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ELA 7

English Language Arts 7 · Worksheets

How stories work

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Stories. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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How stories work

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the evidence or reasoning that decided it.

  1. Read: “Every recess, Brooke grabbed the soccer ball from the younger kids and kicked it onto the school roof. On Monday, Tess walked straight up to her and held out her hand for the ball.” The main conflict in this passage is

    1. a) character against self
    2. b) character against society
    3. c) character against nature
    4. d) character against character

  2. Read: “Carmen decided the new girl was stuck-up. The new girl, whose name was Jade, was actually terrified, and she held her chin up only so it would not shake.” Because the narrator tells us what both girls are thinking, the reader learns that

    1. a) the new girl really is stuck-up
    2. b) Carmen is just as nervous as Jade
    3. c) Carmen has misjudged the new girl
    4. d) the two girls are already friends

  3. A story is told in the first person by Ella's little brother. Which sentence could this narrator not know, and so should not state as a fact?

    1. a) I was sure Ella would tell Mom about the broken lamp.
    2. b) Ella said she would never speak to me again.
    3. c) Ella slammed her door so hard that the pictures in the hall shook.
    4. d) Alone in her room, Ella was thinking about her old school.

  4. The events of a story, in order: Jonah trains all summer for a 5 km race. On race day, he falls far behind at the start. On the last hill, he passes the leader and wins by one step. At the barbecue afterward, he gives his medal to his coach. The climax of this story is when

    1. a) Jonah gives his medal to his coach
    2. b) Jonah falls far behind at the start
    3. c) Jonah trains hard all summer long for the race
    4. d) Jonah passes the leader on the last hill

  5. Read: “‘You take the window seat,’ Grace told her little brother. ‘I've seen these mountains a hundred times.’ For the whole drive to Jasper, she leaned across him to look out.” What does this reveal about Grace?

    1. a) She is tired of looking at the same mountains.
    2. b) She gave up something she wanted, for her brother.
    3. c) She does not like sitting beside her brother.
    4. d) She feels carsick whenever she sits by the window.

  6. Read: “Ben opened the envelope slowly. He hoped it was the letter from the hockey camp, but he was afraid to look. Across the table, his sister watched him and said nothing.” This passage is told from which point of view?

    1. a) first person
    2. b) third-person omniscient
    3. c) third-person limited
    4. d) second person

  7. Read: “Diego had never cared much about his class's fundraiser for the food bank. Then he saw his neighbour, Mr. Hill, waiting in line there. The next day, Diego signed up to bake for every sale.” Why does Diego sign up to bake?

    1. a) His teacher made baking part of his mark.
    2. b) He sees that someone he knows needs help.
    3. c) He wants to win a prize for his baking.
    4. d) He has always loved fundraisers at school.

  8. Read: “Nobody else volunteered to read the morning announcements. Zara's hand shook as she raised it. Last year, she had not been able to say her own name in front of the class.” Zara most likely volunteers because she

    1. a) was told by her teacher that she had to do it
    2. b) is no longer nervous about speaking in front of people
    3. c) wants to prove to herself that she can face her fear
    4. d) enjoys being the centre of attention at school

  9. Read: “The raft was halfway across the lake when Kai noticed water pooling around his feet. The shore was still far away, and the wind was picking up.” Which sentence would best continue the rising action?

    1. a) Kai reached the shore safely and dried off by the fire.
    2. b) Years later, Kai would laugh about that day with his kids.
    3. c) Then one of the barrels tied under the raft broke loose.
    4. d) Kai had built the raft with his uncle the summer before.

  10. A story about a school play is told in the first person by Rosie, who forgets her lines on stage. How would the story change if her teacher, watching from the side of the stage, told it instead?

    1. a) Readers would learn more about what Rosie was thinking as she froze on stage.
    2. b) Readers would see Rosie's panic from outside instead of feeling it from inside.
    3. c) The story would have to switch to third person, since the teacher is not Rosie.
    4. d) The events of the play would have to happen in a completely different order.

Answer key · How stories work

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

  1. d) character against character — Tess is standing up to another person, Brooke, so the conflict is between two characters. Tess may be nervous, but the passage never shows her torn over a choice, which is what a conflict with herself would need.
  2. c) Carmen has misjudged the new girl — An omniscient narrator can show what each character thinks, so the reader sees what Carmen cannot: Jade's raised chin comes from fear, not pride. Carmen's opinion is only her guess, and the narrator shows that it is wrong.
  3. d) Alone in her room, Ella was thinking about her old school. — A first-person narrator can report only what he sees, hears and thinks. He is not in Ella's room and cannot hear her thoughts. A slammed door can be heard, what Ella said was said to him, and his guess about the lamp is his own thought.
  4. d) Jonah passes the leader on the last hill — The climax is the turning point, where the question the story asks (will Jonah win?) is answered. Falling behind is rising action that raises the stakes, and giving away the medal comes after, in the resolution.
  5. b) She gave up something she wanted, for her brother. — Her words say the mountains bore her, but leaning across him the whole way shows she wanted the window after all. She gave it up for her brother; taking her words at face value leads to the answer about being tired of the view.
  6. c) third-person limited — The narrator says “he,” so it is third person. It shares Ben's hopes and fears but shows his sister only from the outside, so it is limited to one character. Seeing a character's thoughts leads some readers to “omniscient,” but an omniscient narrator would tell us what the sister was thinking too.
  7. b) He sees that someone he knows needs help. — The order of events is the clue: he signs up the day after seeing Mr. Hill in line, so a person he knows needing help is what changes his mind. The first sentence rules out loving fundraisers, and the passage never mentions marks or prizes.
  8. c) wants to prove to herself that she can face her fear — Her shaking hand shows she is still afraid, and the detail about last year shows how far she has come, so she is pushing herself. “No longer nervous” is the trap: she volunteers in spite of her fear, not because it has gone.
  9. c) Then one of the barrels tied under the raft broke loose. — Rising action adds complications that raise the tension, and a barrel breaking loose makes things worse. Reaching the shore safely and laughing about it years later both let the tension go too early, and the uncle detail is background that stops the action.
  10. b) Readers would see Rosie's panic from outside instead of feeling it from inside. — A new narrator changes what the reader can know: the teacher could see Rosie freeze but could not hear her thoughts. The teacher could still say “I watched her freeze,” which is also first person, so the narrator changes but the story does not have to switch to third person.