfather answered. “Did you know Cesar Chavez?” Tomas blurted out. “Yes, yes, I did,” he said. “Who is this?” “Can I come talk to you about him?” “Who is this?” “This is Tomas Diego, and I have to write a paper about Cesar Chavez.” “Okay, but bring plenty of paper,” the grandfather said. 2. What is the main conflict in the passage? A. Tomas does not write down the details of Ms. Garnett's assignment. B. Tomas has only two days to write a paper about Cesar Chavez. C. Tomas' mother does not pay the Internet bill when it was due. D. Tomas plays soccer with his friends and does not do his chores. Write your response here: (show your work)

3. Tomas solves his problem of finding a resource on Cesar Chavez by A. helping his mother pay a past due Internet bill. B. waiting in line at the library to get a computer terminal. C. finding someone who had known Chavez personally. D. going to a local farm to talk to the workers about Chavez. Write your response here: (show your work)

As soon as Curtis woke up, he knew something was wrong. His face seemed like it was on fire and itched something awful! He jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom and splashed water on his face, but it really didn’t help. He looked closely in the mirror, and the whole right side of his face was red. Alarmed, he yelled for his mother, who rushed into the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Why are you screaming?” “Look at my face,” Curtis said and turned to her. His mother put her glasses on and bent down to examine his face. She touched the Skill and Form Number: Plot #1 red area and pushed his hair back. “It itches like crazy,” he said. She turned his head to one side so the light was better and touched the red area again. “Try not to scratch it,” she said, “that’ll just make it worse.” “Don’t you have something you can put on it?” “Come into my bathroom, and I’ll put some lotion on it,” she said. The lotion helped a little; at least Curtis didn’t feel like he wanted to scratch his face off. “What do you think it is?” he asked his mother. “Well, it looks like something bit you,” she said, “maybe a spider.” “In my bed?” he asked and shivered involuntarily. “Maybe, but weren’t you and Trevor playing in the woods yesterday?” she asked. “That’s right, we were, but nothing bit me.” She turned his face to get a better look. “Whether it was in the woods or in your bed, something definitely bit you right there on your cheekbone,” she said. “I can see the mark clearly in this light. We’re going to have to take you to the clinic.” “But I have school today, and I haven’t missed school all year. Can’t I go to the school nurse? I think the lotion is really working,” he added hurriedly. This last statement was not really true as his face was still hot and itchy, but Curtis was determined to get a perfect attendance award at the awards assembly in May. “I’d feel better if Dr. Cline looked at it. She can recommend a skin cream that will help you feel better. Go get dressed while I call the clinic. Maybe they can see you first thing and you can go to school a little late.” 4. What is the main conflict in the first half of the passage? A. The light in the bathroom is not bright enough. B. Curtis wakes up with an unexplained skin rash. C. Curtis' mother cannot find the source of the problem. D. Curtis cannot get his mother to take him seriously. Write your response here: (show your work)

A Chilling Thrill by Karen Dowicz Haas Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

My new school’s ski trip seemed like a good idea to my mom. Mom must have imagined me—her seventh-grade daughter, Carly—and my new, rosy-cheeked friends sipping hot chocolate beside a roaring fire. After all, she knew I couldn’t ski. “So? You’ll learn,” she said, conveniently forgetting that I was nearly ten before I could manage a two-wheeler. “But I don’t really know anybody,” I said, afraid to admit the whole truth. I’d been in school for months and still had no friends. “What better way to get acquainted?” she said. Obviously, I had no clue. After hours on the bus with rival boom boxes blaring, we finally arrived at the slopes. My ski lesson went well. I learned how to break skis. Bindings snapped off under my clumsy legs. “It’s OK,” the instructor said. “That’s supposed to happen. Sometimes it keeps you from getting hurt.” “Sometimes?” He pointed to the plaster cast on his ankle. “Avoid the bumps on the slope,” he said. He repaired my skis and sent me toward a rope that was moving up the mountain. “Stick with the bunny slope,” he said. “It’s the easiest slope.” My classmates had all raced for the lift lines to Mounts Denali, Rushmore, and Vesuvius. I shuffled to the bunny slope’s lift and grabbed on. The icy rope slid through my mittens. My frostbitten fingers gripped tighter and harder but to no aim. Fidgety four-year-olds stiffened up behind me. As I turned to apologize, a knot reached my hands and dragged me up the hill. When I reached the top, I reviewed what I’d learned. The instructor had said to point your ski tips together to stop. He called it “snowplowing.” Where I’m from, we use a pickup truck with a giant blade in the front. He kept saying to zigzag down the mountain. With this wealth of knowledge, I slid off. I followed the tracks of the child who’d gone before me. Since her ski tips eventually plowed together, I stopped. Finally I squatted, figuring that the closer I was to the snow, the easier it would be to fall. Skis together, aimed directly at the ski-lodge door, I zipped down the hill. The cold air suddenly turned fresh and exciting. I felt like an Olympic champion. At Skill and Form Number: Plot #1 long last, the thrill of skiing! I snowplowed to a stop and entered the lodge. My cheeks tingled from the warmth of the crowded room, and the biggest, most ridiculous smile took over my face. “I’m still here,” I said. The room didn’t erupt with applause, but no one pelted me with snowballs either. Actually, nothing had changed. Just my attitude. Without thinking twice, I went up to Marie, a girl from my math class. “Hi, I’m Carly,” I said. “Fracture anything yet?” Her face reddened. “They had to stop the ski lift so I could get on,” she said. “I wanted to die.” “Aw, that’s nothing,” said a kid named Joey. He took off his cool sunglasses. “I had to change my name and put on a disguise after the Ski Patrol chased me for going too fast.” “Look what happened to me!” said a guy named Matt. He wore a bike helmet, and the exposed hair that peeked out around his face was frozen into stiff, curly ringlets. “I did a belly flop to avoid the tree that jumped into my way,” he said with a smile. Marie and I laughed. To my surprise, I discovered that my mother was right. What better way to get acquainted? Matt, Joey, Marie, and I hit the slopes again. Copyright (c) 2000 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Columbus, Ohio. 5. Which sentence from the passage best describes a conflict in the story? A. "Actually, nothing had changed." B. "Matt, Joey, Marie, and I hit the slopes again." C. "The icy rope slid through my mittens." D. "I snowplowed to a stop and entered the lodge." Write your response here: (show your work)

The Olive Tree by Elsa Marston Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

Saleem's homeland of Lebanon had been torn by years of conflict among people of different religions. Some, like the Besharas, had moved away from homes where they had formerly lived in peace with their neighbors. Now, the Besharas were coming back. As Saleem watched them move back in, he hoped they would have a boy his age. He also wondered about the large, old olive tree in the Besharas' yard. It produced the best olives in Lebanon. His mother always said so as she put them in jars with lemon and hot pepper. Saleem's family had enjoyed those olives for as long as he could remember. Would that change? The Besharas soon settled in their house. They were always polite to their neighbors, but they did not return the visits or the hospitable gifts. Saleem heard his parents say the Besharas still seemed uneasy. They also did not have a boy. They had a girl named Nada, who wanted nothing to do with Saleem. No one said anything about the olive tree. Saleem wondered when they would. Soon the green olives started to ripen. They dropped to the ground, and, as always, Saleem gathered them up. One morning, he noticed Nada leaning on the wall between their two yards. For a while, she watched without saying anything. Then, she cried out, "Those are our olives. Ours!" Saleem straightened up to face her. "They're on our land." "Yes, but the tree is on our land," Nada said. "It grows in our soil; its roots go under our house; it drinks our water. It has belonged to my family for a hundred years." Saleem said, "All the time you were away, we took care of this tree. We pruned it and watered it. We have a right to the olives." "But now we're back, and we'll take care of it!" said Nada. "My father will see to it that we get the olives." Saleem dumped all the olives he had gathered on the ground and stalked away. The fruit went on dropping and simply lay in the dust. One night, a fierce storm rolled over the mountains. Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed. One terrible bolt seemed to shake the whole world. At daybreak, Saleem rushed outside. The olive tree was gone. Its beautiful, silvery-green leaves were everywhere, and the Skill and Form Number: Plot #1 tree lay in lumps and splinters, scattered over the yards of the two families. Saleem noticed Nada standing in the doorway of her kitchen. Slowly, she came over to the wall, which had also been broken when the lightning struck. "They always told me about this tree," she said quietly. "I wondered if I would ever see it. They said that it was so old and beautiful and gave such good olives. Now it's gone." Saleem looked once more around the wood-strewn yard and then turned back to Nada. "Anyway," he said, "you'll be warm this winter." He picked up a couple of large chunks of wood, stepped over the broken wall, and laid the wood in Nada's yard. Saleem made several more trips, carrying wood to Nada's yard. Then, he stopped short in surprise. Nada was doing the same thing in Saleem's yard. All morning, the two worked in silence, clearing the olive wood and stacking it against each other's houses. When at last Saleem went in for lunch, he found on the wooden chair by his door a little heap of olives, carefully salvaged from among the splinters and withering leaves. Copyright (c) 1993 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Columbus, Ohio. 6. The Besharas originally left their house because A. they found better jobs in another country. B. they were angry that Saleem stole from them. C. they had a religious conflict with other people. D. they did not have enough to eat in Lebanon. Write your response here: (show your work)

7. What is Saleem worried about when the Besharas return? A. the storm B. their olive tree C. the winter D. their daughter Write your response here: (show your work)

8. Nada finally speaks to Saleem when A. she warns Saleem's family that a storm is coming. B. she warns Saleem that he's picking bad olives. C. she sees Saleem picking the olives on the ground. D. she sees someone going into Saleem's yard. Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

Write your response here: (show your work)

Essence and Attribute

On July 25th, as I tried to hit letter A on my typewriter, I noticed a slight wart on the pinky of my left hand. On the 27th, it seemed considerably larger. On the third of August, with the help of a jeweler's magnifying glass, I was able to see its shape. It was a complete elephant down to the smallest detail. At the end of its little tail, it was attached to my finger. While it was my pinky finger's prisoner, it nevertheless enjoyed freedom of movement except that its locomotion completely depended on my will. Proudly, fearfully, hesitatingly, I showed him to my friends. They were revolted. They said it couldn't be good to have an elephant on one's pinky. They advised me to consult a dermatologist. I scorned their words. I consulted with no one. I had nothing further to do with them, and I gave myself over entirely to studying the evolution of my elephant. Toward the end of August, it was already a handsome, little, gray elephant the length of my pinky although quite a bit thicker. I played with him all day. At times I was pleased to annoy him, to tickle him, and to teach him to do somersaults and to jump over tiny obstacles: a match box, a pencil sharpener, an eraser. At that time it seemed appropriate to give him a name. I thought of several silly and traditional names worthy of an elephant: Dumbo, Jumbo, Yumbo. Finally, I decided to call him just plain Elephant. I loved to feed Elephant. I scattered over the table bread crumbs, lettuce leaves, bits of grass, and pieces of chocolate. Then, Elephant would struggle to get to his treats. If I held my hand tight, Elephant never could reach them. In this way, I confirmed the fact that Elephant was only a part—the weakest part—of me. A short time later—when Elephant had grown to the size of a rat—I could no longer control him so easily. My pinky was too puny to withstand his recklessness. At that time, I still thought I could control him. I changed my mind about this idea when Elephant reached the size of a lamb. That night—and a few others too—I slept on my stomach with my left hand hanging from the bed. On the floor beside me slept Elephant. Afterwards, I had to sleep on top of Elephant. Almost immediately, I found just a portion of his backside to be enough. At that time, I was afraid I might disappear. I was scared that I might cease to be me, that I would be a mere millimeter of Elephant's tail. Later, he would tease me with food as I had teased him. I didn't eat, but I regained my appetite slowly. I learned to feed myself with leftover crumbs, with grains of birdseed, with bits of grass, with almost microscopic insects. Of course this was before. Now I have come to once again live on Elephant's tail. True, I am still small. Now I realize I am part of him and not the other way around. adapted from "Essence And Attribute" by Fernando Sorrentino, translated by Clark M. Zlotchew 9.

Character - WHO? Plot - WHAT? Setting - WHERE? WHEN? Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

the narrator on his hand in July and August

What belongs in the empty space? A. goes to a zoo B. draws animals C. grows a wart D. puts on a ring Write your response here: (show your work)

10.

Character - WHO? Character - WHO? Conflict - WHAT?

the narrator Elephant

What belongs in the empty space? A. struggle to get rid of a large wart B. fight for power in their relationship C. have trouble falling asleep at night D. argue over seeing a dermatologist Write your response here: (show your work) Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

Answers 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. B 5. C 6. C 7. B 8. C 9. C 10. B Explanations 1. The main conflict in the passage is the narrator's main problem. The narrator has to deal with the fact that his mother is in the hospital, and he has to manage staying at home alone with these thoughts. The passage does not say the narrator is losing the mother. The narrator changes his mind about "alone time." The narrator and the father are dealing with the crisis of the mother being in the hospital. 2. The main conflict in this passage comes because Tomas does not plan ahead and write his paper on Cesar Chavez in the three weeks he was given. As a result, he only has two days to write the paper, and other students are using the research tools he needs. This puts Tomas in a bind. 3. Tomas waits too long to start his writing assignment. All the library resources he needs for research on Cesar Chavez are being used by other students. He finds the solution to his problem in his mother's suggestion that he talk to Mateo's grandfather, who, it turns out, had known Chavez personally. Skill and Form Number: Plot #1

4. The conflict in the first part of the passage is about a fiery red rash Curtis sees on his face when he wakes up. When his mother looks at it, she thinks something has bit him. 5. Carly experiences a minor conflict when she tries to get on the ski lift. She says, "The icy rope slid through my mittens. My frostbitten fingers gripped tighter and harder but to no aim." In order for the ski lift to take her to the top of the slope, Carly has to get a grip on the rope. However, she has trouble holding onto the rope. The problem is resolved when a knot reaches her hands. She is able to grab the knot, and this drags her up the hill. 6. Read the beginning of the story. It says, "Saleem's homeland of Lebanon had been torn by years of conflict among people of different religions. Some, like the Besharas, had moved away from homes where they had formerly lived in peace with their neighbors." The Besharas moved away from their home because they had a religious conflict with their neighbors. 7. According to the passage, since the Besharas have been gone, Saleem's family has been eating the olives from the tree next door. He is worried that his family will not be able to enjoy the olives when the Besharas return. 8. Nada is angry at Saleem because he is picking the olives from the ground. She believes the olives belong to her and her family. 9. If you follow the plot of the story, you know that the narrator grows a wart on his hand. The wart looks like an elephant. This starts the story's conflict as the elephant grows bigger than the narrator. 10. If you follow the plot of the story, you know that the narrator grows a wart on his hand that looks like an elephant. The conflict is the problem that happens in the plot. The conflict between the narrator and Elephant is that they are fighting for power in their relationship. At first, the narrator has power over Elephant. He teases Elephant by making him do tricks and withholding food. However, Elephant grows to be enormous. This allows Elephant to have power over the narrator. Elephant teases the narrator with food just like the narrator had teased him. Copyright © 2012 Study Island - All rights reserved.