Grammar Book

UNIT 5
The
BIG
Question
How Do You Stay
True to Yourself?
“ Be who you are and say
what you feel, because those
who mind don’t matter, and
those who matter
”
don’t mind.
—Dr. Seuss
pen name of Theodor
Geisel (1904 –1991), author
of The Cat in the Hat
Gandee Vason/Getty Images

LOOKING AHEAD
The skill lessons and readings in this unit will help you develop your own answer
to the Big Question.
UNIT 5 WARM-UP • Connecting to the Big Question

Genre Focus: Short Story
Born Worker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
by Gary Soto
READING WORKSHOP 1 Skill Lesson: Analyzing

Cream Puff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
by Linnea Due
The Question of Popularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
by Tamara Eberlein
WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
READING WORKSHOP 2 Skill Lesson: Questioning

an african american . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588
by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
One Throw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596
by W. C. Heinz
READING WORKSHOP 3 Skill Lesson: Predicting

The Medicine Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
A Year of Living Bravely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
by Emily Costello
WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
READING WORKSHOP 4 Skill Lesson: Making Inferences

The Fire Pond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
by Michael J. Rosen
from Savion!: My Life in Tap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
by Savion Glover and Bruce Weber
COMPARING LITERATURE WORKSHOP

A Retrieved Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665
by O. Henry
A Retrieved Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675
by Gary Gianni
UNIT 5 WRAP-UP • Answering the Big Question
543
UNIT 5 WARM-UP
How Do You
Stay True
Connecting to to Yourself?
To be true to yourself, you have to be true to your own values and

beliefs. They affect what you do. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out
what you should do, but as you gain more experience, strong beliefs
and values can help you make good choices. In this unit you’ll explore
how to stay true to yourself and to your values.
Real Kids and the Big Question

RASHAD was walking home from school when he found
a wallet. He wants to return the wallet to the person who owns
it, but his friends are trying to talk him into keeping the money.
Rashad could use the money, but he doesn’t feel it’s right to
keep it. What should Rashad do to be true to himself?
SARA has been invited to James’s party.

She finds out later that James’s parents
won’t be home during the get-
together. She wants to go,
but she knows that her
parents won’t approve.
What should Sara do to
stay true to herself?
Warm-Up Activity
With a partner, make a list of different ways Rashad and Sara
can solve their problems. Decide on a solution that best helps
Rashad and Sara stay true to themselves.
544 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

(t) Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images, (b) Janeart/Getty Images
UNIT 5 WARM-UP
You and the Big Question

Reading about how other people stayed true to themselves will
help you work out your own answer to the Big Question.
Link to Web resources to further
Plan for the Unit Challenge explore the Big Question at
At the end of the unit, you’ll use notes from all your reading to www.glencoe.com.
complete the Unit Challenge.
You’ll choose one of the following activities:

A. Videotape a Soap Opera With a group you will role-play ways a teen
can be true to herself, her friends, and her parents.
B. Values Chart Make a chart for help in ranking your own values.
• As you read the selections, think about the problems faced by the characters
and people you read about. How did the problems challenge the people? How
did they manage to stay true to themselves?
• In your Learner’s Notebook, you’ll write down what the characters and people
did to stay true to themselves.
• You’ll also comment on whether the people solved their problem, learned to
live with it, or handled it in some other way.
Keep Track of Your Ideas
As you read, you’ll make notes about the Big Question. Later you’ll use
these notes to complete the Unit Challenge. See pages R8–R9 for help
with making Foldable 5. The diagram below shows how it should look.
1. Use this Foldable for all the selections in write My Purpose for Reading. To
this unit. On the front cover, write the unit the right of the crease, write The Big
number and the Big Question. Question.
2. Turn the page. Across the top, write the 3. Repeat step 2 until you have all the titles in
selection title. To the left of the crease, your Foldable. (See page 543 for the titles.)
Titl Titl Titl Titl

Title ose The e Title ose The e Title ose The e Title ose The e
Purp Que Big Purp Que Big P urp Que Big Purp Que Big
M eading
y stion M eading
y stion M eading
y stion M eading
y stion
for R for R for R for R
Warm-Up 545
UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS: SHORT STORY
A short story is a brief fictional, or made-up, narrative about people,
places, and events. Unlike a novel, or book-length story, a short story
usually focuses on one incident and its effects on one or a few characters.
Why Read Short Stories?

Skillss Focus Short stories are entertaining. Some stories make you laugh, and others
• Keyy skills for reading short
stretch your imagination. Stories make you think about the challenges
sto
tories
to people face and ways that people stay true to themselves. When you read
•KKey literary elements of
short stories, you’ll not only enjoy yourself but also discover things like these:
short stories • how characters deal with problems similar to yours
• how characters find ways to stay true to themselves
SSkills Model
You will see how to use the
key reading skills and literary
How to Read Short Stories
elements as you read Key Reading Skills
• “Born Worker,” p. 547 These reading skills are especially useful tools for reading and understanding
short stories. You’ll see these skills modeled in the Active Reading Model on
pages 547–557, and you’ll learn more about them later in this unit.
■ Analyzing Looking at the separate parts of a selection to discover how
they work together to express ideas. (See Reading Workshop 1.)
■ Questioning Asking yourself 5 Ws and an H questions about the plot,
characters, setting, and the point of view of a story to make sure you
understand it. (See Reading Workshop 2.)
■ Predicting Making educated guesses about the characters and events
in a story as you learn more about them. (See Reading Workshop 3.)
■ Making Inferences Using clues and “reading between the lines” to
figure out ideas that an author has not directly stated. (See Reading
Workshop 4.)
Key Literary Elements

Recognizing and thinking about the following literary elements will help you
understand more fully what the writer is telling you.
■ Characterization: methods authors use to show what characters are
Objectives like, such as describing what they think and do (See “Cream Puff.”)
(pp. 546–557) ■ Plot: the events in a story and the order in which they are arranged;
Reading Read a short story
Literature Identify literary main plot parts include exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action.
elements: character, plot, theme, (See “One Throw.”)
setting
■ Theme: the lesson in life the characters learn through experience,
such as “honesty is the best policy” (See “The Medicine Bag.”)
■ Setting: the time and place in which the events in a story happen,
including the culture of that time and place (See “The Fire Pond.”)

UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS
The notes in the side columns

model how to use the reading
skills and literary elements
you read about on page 546.
Short Story
ACTIVE READING MODEL
BORN
WORKER
by Gary Soto
T hey said that José was born with a ring of dirt around his
neck, with grime under his fingernails, and skin calloused
from the grainy twist of a shovel. They said his palms were
already rough by the time he was three, and soon after he
learned his primary colors, his squint was the squint of an
aged laborer. They said he was a born worker. By seven he
was drinking coffee slowly, his mouth pursed the way his
mother sipped. He wore jeans, a shirt with sleeves rolled to
his elbows. His eye could measure a length of board, and his
knees genuflected1 over flower beds and leafy gutters.
They said lots of things about José, but almost nothing
of his parents. His mother stitched at a machine all day, 1 Ke y Reading Skill
and his father, with a steady job at the telephone company, Making Inferences The
climbed splintered, sun-sucked poles, fixed wires and author doesn’t say it straight
looked around the city at tree level. 1 out, but I can guess that
“they” are the people in the
“What do you see up there?” José once asked his father.
community. From my own
“Work,” he answered. “I see years of work, mi’jo.” 2 experience in life I can also
José took this as a truth, and though he did well in guess that they approve
school, he felt destined to labor. His arms would pump, of Jose.
his legs would bend, his arms would carry a world of 2 Ke y Literary Element
earth. He believed in hard work, believed that his strength Characterization Early
was as ancient as a rock’s. 2 in the story I learned that
José is a hard worker and
acts grown-up for his age.
1. To genuflect is to kneel respectfully, as in church. I learned these things about
2. The contraction mi’jo stands for the Spanish phrase mi hijo, which means “my son.” José from the narrator.
Genre Focus: Short Story 547

UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS
“Life is hard,” his father

repeated from the time José could
first make out the meaning of
words until he was stroking his
fingers against the grain of his
sandpaper beard.
His mother was an example to
José. She would raise her hands,
showing her fingers pierced from
the sewing machines. She bled on
her machine, bled because there
was money to make, a child to
raise, and a roof to stay under. Analyzing the Photo Which character in the story might this woman
One day when José returned be? Why do you say so?
home from junior high, his cousin
Arnie was sitting on the lawn sucking on a stalk of grass. ACTIVE READING MODEL
José knew that grass didn’t come from his lawn. His was
cut and pampered, clean.
“José!” Arnie shouted as he took off the earphones of
his CD Walkman.
“Hi, Arnie,” José said without much enthusiasm. He
didn’t like his cousin. He thought he was lazy and, worse,
spoiled by the trappings 3 of being middle class. His
parents had good jobs in offices and showered him with
clothes, shoes, CDs, vacations, almost anything he wanted.
Arnie’s family had never climbed a telephone pole to size
up the future. 3 3 Key Literary Element
Arnie rose to his feet, and José saw that his cousin was Plot During this first part of
wearing a new pair of high-tops. He didn’t say anything. the plot, I learned about the
setting, the characters, and
“Got an idea,” Arnie said cheerfully. “Something that’ll
possible conflicts. I can
make us money.” tell there might be a conflict
José looked at his cousin, not a muscle of curiosity between José and Arnie,
twitching in his face. because their lifestyles and
Still, Arnie explained that since he himself was so clever values are so different.
with words, and his best cousin in the whole world was
good at working with his hands, that maybe they might
start a company. 4 4 Key Reading Skill
“What would you do?” José asked. Predicting Arnie is a fast
talker. He could create a
problem for José if they go
3. The trappings of middle class are the things Arnie’s family owns that show they have into business together.
a comfortable life.

Howard Grey/Photodisc/Getty Images
UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

“Me?” he said brightly. “Shoot, I’ll round up all kinds of
jobs for you. You won’t have to do anything.” He stopped,
then started again. “Except—you know—do the work.”
“Get out of here,” José said.
“Don’t be that way,” Arnie begged. “Let me tell you how
it works.”
The boys went inside the house, and while José stripped
off his school clothes and put on his jeans and a T-shirt,
Arnie told him that they could be rich.
“You ever hear of this guy named Bechtel?” 4 Arnie
asked.
José shook his head.
“Man, he started just like us,” Arnie said. “He started
digging ditches and stuff, and the next thing you knew, he
was sitting by his own swimming pool. You want to sit by
your own pool, don’t you?” Arnie smiled, waiting for José
to speak up. 5 5 Key Literary Element
“Never heard of this guy Bechtel,” José said after he Characterization I can tell
rolled on two huge socks, worn at the heels. He opened up what Arnie is like by thinking
about what he says. From
his chest of drawers and brought out a packet of Kleenex. what he says here, Arnie is
Arnie looked at the Kleenex. the kind of guy who wants to
“How come you don’t use your sleeve?” Arnie joked. make a lot of money without
José thought for a moment and said, “I’m not like you.” working hard for it.
He smiled at his retort.
“Listen, I’ll find the work, and then we can split it fifty-
fifty.”
José knew fifty-fifty was a bad deal.
“How about sixty-forty?” Arnie suggested when he
could see that José wasn’t going for it. “I know a lot of
people from my dad’s job. They’re waiting for us.”
José sat on the edge of his bed and started to lace up his
boots. He knew that there were agencies that would find
you work, agencies that took a portion of your pay. They’re
cheats, he thought, people who sit in air-conditioned
offices while others work.
“You really know a lot of people?” José asked.
“Boatloads,” Arnie said. “My dad works with this
millionaire—honest—who cooks a steak for his dog
every day.”
4. Bechtel is probably Stephen D. Bechtel (1900–1989), who was president of a large

and famous construction and engineering company.

UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

He’s a liar, José thought. No matter how he tried, he
couldn’t picture a dog grubbing 5 on steak. The world was
too poor for that kind of silliness.
“Listen, I’ll go eighty-twenty,” José said.
“Aw, man,” Arnie whined. “That ain’t fair.”
José laughed.
“I mean, half the work is finding the jobs,” Arnie
explained, his palms up as he begged José to be reasonable.
José knew this was true. He had had to go door-to-door,
and he disliked asking for work. He assumed that it
should automatically be his since he was a good worker,
honest, and always on time. 6 6 Key Reading Skill
“Where did you get this idea, anyhow?” José asked. Making Inferences José
“I got a business mind,” Arnie said proudly. doesn’t like the way Arnie is
trying to take advantage of
“Just like that Bechtel guy,” José retorted. him. But he knows that Arnie
“That’s right.” will save him the trouble of
José agreed to a seventy-thirty split, with the condition finding jobs, a kind of work
that Arnie had to help out. Arnie hollered, arguing that he does not like to do.
some people were meant to work and others to come up
with brilliant ideas. He was one of the latter. Still, he
agreed after José said it was that or nothing.
In the next two weeks, Arnie found an array of jobs.
José peeled off shingles from a rickety garage roof, carried
rocks down a path to where a pond would go, and
spray-painted lawn furniture. And while Arnie
accompanied him, most of the time he did nothing.
He did help occasionally. He did shake the cans of
spray paint and kick aside debris so that José didn’t
trip while going down the path carrying the rocks.
He did stack the piles of shingles, but almost cried
when a nail bit his thumb. But mostly he told José
what he had missed or where the work could be
improved. José was bothered because he and his
work had never been criticized before.
But soon José learned to ignore his cousin, ignore
his comments about his spray painting, or about the
way he lugged rocks, two in each arm. He didn’t say
anything, either, when they got paid and Arnie
rubbed his hands like a fly, muttering, “It’s payday.”
Analyzing the Photo Which characters
5. Grub is slang for food, so grubbing is eating. do these people remind you of? Why?

CORBIS
UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

Then Arnie found a job scrubbing a drained swimming
pool. The two boys met early at José’s house. Arnie
brought his bike. José’s own bike had a flat that grinned
like a clown’s face.
“I’ll pedal,” José suggested when Arnie said that he
didn’t have much leg strength. 7 7 Key Reading Skill
With Arnie on the handlebars, José tore off, his pedaling Analyzing It’s just like Arnie
so strong that tears of fear formed in Arnie’s eyes. to say something to get out of
doing the hard work of pedal-
“Slow down!” Arnie cried. ing. That fits in with his other
José ignored him and within minutes they were riding comments and actions. You
the bike up a gravel driveway. Arnie hopped off at first can tell that he believes he
chance. shouldn’t have to work hard.
“You’re scary,” Arnie said, picking a gnat from his eye.
José chuckled. 8 8 Key Reading Skill
When Arnie knocked on the door, an old man still in Making Inferences José rides
pajamas appeared in the window. He motioned for the fast because he’s disgusted
with Arnie for pretending that
boys to come around to the back. his legs don’t have much
“Let me do the talking,” Arnie suggested to his cousin. strength. José laughs because
“He knows my dad real good. They’re like this.” He he got back at Arnie.
pressed two fingers together.
José didn’t bother to say OK. He walked the bike into
the backyard, which was lush with plants—roses in their
last bloom, geraniums, hydrangeas, pansies with their
skirts of bright colors. José could make out the splash of
a fountain. Then he heard the hysterical yapping of a
poodle. From all his noise, a person might have thought
the dog was on fire. 9 9 Key Literary Element
“Hi, Mr. Clemens,” Arnie said, extending his hand. Setting This part of the story
“I’m Arnie Sanchez. It’s nice to see you again.” is set at a home where the
family is well off. You can tell
José had never seen a kid actually greet someone like because the back yard is
this. Mr. Clemens said, hiking up his pajama bottoms, “lush with plants” and has
“I only wanted one kid to work.” a fountain. Also, the owner
“Oh,” Arnie stuttered. “Actually, my cousin José really of the house has a poodle.
does the work and I kind of, you know, supervise.” Poodles are sometimes
seen as dogs for rich
Mr. Clemens pinched up his wrinkled face. He seemed
people.
not to understand. He took out a pea-sized hearing aid,
fiddled with its tiny dial, and fit it into his ear, which was
surrounded with wiry gray hair.
“I’m only paying for one boy,” Mr. Clemens shouted.
His poodle click-clicked and stood behind his legs. The
dog bared its small crooked teeth.

UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS
“That’s right,” Arnie said,

smiling a strained smile. “We
know that you’re going to
compensate 6 only one of us.” 10
Mr. Clemens muttered under his
breath. He combed his hair with
his fingers. He showed José the
pool, which was shaped as round
as an elephant. It was filthy with
grime. Near the bottom some
grayish water shimmered and
leaves floated as limp as
cornflakes. Analyzing the Photo What does this photograph of an empty pool
“It’s got to be real clean,” Mr. suggest about the job José has to do?
Clemens said, “or it’s not worth it.”

“Oh, José’s a great worker,” Arnie said. He patted his ACTIVE READING MODEL
cousin’s shoulders and said that he could lift a mule.
Mr. Clemens sized up José and squeezed his shoulders,
10 Key Reading Skill
too. Predicting Arnie probably
“How do I know you, anyhow?” Mr. Clemens asked won’t help José clean the
Arnie, who was aiming a smile at the poodle. pool. Arnie is very lazy, and
“You know my dad,” Arnie answered, raising his smile all he does is talk. I’ll keep
reading to see if my predic-
to the old man. “He works at Interstate Insurance. You and
tion is right.
he had some business deals.”
Mr. Clemens thought for a moment, a hand on his
mouth, head shaking. He could have been thinking about
the meaning of life, his face was so dark.
“Mexican fella?” he inquired.
“That’s him,” Arnie said happily.
José felt like hitting his cousin for his cheerful attitude. 11 11 Key Reading Skill
Instead, he walked over and picked up the white plastic Questioning Why is José
bottle of bleach. Next to it were a wire brush, a pumice so annoyed with Arnie’s
cheerful attitude? Maybe
stone, and some rags. He set down the bottle and, like a José thinks Arnie should be
surgeon, put on a pair of rubber gloves. upset about Mr. Clemens’s
“You know what you’re doing, boy?” Mr. Clemens asked. identifying Arnie’s father as
José nodded as he walked into the pool. If it had been a “Mexican fella.”
filled with water, his chest would have been wet. The new
hair on his chest would have been floating like the legs of
a jellyfish.
6. To compensate is to pay someone for his or her work.

Under The Light/CORBIS
UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

“Oh, yeah,” Arnie chimed, speaking for his cousin.
“José was born to work.”
José would have drowned his cousin if there had been
more water. Instead, he poured a bleach solution into a rag 12 Key Literary Element
and swirled it over an area. He took the wire brush and Plot The tension between
scrubbed. The black algae7 came up like a foamy José and Arnie is growing
here. This must be the rising
monster. 12 action of the plot.
“We’re a team,” Arnie said to Mr. Clemens.
Arnie descended into the pool and took the bleach
bottle from José. He held it for José and smiled up at Mr.
Clemens, who, hands on hips, watched for a while, the
poodle at his side. He cupped his ear, as if to pick up the
sounds of José’s scrubbing.
“Nice day, huh?” Arnie sang.
“What?” Mr. Clemens said.
“Nice day,” Arnie repeated, this time louder. “So which
ear can’t you hear in?” Grinning, Arnie wiggled his ear to
make sure that Mr. Clemens knew what he was asking.
Mr. Clemens ignored Arnie. He watched José, whose
arms worked back and forth like he was sawing logs.
“We’re not only a team,” Arnie shouted, “but we’re also
cousins.”
Mr. Clemens shook his head at Arnie. 13 When he left, 13 Key Reading Skill
the poodle leading the way, Arnie immediately climbed Questioning What is Mr.
out of the pool and sat on the edge, legs dangling. Clemens thinking about
Arnie? Maybe he, too, is dis-
“It’s going to be blazing,” Arnie complained. He shaded
gusted with Arnie’s laziness.
his eyes with his hand and looked east, where the sun was
rising over a sycamore, its leaves hanging like bats.
José scrubbed. He worked the wire
brush over the black and green stains,
the grime dripping like tears. He
finished a large area. He hopped out of
the pool and returned hauling a garden
hose with an attached nozzle. He gave
the cleaned area a blast. When the spray
Visual Vocabulary got too close, his cousin screamed, got
A loquat is a small,
yellowish fruit that up, and, searching for something to do,
is juicy and tart. It picked a loquat from a tree.
grows in bunches.
7. Algae are plants, such as pond scum, that grow in water.

Ottfried Schreiter/imagebroker/Alamy Images
UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

“What’s your favorite fruit?” Arnie asked.
José ignored him.
Arnie stuffed a bunch of loquats into his mouth, then
cursed himself for splattering juice on his new high-tops.
He returned to the pool, his cheeks fat with the seeds,
and once again sat at the edge. He started to tell José
how he had first learned to swim. “We were on vacation
in Mazatlán.8 You been there, ain’t you?”
José shook his head. He dabbed the bleach solution onto
the sides of the pool with a rag and scrubbed a new area.
“Anyhow, my dad was on the beach and saw this
drowned dead guy,” Arnie continued. “And right there,
my dad got scared and realized I couldn’t swim.”
Arnie rattled on about how his father had taught him in
the hotel pool and later showed him where the drowned
man’s body had been.
“Be quiet,” José said.
“What?”
“I can’t concentrate,” José said, stepping back to look at
the cleaned area.
Arnie shut his mouth but opened it to lick loquat juice
from his fingers. He kicked his legs against the swimming
pool, bored. He looked around the backyard and spotted a
lounge chair. He got up, dusting off the back of his pants,
and threw himself into the cushions. He raised and
lowered the back of the lounge. Sighing, he snuggled in.
He stayed quiet for three minutes, during which time José
scrubbed. His arms hurt but he kept working with long
strokes. José knew that in an hour the sun would drench
the pool with light. He hurried to get the job done. 14 14 Key Reading Skill
Arnie then asked, “You ever peel before?” Analyzing Here, the author
José looked at his cousin. His nose burned from the shows the two cousins side
by side, inviting readers to
bleach. He scrunched up his face. contrast Arnie with José.
“You know, like when you get sunburned.” While Arnie lies around
“I’m too dark to peel,” José said, his words echoing eating and talking, José
because he had advanced to the deep end. “Why don’t works so hard his arms hurt.
you be quiet and let me work?”
Arnie babbled on that he had peeled when on vacation
in Hawaii. He explained that he was really more French
8. Mazatlán is a seaport in western Mexico. It is popular with tourists who like

beaches and fishing.

UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

than Mexican, and that’s why his skin was sensitive. He
said that when he lived in France, people thought that he
could be Portuguese or maybe Armenian, never
Mexican. 15 15 Key Reading Skill
José felt like soaking his rag with bleach and pressing Making Inferences It seems
it over Arnie’s mouth to make him be quiet. as if Arnie may be prejudiced
against Mexicans, even
Then Mr. Clemens appeared. He was dressed in white
though he himself has
pants and a flowery shirt. His thin hair was combed so Mexican roots. He seems to
that his scalp, as pink as a crab, showed. think that having a skin tone
“I’m just taking a little rest,” Arnie said. lighter than José’s somehow
Arnie leaped back into the pool. He took the bleach makes him special.
bottle and held it. He smiled at Mr. Clemens, who came
to inspect their progress.
“José’s doing a good job,” Arnie said, then whistled a
song.
Mr. Clemens peered into the pool, hands on knees,
admiring the progress.
“Pretty good, huh?” Arnie asked.
Mr. Clemens nodded. Then his hearing aid fell out, and
José turned in time to see it roll like a bottle cap toward
the bottom of the pool. It leaped into the stagnant water
with a plop. A single bubble went up, and it was gone.
“Dang,” Mr. Clemens swore. He took shuffling steps
toward the deep end. He steadied his gaze on where the
hearing aid had sunk. He leaned over and suddenly,
arms waving, one leg kicking out, he tumbled into the
pool. He landed standing up, then his legs buckled, and
he crumbled, his head striking against the bottom. He
rolled once, and half of his body settled in the water. 16 16 Key Literary Element
“Did you see that!” Arnie shouted, big-eyed. Plot A terrible thing has
José had already dropped his brushes on the side of happened that José has
to deal with. This must be
the pool and hurried to the old man, who moaned, eyes
the climax of the story
closed, his false teeth jutting from his mouth. A ribbon of because the action of
blood immediately began to flow from his scalp. the story has reached
“We better get out of here!” Arnie suggested. “They’re a high point.
going to blame us!”
José knelt on both knees at the old man’s side. He took
the man’s teeth from his mouth and placed them in his
shirt pocket. The old man groaned and opened his eyes,
which were shiny wet. He appeared startled, like a
newborn.

UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS
“Sir, you’ll be all right,” José cooed,

then snapped at his cousin. “Arnie,
get over here and help me!”
“I’m going home,” Arnie whined.
“You punk!” José yelled. “Go
inside and call 911.”
Arnie said that they should leave
him there.
“Why should we get involved?”
he cried as he started for his bike.
“It’s his own fault.”
José laid the man’s head down
and with giant steps leaped out of the pool, shoving his ACTIVE READING MODEL
cousin as he passed. He went into the kitchen and
punched in 911 on a telephone. He explained to the
operator what had happened. When asked the address,
José dropped the phone and went onto the front porch to
look for it.
“It’s 940 East Brown,” José breathed. He hung up and
looked wildly about the kitchen. He opened up the
refrigerator and brought out a plastic tray of ice, which he
twisted so that a few of the cubes popped out and slid
across the floor. He wrapped some cubes in a dish towel.
When he raced outside, Arnie was gone, the yapping
poodle was doing laps around the edge of the pool, and
Mr. Clemens was trying to stand up.
“No, sir,” José said as he jumped into the pool, his own
knees almost buckling. “Please, sit down.”
Mr. Clemens staggered and collapsed. José caught him
before he hit his head again. The towel of ice cubes
dropped from his hands. With his legs spread to absorb
the weight, José raised the man up in his arms, this fragile
man. He picked him up and carefully stepped toward the
shallow end, one slow elephant step at a time. 17 17 Key Reading Skill
“You’ll be all right,” José said, more to himself than to Analyzing It’s interesting
Mr. Clemens, who moaned and struggled to be let free. that José lifts up the old
man. José’s actions show just
The sirens wailed in the distance. The poodle yapped, how grown-up José really is.
which started a dog barking in the neighbor’s yard. Here he’s literally carrying a
“You’ll be OK,” José repeated, and in the shallow end man’s weight, even though
of the pool, he edged up the steps. He lay the old man in he is not yet a man.
the lounge chair and raced back inside for more ice and

Harry Bartlett/Taxi/Getty Images
UNIT 5 GENRE FOCUS

another towel. He returned outside and placed the bundle
of cubes on the man’s head, where the blood flowed. Mr.
Clemens was awake, looking about. When the old man
felt his mouth, José reached into his shirt pocket and
pulled out his false teeth. He fit the teeth into Mr.
Clemens’s mouth and a smile appeared, something bright
at a difficult time. 18 18 Key Literary Element
“I hit my head,” Mr. Clemens said after smacking his Characterization You can
teeth so that the fit was right. tell a lot about José from his
actions. He calmly does what
José looked up and his gaze floated to a telephone pole, has to be done to help Mr.
one his father might have climbed. If he had been there, Clemens. José is a responsi-
his father would have seen that José was more than just a ble, caring young man.
good worker. He would have seen a good man. He held
the towel to the old man’s head. The poodle, now quiet,
joined them on the lounge chair.
A fire truck pulled into the driveway and soon they
were surrounded by firemen, one of whom brought out a
first-aid kit. A fireman led José away and asked what had
happened. He was starting to explain when his cousin
reappeared, yapping like a poodle.
“I was scrubbing the pool,” Arnie shouted, “and I said,
‘Mr. Clemens, you shouldn’t stand so close to the edge.’
But did he listen? No, he leaned over and . . . Well, you
can just imagine my horror.” 19 Key Literary Element
José walked away from Arnie’s jabbering. He walked Theme It looks as if José
away, and realized that there were people like his cousin, has learned something from
the liar, and people like himself, someone he was getting his experiences with Arnie
to know. 19 He walked away and in the midmorning heat and Mr. Clemens. José seems
to think he did the right
boosted himself up a telephone pole. He climbed up and
thing. So the theme of the
saw for himself what his father saw—miles and miles of story may be that it is more
trees and houses, and a future lost in the layers of important to be responsible
yellowish haze. ❍ and caring than rich.
Partner Talk With a partner, take turns retelling parts of the story.
Choose a particular event and give all the important details.
Write to Learn Answer these questions in your Learner’s Notebook:
Why does José walk away and let Arnie tell lies to the firemen? How was
José being true to himself?
Study Central Visit www.glencoe.com and

click on Study Central to review short stories.

READING WORKSHOP 1
Skills Focus
You will practice using these skills when you
read the following selections:
• “Cream Puff,” p. 562
• “The Question of Popularity,”
p. 574 Skill Lesson
Reading
• Analyzing fiction and informa-
Analyzing
tional text
Literature Learn It!

What Is It? You might remember from Unit 2
• Identifying character traits
that when you analyze you take a close look at
• Analyzing characters R the significant elements that make up a story or
• Identifying and analyzing a work of nonfiction. For example, you might look
attention-getting devices at plot, characters, point of view, text structure, and
supporting details. You then figure out how these
Vocabulary elements contribute to the meaning of a selection.
• Recognizing and using base
words to infer meaning
• Academic Vocabulary:
significant
Writing/Grammar
• Identifying clauses and
phrases
reserved.
nted with permission. All rights
PRESS SYNDICATE. Repri
Pett. Dist. By UNIVERSAL
LUCKY COW © 2004 Mark
Analyzing Cartoons
Did these kids analyze the characters
or the look of the book?
Objectives (pp. 558–559)

Reading Analyze text
Academic Vocabulary
significant (sig NIH fih kunt) adj. having meaning; having much
importance
558 UNIT 5
LUCKY COW © 2004 Mark Pett. Dist. By UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
0558-0561_U5RW1APP-845478.indd 558 3/14/07 11:30:25 AM

READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing
Why Is It Important? Analyzing helps you gain a deeper understanding of

the selections you read and the ways that authors put the selections together.
How Do I Do It? To analyze fiction, determine which elements are Study Central Visit
significant and why. Some questions you can ask yourself are as follows: www.glencoe.com and click on
• What is each character in the story like? Study Central to review analyzing.
• How can you tell? Through dialogue? Action? The narrator’s descriptions?
• What, if anything, do the characters learn from their experiences?
• Which characters, if any, change as a result of their experiences?
When analyzing nonfiction, pay attention to text structure and the details
that support the writer’s main idea.
• How does the organization of the text help make the writer’s points clear?
• What kinds of details does the writer include?
Here’s how a student analyzed a passage from a short story.

Tom and Maddy stared out the window of their
log cabin. The blizzard had not let up for two days.
Maddy shivered. A tear ran down her cheek. Tom
looked grim. What if Maddy had their baby before
the storm was over? His horse would never be able
to make the ride to Dr. May’s in deep snow.
You can tell from Maddy’s actions that she is sad and
worried. She shivers, and a tear runs down her cheek. Tom,
on the other hand, is worried and grim. You can tell by
the way he looks and also by the thoughts that are going
through his head. The setting adds to Tom and Maddy’s
problem. The location of their cabin makes it hard to get
a doctor.
Practice It!
Analyze the setting of the passage. When and where do you think the story
takes place? What details make you think so?
Use It!
As you read “Cream Puff,” analyze what the characters are like.
Reading Workshop 1 Analyzing 559

WireImageStock/Masterfile
Before You Read Cream Puff
Vocabulary Preview
swaggered (SWAG urd) v. walked boldly or showed off; form of the verb
swagger (p. 568) It was clear that Jinx had plenty of confidence when
she swaggered onto the basketball court.
barreling (BAIR ul ing) v. running headlong; form of the verb barrel
(p. 568) Jen stepped aside when Jinx came barreling toward her.
Lin n ea D u e
On Your Own In your Learner’s Notebook, answer these questions.
1. If a boy swaggered past you, would you think he was shy or bold?
Meet the Author
2. Which is more likely to go barreling across a field, a horse or a fly?
Linnea Due is the author of
many short stories, novels, English Language Coach
and magazine articles. She
Word Analysis To understand the meaning of a word, it may help to
began playing sports as a
look at its parts. For example, the word unhappy is formed by the prefix un
young child and quickly
and the word happy. Happy is called the base word. Letter combinations
became a fan of basketball,
added to the front of a base word are called prefixes. Letter combinations
baseball, and other sports.
added to the end of a base word are called suffixes. Sometimes there is a
Her novel High and Outside
slight spelling change when a suffix is added.
is about a teen softball player.
See page R1 of The Author You can sometimes figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word by
Files in the back of the book analyzing its parts. Look below at the word unsinkable.
for more on Linnea Due.
unsinkable
un- -able
Author Search For more EL (prefix) (suffix)
about Linnea Due, go to
www.glencoe.com.
sink
(base word)
What does unsinkable mean? If you know that un- means “not” and -able
means “can be done,” you can guess unsinkable means “cannot be sunk.”
Objectives (pp. 560–569) Partner Work For each word below, make a word web like the one above.
Reading Analyze text • Make connections
from text to self • disrespectful • unbeatable • preapproval
Literature Identify literary elements:
character
Vocabulary Use structural analysis:
roots, bases, prefixes, suffixes

Linnea Due
0558-0561_U5RW1APP-845478.indd 560 3/12/07 5:22:05 PM

Skills Preview Get Ready to Read

Key Reading Skill: Analyzing Connect to the Reading
Think of a time when you had a problem and turned
As you read “Cream Puff,” you’ll be asked to analyze
to others for advice. Did their suggestions help or did
the conflicts that Jen, the main character, has. You’ve
you have to figure out a solution on your own?
already learned that there can be external conflict
between the main character and Write to Learn In a few sentences in your Learner’s
• another person Notebook, explain how you solved the problem.
• nature, in the form of animals or floods and so forth
• a person and society Build Background
There can also be internal conflict, a struggle of emo- Women first played basketball at the college level in
tions going on within the character. As you’re reading the 1890s. Both on the court and off, women wore
“Cream Puff,” watch for signs of both kinds of conflict. long dresses because it was thought to be in bad taste
for a woman to show more than her head, neck, and
Key Literary Element: Characterization hands in public. Players sometimes tripped over the
A character is an individual in a story or other literary hems of their long skirts, hurting themselves. Uniforms
work. The qualities that make up a character’s person- changed in the late 1890s, when female players began
ality are character traits. A character might be greedy wearing bloomers—baggy shorts gathered at the knee.
or generous, cowardly or courageous, kind or mean,
“Cream Puff” takes place at a fictional basketball camp
and so on. The author reveals these traits through
for teens. At basketball camps, kids work to improve
characterization. Methods of characterization include
their playing skills.
describing what a character looks like, says, thinks, and
does and what other characters say about the character. The narrator in “Cream Puff” uses real basketball terms:
• Characters with several sides to their personalities • drove for the basket (ran quickly and aggressively
are dynamic (dye NAM ik) characters. They grow toward the basket)
and change as a result of their experiences.
• pump-faked (pretended to throw)
• Characters with only one or two traits are static
• possession (control of the ball)
(STAT ik) characters. They don’t change during the
course of the story. • turnover (when one team loses the ball and the
other team takes possession)
The main character of a story is usually dynamic.
Minor characters are usually static.
Set Purposes for Reading
Small Group Discussion With a small group of Read “Cream Puff” to find out
classmates, make a list of main characters from recent how the main character stays true to herself.
movies or TV shows you’ve seen. Together, label each
character on the list either “dynamic” or “static.” Give Set Your Own Purpose What else would you
reasons for each label you use. like to learn from the selection to help you answer
the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the
“Cream Puff” page of Foldable 5.
Elements Handbook To review or learn

more about the literary elements, go
to www.glencoe.com.
Keep Moving
Use these skills as you read “Cream Puff.”
Cream Puff 561

READING WORKSHOP 1
CREAM PUFF
by Linnea Due
O kay, I stepped aside. Wait a minute—step is too big a

word. My big toe shifted a half inch to the left. Maybe my
Practice the Skills
heel. I couldn’t believe Coach Brandt could even notice, but

she did, and she’s been screaming at me ever since. Wuss.
Cream puff. Scared of your own shadow. Things that make you
laugh in real life or get up in someone’s face just to show you
can. In basketball, when the coach says those things, you’re
dead meat. The other kids stopped looking at me. I could
smell the shame. 1 1 Key Reading Skill
That huge girl was caroming1 down the court like a three- Analyzing Jen says that she is
foot-wide brick wall on Rollerblades. Who wouldn’t slide “dead meat” and that she could
south? Only that’s exactly what you can’t do. You have to “smell the shame.” From these
descriptions, you can tell that
stand in there, take the hit. Dad’s told me, over and over. “I’m
she’s having an internal conflict,
small, Jen,” he points out, and at six feet, he is, for basketball or troubling feelings.
anyway. “These big guys’d come and bust me up. I had
bruises up and down my arms, on my chest . . . even my
neck! But you gotta take the hits if you’re gonna play.”
He was mad ‘cause I’d told him I’d had it with basketball.
When I used to play with the little kids, we didn’t bust each
other up on purpose. Then I got into the city league when
I was eight and learned how real kids play. Rough. They
muscle you out of the way and they stomp on your foot and
they jab you with their elbows. Mom wanted me to quit the
first day. I might have if I’d thought of it first. Every time I
1. Caroming is hitting and bouncing off like a ball. The big girl was pushing off the other players
on her way down the court.

Mike Powell/Allsport Concepts/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 1
wanted to quit afterward, what came up in my head was a

picture of Mom saying, “I told you so,” or Dad with a really
disappointed look on
his face. 2 Four years
after that first day at
city league, I still
don’t like getting hit.
When the coach
ran out of stuff to
call me, I slunk off
the court and sat on
the bench. Nobody
came near me;
nobody wanted to
catch what I had. I
could see everybody
on the floor tighten
up and start
popping each other
good—it looked
like the WWF 2 out
there. Still, if you had to choose between getting smashed Analyzing the Photo What does
the photo add to your understanding
in the nose and having Coach Brandt call you a cream puff, of the relationship between Jen and
what would you pick? There’s no shame in a broken nose. her coach?
Keisha swung down next to me. “Whatcha scared of her
for?” she asked. “She’s just a big slow white girl.” Then she
giggled. “You’re a big fast white girl, and that gives you Practice the Skills
the edge.” 3
2 English Language Coach
Keisha was one of my roommates back in the dorm at San
Word Analysis The word
Francisco State. All of us had been chosen by our schools or
afterward has two parts: the
city leagues to come to Bay Eagles coach Katherine Brandt’s base word after and the suffix
weeklong basketball camp. It was a huge honor, and now I -ward, which means “in the
was worried that Sharon Demming should have been picked direction of.” Other words that
instead of me. I felt like a pretend Rising Young Star, not a have this suffix are toward, for-
ward, and backward.
real one. And I sure didn’t like how that slow white girl—
her name tag read JINX—kept catching my eye just so I 3 Key Literary Element
wouldn’t miss her sneering at me. She reminded me of my
Characterization From what
uncle Robert, who can always find something mean to say Keisha says, you can tell two of
about anybody. her character traits. She is sup-
portive of her friends, and she
has a sense of humor.
2. The WWF is the World Wrestling Federation.
Cream Puff 563

Jim Cummins/CORBIS
READING WORKSHOP 1
By the time we got back to the dorm, my roommates had Practice the Skills
teased me so much, I felt better. Evelyn told me that Coach
Brandt had a reputation for being really hard on people. I
said I figured every coach has that reputation, but Evelyn said
no, that her coach in Long Beach was really sweet and gave
everybody candy. Keisha said she’d never heard of coaches
giving out candy and was her coach a dirty old man? Evelyn
laughed for a whole minute, and then Keisha turned to me
and said, “That girl was big! I woulda got out of her way, too.”
But that night, when the others were asleep, I started
worrying again. What if it turned out I was a fraidy-cat?
What if being scared was something I couldn’t make go
away? I love basketball. I love it more than eating and TV
and video games and even swimming, which is what I love
second best. I’m already five-seven, and like Keisha says, I’m
fast and I can jump, too. I’ve got a chart on my wall at home
that lists the top teams—the Tennessee Lady Vols, LSU,
UConn, the Georgia Bulldogs, and closer to home, Stanford
and Cal. The chart measures my height, so I can look at it and
see I’ve gained two inches this year alone. I think about how
everything’s coming together: my desire, my body, my ability.
I can’t be afraid! 4 4 Key Reading Skill
To get to sleep, I pictured myself shooting baskets, keeping Analyzing State the internal
my wrist loose and letting the ball trail off my fingers like conflict that is bothering Jen.
I’m caressing a baby. I run it through my head so often, I can Think about these things:
make it happen for real—it’s called visualizing. That doesn’t • She doesn’t want to disappoint
her father.
mean I don’t practice 24/7. I spend so much time shooting
baskets that Mr. Ashton next door asked Mom to put up a • She doesn’t like being hit.
sound wall. He was joking, I think. 5 • She says she loves basketball
more than anything.
The next day, Jinx was waiting near the basket, a slight
• She says she thought that
smile on her face. Even though we’re the same height, she
everything was “coming
outweighs me by twenty pounds, and it was easy for her to together” for her.
muscle me aside. Keisha looked worried. “Stick it to her,
Suburban. Make her back off.” I tried to stay in front of her 5 Key Literary Element
when she drove for the basket, but I was concentrating so Characterization Jen practices
“24/7.” What does this tell you
much on sticking to my spot that I forgot to defend. Coach
about her personality?
Brandt was on me in a heartbeat. “You’re not in the game,
Jennifer,” she warned. “If you didn’t come to play, you might
as well get on the bus back to Sacramento.” I could feel my
face turning red and my eyes going black, which they always
do when I’m mad.

READING WORKSHOP 1
But a minute later I was back to chewing on my bottom lip. Practice the Skills
What could I do about Jinx? She was standing by the bench
with a couple of other girls, and the three of them kept
glancing over at me and rolling their eyes. Keisha stayed
right on my shoulder, but I didn’t want her fighting my fights.
What would Dad do? He wouldn’t let some big old player get
up over his head every other minute, no matter how short he
was. No answer came. Trying to figure out what my dad
would do made me more nervous ‘cause I didn’t know, and
that was even worse than not being able to handle Jinx in the
first place. 6 6 Key Reading Skill
All that practice, I kept trying to show her up, but instead Analyzing Jen’s internal conflict
everything I did played into her hands. If I stood still, she is getting more complicated. Why
went up over me. When she pump-faked, I jumped, and does thinking about her dad
make her even more nervous?
then she shot as I was coming down. Every mistake made
me more upset, and the more upset I got, the more mistakes
I made.
Analyzing the Photo What

aspect of Jennifer’s experience
at basketball camp might this
photo illustrate?
Cream Puff 565

READING WORKSHOP 1
“She’s rattled you,” Evelyn said. She was the pretty one Practice the Skills
in our little group—her mother was Filipino and her dad
African American. “Forget Keisha and her gang banging.
Just play your own game.”
But that was the problem—I didn’t have one. I felt blank,
like a window that opened onto nothing.
As we were leaving that afternoon, Coach Brandt called me
over. “There will always be bullies, Jennifer,” she said quietly.
“At some point you’ll have to learn to deal with them.” 7
As she walked away, my eyes went black again, and this
time I couldn’t stop myself. “Wait a second,” I called to her, 7 English Language Coach
knowing I was stepping over the line and not caring. “You Word Analysis What is the
have to say more than that. You’re the coach!” suffix that makes the word
She turned back with a laugh. “You want me to motivate quietly an adverb instead of an
adjective?
you? Okay, here’s the best advice I can give: Motivate yourself
or get out. This game is too demanding to depend on a coach
or your parents or your teammates to keep you in. You’ve got
the ability to go all the way—and that’s not something I say
to many kids. But you need more than ability to make it. You
even need more than wanting it so badly you can taste it.”
She could see the surprise cross my face, and she nodded as
if it confirmed something she already knew. She took a deep
breath and said, “You need drive to make it work. You can
have the best engine on the face of this planet, and if you
don’t have a starter,3 you’ll never go an inch. That’s what
drive is, and it’s what you’re missing, Jennifer. I hope you
find it.” 8 8 Key Literary Skill
That night I called my mother. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Characterization Coach
She could always tell when I had a problem. I said, “I keep Brandt has been giving Jen a
thinking about Dad. He never gave up, and he was so small.” hard time all week. Do you think
what the coach says here shows
She waited for me to go on, and when I didn’t, I could hear
more of the same or a different
her sigh. “Jen, I know you won’t believe this, but basketball attitude toward Jen? Explain.
isn’t very important to your father. It never was.”
“But that can’t be true,” I sputtered. “All he ever does is
talk about it.” I started to say more, but what was the point
in arguing when I knew she was wrong? After a moment,
she sighed again and asked me if I’d worn holes in any more
socks and was my hair still in my eyes. Thanks, Mom.
3. The starter is the part of a car engine that turns it on.

READING WORKSHOP 1
But when I went

back to the room,
Evelyn started talking
about how her dad
always goes to the
playground with her,
and I suddenly felt
like somebody had
dumped a bucket of
ice-cold water on my
head. Dad was too
busy to come to my
games, much less
play in the driveway
with me. The couple
of times I’d gotten
him to play, I was
surprised at how
bad he was. He
blustered about how he’d lost his Analyzing the Photo Jennifer’s coach tells her that she needs drive in
edge and did a lot of shoving and order to succeed. How does the girl in this photo exhibit that quality?
jumping around, but now that I was
looking close, I could see how maybe that edge had never Practice the Skills
been sharp. 9
I didn’t want to get out of bed the next morning. Here I 9 Reading Skill Review
was, at the statewide camp, finding out I’m a cream puff and Monitoring Comprehension
my dad all talk and no help at all, and this girl Jinx was Jen realizes something impor-
tant about her dad here. Do
going to make me look even worse than I did yesterday,
you “get” what it is? Make sure
‘cause yesterday I had Dad to help and today I didn’t. When by putting it in your own words.
I pulled the pillow over my head, Keisha told me she was
going to jump on me, so I had to get up or risk broken ribs
on top of a broken heart. How could my dad have pretended
like that to me?
While I warmed up, I pictured my dad scrimmaging 4 with
the starters season after season, knowing he wouldn’t get into
the games. I knew the other guys liked him, ‘cause they’d call 10 Key Literary Element
when they came through Sacramento, and Dad would have Characterization What char-
them over to the house. Maybe what Dad really missed was acter trait does Jen’s thinking
being on a team. 10 in this paragraph reveal about
her? Think about how angry she
was with her father and how
4. Scrimmaging is playing practice games. she feels about him now.
Cream Puff 567

Tim Pannell/CORBIS
READING WORKSHOP 1
When Jinx came pounding down the Practice the Skills

court at me during the drills, I stood in
there and took hit after hit. I felt so bad,
I didn’t care if I got hurt. But here’s the
Visual Vocabulary
A comet is a bright terrible part: all my blocking didn’t stop
heavenly body made her making the shots. Oh, a couple of
mostly of ice and dust.
It develops a cloudy times I tipped away the ball, but I could
tail when it orbits tell I wasn’t playing good, and I just didn’t
near the sun.
know what else to do. My Rising Young
Star was blinking out like a dying comet. 11 11 Key Reading Skill
By the time Coach Brandt called lunch, I was so low, I could Analyzing Jen repeats the
have crawled across the floor. Why was I even here? For phrase “Rising Young Star.”
Mom? She’d wanted me to quit the first day. For Dad? Mom What part of her internal
was right; he really didn’t care about basketball. He talked it conflict does this represent?
all the time ‘cause he wanted to connect with me, and he

knew there was no better way to do that than talk basketball.
Besides, now that I was seeing the awful truth, I realized that
Dad couldn’t have helped me much anyway—we were very
different players. I was tall and he was short, I was fast and
cagey, and he was more like a battering ram.5 I didn’t have
anybody’s footsteps to walk in, except maybe my own. And
that’s when it really hit me—basketball was my game, not
Dad’s, not Mom’s, not even Keisha’s or Evelyn’s. When Evelyn
told me to play my own game, she meant to burrow deep
under the surface of what basketball looked like and find out
where I lived. 12 12 Key Reading Skill
After lunch, when Jinx swaggered back onto the court for Analyzing What do you learn
scrimmages, I was ready for her. On the first possession, from the way Jen finally resolves
when she came barreling toward me, I sidestepped her easily her internal conflict?
and snagged the ball as she came past. I could see Keisha’s
eyes widen—would Coach Brandt yell at me ‘cause I’d moved
aside? But she didn’t say a word—she stood near the bench,
her eyes narrowed in concentration. In the next five minutes,
I trailed two shots over Jinx’s shoulder, and the coach made a
note on her clipboard. Why challenge Jinx head-to-head? She
5. In the Middle Ages, a battering ram was a big, heavy log used to break down the gates
of a castle.
Vocabulary
swaggered (SWAG urd) v. walked boldly or showed off
barreling (BAIR ul ing) v. running headlong

Digital Vision/Getty Images
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READING WORKSHOP 1
Analyzing the Photo Going up for a rebound, these four girls compete for the win.
What did Jennifer learn at basketball camp about competition? What does this photo show
about competition?
Practice the Skills
was heavier and slower, and that made her easy to beat. She
tried to run right over me a few times, and I avoided her like
a matador 6 teases a bull. I could see the worry lines start in
her forehead, and I felt sorry for her. A big smile was building
on Evelyn’s face, and Keisha had begun to laugh. 13 13
The third time I forced a turnover, Keisha shouted, Jen has found a way to stay
“Go-o-o, Cream Puff!” I could tell the name was going to true to herself. What is it? Write
your answer on the “Cream
stick, and it has, even after me and Evelyn and Keisha came
Puff” page of Foldable 5. Your
back this year for our second camp. The kids that go to the response will help you com-
camp all know each other, and word travels fast. plete the Unit Challenge later.
I still don’t like getting hit. Nobody does—it’s just part of
the game. But I love being called Cream Puff. It reminds me
of that summer I figured out who was missing from the
court: me. ❍
6. In bullfighting, the matador, or bullfighter, teases the bull by making it chase after his cape.
Cream Puff 569

After You Read Cream Puff
Answering the
1. Do you think Jen would have stayed true to herself if she had quit
basketball? Why or why not?
2. Recall What advice does Coach Brandt give Jen about how to succeed
at basketball?
T IP Right There
3. Summarize What does Jen learn about her dad from her mother?
Sum it up in a sentence.
T IP Right There
Critical Thinking
4. Infer Why doesn’t Jen want Keisha to fight her fights?
T IP Author and Me
5. Evaluate Do you think Coach Brandt is right to call Jen a “cream puff”
in order to motivate her? Why or why not?
T IP On My Own
Talk About Your Reading

Small Group Discussion What is Jen like? With a small group of class-
mates, discuss Jen’s character traits. Each person should name a different
character trait, then name the method of characterization the author uses
to reveal the trait. Record your group’s responses on a chart like the one
pictured below. An example has been filled in to help you start.
Character Trait Method(s) of Characterization

Objectives (pp. 570–571) 1. insecure what Jen says about feeling
Reading Analyze text
ashamed (p. 562) and what she
Literature Identify literary
elements: character thinks about late at night (p. 564)
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: 2.
roots, bases, prefixes, suffixes
Grammar Identify clauses and phrases
3.

Skills Review Grammar Link: Clauses

Key Reading Skill: Analyzing and Phrases
6. Why does Jen fail several times before figur- A clause is a group of words that work together to
ing out how to motivate herself? Support your express meaning and that contain a subject and a
answer with specific details from the story. predicate. A phrase is a group of words that work
7. What do you think the story says about what together but do not contain a subject and predicate.
it takes to succeed? Why do you say so? Use
examples from the story to back up your answer. Earlier, you learned that an independent clause can
stand alone as a simple sentence. That’s because an
Key Literary Element: Characterization independent clause expresses a complete thought. A
dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete
8. Which characters in the story are static? Which
sentence. It does not express a complete thought.
are dynamic? How can you tell? Using the list
It “depends on” an independent clause to make its
of characters that follows, label each character
meaning complete.
either “static” or “dynamic.” Explain each choice.
Dependent Clause: when she is happy
Jen • Keisha • Coach Brandt • Jinx
Independent Clause: Mom sings
9. Did you learn more about Jen from what she Dependent Clause + Independent Clause:
said or from what she did? Explain. When she is happy, Mom sings.
A phrase does not express a complete thought.

Vocabulary Check Types of phrases include (a) modifying phrases,
Copy the following sentences on a separate sheet (b) noun phrases, and (c) verb phrases.
of paper. Then fill in each blank correctly with either (a) Early Tuesday morning, we will leave.
swaggered or barreling. (b) My brother, sister, and I have packed.
10. The cart got loose and went _____ down the (c) For two weeks we will be traveling.
path.
11. In his new leather jacket, Manny _____ into the Grammar Practice
room. On a separate sheet of paper, identify whether
the underlined words are a phrase or a clause.
English Language Coach As you read “Cream
17. The drama teacher watched the rehearsal.
Puff,” you analyzed the words afterward and quietly.
Use what you learned to define the words below. 18. I’m going to the school dance with my friends.
12. seaward 19. When the movie ends, we can go shopping.
13. skyward 20. If I get a part in the school play, I will be happy.
14. secretly
15. thoughtfully
16 . Academic Vocabulary Are significant details
in a story the most or least important ones?
Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection

Quick Checks, and other Web activities,
go to www.glencoe.com.
Cream Puff 571

Before You Read The Question of

Popularity
Meet the Author
Tamara Eberlein has written Vocabulary Preview
many articles about mental factor (FAK tur) n. something that produces or contributes to a certain
and physical health as well result (p. 574) The amount of time people spend studying is very
as parenting. She is also the frequently a factor in their grades.
author of books on child obnoxious (ub NOK shus) adj. very disagreeable or offensive (p. 574) The
development. Eberlein is boys in that “in” crowd are obnoxious and often put others down.
the mother of twins.
majority (muh JOR ih tee) n. more than half; the greater part (p. 575)
The majority of people are nice; only a few cause problems.
Author Search For more Think-Pair-Share Use the three vocabulary words in a paragraph. Leave
about Tamara Eberlein, go blanks where the vocabulary words go. Then pair up with a classmate and
to www.glencoe.com. trade paragraphs. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph.
English Language Coach

Word Families A word family is a group of words that have the same
base word. For example, all the words on the web below are in the same
family because they all have use as their base word. In each case, either a
prefix (mis-, re-) or a suffix (-able, -less) has been added to the base word
to form a new word. Take a few minutes to study the chart.
EL
use
misuse useless
reuse usable
Whole Class Discussion Brainstorm a list of words in the same word

family as act. Come up with at least two words created with prefixes and
two words created with suffixes. Record your list on a web.
act
Reading Analyze text • Make connections
from text to self
Informational text Identify text
elements: direct quotations
word families

Linnea Due
0570-0573_U5RW1APP-845478.indd 572 3/12/07 5:23:23 PM


Key Reading Skill: Analyzing Connect to the Reading
As you read “The Question of Popularity,” you’ll be Think about the importance of popularity in your
asked to analyze the main idea and supporting details. school. How much does popularity matter to you
To prepare for the analysis, look over the article. and your friends? To most kids at your school?
Whole Class Discussion As a class, discuss which Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, list
paragraphs on the first page of the article form the the advantages and disadvantages of being popular.
introduction and what you think the main idea of the
article is. What details do you think the author might Build Background
present to support that main idea? People of all ages like to form social groups. Some
groups are carefully organized; others are informal.
Text Element: Direct Quotations Cliques are small, snobbish, informal associations.
Direct quotations tell exactly what people said Clique members try to hang on to a special advantage—
in their own words. Authors of nonfiction use direct such as a leadership position—by refusing to let “non-
quotations for many reasons: members” join.
• to develop a main idea
Studies show that most kids who make bad decisions
• to add vivid details to writing
are with their friends at the time. They’re giving in
• to analyze what someone said to peer pressure—pressure from members of their
• to persuade the reader to agree with them by social group to act certain ways in order to “fit in.”
quoting experts who share their opinion Of course, peers can be good role models too. They
can encourage good values, healthy behaviors, and
As you read “The Question of Popularity,” notice teamwork—if kids choose the right peers to listen to.
when the author quotes someone. Then ask yourself
these questions: Set Purposes for Reading
• Why does the author quote this person? Read “The Question of
• What does this quotation add to the article? Popularity” to find out what other kids in middle
school think about popularity.
Partner Talk Interview a classmate in order to write Set Your Own Purpose What else would you
a one-paragraph biography of him or her. To add vivid like to learn from the selection to help you answer
detail to the biography, directly quote the person at the Big Question? Write your own purpose on
least once. Be sure to put quotation marks both before “The Question of Popularity” page of Foldable 5.
(“) and after (”) the quotation.
Interactive Literary Elements Handbook Keep Moving

To review or learn more about the literary
elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Use these skills as you read “The Question
of Popularity.”
The Question of Popularity 573

READING WORKSHOP 1
The Question of
Popularity
Sean Murphy/Stone/Getty Images

How much does popularity matter?
By TAMARA EBERLEIN Being popular isn’t as important as having a few close
friends who accept you for who you are.
B
eing popular means that other kids think you’re
cool. It doesn’t mean (as many parents may think)
that the cool kids are especially well liked or nice
or admired for their smarts. Popular kids may be
envied for their cool factor, but they may not have a lot of
close friends.
If you’re like most middle schoolers, you’ve probably thought
about how much (or perhaps how little) popularity matters to
you. It’s not unusual to want to fit in. But it’s more important
to have a few close friends, accept yourself for who you are,
and be comfortable with the people you do hang out with. 1 1 Key Reading Skill
Analyzing What opinion is the
The In Crowd writer stating in the final sen-
tence of this paragraph?
Kids know that in most schools there is an “in crowd” of kids Does that opinion give you a
who are the most popular. Emily Kaplan, a middle schooler clue about the article’s main
in Larchmont, New York, describes her school’s in crowd this idea? Explain.
way: “The girls are kind of snobby, the boys obnoxious. If
Vocabulary
factor (FAK tur) n. something that produces or contributes to a certain result
obnoxious (ub NOK shus) adj. very disagreeable or offensive
0574-0577_U5RW1SEL-845478.indd 574 3/15/07 2:31:06 PM

READING WORKSHOP 1
you laugh at something, they just go, ‘That’s not funny.’ [But]
when you’re alone together, the popular girls are really nice.”
Emily’s friend Liana Diamond adds, “When they’re with their
other friends, they don’t talk to you.”
Who is popular varies from place to place. And of course,
not every popular kid is obnoxious or a snob or unfriendly.
Believe it or not, for some kids who are popular, it’s hard
work to stay that way. Trying to stay on top can cause stress
and insecurity because who’s popular and who’s not can
change daily. 2 2 Key Reading Skill
Analyzing How does this para-
The Middle Group graph help support the main
idea that “it’s more important to
The majority of kids fall somewhere in between the top and have a few close friends . . . and
the bottom—and many adults say that kids in the middle be comfortable with the people
group may be happiest and best off. “These kids have several you do hang out with”?
close friends and are also part of a larger group that explores
their interests, like soccer or music. They aren’t overly caught
up in the popularity game,” says Sandy Sheehy, who has 3 Text Element
written a book about friendships. “What’s important is not Direct Quotations Explain
[if you get] invited to the ‘right’ sleepovers. It’s whether [you how the quotations in this
paragraph help support the idea
have] a few close friends.”
that “it’s more important to have
Margaret Sagarese, coauthor of a book about cliques, has a few close friends . . . and be
a tip for kids who are trying to figure out where they belong. comfortable with the people you
She suggests that you keep a list of what you like about do hang out with.”
yourself. “Social acceptance and
personal acceptance are two
very different things. [You] need
to see that liking [yourself] is
more important than being part
of the in crowd,” she says. 3 If
being a part of the in group
means acting in ways that you
wouldn’t normally act or want
to act, then stay true to yourself.
Make decisions according to
Michael Newman/PhotoEdit
your own values. Don’t be afraid

to be you.
Vocabulary
Having several close friends and being part of a larger group may make kids
majority (muh JOR ih tee) n. more than half; happiest and best off.
the greater part

READING WORKSHOP 1
The Free Thinkers

What makes a kid less than popular? Sometimes it’s the
“wrong” clothes. Sometimes it’s an embarrassing incident
that a young person can’t live down. And sometimes there’s
just no way of knowing.
“My friends and I are kind of the geeky group,” says
Zach McGraw,* a middle schooler in South Bend, Indiana.
“I’ve wished I could be popular millions of times. But I’ve
managed to find a good group to hang out with.”
Kids like Zach might find a new friend or a group to hang
out with outside of school—at church, synagogue,1 martial
arts classes, book clubs, or summer camps. Seeking out others
with similar interests is often a good place to start trying to
fit in and to develop relationships.
Having one good friend whom you can connect with
makes a world of difference. When you like who that person
is and can trust that person—then you have a true friendship
that will last. Good friends build us up and help us feel
confident about ourselves. They will most likely be around
long after the in crowd is just a memory. 4 4 Key Reading Skill
Analyzing In these two para-
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: graphs the writer is giving advice.
How does that advice support
Kids Talk About Popularity the idea that “it’s more important
Want to know what other teens really think about cliques, to have a few close friends . . .
geeks, and being cool? Read on for the innermost thoughts and be comfortable with the
of middle schoolers. people you do hang out with”?
BABYJOHN : “At my old school I didn’t have many friends.

When I moved, I was suddenly accepted into the in crowd.
But I have bad memories of being unpopular, and I sometimes
worry that my closest friends will exclude me.”
RIVERRUNNER : “I had no real friends for about one-third of

the year. When I finally thought I had found a true friend,
she said to me that a different girl we hang out with was
‘popular,’ that she was ‘semipopular,’ and that ‘no offense, but
you’re a total geek.’ 5 Now we just don’t ever talk, and I am 5 English Language Coach
more happy with the not-so-popular group. And I have a few Word Families The words
friends outside of school that I hang out with.” unpopular and semipopular
belong to the same word family.
What is their base word?
* Name and location have been changed to protect privacy.
1. A synagogue is a Jewish house of worship.

READING WORKSHOP 1
CHERRY-COLA : “Lately, I have been feeling so unhip. I buy

clothes and jewelry that make me seem more like everyone
else. I feel as though I have to keep updating myself so that
other people won’t think I’m a loser. How you dress has
everything to do with who you are.”
TESTSCHIK182 : “My best friend of five years was put in

classes with all of the popular people. She’ll do anything to
be in the in crowd. I am definitely not a dork, but I’m not
popular. [My best friend] has started to ignore me in the hall.
How can I talk to her without feeling like an idiot? Her new
friends aren’t true friends at all.”
MARISSA : “At the beginning of this year, the most popular

guy in school liked me. I had tons of friends. But toward the
middle of the year, Mr. Popular dumped me. Now I’m really
lonely, I get made fun of a lot, and most kids don’t like me.”
HAPPY DUDE : “I get teased, hit, punched. I don’t know if I 6 Text Element
should hit them back or just run away; I feel that rips apart my
Direct Quotations Everybody
courage and self-confidence. I don’t know what to do.” 6 quoted in this section is a kid.
What makes the kids experts on
SHORTY11: “During the school year, I was rejected and not
this topic?
invited to parties, movies, etc. But once the summer began, I
met new people who accepted me for who I was, not for the 7
clothing I wore or for my looks. So my advice to other kids Why do some kids find it difficult
is to hang on to the friends you’ve got and make an effort to to stay true to themselves when
meet new people.” 7 making friends? Write your
answer on “The Question of
Popularity” page of Foldable 5.
—Updated 2005, from Family Life, August 2001 Your response will help you
complete the Unit Challenge later.

After You Read The Question of

Popularity
Answering the
1. In your opinion, is staying true to yourself more important than being
popular? Why or why not?
2. Recall According to the writer of the article, what three groups do
middle school students fall into?
T IP Think and Search
3. Summarize Sum up the article’s main idea and most important
Sean Murphy/Stone/Getty Images
supporting details in a few sentences.

Critical Thinking
4. Infer What two or three qualities would the writer say make a
good friend? Why?
T IP Author and Me
5. Connect Review the quotations at the end of the article. Do they help
you connect to the article? Give reasons for your answer.
T IP Author and Me
6. Evaluate Did the writer succeed in convincing you of her opinion?
Why or why not? Support your answer with details from the article.
T IP Author and Me
Write About Your Reading

Essay Write a short essay to express your opinion about social groups
Reading Analyze text • Make
in your school. Consider these questions before you begin to write.
connections from text to self • Are social groups important to most kids in middle school?
Informational text Identify text
elements: direct quotations
• Is there any advantage to belonging to a particular social group?
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: • What are the different social groups in your school?
word families
Writing Respond to literature: essay
Grammar Identify clauses and phrases Be sure to state your opinion clearly in your introduction. Give convincing
supporting details to explain and elaborate on your opinion.

Skills Review Grammar Link: Clauses

Key Reading Skill: Analyzing and Phrases as Parts
7. When you analyzed the selection, what evidence
did you find to support that main idea? Did your
of Speech
analysis make you think there should be more A clause can take the place of a one-word part of
evidence? Explain your answer. speech in a sentence. A phrase also can take the place
of a one-word part of speech.
Text Element: Direct Quotations
Noun clauses take the place of nouns.
8. What do the student quotations add to the
article? Give examples from the article to support • Whoever scores the next point wins.
your answer. Adjective clauses take the place of adjectives.
• The ball, which he had hit hard , soared high.
Adverb clauses take the place of adverbs.
Vocabulary Check • When he hit it , the ball soared over our heads.
Answer each sentence true or false. Rewrite every
false statement to make it true. Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and
9. Watching too much TV can be a factor in the end with a noun or pronoun. They take the place of
grades a student receives. adjectives or adverbs.
10. An obnoxious person is friendly and helpful. • The chapter about the rescue was exciting.
11. A majority is always less than half of the total. (The prepositional phrase about the rescue functions
12. English Language Coach Find at least three as an adjective to describe the noun chapter.)
words in the article that belong to the same • The rescue team pulled the dog from the river.
word family as friend. Create a word web like
the one below for this word family. (The prepositional phrase from the river functions as
an adverb to describe the verb pulled.)
Verbal phrases act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

friend
As Noun: Bicycling in the mountains is hard work.
As Adjective: Staring outside, she saw rain.
As Adverb: We will hike to exercise.
Grammar Practice
13. Academic Vocabulary Is the main idea of an Copy the underlined phrases on a separate sheet of
article the most or least significant idea in the paper. Write which part of speech each one is.
whole selection? Explain. 14. We built a feeder to feed wild birds.
15. However, squirrels climbed into the feeder.
16. They ate all the seeds that we placed there.
17. Stopping the squirrels was hard.
Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Writing Application Underline two clauses or
Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go phrases you used as parts of speech in your essay.
to www.glencoe.com.

WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1
Short Story
Prewriting and Drafting
When you read a short story, you have the opportunity to connect to the
ASSIGNMENT Write a characters, learn something about the world, and learn something about
short story yourself. When you write a short story, you do the same thing, except you
Purpose: To tell a story get to decide what happens in the story.
about a character who
struggles to stay true to Writing about a character’s personal struggle, or conflict, will help you think
himself or herself about the Unit 5 Big Question: How do you stay true to yourself? As you
Audience: Your teacher write your short story, refer to the Writing Handbook, pp. R17–R27.
and your classmates
Your story should have the basic elements you find in short stories.
• Characters are the actors in the story. They are who the story is about.
Writing Rubric • Conflict is the struggle or problem your main character must solve. It’s
As you write your short what the story is about. Conflict is developed through plot, which is the
story, you should sequence of events that occurs in the story.
• stay focused on the conflict • Setting is the place and time in which the story happens. It’s where
in your story (how some- and when the events take place, and it is usually conveyed through
one struggles to stay true descriptive details.
to himself or herself)
• Resolution is the story’s final outcome. It tells how the conflict is solved.
• give readers details about
the setting of the story • Dialogue is conversation between characters. It helps readers understand
• create well-developed what the characters are like and moves the plot forward.
characters
Prewriting
• develop a plot with a clear
beginning, conflict, and
resolution
Get Ready to Write
• use realistic dialogue The following guidelines can help you plan and write your story, but you
don’t have to follow them word for word. Remember that you’re in charge
See pages 631– 632 in Part 2 of your own writing process. You already know your story will be about a
for a model of a short story.
character’s struggle to stay true to herself or himself, but you’ll need to think
about the character and the conflict before you start writing.

Gather Ideas
Writing Use the writing process: At this stage, start picturing whom and what you want to write about.
prewrite, draft • Write a short story
• Use literary elements: plot,
Character and conflict affect each other. For example, if your main character
setting, character, conflict is a thirteen-year-old boy, the conflict should be something that someone his
Grammar Use compound and age would be likely to experience.
complex sentences

Characters Think about the people in your story, starting with the main
character. Picture each character in detail. What does he or she look like?
How does he or she act? What is important to him or her? Take notes in
a format that you find helpful. For example, you might list each character’s
traits, write a paragraph about each one, or make a word web for each one.
Writing Models For models and
other writing activities, go to
www.glencoe.com.
My protagonist will be Marisol, a teenager with long
black hair and gentle eyes. She is a great soccer player
and plays for her school team. She is very close to her
grandmother, who lives with the family.
Conflict List the events of your story in the order they’ll happen. Or if Writing Tip
you prefer, start by writing a scene that reveals the conflict. Sequence Most stories are
• What causes the conflict? told in chronological order:
• How will the main character stay true to himself or herself? first this happened, then that
happened, and then the next
• How will the conflict be resolved?
thing happened. That form of
If you don’t know what to write about, think about your own experiences organization is usually easiest
with trying to stay true to yourself. Or think about people you know and for readers to follow.
their struggles. Then use your imagination to add fictional details. For
example, your main character might not want to go to an event with his
family, or friends might be pressuring her to do something, or a brother
or sister might ask him to help cover up a mistake they made.
Marisol didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to

quit the soccer team, but she wanted to spend more time
with her grandmother because she knew her grandmother
wouldn’t be around much longer.
Setting Describe where and when your story will take place. Use sensory Writing Tip
imagery, such as descriptions of sights, smells, and sounds. Vivid Details Details that
paint pictures in readers’
minds include sensory imagery
Part of the story will take place at Marisol’s school,
that appeals to the senses (the
and part will take place at her house, which will smell like sweet, crunchy tang of honey
her abuela’s wonderful cooking. chicken), vivid verbs (ambled
instead of walked ), specific
nouns (tulip, not flower ), and
effective modifiers (rusted-out
car with a crumpled fender ).
Writing Workshop Part 1 Short Story 581

Drafting
Start Writing!
Now that you have ideas about the basic elements of your story, it’s time
to start writing the first draft—your first version of your story.
Get It on Paper
Writing Tip To draft your short story, use the notes you made. Some of the decisions
Getting Started Writing you made about your story may change as you write. That’s OK. Just keep
a short story should be fun. writing. If you’re not sure how to begin your story, try these tips.
Don’t make it into work. Relax • Reread your prewriting. Underline words, phrases, or sentences you like.
and use your imagination. If • Start with dialogue. Have two characters start talking, and see what they
your imagination runs dry, talk have to say. Dialogue can tell you a lot about the characters as well as
to friends or family members the conflict. Writing dialogue is a good way to get ideas flowing.
about your story.
Develop Your Draft

Writing Tip Writers do a lot of different things to make their writing exciting to read.
Show; Don’t Tell To make
Look at the writing you’ve done so far. Use these tips to develop your draft.
your writing more vivid, don’t 1. Use details and descriptions to show your readers the characters, setting,
tell what characters feel. Show and events. Specific and vivid details help to bring readers into the story
their reactions instead. Don’t and create a clear picture in their minds.
write “She felt angry.” Write
“She slammed her fist into her
hand. Her face grew red.” Tears came into Marisol’s eyes. Her grandmother looked
so small and weak. Marisol pushed back her hair, pulled
her jean jacket tighter, and ran to catch the bus.
2. Short stories keep readers interested by building suspense—making the

reader wonder what is going to happen next. Help readers understand
the conflict so they are interested in how the conflict is resolved.
What was she going to do? She loved playing soccer, but
she loved her grandmother more. If she didn’t play, would
she lose all her friends?

Grammar Link
You have learned that a simple sentence is an Simple sentences only: I had so much fun at
independent clause. Compound and complex the zoo last Saturday. The panda bears were very
sentences are made up of a combination of playful. Tonya and I watched them for over an
independent and dependent clauses. hour. The cub climbed on his mother. She sent him
tumbling to the ground.
What Are Compound and
Simple, compound, and complex: I had so
Complex Sentences? much fun at the zoo last Saturday. The panda bears
A compound sentence contains two or more were very playful, and Tonya and I watched them
simple sentences (independent clauses) joined for over an hour. When the cub climbed on his
by a comma and a coordinating conjunction mother, she sent him tumbling to the ground.
(and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet ). In the following
compound sentence, the independent clauses are How Do I Use Compound and
underlined.
Complex Sentences?
• The pears were ripe, but the plum was rotten.
Use a compound sentence to combine two ideas
A complex sentence contains at least one inde-
that are equally important.
pendent clause and one dependent clause. In the
following complex sentences, the independent • The music was great. + The cake was delicious. =
clause is underlined. The music was great, and the cake was delicious.
• Though the pears were ripe, the plum was rotten. Use a complex sentence to combine ideas when
one idea “depends on” another to make sense. Put
• When I picked it up, I could see that the plum
the main idea in the independent clause. Put the
was rotten from sitting in the sun.
idea that “depends on” the main idea in the depen-
dent clause. The independent clause is underlined.
Why Are Compound and • I slept in. + My alarm didn’t go off. =
Complex Sentences Important? Because my alarm didn’t go off, I slept in.
Using a variety of sentence types makes your
writing more interesting. A series of simple Write to Learn Reread your draft. Add variety
sentences can be choppy and awkward to read. and make your short story flow more smoothly
Combining different types of sentences creates by combining sentences to form compound and
a more natural flow. Compare the following: complex sentences.
Looking Ahead
Keep the writing you did here, and in Part 2 you’ll learn how to turn
it into a short story that you’ll be proud of.

READING WORKSHOP 2
Skills Focus
• “an african american,” p. 588
Skill Lesson
• “One Throw,” p. 596
Reading Questioning
• Questioning in order to
improve comprehension
Learn It!
Literature What Is It? Questioning is asking yourself questions
• Interpreting the effects of about what you are reading. By asking and answering
literary devices your own questions, you keep a conversation with
yourself—a conversation that helps you better under-
• Analyzing features and styles
stand what you read. You might ask about people
of poetry R or characters in a selection. You might ask about the
• Identifying and analyzing the importance of what you’re reading. Or you might
plot elements in a story ask about anything that puzzles you. Here are some
• Explaining how conflict is sample questions.
related to the plot • Who are the people or characters?
• How does one event relate to another?
Vocabulary
• What is the main idea or theme?
• Using suffixes to determine
meaning
• Academic Vocabulary: Analyzing Cartoons
conversation To find out about vultures, Barry
questions his brother. To better
Writing/Grammar understand the cartoon, you might
ask yourself, How does Barry’s first
• Using commas in question lead to his second question?
compound and complex
sentences
Objectives (pp. 584–585) © King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Reprinted with permission.
Reading Ask questions
Academic Vocabulary
V
conversation (kon vur SAY shun) n. a talk between people
584 UNIT 5
© King Features Syndicate, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
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READING WORKSHOP 2 • Questioning
Why Is It Important? By asking questions, you make sure you under-

stand what you are reading. As you answer your questions, you also keep
track of important ideas and details.
Study Central Visit www.glencoe
How Do I Do It? As you read, stop from time to time and ask yourself .com and click on Study Central to
review questioning.
questions. Many helpful questions begin with the 5Ws and an H: Who?
What? When? Where? Why? How?
Look at how a student used questions to understand the following passage.

Dad pedaled like mad, flapped his paper wings,
and . . . nothing happened. Unless, of course, riding
into the pond counts.
As I ran to help him, I heard Grandma shout,
“You’re going to break your fool head riding that
contraption of yours, Sam McKenzie!”
She hates Dad’s inventions. I love them—and Dad.
When he finally manages to build the first successful
flying machine, we’ll be rich.
I can hardly wait for that day, because right now,
to be perfectly honest, we’re poor. We might not have
a roof over our head if it weren’t for Grandma.
Dad spends most of his time and money on his
inventions. The old barn is filled with metal parts.
What is the father in the story riding? I think it must

be some kind of bike, because it says he “pedaled like mad.”
But it also says he “flapped his paper wings.” Hmmm.
The narrator says they’ll be rich when his dad invents
a successful flying machine. So the “contraption” must be
a kind of flying machine with wheels, pedals, and wings.
Practice It!
Who do you think is telling the story? When do you think it takes place?
Write your answers in your Learner’s Notebook.
Use It!
As you read the selections, ask yourself 5Ws and an H questions.
Answer your questions in your Learner’s Notebook.
Reading Workshop 2 Questioning 585

Rubberball/SuperStock
Before You Read an african american
Meet the Author

Meri Nana-Ama Danquah Vocabulary Preview
was born in Ghana, West mimicked (MIM ikt) v. copied; imitated; form of the verb mimic
Africa, and raised in (p. 589) Keesha mimicked the girls’ laughter, hoping they would
Washington, D.C. In addition include her in their conversation.
to being an accomplished
unison (YOO nih sun) n. one voice (p. 590) The chorus sang in perfect
actress, poet, playwright, and
unison at the school assembly.
performance artist, she is the
author of a memoir, Willow anthem (AN thum) n. the official song of a country, school, or group
Weep for Me, and the editor (p. 590) The band plays its school’s anthem before every game.
of two anthologies:
Becoming American and Write to Learn Write a paragraph using all the vocabulary words.
Shaking the Tree. She divides
her time between Los English Language Coach
Angeles, California, and Introduction to Suffixes A suffix is a word part that is added to the
Accra, Ghana. end of a root or base word. If you think about the meaning of the root
or base and the suffix, you may be able to figure out the meaning of the
word. Suppose, for example, that you see the word flutist in the following
sentence: Donna is an excellent flutist. If you know that the suffix -ist
Author Search For more about means “person who,” you can guess that a flutist is a person who plays
Meri Nana-Ama Danquah, go the flute.
to www.glencoe.com.
A suffix may change more than a word’s meaning. It may also change the
word’s part of speech. For example, adding the suffix -er to the verb teach
makes the word teacher, which is a noun. Look at the suffixes listed on the
chart below. You’ll see some of them in “an african american.” When any
of these suffixes is added to a word, the word usually becomes a noun.
Suffix Meaning Word Example

-an, -ian “person who” musician
-ance, “action or process of” performance
-ence “quality or state of” existence
-ation, -ion “action of or result of” invention
-ist “person who” artist
Reading Ask questions • Make -ness “state, quality, or condition of” sadness
connections from text to self
sensory imagery Write to Learn Make each word below a noun by adding one of the
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: suffixes above to it. Use a dictionary if you need help.
suffixes
dark • reflect • assist • special
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Key Reading Skill: Questioning Connect to the Reading
The selection you are about to read is a poem. Have you ever moved to a new neighborhood, city, or
Think about the questions you might have as you country? Think of what it would be like to adjust to life
read a poem. Here are some examples: in a new place. How would you try to fit in? Would
• Who is the speaker? you act differently, or would you try to stay the same?
• What is the speaker describing?
Partner Talk With a partner, list some things you
might have to get used to if you moved someplace new.
Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook,
write three other questions you might ask about
a poem.
Build Background
In the poem, the speaker mentions places in Africa
Literary Element: Sensory Imagery and places in the United States.
Artists use colors, shapes, and patterns to pull you into • Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States,
their paintings. One way that writers pull you into is on the east coast between Maryland and Virginia.
their work is by using sensory imagery, or descrip- The initials D.C. stand for District of Columbia. Accord-
tions that appeal to the five senses. ing to the last government census, or “head count,”
more than 550,000 people live in Washington, D.C.
Sensory imagery helps readers imagine how some- More than half the population identify themselves as
thing looks, sounds, feels, smells, and tastes. Poets African American or black.
use sensory imagery to make their poems come alive • Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, a southern U.S.
and help readers connect to people, places, events, state. States that border Georgia are North Carolina,
and ideas. As you read poetry, use these tips to find South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee.
and understand sensory imagery. About 400,000 people live in Atlanta. More than 60
• Notice descriptions of sights, sounds, textures, percent of the population identify themselves as
odors, and tastes. Ask yourself, What do these African American or black.
details add to the selection?
• Think about the speaker in the poem who makes Set Purposes for Reading
the descriptions. Ask yourself, What do the speaker’s Read “an african american”
descriptions tell me about him or her? to learn what values are important to the speaker
in the poem and whether she is determined to stay
Partner Talk With a partner, discuss which senses true to herself.
the following sentences appeal to.
• When Ted bit into the shiny red apple, the fruit was Set Your Own Purpose What else would you like
so crisp that it snapped. With every crunchy bite he to learn from the poem to help you answer the Big
savored its sweetness. Question? Write your own purpose on “an african
american” page of Foldable 5.

elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Use these skills as you read “an african
american.”
an african american 587

READING WORKSHOP 2
by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah

i wanna tell you a story Practice the Skills
of washington, dc
of atlanta, georgia
of addis abbaba
5 of tangier, soweto and lagos*
i wanna shed some light

on the dark continent *
i wanna tell you a story
of me 1 1 Key Reading Skill
Questioning Ask yourself these
10 i stand before you questions after reading the first
dark and proud few lines of the poem:
asante princess • What is the title of the poem?
african queen • How does the title relate to the
born and bred places mentioned in the first
15 on black soil nine lines? To the speaker?
in a black nation Then answer the questions.
they call ghana
i spoke the language

of my ancestors
20 i ate the food
planted by our mothers’ hand
i danced the drumbeats
of our animist * gods
5 Addis Abbaba is the capital of Ethiopia in East Africa. Tangier is a city in Morocco in
North Africa. Soweto is a group of townships in the country of South Africa. Lagos is a
city in Nigeria in West Africa.
7 Europeans called Africa the dark continent in the nineteenth century because parts of
it were so difficult for them to explore that they didn’t know a lot about it.
23 An animist believes that all things in nature have a spirit or soul within them.

Bob Burch/Index Stock Imagery
READING WORKSHOP 2
an asante princess
25 an african queen
who crossed the middle passage*
arrived in america
speaking very little english
with thick lips
30 and thick accent
unable to pronounce my name

people called me
the foreigner
the african girl
35 i went to school
with your daughters and sons
your cousins and friends
mimicked their speech Analyzing the Photo How does the teenager in this photo
dressed their style illustrate one important aspect of the speaker’s identity?
40 seemingly became one of them 2
Practice the Skills
i wove my blackness
my africanness 3 2 Literary Element
chameleon-like* Sensory Imagery Which
into the red, the white and the blue descriptions in lines 24–40
45 appeal to the sense of sight?
which is the fabric of this nation
wanting desperately to belong 3 English Language Coach
Suffixes Adding the suffix
when i sleep -ness to the adjectives black and
i snore with the lions and tigers african changes them into nouns.
in the safari land Review the meaning of -ness;
50 i snore with the sounds then define the two nouns.
of the noontime traffic on georgia avenue
in the district of columbia
26. The Middle Passage was the journey that many slave ships took from West Africa across
the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.
43. A chameleon is a type of lizard that changes the color of its skin to fit in with its surroundings.
Vocabulary
mimicked (MIM ikt) v. copied; imitated

Cleve Bryant/PhotoEdit
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READING WORKSHOP 2
when i dream
the voices of jomo kenyatta, patrice lumumba
55 and dr. martin luther king, jr.*
speak to me in unison
when i cry
rain falls on the sahara
and the potomac river overflows* 4
60 i sway to alpha blondy*
as easily as i do stevie wonder
open your ears

my children
and listen to this griot*
65 talk of history
Analyzing the Photo In 1960 Patrice Lumumba became
being made the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the
i wanna tell you this story Congo. He was assassinated in 1961. What do you learn
about him in this photo?
of my life
70
the blood which flows Practice the Skills
through the left side of my body
is the mississippi river 4 Literary Element
every day i wake it croons Sensory Imagery A person
“lift every voice and sing” crying doesn’t really create rain
the anthem of the american negro in the desert or make a river
overflow. What idea is the author
75 the blood which flows trying to get across here?
through the right side of my body
is the nile river
every day i rise it screams out loud
“africa, oh africa, cry freedom
80 for all your children” 5 5 Key Reading Skill
Questioning To what does
55. Here, two African leaders are paired with an African American leader: Jomo Kenyatta was the speaker compare the blood
the first president of Kenya; Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of the Democratic flowing through her body?
Republic of the Congo; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement in the United Reread lines 69–80 to help
States during the 1950s and 1960s.
yourself answer this question.
59. The Sahara is a desert in North Africa, and the Potomac is a river that runs through
Washington, D.C.
60. Alpha Blondy is a popular reggae musician from Ivory Coast in Africa.
64. A griot is a West African storyteller and musician who shares the history of his or her people.
Vocabulary
unison (YOO nih sun) n. one voice
anthem (AN thum) n. the official song of a country, school, or group

Terrence Spencer/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 2
don’t think me confused Practice the Skills

because i don’t know
where home is anymore
i just know
85 that the veins
in the body from the right and the left
flow to the heart
and become one love
6 English Language Coach
if i die on african soil Suffixes Washington is a place.
90 bury me in jeans and sneakers How does adding the suffix -ian
change the meaning? What is a
let my tombstone read in english
Washingtonian?
“native washingtonian”
and sing an old negro spiritual for me please 6 7 Literary Element
Sensory Imagery What sound
if i die on american soil imagery is in lines 100–104?
95 pour libation* on the ground
lay a flag of red, green and gold
with a black star*
on my coffin
let the talking drums spread the news
100 let the words on my tombstone
be multi-lingual and let them scream
asante princess
african queen 7
let no one question my origin

105 let me live and die in peace
as who i am
because you see
i have broken all barriers
of love and unity
110 i am
in the truest sense of the word
an african american 8 ❍ 8
In this poem, the speaker defines
who she is. How does she stay
true to herself? Write your
answer on “an african ameri-
can” page of Foldable 5. Your
response will help you complete
95. To pour libation is to pour wine or oil on the ground as an offering to the gods the Unit Challenge later.
in a religious ceremony.
97. The flag of Ghana has red, green, and gold bands with a black star.

Vicky Kasala/Photodisc Green/Getty Images
After You Read an african american
Answering the
1. How does the speaker of this poem remain true to herself?
2. Recall What part of Africa is the speaker from?
T IP Right There
3. Recall What does the speaker want if she dies on African soil?
T IP Right There
Critical Thinking
4. Interpret To what does the speaker compare her journey to America,
and how is that important?
T IP Author and Me
5. Analyze In lines 41–44 the speaker compares herself to a chameleon,
saying, “i wove my blackness / my africanness / chameleon-like / into
the red, the white and the blue.” In what way or ways do you think that
the speaker is like a chameleon?
T IP Author and Me
6. Evaluate In your opinion, is the title “an african american” a good
one for the poem? Back up your opinion with details from the poem.
T IP On My Own

Whole Class Discussion Throughout the poem, the speaker describes
the “African side” of her and the “American side” of her. As a class, reread
the poem to find all the examples she gives of her “Africanness” and all the
Objectives (pp. 592–593) examples she give of her “Americanness.” Record your findings on a chart
Reading Ask questions like the one pictured below. Then discuss how identifying the examples
Literature Identify literary elements: helps you understand the poem.
sensory imagery
suffixes African Side American Side
Grammar Use punctuation: commas in
compound sentences

Skills Review Grammar Link: Commas in

Key Reading Skill: Questioning Compound Sentences
7. How did questioning help you understand the The most basic kind of compound sentence contains
speaker and the poem? Write two questions two or more simple sentences (independent clauses)
that you wrote in your Learner’s Notebook and joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction
explain how they helped you. (and, but, for, nor, or and sometimes so and yet).
• Uma couldn’t come to our get-together, and Joanne
Literary Element: Sensory Imagery missed it, too.
8. The poem contains a lot of imagery that appeals (The first simple sentence is ”Uma couldn’t come
to the senses of sight and sound. List at least five to our get-together.” The second simple sentence
examples of each. Include a line number for each is “Joanne missed it, too.” The comma and conjunc-
image you list. tion and join the simple sentences.)
• I like watching martial arts like karate, but I do not
want to learn them myself.
Vocabulary Check (The first simple sentence is ”I like watching martial
Fill in each blank with the word that makes sense in arts like karate.” The second simple sentence is “I
the sentence. do not want to learn them myself.” The comma and
mimicked • unison • anthem conjunction but join the simple sentences.)
9. The dancers performed in and won first
prize at the competition. Look Out! If both simple sentences in a compound
sentence are short—five words or less—you can omit
10. When the apes human expressions, the
the comma. In all other compound sentences, put
people were amazed.
a comma before the coordinating conjunction.
11. Many countries have their own national .
• Uma performs well and she enjoys learning.
12. Academic Vocabulary If you are having a
(Both simple sentences are three words long. Because
conversation, what are you doing?
they are short, the comma can be omitted.)
English Language Coach For each noun below, • Uma performs well in her karate class, and she
write its base word and the suffix that makes it enjoys learning new moves.
a noun. (The comma is needed because the first simple
13. flirtation sentence is more than five words long.)
14. fairness
15. European
Grammar Practice
Add a comma to each compound sentence that
16. clearance
needs one.
17. I like to fly kites and I like to skateboard.
18. Ellie has had the chicken pox but she has never
had the measles.
19. I finished cutting the grass so now I can go out.
Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go
to www.glencoe.com.

Before You Read One Throw
Vocabulary Preview
egging (EG ing) v. urging; encouraging to take action; form of the verb
egg (p. 600) The boys said, “Do it!” egging their brother on until he
finally took the dare.
needle (NEE dul) v. cause to take action by repeated stinging comments
(p. 601) Your teasing remarks will not needle me into doing anything.
W. C . H einz
Meet the Author Other Common Suffixes You’ve already learned that adding a suffix
W. C. Heinz worked as a to a word can change the word’s meaning and part of speech. Remember
reporter in Europe during that learning what common suffixes mean can help you unlock the mean-
World War II and afterward ing of unfamiliar words—especially in conjunction with context.
became a sports editor.
Study the common suffixes and their meanings below. You’ll see some of
Besides articles he has writ-
these suffixes in the selection you are about to read, “One Throw.”
ten fiction and nonfiction
books about sports. He is
also the coauthor of the Suffix Meaning Word Example
novel MASH, which inspired
-er, -or “that which” or “person who” baker , sailor
a movie and a TV series. See
page R2 of The Author Files
-hood “state, condition, or quality of” neighborhood
in the back of the book for
more on W. C. Heinz.
-ment “action or process of” or “result of” arrangement
-ship “state, condition, or quality of” friendship

Author Search For more
about W. C. Heinz, go to
www.glencoe.com. Partner Talk Which suffixes from the chart above could be added to the
words below? With a classmate, find the suffix that goes with each word.
Use a dictionary if necessary. Discuss how adding the suffix changes the
word’s meaning.
1. enjoy
Objectives (pp. 594–601) 2. child
Reading Ask questions • Make connec-
tions from text to self 3. speak
Literature Identify literary elements: 4. citizen
plot
suffixes
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Key Reading Skill: Questioning Connect to the Reading
Before you read “One Throw,” think about questions Recall a time when a friend gave you advice that
you might ask yourself to understand the plot, you thought was bad. Did you follow the advice?
characters, and theme of the short story. Here are
some sample questions you might ask: Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, jot
• Who are the main characters? down a few sentences describing what the advice
was, whether you followed it, and why.
• What causes a character to act a certain way?
• How does one event lead to another? Build Background
To understand “One Throw,” you need to know
Partner Talk With a partner, add questions to the a little about baseball’s minor leagues and major
list that you could ask yourself as you read. Write your leagues. Here is some background on those subjects.
questions in your Learner’s Notebook. Refer to them
• A league is a group of teams that play each other.
as you read the story, and jot down answers to them.
• The different minor leagues have groups of teams
Key Literary Element: Plot that play at different levels. Players who have good
Plot is the sequence of events in a fictional story in skills and who show promise are often moved up
which a problem is explored and then solved. Plot to a higher-level minor-league team.
is created through conflict—a struggle within or • The best minor-league players are asked to join
between people or forces. A plot has these parts: major-league teams. There, the players are the
1. exposition—the beginning that introduces the most skilled, and the competition is tough.
characters, setting, and conflict • These are the highest levels of the minor leagues:
2. rising action—the complications that arise as —Class AAA, sometimes called the “parking lot”
the protagonist faces the conflict because so many good players are “parked,” or held
3. climax—the most emotional or suspenseful on reserve, there
point in the story —Class AA, home to many experienced players
4. falling action—the events that show how the hoping to enter U.S. baseball from foreign leagues
conflict will probably work out —Class A, where many promising young players
5. resolution—the outcome of the conflict work on improving their skills
Whole Class Discussion “One Throw” is about a Set Purposes for Reading
young baseball player who plays in the minor leagues. Read “One Throw” to discover
From this situation, what conflicts do you think you how a ballplayer stays true to himself.
might find in the story? Make a list. Then read the
story to see whether you guessed right. Set Your Own Purpose What else would you like
to learn from the story to help you answer the Big
Question? Write your own purpose on the “One
Throw” page of Foldable 5.
Interactive Literary Elements Handbook

elements, go to www.glencoe.com.
Keep Moving
Use these skills as you read “One Throw.”
One Throw 595

READING WORKSHOP 2
Baseball at Night, 1934.

Morris Kantor. Oil on
linen. Smithsonian
American Art Museum.
by W. C. Heinz
One Throw
I checked into a hotel called the Olympia, which is right on
the main street and the only hotel in the town. After lunch I
Practice the Skills
was hanging around the lobby, and I got to talking to the guy
at the desk. I asked him if this wasn’t the town where that kid
named Maneri played ball.
“That’s right,” the guy said. “He’s a pretty good
ballplayer.” 1 1 English Language Coach
“He should be,” I said. “I read that he was the new Phil More Common Suffixes A
Rizzuto.” 1 ballplayer is someone who plays
“That’s what they said,” the guy said. ball. Look at how the word ball-
player is formed: ball (noun) +
“What’s the matter with him?” I said. “I mean if he’s such
play (verb) + er (suffix).
a good ballplayer what’s he doing in this league?”
“I don’t know,” the guy said. “I guess the Yankees2 know
what they’re doing.”
“He’s a nice kid,” the guy said. “He plays good ball, but I feel 2 Key Literary Element
sorry for him. He thought he’d be playing for the Yankees soon, Plot In this beginning part of
and here he is in this town. You can see it’s got him down.” 2 the plot, called exposition, you
learn a little about the setting,
1. Phil Rizzuto was the star shortstop for the New York Yankees in the 1940s. the characters, and a possible
2. The Yankees were the dominant baseball team in the major leagues in the 1940s and 1950s. conflict to come.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC/Art Resource, NY
READING WORKSHOP 2
“He lives here in this hotel?” Practice the Skills

“That’s right,” the guy said. “Most of the older ballplayers stay
in rooming houses,3 but Pete and a couple other kids live here.”
He was leaning on the desk, talking to me and looking
across the hotel lobby. He nodded his head. “This is a funny
thing,” he said. “Here he comes now.”
The kid had come through the door from the street. He had
on a light gray sport shirt and a pair of gray flannel slacks.
I could see why, when he showed up with the Yankees in
spring training,4 he made them all think of Rizzuto. He isn’t
any bigger than Rizzuto, and he looks just like him.
“Hello, Nick,” he said to the guy at the desk.
“Hello, Pete,” the guy at the desk said. “How goes it today?”
“All right,” the kid said but you could see he was exaggerating.
“I’m sorry, Pete,” the guy at the desk said, “but no mail
today.” 3 3 Key Reading Skill
“That’s all right, Nick,” the kid said. “I’m used to it.” Questioning What do you
“Excuse me,” I said, “but you’re Pete Maneri?” think Pete is hoping will come in
“That’s right,” the kid said, turning and looking at me. the mail? Why do you think so?
“Excuse me,” the guy at the desk said, introducing us.
“Pete, this is Mr. Franklin.”
“Harry Franklin,” I said.
“I’m glad to know you,” the kid said, shaking my hand.
“I recognize you from your pictures,” I said.
“Pete’s a good ballplayer,” the guy at the desk said.
“Not very,” the kid said.
“Don’t take his word for it, Mr. Franklin,” the guy said.
“I’m a great ball fan,” I said to the kid. “Do you people
play tonight?”
“We play two games,” the kid said.
“The first game’s at six o’clock,” the guy at the desk said.
“They play pretty good ball.”
“I’ll be there,” I said. “I used to play a little ball myself.”
“You did?” the kid said.
“With Columbus,” I said. “That’s twenty years ago.”
“Is that right?” the kid said. . . .
3. Rooming houses are private houses where the owners rent out rooms.
4. Spring training is a period in late winter and early spring when baseball players prepare
for the regular playing season.
One Throw 597

READING WORKSHOP 2
#71 Minor League, 1946. Clyde Singer. Oil

on canvas. Butler Museum of American Art,
Youngstown, OH.
Analyzing the Painting How does this
picture capture the “feel” of a minor-league
baseball game?
That’s the way I got to talking with the kid. They had one Practice the Skills
of those pine-paneled taprooms5 in the basement of the hotel,
and we went down there. I had a couple and the kid had a
Coke, and I told him a few stories and he turned out to be a
real good listener. 4 4 English Language Coach
“But what do you do now, Mr. Franklin?” he said after a while. Suffixes Listen is a verb. What
“I sell hardware,” 6 I said. “I can think of some things I’d happens when you add the suffix
like better, but I was going to ask you how you like playing -er to this verb? Define listener.
in this league.”
“Well,” the kid said, “I suppose it’s all right. I guess I’ve
got no kick coming.” 5 5 Skill Review
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “I understand you’re too good Making Inferences What do
for this league. What are they trying to do to you?” you think Pete means when he
“I don’t know,” the kid said. “I can’t understand it.” says, “I guess I’ve got no kick
coming”? Write your answer in
“What’s the trouble?”
your Learner’s Notebook.
“Well,” the kid said, “I don’t get along very well here. I
mean there’s nothing wrong with my playing. I’m hitting
.365 right now. I lead the league in stolen bases. There’s
nobody can field with me, but who cares?” 6 6 Key Literary Element
“Who manages this ball club?” Plot Pete seems to be experi-
“Al Dall,” the kid said. “You remember, he played in the encing an inner conflict. What do
outfield for the Yankees for about four years.” you think that conflict is?
5. A pine-paneled taproom is a bar with pinewood paneling on the walls.

6. In this context, hardware is tools and equipment made from metal.

Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, USA. Gift of the Friends of American Art 1975/Bridgeman Art Library
READING WORKSHOP 2
“I remember.” Practice the Skills

“Maybe he is all right,” the kid said, “but I don’t get along
with him. He’s on my neck all the time.”
“Well,” I said, “that’s the way they are in the minors
sometimes. You have to remember the guy is looking out for
himself and his ball club first. He’s not worried about you.”
“I know that,” the kid said. “If I get the big hit or make the
play he never says anything. The other night I tried to take
second on a loose ball and I got caught in the run-down. He
bawls me out in front of everybody. There’s nothing I can do.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “This is probably a guy who
knows he’s got a good thing in you, and he’s looking to keep
you around. You people lead the league, and that makes him
look good. He doesn’t want to lose you to Kansas City or
the Yankees.” 7 7 Key Reading Skill
“That’s what I mean,” the kid said. “When the Yankees sent Questioning Why does the
me down here they said, ‘Don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on narrator takes an interest in Pete?
you.’ So Dall never sends a good report on me. Nobody ever
comes down to look me over. What chance is there for a guy
like Eddie Brown or somebody like that coming down to see
me in this town?”
“You have to remember that Eddie Brown’s the big shot,”
I said, “the great Yankee scout.” 7
“Sure,” the kid said. “I never even saw him, and I’ll never
see him in this place. I have an idea that if they ever ask Dall
about me he keeps knocking me down.”
“Why don’t you go after Dall?” I said. “I had trouble like
that once myself, but I figured out a way to get attention.”
“You did?” the kid said.
“I threw a couple of balls over the first baseman’s head,” I
said. “I threw a couple of games away, and that really got the
manager sore. 8 I was lousing up his ball club and his record. 8 English Language Coach
So what does he do? He blows the whistle8 on me, and what Suffixes The suffix -er changes
happens? That gets the brass9 curious, and they send down the verb manage into a noun.
to see what’s wrong.” Notice that the base word ends
in an e, so you add only the r of
“Is that so?” the kid said. “What happened?”
the suffix.
“Two weeks later,” I said, “I was up with Columbus.”
“Is that right?” the kid said.
7. A scout is someone who looks for new, talented sports players.

8. To blow the whistle is to give information about wrongdoing to someone in charge.
9. Here, brass means people in high positions.
One Throw 599

READING WORKSHOP 2
“Sure,” I said, egging him on. “What have you got to lose?” Practice the Skills
“Nothing,” the kid said. “I haven’t got anything to lose.” 9
“I’d try it,” I said. 9 Key Reading Skill
“I might try it,” the kid said. “I might try it tonight if the Questioning What does Pete
spot comes up.” actually have to lose?
I could see from the way he said it that he was madder
than he’d said. Maybe you think this is mean to steam a kid
up like this, but I do some strange things.
“Take over,” I said. “Don’t let this guy ruin your career.”
“I’ll try it,” the kid said. 10 “Are you coming out to the 10 Key Reading Skill
park tonight?” Questioning What is the “it”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I said. “This will be better than that Pete says he will try?
making out route sheets and sales orders.”
It’s not much ballpark in this town—old wooden bleachers
and an old wooden fence and about four hundred people in
the stands. The first game wasn’t much either, with the home
club winning something like 8 to 1.
The kid didn’t have any hard chances, but I could see he
was a ballplayer, with a double and a couple of walks and a
lot of speed.
The second game was different, though. The other club got
a couple of runs and then the home club picked up three runs
in one, and they were in the top of the ninth with a 3–2 lead
and two outs when the pitching began to fall apart and they
loaded the bases.
I was trying to wish the ball down to the kid, just to see
what he’d do with it, when the batter drives one on one big
bounce to the kid’s right.
The kid was off for it when the ball
started. He made a backhand stab and
grabbed it. He was deep now, and he
turned in the air and fired. If it goes over
the first baseman’s head, it’s two runs in
Visual Vocabulary and a panic—but it’s the prettiest throw
A backhand catch is
very difficult because you’d want to see. It’s right on a line, and
the player’s arm is the runner is out by a step, and it’s the
twisted and the body 11 Key Literary Element
is turned away from ball game. 11 Plot This is the climax, or
the ball.
moment of highest tension,
when Pete makes an impor-
tant decision. Did he decide to
Vocabulary follow the narrator’s advice?
egging (EG ing) v. urging; encouraging to take action Explain.

Jim Arbogast/Digital Vision/Getty Images
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READING WORKSHOP 2
I walked back to the hotel, thinking about the kid. I sat

around the lobby until I saw him come in, and then I walked
Practice the Skills
toward the elevator like I was going to my room, but so I’d

meet him. And I could see he didn’t want to talk.
“How about a Coke?” I said.
“No,” he said. “Thanks, but I’m going to bed.”
“Look,” I said. “Forget it. You did the right thing. Have a Coke.”
We were sitting in the taproom again. The kid wasn’t
saying anything.
“Why didn’t you throw that ball away?” I said.
“I don’t know,” the kid said. “I had it in my mind before
he hit it, but I couldn’t.” 12 12 Key Literary Element
“Why?” Plot This is the falling action
“I don’t know why.” of the plot, when you begin
“I know why,” I said. to see how the resolution to
the conflict will probably work
The kid didn’t say anything. He just sat looking down.
out. The resolution is that Pete
“Do you know why you couldn’t throw that ball away?” couldn’t throw the ball away.
I said. Why couldn’t Pete do it?
“No,” the kid said.
“You couldn’t throw that ball away,” I said, “because you’re
going to be a major-league ballplayer someday.”
The kid just looked at me. He had that same sore
expression.
“Do you know why you’re going to be a major-league
ballplayer?” I said.
The kid was just looking down again, shaking his head.
I never got more of a kick out of anything in my life.
“You’re going to be a major-league ballplayer,” I said,
“because you couldn’t throw that ball away, and because
I’m not a hardware salesman and my name’s not Harry
Franklin.”
“What do you mean?” the kid said.
“I mean,” I explained to him, “that I tried to needle you
into throwing that ball away because I’m Eddie Brown.” 13 ❍ 13
What do Pete’s actions tell
you about how he stays true
to himself? Write your answer
on the “One Throw” page of
Foldable 5. Your response will
Vocabulary help you complete the Unit
Challenge later.
needle (NEE dul) v. cause to take action by repeated stinging comments
One Throw 601
0596-0601_U5RW2SEL-845478.indd 601 3/14/07 11:33:45 AM

After You Read One Throw
Answering the
1. How did Pete stay true to himself?
2. Recall Whom does the narrator pretend to be?
T IP Right There
3. Recall What is the narrator’s real name and job?
T IP Right There
Critical Thinking
4. Infer Why does the narrator keep his real identity a secret until
his last conversation with Pete?
T IP Author and Me
5. Infer Why does the narrator try to get Pete to throw a game?
T IP Author and Me
6. Interpret The title “One Throw” has a double meaning. What are
the two meanings of “throw” in this context?
T IP Author and Me
7. Analyze Think about how Pete resolves his conflict and what happens
to him at the end of the story. What theme, or message, do you think
the story is trying to get across?
T IP Author and Me

Press Release Imagine that you work in the New York Yankees publicity
office. You want to announce that Pete Maneri has just been signed by the
Reading Ask questions • Make team. In a small group, discuss how you would introduce the new player.
connections from text to self • Identify who Pete is. Include his age, the position he plays, and other
plot personal information. Use facts from the story and your imagination.
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: • Describe his experience. Mention where he played before, what his
suffixes
statistics are as a player, and what his abilities are.
Writing Respond to literature: press
release • Explain what the team’s expectations are for his future.
Grammar Use punctuation: commas in
complex sentences
When you are finished, write your press release and share it with the class.

Skills Review Grammar Link: Commas in

Key Reading Skill: Questioning Complex Sentences
8. Think back to the questions that you asked your- A complex sentence contains at least one indepen-
self while you were reading “One Throw.” Did dent clause and one dependent clause. The clauses
any of them prepare you for the surprise ending? are joined by a subordinating conjunction, such as
Explain your answer. after, although, because, before, if, since, unless,
until, when, and while.
Key Literary Element: Plot
9. What happens in each part of the plot of When a complex sentence begins with an indepen-
“One Throw”? Copy the graphic organizer dent clause, it does not need a comma.
below. Under each heading, list the events • We will have dinner when Curtis arrives.
from the story that make up that part. independent dependent
exposition rising climax falling resolution When a complex sentence begins with a dependent
action action clause, put a comma after the dependent clause.
• When Curtis arrives, we will have dinner.
dependent independent
Look Out! Do not put a comma after a subordinating

conjunction. Put the comma after the whole dependent
clause.
Wrong: Although, I studied I didn’t do well on

the quiz.
Right: Although I studied, I didn’t do well on the quiz.
Grammar Practice
On a separate sheet of paper, copy the complex
Vocabulary Check sentences below. Add commas where needed.
10. The verbs egg and needle are similar in mean- 15. Eduardo has loved camping since he was a child.
ing as slang words. Write a sentence using one 16. When he was little he always pretended to
of them. Then replace it with the other. Did you camp out.
have to change anything else in the sentence? 17. Once he is older he will save to buy a camper.
English Language Coach Find the noun in each

sentence below that was made by adding a suffix to a
base word. On a separate sheet of paper, write the
base word and the suffix for each sentence.
11. Joe hired a builder to make the kitchen larger.
12. The U.S. government has three main branches.
13. Part of a team’s success depends on its Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection
leadership. Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go
to www.glencoe.com.
14. Juan was my favorite actor in the school play.
One Throw 603

READING WORKSHOP 3
Skills Focus
You will practice using these skills when
you read the following selections:
• “The Medicine Bag,” p. 608
• “A Year of Living Bravely,”
p. 622 Skill Lesson
Reading
• Predicting future events and
Predicting
behaviors in a story
• Predicting the content of Learn It!
a nonfiction selection
Predicting is making an educated guess about what
Literature will happen in a story or what a nonfiction text will
be about. Use your knowledge, your experience,
• Identifying and interpreting and relevant information in a selection to predict
theme things like these:
• Identifying attention-getting • what events will happen next in a story
devices • how characters will behave
Vocabulary • how conflicts will be resolved
• what you will find in a nonfiction text
• Using prefixes to determine
meaning
relevant Analyzing Cartoons
Hobbes makes a prediction based on what
Writing/Grammar he knows he is going to do to Calvin. Do
you think he is going go push Calvin into
• Combining sentences the mud? Your answer will be a prediction.
reserved.
ted with permission. All rights
PRESS SYNDICATE. Reprin
Watterson. Dist. By UNIVERSAL
Objectives (pp. 604–605) CALVIN AND HOBBES © 1987
Reading Make predictions
Academic Vocabulary
relevant (REH luh vunt) adj. important to the subject at hand;
significant; pertinent
604 UNIT 5
CALVIN AND HOBBES © 1987 Watterson. Dist. By UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
READING WORKSHOP 3 • Predicting
Why Is It Important? Making predictions keeps you involved in a

selection because it’s fun to guess and see whether your guesses are
right. Predicting also helps you think critically about the selection. As
you predict, you are actually analyzing the events, the characters, and Study Central Visit www.glencoe
.com and click on Study Central
the content.
to review predicting.
How Do I Do It? Combine your knowledge of people and the world
with the information in the story to predict what will happen. Make
guesses that fit the characters’ personalities, their situation, and their
surroundings. Don’t worry if a prediction is wrong. Analyze where you
went wrong. (For example, did you misunderstand why a character was
acting a particular way?) Then read on and revise your predictions to fit
new information. Here’s what a student predicted while reading a story
about a family that has a dog and gets a new kitten.
Holding the kitten in her arms, Josie knelt down in
front of the big brown dog. “Rover, this is Andy,” she
said. Rover sniffed Andy and began to growl.
I don’t think Rover will welcome the new kitten. In fact,

I think he’s seconds away from biting Andy. Most dogs I
know don’t growl when they are being friendly.
Practice It!
In your Learner’s Notebook, write your own prediction about what
Andy will do. Then read the next paragraph of the story:
Andy began licking the dog’s head. Rover looked
surprised and stopped growling. Soon he was licking
back. It looked as if the two were becoming friends.
Was your prediction right? Why or why not? Do you think the author was
trying to surprise you?
Use It!
As you read the selections in this workshop —“The Medicine Bag”
and “A Year of Living Bravely”— make predictions about how the
main characters will handle the problems they face.
Reading Workshop 3 Predicting 605

file photo
Before You Read The Medicine Bag
Vocabulary Preview
authentic (aw THEN tik) adj. real; genuine (p. 608) Martin and his sister
got authentic Sioux gifts from their great-grandfather.
stately (STAYT lee) adj. grand; impressive; dignified (p. 608) The banquet
was held at a stately mansion.
Vi commotion (kuh MOH shun) n. noisy, confused activity (p. 609) There was
rg
in i e ve
a Dr Sn so much commotion in the lunchroom she couldn’t hear herself think.
i v i ng H a w k
descendants (dih SEN dunts) n. blood relatives of an earlier generation
Meet the Author (p. 611) Martin and his sister are the descendants of their grandfather.
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve sacred (SAY krid) adj. holy; having to do with religion (p. 615) Sage is
grew up on the Rosebud part of a sacred ritual.
Reservation in South Dakota.
She is a teacher, school Partner Talk With a classmate, talk about the vocabulary words and their
counselor, and editor. Sneve definitions. Based on them, what do you think might happen in the story?
has written many books
about the history and culture English Language Coach
of Native American peoples. Prefixes That Mean “Not” Breaking a word down into its parts can
She says her grandmothers help you understand its meaning. A prefix is a syllable added to the
gave her a love of Indian beginning of a base word or root word. Just like suffixes, prefixes change
traditions and storytelling. or add to the meaning of the base word or root word. Here are some
See page R6 of The Author common prefixes that turn words into their opposites. You will see several
Files in the back of the book of the prefixes in “The Medicine Bag.” Look for them as you read.
for more on Virginia Driving
Hawk Sneve. Prefix Word Examples Meaning
dis- disbelieve “not believe”
il- illegal “not legal”
Author Search For more about im- imperfect “not perfect”
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, go to
www.glencoe.com. in- invisible “not visible”
ir- irregular “not regular”
un- unhappy “not happy”
Reading Make predictions • Make
On Your Own Write a sentence using each of these words from the chart.
Literature Identify literary elements: 1. disbelieve
theme
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: 2. imperfect
prefixes 3. invisible
4. unhappy

File Photo
0604-0607_U5RW3APP-845478.indd 606 3/14/07 11:34:40 AM


Key Reading Skill: Predicting Connect to the Reading
When you read fiction, start making predictions In this selection, Martin’s great-grandfather gives
early in the story. Look at the following elements: Martin a family treasure. Think of an object you
• title would like to pass down to your children someday.
Pick something that you think represents your family.
• Meet the Author and Build Background
• illustrations and captions Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, write
• first paragraph a few sentences about the family treasure you would
pick. Explain its history and why it is important to
Whole Class Discussion Before you read “The your family. How does it represent who you are?
Medicine Bag,” look at all the elements listed above.
Then make these predictions: Build Background
• who the main characters will be In this selection Martin, the narrator, calls his great-
grandfather “Grandpa.” Grandpa is Sioux, a Native
• what the subject of the story will be
American who belongs to a group made up of seven
• what the title means tribes of the Great Plains. The plains are prairie land that
covers the area from North Dakota to Wisconsin, south
Key Literary Element: Theme through Iowa and Missouri, and west into Wyoming.
The main message of a short story or other work of
fiction is its theme. Themes are usually lessons in life Grandpa lives on a reservation—a limited area which
about right (or wrong) ways to solve problems, such the U.S. government set aside for Native Americans
as “Violence only brings more violence.” Themes may to live on after they were forced from their land.
also be comments about human nature, such as
“Everybody makes mistakes.” Set Purposes for Reading
Read “The Medicine Bag” to
The theme of the “The Medicine Bag” is implied, find out how Martin learns to appreciate the values
which means it is not directly stated. You have of the Sioux side of his family and bring them into
to figure out what it is. To do so, think about the his suburban life.
conflicts in the story. As you read, ask yourself:
• What internal and external conflicts do the Set Your Own Purpose What else would you
characters experience? like to learn from the story to help you answer
the Big Question? Write your own purpose on
• How are the conflicts resolved?
“The Medicine Bag” page of Foldable 5.
• What life lesson does the main character learn
from his experiences?
Write to Learn Think about a conflict you and a

friend resolved in the past. How did you resolve Interactive Literary Elements Handbook
the conflict? What did you learn from it? If you wrote To review or learn more about symbols,
a story about your experience, what would the theme
be? Answer in your Learner’s Notebook.
Keep Moving
Use these skills as you read “The Medicine Bag.”
The Medicine Bag 607

READING WORKSHOP 3
THE
Medicine
Bag
by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
M y kid sister Cheryl and I always bragged about

our Sioux grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. Our friends, who had
always lived in the city and only knew about Indians from Practice the Skills
movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. Maybe we
exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound
glamorous, but when we’d return home to Iowa after our
yearly summer visit to Grandpa we always had some exciting
tale to tell.
We always had some authentic Sioux article to show our
listeners. One year Cheryl had new moccasins that Grandpa
had made. On another visit he gave me a small, round, flat,
rawhide drum which was decorated with a painting of a
warrior riding a horse. He taught me a real Sioux chant1 to
sing while I beat the drum with a leather-covered stick that
had a feather on the end. Man, that really made an
impression. 1 1 Key Reading Skill
We never showed our friends Grandpa’s picture. Not that Predicting The narrator spends
we were ashamed of him, but because we knew that the a lot of time describing his Sioux
glamorous tales we told didn’t go with the real thing. Our roots. From this, you might
predict that his Sioux heritage
friends would have laughed at the picture, because Grandpa
will be important to the story.
wasn’t tall and stately like TV Indians. His hair wasn’t in
braids, but hung in stringy, gray strands on his neck and he
1. A chant is a simple song that has several syllables or words sung to the same note.
Vocabulary
authentic (aw THEN tik) adj. real; genuine
stately (STAYT lee) adj. grand; impressive; dignified

from the David T. Vernon Collection of Native American Indian Center—Colter Bay Indian Arts Museum—Grand Teton National Park—Wyoming. Photographers John Oldenkamp and Cynthia Sabransky
READING WORKSHOP 3
was old. He was our great-grandfather, and Practice the Skills

he didn’t live in a tipi, but all by himself
in a part log, part tar-paper shack on the
Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. So
when Grandpa came to visit us, I was so
ashamed and embarrassed I could’ve died.
Visual Vocabulary There are a lot of yippy poodles and
A tipi is made of other fancy little dogs in our neighbor-
animal skins—usually
buffalo—and hood, but they usually barked singly at
supported by poles. the mailman from the safety of their own
yards. Now it sounded as if a whole pack
of mutts were barking together in one place.
I got up and walked to the curb to see what the commotion
was. About a block away I saw a crowd of little kids yelling,
with the dogs yipping and growling around someone who
was walking down the middle of the street. 2 2 Key Reading Skill
I watched the group as it slowly came closer and saw that Predicting This is a good point
in the center of the strange procession was a man wearing a in the story to guess what will
tall black hat. He’d pause now and then to peer at something happen next. Think about what
you’ve learned so far. Who do
in his hand and then at the houses on either side of the street.
you think is walking down the
I felt cold and hot at the same time as I recognized the man. street?
“Oh, no!” I whispered. “It’s Grandpa!”
I stood on the curb, unable to move even though I wanted
to run and hide. 3 Then I got mad when I saw how the yippy 3 English Language Coach
dogs were growling and nipping at the old man’s baggy pant Prefixes That Mean “Not”
legs and how wearily he poked them away with his cane. Break the word unable into
“Stupid mutts,” I said as I ran to rescue Grandpa. its parts. The prefix un- means
“not.” The base word able means
When I kicked and hollered at the dogs to get away, they
“can do.” From this, you can see
put their tails between their legs and scattered. The kids ran unable means “cannot do.”
to the curb where they watched me and the old man.
“Grandpa,” I said and felt pretty dumb when my voice
cracked. I reached for his beat-up old tin suitcase, which was
tied shut with a rope. But he set it down right in the street
and shook my hand.
“Hau, Takoza, Grandchild,” he greeted me formally in Sioux.
All I could do was stand there with the whole neighbor-
hood watching and shake the hand of the leather-brown old
man. I saw how his gray hair straggled from under his big
Vocabulary
commotion (kum OH shun) n. noisy, confused activity

Tom Bean/CORBIS
READING WORKSHOP 3
black hat, which had a drooping feather in its crown. His

rumpled black suit hung like a sack over his stooped frame.
As he shook my hand, his coat fell open to expose a bright-
red, satin shirt with a beaded bolo tie under the collar. His
getup wasn’t out of place on the reservation, but it sure was
here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement.
“Hi,” I muttered with my head down. I tried to pull my
hand away when I felt his bony hand trembling, and looked
up to see fatigue in his face. I felt like crying. I couldn’t think
of anything to say so I picked up Grandpa’s suitcase, took his
arm, and guided him up the driveway to our house.
Mom was standing on the steps. I don’t know how long
she’d been watching, but her hand was over her mouth and
she looked as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. Then
she ran to us.
“Grandpa,” she gasped. “How in the world did Analyzing the Image
How does this bolo tie
you get here?” help you picture what the
She checked her move to embrace Grandpa and grandfather is wearing?
I remembered that such a display of affection is unseemly
to the Sioux and would embarrass him. Practice the Skills
“Hau, Marie,” he said as he shook Mom’s hand. She smiled
and took his other arm.
As we supported him up the steps the door banged open
and Cheryl came bursting out of the house. She was all
smiles and was so obviously glad to see Grandpa that I was
ashamed of how I felt.
“Grandpa!” she yelled happily. “You came to see us!”
Grandpa smiled and Mom and I let go of him as he
stretched out his arms to my ten-year-old sister, who was
still young enough to be hugged. 4 4 Key Reading Skill
“Wicincala, little girl,” he greeted her and then collapsed. Predicting Why do you think
He had fainted. Mom and I carried him into her sewing Grandpa has come to visit?
room, where we had a spare bed.
After we had Grandpa on the bed Mom stood there
helplessly patting his shoulder.
“Shouldn’t we call the doctor, Mom?” I suggested, since
she didn’t seem to know what to do.
“Yes,” she agreed with a sigh. “You make Grandpa
comfortable, Martin.”
I reluctantly moved to the bed. I knew Grandpa wouldn’t
want to have Mom undress him, but I didn’t want to, either.

Doug Martin
READING WORKSHOP 3
He was so skinny and frail that his coat slipped off easily. Practice the Skills
When I loosened his tie and opened his shirt collar, I felt a
small leather pouch that hung from a thong 2 around his neck.
I left it alone and moved to remove his boots. The scuffed old
cowboy boots were tight and he moaned as I put pressure on
his legs to jerk them off.
I put the boots on the floor and saw why they fit so tight.
Each one was stuffed with money. I looked at the bills that
lined the boots and started to ask about them, but Grandpa’s
eyes were closed again. 5 5 Key Reading Skill
Mom came back with a basin of water. “The doctor thinks Predicting Why do you think
Grandpa is suffering from heat exhaustion,” 3 she explained Grandpa has stuffed his boots
as she bathed Grandpa’s face. Mom gave a big sigh, “Oh hinh, with money?
Martin. How do you suppose he got here?”
We found out after the doctor’s visit. Grandpa was angrily
sitting up in bed while Mom tried to feed him some soup.
“Tonight you let Marie feed you, Grandpa,” spoke my dad,
who had gotten home from work just as the doctor was
leaving. “You’re not really sick,” he said as he gently pushed
Grandpa back against the pillows. “The doctor said you just
got too tired and hot after your long trip.”
Grandpa relaxed, and between sips of soup he told us of
his journey. Soon after our visit to him Grandpa decided that
he would like to see where his only living descendants lived
and what our home was like. Besides, he admitted sheepishly,
he was lonesome after we left.
I knew everybody felt as guilty as I did—especially Mom.
Mom was all Grandpa had left. So even after she married my
dad, who’s a white man and teaches in the college in our city,
and after Cheryl and I were born, Mom made sure that every
summer we spent a week with Grandpa.
I never thought that Grandpa would be lonely after our
visits, and none of us noticed how old and weak he had
become. But Grandpa knew and so he came to us. He had
ridden on buses for two and a half days. When he arrived
2. A thong is a narrow strap of leather or similar material.

3. Heat exhaustion is dizziness and faintness from being in the sun too long.
Vocabulary
descendants (dih SEN dunts) n. blood relatives of an earlier generation
0608-0617_U5RW3SEL-845478.indd 611 3/12/07 5:38:24 PM

READING WORKSHOP 3
in the city, tired and stiff from sitting for so long, he set out, Practice the Skills
walking, to find us.
He had stopped to rest on the steps of some building
downtown and a policeman found him. The cop, according
to Grandpa, was a good man who took him to the bus stop
and waited until the bus came and told the driver to let
Grandpa out at Bell View Drive. After Grandpa got off the
bus, he started walking again. But he couldn’t see the house
numbers on the other side when he walked on the sidewalk
so he walked in the middle of the street. That’s when all the
little kids and dogs followed him.
I knew everybody felt as bad as I did. Yet I was proud of
this 86-year-old man, who had never been away from the
reservation, having the courage to travel so far alone.
“You found the money in my boots?” he asked Mom.
“Martin did,” she answered, and roused herself to scold.
“Grandpa, you shouldn’t have carried so much money. What
if someone had stolen it from you?”
Grandpa laughed. “I would’ve known if anyone tried to
take the boots off my feet. The money is what I’ve saved for
a long time—a hundred dollars—for my funeral. But you
take it now to buy groceries so that I won’t be a burden to
you while I am here.” 6 6 Key Reading Skill
“That won’t be necessary, Grandpa,” Dad said. “We are Predicting Was your prediction
honored to have you with us and you will never be a burden. about the money in Grandpa’s
I am only sorry that we never thought to bring you home boots correct?
with us this summer and spare you the discomfort of a long
trip.” 7 7 English Language Coach
Grandpa was pleased. “Thank you,” he answered. “But do Prefixes That Mean “Not”
not feel bad that you didn’t bring me with you for I would not Divide the word discomfort
have come then. It was not time.” He said this in such a way into its two parts—its prefix
and its base word. What does
that no one could argue with him. To Grandpa and the Sioux,
discomfort mean?
he once told me, a thing would be done when it was the right
time to do it and that’s the way it was.
“Also,” Grandpa went on, looking at me, “I have come
because it is soon time for Martin to have the medicine bag.”
We all knew what that meant. Grandpa thought he was
going to die and he had to follow the tradition of his family
to pass the medicine bag, along with its history, to the oldest
male child.

READING WORKSHOP 3
“Even though the boy,” he said still looking at me, “bears Practice the Skills
a white man’s name, the medicine bag will be his.”
I didn’t know what to say. I had the same hot and cold
feeling that I had when I first saw Grandpa in the street. The
medicine bag was the dirty leather pouch I had found around
his neck. “I could never wear such a thing,” I almost said
aloud. I thought of having my friends see it in gym class, at 8 Key Literary Element
the swimming pool, and could imagine the smart things they Theme To understand the
would say. But I just swallowed hard and took a step toward theme of this story, think about
the bed. I knew I would have to take it. the conflicts in it.
But Grandpa was tired. “Not now, Martin,” he said, waving • Martin is afraid of being
embarrassed by his grand-
his hand in dismissal, “it is not time. Now I will sleep.”
father and the medicine bag.
So that’s how Grandpa came to be with us for two months.
• Martin doesn’t want to hurt
My friends kept asking to come see the old man, but I put his grandfather’s feelings.
them off. I told myself that I didn’t want them laughing at • Martin has mixed feelings
Grandpa. But even as I made excuses I knew it wasn’t about his grandfather and
Grandpa that I was afraid they’d laugh at. 8 his Sioux heritage.
Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see
Grandpa. Every day after school started there’d be a crew of
giggling little girls or round-eyed little boys crowded around
the old man on the patio, where he’d gotten in
the habit of sitting every afternoon.
Grandpa would smile in his gentle way and
patiently answer their questions, or he’d tell
them stories of brave warriors, ghosts,
animals, and the kids listened in awed silence.
Those little guys thought Grandpa was great.
Finally, one day after school, my friends
came home with me because nothing I said
stopped them. “We’re going to see the great
Indian of Bell View Drive,” said Hank, who
was supposed to be my best friend. “My
brother has seen him three times so he oughta
be well enough to see us.”
When we got to my house Grandpa was
sitting on the patio. He had on his red shirt,
but today he also wore a fringed leather vest
that was decorated with beads. Instead of his
usual cowboy boots he had solidly beaded A Singing Indian. W. Ufer. Oil on canvas, 30 x 251⁄4 in.
Analyzing the Painting What items in this painting reflect
moccasins on his feet that stuck out of his the man’s Native American heritage? What details about
black trousers. Of course, he had his old black Grandpa reveal his identity as a Sioux?

Christie’s Images
READING WORKSHOP 3
hat on—he was seldom without it. But it had

been brushed and the feather in the beaded
headband was proudly erect, its tip
a brighter white. His hair lay in silver
strands over the red shirt collar.
I stared just as my friends did and I
heard one of them murmur, “Wow!” 9
Grandpa looked up and when his eyes
met mine they twinkled as if he were
laughing inside. He nodded to me and
my face got all hot. I could tell that he had
known all along I was afraid he’d embarrass
me in front of my friends.
“Hau, hoksilas, boys,” he greeted and held Sioux vest, Plains Indian. British Museum, London.
out his hand. Analyzing the Photo How is the vest in this photograph
My buddies passed in a single file and shook like the one Martin describes?
his hand as I introduced them. They were so
polite I almost laughed. “How, there, Grandpa,” and even a Practice the Skills
“How-do-you-do, sir.”
“You look fine, Grandpa,” I said as the guys sat on the lawn 9 Key Reading Skill
chairs or on the patio floor. Predicting Do you think
Martin will be embarrassed
“Hanh, yes,” he agreed. “When I woke up this morning it
in front of his friends by his
seemed the right time to dress in the good clothes. I knew grandfather? Why or why not?
that my grandson would be bringing his friends.”
“You guys want some lemonade or something?” I offered.
No one answered. They were listening to Grandpa as he started
telling how he’d killed the deer from which his vest was made.
Grandpa did most of the talking while my friends were
there. I was so proud of him and amazed at how respectfully
quiet my buddies were. 10 Mom had to chase them home at 10 Key Reading Skill
supper time. As they left they shook Grandpa’s hand again Predicting Did you correctly
and said to me: predict how Martin’s friends
“Martin, he’s really great!” would react to his grandfather?
If not, why not?
“Yeah, man! Don’t blame you for keeping him to yourself.”
“Can we come back?”
But after they left, Mom said, “No more visitors for a while,
Martin. Grandpa won’t admit it, but his strength hasn’t
returned. He likes having company, but it tires him.”
That evening Grandpa called me to his room before he
went to sleep. “Tomorrow,” he said, “when you come home,
it will be time to give you the medicine bag.”

Art Resources/ Warner Forman Archive/British Museum—London Art Resources/ Warner Forman Archive/British Museum—London
READING WORKSHOP 3
I felt a hard squeeze from where my heart is supposed to Practice the Skills
be and was scared, but I answered, “OK, Grandpa.”
All night I had weird dreams about thunder and lightning
on a high hill. From a distance I heard the slow beat of a
drum. When I woke up in the morning I felt as if I hadn’t
slept at all. At school it seemed as if the day would never end
and, when it finally did, I ran home. 11 11 Key Reading Skill
Grandpa was in his room, sitting on the bed. The shades Predicting How do you think
were down and the place was dim and cool. I sat on the floor Martin will react when Grandpa
in front of Grandpa, but he didn’t even look at me. After what gives him the medicine bag?
Why do you think so?
seemed a long time he spoke.
“I sent your mother and sister away. What you will hear
today is only for a man’s ears. What you will receive is only for
a man’s hands.” He fell silent and I felt shivers down my back.
“My father in his early manhood,” Grandpa began, “made
a vision quest 4 to find a spirit guide for his life. You cannot
understand how it was in that time, when the great Teton
Sioux5 were first made to stay on the reservation. There was
a strong need for guidance from Wakantanka, the Great Spirit.
But too many of the young men were filled with despair and
hatred. They thought it was hopeless to search for a vision
when the glorious life was gone and only the hated confines
of a reservation lay ahead. But my father held to the old ways.
“He carefully prepared for his quest
with a purifying sweat bath and then he
went alone to a high butte top to fast and
pray. After three days he received his
sacred dream—in which he found, after
Visual Vocabulary long searching, the white man’s iron. He
A butte (byoot) is a
steep, flat-topped hill did not understand his vision of finding
that stands alone. something belonging to the white people,
for in that time they were the enemy.
When he came down from the butte to cleanse himself at
the stream below, he found the remains of a campfire and
the broken shell of an iron kettle. This was a sign which
4. A vision quest was a special trip made by young Sioux men to receive a dream that gave them
a song or an object that protected and guided them in life.
5. The Teton Sioux are the largest Sioux tribe. They were traditionally buffalo hunters.
Vocabulary
sacred (SAY krid) adj. holy; having to do with religion

A & L Sinibaldi/Stone/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 3
reinforced his dream. He took a piece of the iron for his Practice the Skills
medicine bag, which he had made of elk6 skin years before,
to prepare for his quest.
“He returned to his village, where he told his dream to the
wise old men of the tribe. They gave him the name Iron Shell,
but neither did they understand the meaning of the dream.
This first Iron Shell kept the piece of iron with him at all
times and believed it gave him protection from the evils of
those unhappy days.
“Then a terrible thing happened to Iron Shell. He and
several other young men were taken from their homes by the
soldiers and sent far away to a white man’s boarding school.7
He was angry and lonesome for his parents and the young
girl he had wed before he was taken away. At first Iron Shell
resisted the teachers’ attempts to change him and he did not
try to learn. One day it was his turn to work in the school’s
blacksmith8 shop. As he walked into the place he knew that
his medicine had brought him there to learn and work with
the white man’s iron.
“Iron Shell became a blacksmith and worked at the trade
when he returned to the reservation. All of his life he
treasured the medicine bag. When he was old, and I was
a man, he gave it to me, for no one made the vision quest
any more.” 12 12
Grandpa quit talking and I stared in disbelief as he covered How might the story of the
his face with his hands. His shoulders were shaking with vision quest help Martin under-
quiet sobs and I looked away until he began to speak again. stand his true self?
“I kept the bag until my son, your mother’s father, was a
man and had to leave us to fight in the war across the ocean.
I gave him the bag, for I believed it would protect him in
battle, but he did not take it with him. He was afraid that he
would lose it. He died in a faraway place.”
Again Grandpa was still and I felt his grief around me.
“My son,” he went on after clearing his throat, “had only a
daughter and it is not proper for her to know of these things.”
He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled out the leather pouch, and
lifted it over his head. He held it in his hand, turning it over
and over as if memorizing how it looked.
6. An elk is a very large type of deer with broad antlers.

7. A boarding school is a school where students live together as well as go to school.
8. A blacksmith makes iron objects, such as horseshoes, kettles, and door hinges.

READING WORKSHOP 3
“In the bag,” he said as he opened it and removed two Practice the Skills
objects, “is the broken shell of the iron kettle, a pebble from
the butte, and a piece of the sacred sage.” 9 He held the pouch
upside down and dust drifted down.
“After the bag is yours you must put a piece of prairie sage
within and never open it again until you pass it on to your son.”
He replaced the pebble and the piece of iron, and tied the bag.
I stood up, somehow knowing I should. Grandpa slowly
rose from the bed and stood upright in front of me holding
the bag before my face. I closed my eyes and waited for him
to slip it over my head. But he spoke.
“No, you need not wear it.” He placed the soft leather bag
in my right hand and closed my other hand over it. “It would
not be right to wear it in this time and place where no one
will understand. Put it safely away until you are again on the
reservation. Wear it then, when you replace the sacred sage.”
Grandpa turned and sat again on the bed. Wearily he
leaned his head against the pillow. “Go,” he said, “I will sleep
now.”
“Thank you, Grandpa,” I said softly and left with the bag in
my hands. 13 13 Key Literary Element
That night Mom and Dad took Grandpa to the hospital. Theme Martin’s internal
Two weeks later I stood alone on the lonely prairie of the conflict about his grandfather
reservation and put the sacred sage in my medicine bag. 14 ❍ is resolved. What did Martin
learn from the experience?
The answer to that question
is the theme of the story.
14
How does accepting the medi-
cine bag help Martin stay true
on “The Medicine Bag” page
of Foldable 5. Your response
will help you complete the Unit
Challenge later.
Boy on Edge of Chasm, 1993 (detail). Kam
Mak. Oil on panels, 14 x 101⁄ 2 in. Collection
of the artist.
Analyzing the Painting How does
this painting capture the seriousness of
the moment when Martin receives the
medicine bag?
9. Sage is a sweet-smelling plant. Different varieties are used as medicine or spice.

Kam Mak/SIS
After You Read The Medicine Bag
Answering the
1. What do you think is Martin’s true self, the way he is with his friends
or with his family—or both? Explain.
2. Recall How does Martin feel about his Sioux background at the start
of the story, when his grandfather first comes to visit?
T IP Right There
3. Summarize In a sentence or two, sum up the reasons that Grandpa
has come to visit Martin and his family.
Critical Thinking
4. Infer Why do you think Grandpa cries after he tells Martin how Iron
Shell gave him the medicine bag?
T IP Author and Me
5. Interpret A symbol is a person, place, or thing that stands for some-
thing more than what it is. For example, a red rose can represent, or
symbolize, love. What do you think the medicine bag symbolizes in
the story? Give details from the story to support your answer.
T IP Author and Me
6. Analyze The story is told in the first-person from Martin’s point of
view. How might your feelings toward Martin change if the story were
told in the third-person by an outsider watching what happens?
T IP On My Own
Reading Make predictions • Make Write About Your Reading
Literature Identify literary elements: Diary Entry Imagine that you are Martin. Write a diary entry about
theme the day Grandpa gave you the medicine bag. Be sure to include the
prefixes
following ideas:
Writing Respond to literature: diary • your feelings about the history of the medicine bag
entry
Grammar Combine sentences • your feelings about owning the medicine bag
• how owning the medicine bag has changed you

Skills Review Grammar Link: Combining

Key Reading Skill: Predicting Sentences
7. Explain how making predictions as you read Too many short, simple sentences can make writing
helped you understand the story. Discuss the sound choppy. Vary the lengths and kinds of sentences
predictions you made about the characters you use by combining simple sentences.
and the plot.
Method A: Compound Sentences Combine two
Key Literary Element: Theme simple sentences (independent clauses) to form a com-
8. In a sentence or two, state the theme of pound sentence. Form it with a comma and a coordi-
“The Medicine Bag.” nating conjunction (and, but, nor, or, for, so, yet).
9. How did understanding the conflicts in the • The sky darkened. It started to rain big drops.
story help you figure out the theme? • The sky darkened, and it started to rain big drops.
Method B: Complex Sentences Combine two

Vocabulary Check simple sentences (independent clauses) to form a
complex sentence. Add a subordinating conjunction
Write T for each true statement and F for each to one of the independent clauses to make it a
false one. dependent clause.
10. An authentic medicine bag is made of plastic. Common subordinating conjunctions include after,
11. A group of government officials on their way although, as, because, before, if, since, though, unless,
to an important meeting would probably walk in until, when, whether, and while.
a stately fashion. • After the sky darkened, it started to rain big drops.
12. A quiet, orderly exit from school is a commotion.
13. Your children will be your descendants. Grammar Practice
14. A sacred object is likely to be holy to people. Combine sentences to vary the sentence patterns in
the paragraph below. Include at least one compound
15. Academic Vocabulary Why is an understanding sentence and one complex sentence. (There’s more
of Martin’s Sioux heritage relevant to a discussion than one right way to revise the paragraph.)
of “The Medicine Bag”?
Spring is here. The weather is warm. The beach will
English Language Coach On a separate sheet of reopen soon. Baseball is back. You and your family
paper, write the prefix and the base word that make will visit. We can catch up on old times.
up the listed word. Then write a definition of the word.
If you need help, use a dictionary. Writing Application Review the diary entry you
16. disappear wrote for the Write About Your Reading activity. Make
17 . unclean sure it contains at least one compound sentence and
one complex sentence.
18. immaterial
19. disbelieve
20. disinfect
21. unafraid
to www.glencoe.com.

file photo
Before You Read A Year of Living Bravely
Vocabulary Preview
confesses (kun FES ses) v. tells a truth that one rarely talks about; form of
the verb confess (p. 623) Bethany confesses to being afraid sometimes.
exotic (eg ZOT ik) adj. strangely beautiful and foreign (p. 624) Bethany
goes to exotic places to surf with her family and friends.
hardships (HARD ships) n. things that cause pain or suffering; misfortunes
E m il y (p. 625) In spite of the hardships the fire caused, the family was happy
C ostello
because no one was hurt.
Meet the Author
Partner Talk With a partner, look over the vocabulary words. Then write
Emily Costello was born in
1966. She has written many V down a synonym and an antonym for each word. (Remember that synonyms
share almost the same meaning; antonyms have opposite meanings.)
books and articles for young
adults, including fiction and English Language Coach
biography, and articles on
science topics. Costello tells Prefixes That Show Relationships A prefix is a syllable added to the
young people who want to beginning of a word to change the word’s meaning. If you know the
write, “Keep a diary. Record meaning of common prefixes, you can unlock the meaning of words that
what’s happening in your life begin with prefixes. The chart below lists prefixes that show relationships.
and practice explaining how EL
you’re feeling each day.” Prefix Word Example Meaning
co- means “with,” coworker “one who works with
“together,” or “partner” another person”
coexist “to exist together”
about Emily Costello, go coauthor “an author who writes as
to www.glencoe.com. a partner of another”
pre- means “before” preseason “before the regular season”
post- means “after” postseason “after the regular season”
Think-Pair-Share Use a dictionary to find three words that begin with

the prefixes co-, pre-, or post-. Make a two-column chart in your Learner’s
Objectives (pp. 620–625) Notebook, and write the words in the first column. In the second column,
Reading Make predictions • Make write a sentence using the word. Challenge a classmate to guess the
Informational text Identify literary meanings of the words by using word analysis and context clues.
device: attention-getting
prefixes

File Photo
0618-0621_U5RW3APP-845478.indd 620 3/12/07 5:38:54 PM


Key Reading Skill: Predicting Connect to the Reading
“A Year of Living Bravely” is about Bethany Hamilton, a Bethany Hamilton loves to surf. Being a surfer is a
teenaged surfer who was badly hurt in a shark attack in big part of who she is. What is your favorite activity
2003. From this information and the title of the article, or hobby? What would you do if an injury stopped
predict what the article will say about Bethany. you from doing it? Would you substitute a different
activity?
Whole Class Discussion As a class, guess what
kinds of facts and details you will find in the article. Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, jot
To get started, think about the 5Ws and an H. down a few sentences describing what your hobby is.
Tell what you think you might do if you couldn’t enjoy
Text Element: Attention-Getting Device it anymore and why you think you would do that.
Many nonfiction writers begin their articles with a
statement intended to capture readers’ attention and Build Background
make them want to read on. This kind of beginning Surfing dates back to prehistoric times. It is believed to
is an attention-getting device. Types of attention- have originated in the South Pacific among Polynesian
getting devices include the following: sailors. During the 1800s, missionaries banned surfing
• a statement that presents interesting information in the South Pacific. Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku
revived the sport of surfing in the early 1900s. He
Example: Bees have been producing honey for
started Waikiki’s first surf club and introduced surfing
more than 100 million years.
to Australia. Today surfing is a popular sport in many
• a rhetorical (reh TOR ih kul) question—a question parts of the world.
that readers are not expected to answer
• The surfboards of the early 1900s were made of
Example: Did you know that bees have been wood. They were eight to ten feet long. They were
producing honey for more than 100 million years? also heavy, weighing in at 100 pounds.
• a surprising fact • Modern boards are made of plastic and are only
Example: A single bee colony has a lot of worker about six feet long. They weigh five or six pounds
bees—in fact, more than 50,000! and have fins on the bottom so the rider can steer.
Partner Talk With a classmate, read the first para- Set Purposes for Reading
graph of a magazine or newspaper feature article. Read “A Year of Living Bravely”
What type of attention-getting device does the writer to learn how Bethany stays true to herself in spite of
use? Discuss whether it makes you want to read on. her injury.
Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to

learn from the selection to help you answer the Big
Question? Write your own purpose on the “A Year of
Living Bravely” page of Foldable 5.

To review or learn more about author’s
purpose, go to www.glencoe.com. Use these skills as you read “A Year of
Living Bravely.”
A Year of Living Bravely 621

READING WORKSHOP 3
A Year of
Living
by Emily Costello
Bravely
B ethany Hamilton had a horrifying experience last
Halloween. A tiger shark attacked her while she was surfing
Practice the Skills
1 Text Element
off the coast of Hawaii. The shark chewed off Bethany’s left Attention-Getting Device
arm just below the shoulder. By the time she reached the By opening with interesting state-
hospital, she’d lost half the blood in her body. She was near ments, the author tries to interest
you in reading the rest of the
death. Bethany had two surgeries to close the wound. She
article. Do the facts make you
spent eight days in the hospital. 1 want to read on? Explain.
Nobody would have blamed Bethany if she’d never surfed 2 Key Reading Skill
again. Instead, she recovered with surprising speed. Less Predicting To predict what the
article will say about Bethany,
than a month after the attack, she was surfing again. On
think about these facts:
January 10, she entered a major competition. She took fifth
• The title of the selection is
place out of 24. “A Year of Living Bravely.”
• Bethany says she recovered
What helped Bethany recover so quickly? She loves to surf, fast to return to surfing.
and she wanted to start again. “Desire is the answer,” she From these facts, you can guess
says, “and I had that.” 2 that the article will tell in more
detail what Bethany did during
the year after the shark attack.

Kirk Aeder/Icon SMI/CORBIS
READING WORKSHOP 3
Cool Accessories Practice the Skills

Bethany isn’t self-conscious about her missing arm. She calls
what’s left of her left arm “Stumpy.” She rarely covers Stumpy
with long-sleeved shirts. Instead, she wears what she’s always
liked to wear—tank tops and bathing suits.
Her new arm, which is made of plastic and metal, has a

nickname too. She calls it “Haole Girl.” Haole (HOWLee)
means “white.” It’s a word Hawaiians use for non-natives.
The name fits. Originally the arm was much paler than
Bethany’s own skin. It was recently dyed darker.
3 Key Reading Skill
The arm was a gift from the manufacturer. It cost $45,000 to
Predicting What do you think
make! Still, the arm is mostly for looks. Bethany has to move
this section will be about? Think
it with her good arm. She confesses that she rarely takes it about these things:
out of the closet. • what you’ve learned so far
about Bethany
“I’m complete without it,” Bethany says. “I can paddle and • what the subtitle, or subhead,
balance on a surfboard. I can cut an orange by holding it “Suddenly Famous” tells you.
between my feet. And I like my new look.”
Suddenly Famous 3
Bethany has adjusted to a one-armed life without
much trouble. But other parts of her new life have
been challenging. “I’m learning how to balance
my life—schooling, surfing, and my career,”
Bethany says.
Bethany is in the eighth grade. She’s home-

schooled1—although “on-the-road-schooled”
might be more accurate.
During the past year, Bethany has had little

time at home. She appeared on the TV news-
magazine show 20/20. She was on the cover of
1. Someone who is home-schooled is taught school subjects outside of

school by a parent or a tutor rather than in school by a teacher.
Vocabulary Analyzing the Photo Hamilton smiles on arriving for

the 2004 premier of the film Open Water. How does
confesses (kun FES ses) v. tells a truth that one rarely talks about this photograph convey her confidence?

Scott Gries/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 3
Analyzing the Photo Hamilton appears with Damien Fahey, veejay of MTV’s Total Request
Live, in 2003. How might Hamilton’s story encourage other teens who face setbacks?
Practice the Skills
People and Teen Vogue. She co-wrote a book called Soul
Surfer. 4 She has a movie in the works. The ESPN sports 4 English Language Coach
network gave her an Espy Award. She made an appearance at Prefixes That Show
the Teen Choice Awards. She threw out the first pitch at the Relationships The prefix co-
Oakland A’s season opener. She has done hundreds of means “with,” “together,” or
“partner.” What does co-wrote
interviews for magazines.
mean?
Of course, being famous isn’t all hard work. For Bethany,

one of the perks 2 is going to exotic places to surf. Bethany
traveled to Nicaragua and Portugal earlier this year, and
loved it. “She wakes me up at 5 a.m. and screams, ‘Let’s go
2. Perks is short for perquisites, which are special privileges.
Vocabulary
exotic (eg ZOT ik) adj. strangely beautiful and foreign

Scott Gries/Getty Images
0622-0625_U5RW3SEL-845478.indd 624 3/14/07 11:35:31 AM

READING WORKSHOP 3
surfing!’ ” her best friend, Alana Blanchard, told USA Today. Practice the Skills
“She just always wants to surf.”
The Hard Part

Bethany is always training to become a better surfer. She
plans to surf for the rest of her life.
But she admits that sometimes being in the ocean feels weird.
She gets a little scared. When that happens, she calls to
5
friends surfing nearby. Or she sings a song to herself.
Do you think it was important
for Bethany to surf after her
“I have nightmares,” Bethany confesses. When the night- accident? Explain why or why
mares come, she says it helps to think about other people’s not. Write your answer on the
problems. This summer, Bethany hopes to raise $50,000 for “A Year of Living Bravely” page
disabled kids through a charity called World Vision. of Foldable 5. Your response
will help you complete the Unit
Challenge later.
Bethany notes that there are 120 million disabled kids
worldwide. Landmines3 injured many of them. In poor
countries, few disabled kids get to go to school. Some poor
families abandon disabled kids. Thinking about such
hardships, Bethany knows how lucky she really is.
“Why shouldn’t I be happy?” she asks. “I’m surfing

and traveling and really doing all I ever
wanted.” 5 ❍
3. Landmines are explosive devices that are placed on or beneath the ground.
Vocabulary
hardships (HARD ships) n. things that cause pain or suffering; misfortunes

CORBIS
After You Read A Year of Living Bravely
Answering the
1. From reading “A Year of Living Bravely,” what have you learned about
how someone stays true to himself or herself?
2. Recall How did Bethany lose her left arm?
T IP Right There
3. Recall What does Bethany say she does to get over her nightmares?
T IP Right There
Critical Thinking
4. Interpret What does Bethany mean when she says, “I am complete
without [the plastic arm]”?
T IP Author and Me
5. Analyze What is the main idea of the article? Write it in your own
words. Then explain which facts, details, and other clues in the article
helped you find the main idea.
T IP Author and Me
6. Evaluate Would you recommend this article to other eighth-graders?
Why or why not? Use details from the article to support your answer.
T IP On My Own

Whole Class Discussion Bethany Hamilton has been in the news a
lot. She has been interviewed by TV, magazine, and newspaper reporters.
Objectives (pp. 626–627) She has won awards. She has written a book, and she is working on a
Reading Make predictions • Make movie about her life. As a class, discuss why Bethany has gotten so much
Informational text Identify literary
publicity, or news coverage, and what more you’d like to know about her.
device: attention-getting • Why do you think people are interested in her story?
prefixes • Why do you think she wants to tell others her story?
Grammar Combine sentences • If you could meet Bethany, what would you like to ask her? Why?

Skills Review Grammar Link: More

Key Reading Skill: Predicting Sentence Combining
7. Look back at the predictions you made before Combining sentences is a useful way to avoid repeating
you read “A Year of Living Bravely” and while you ideas. Notice the repetition in the following paragraph.
read it. Which of your predictions were correct? Repeated words and ideas are underlined.
Did anything in the story surprise you? Explain. • I often have to babysit my twin brothers. My twin
brothers are Sam and Danny. They never sit still.
Text Element: Attention-Getting Device They like to run around the house. They like to chase
8. The author begins her article with interesting the dog. They like to throw baseballs at each other.
statements about Bethany’s accident. Use a
To fix repeated words and phrases, try combining
different attention-getting device, such as a
sentences by using one or more of the following
rhetorical question or surprising facts, to write
methods.
a new first paragraph for the selection. Then tell
which introduction you think is better and why. Method A: Explanatory Phrase Make the
repeated idea into an explanatory phrase.
Vocabulary Check • Repetitious: I often have to babysit my twin
brothers. My twin brothers are Sam and Danny.
Answer true or false to each statement. If a statement • Better: I often have to babysit my twin brothers,
is false, rewrite it to make it true. Sam and Danny.
9. Someone who confesses to a crime admits to
doing an illegal act. Method B: Series of Items Combine the repeated
10. An exotic place is a familiar location. ideas in a series.
11. Hardships often cause unhappiness. • Repetitious: They like to run around the house.
12. Academic Vocabulary If your teacher tells you They like to chase the dog. They like to throw
to pick relevant details, what kind of details will baseballs at each other.
you look for as you read? • Better: They like to run around the house, chase the
English Language Coach On a separate sheet of dog, and throw baseballs at each other.
paper, write the prefix and the base word that make
up each of the words below. Then write a definition of Grammar Practice
the word. If you need help, use a dictionary. Use a method described above to combine each pair
13. cohost of repetitious sentences below. Write your sentences
on a separate sheet of paper.
14. preview
18. We like to visit Middletown Ocean View. Middle-
15. copilot
town Ocean View is a beautiful aquarium.
16. postgame
19. On our vacation we went swimming. We went
17 . prerecorded boating. We also went hiking.
20. My little brother borrowed my favorite book.
My favorite book is Tuck Everlasting.
21. The Tucks are the family described in the book.
Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection The Tucks have found the secret of eternal life.
Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go 22. They go into the forest. They drink water from
to www.glencoe.com. a magic fountain. They never grow old.

file photo
Short Story
Revising, Editing, and Presenting
In Writing Workshop Part 1 you wrote a draft of your short story. Now it’s
ASSIGNMENT Write a time to improve it. Keep a copy of your story in your writing portfolio so
short story that you and your teacher can evaluate your writing progress over time.
Purpose: To tell a story
about a character who Revising
struggles to stay true to
himself or herself Make It Better
Audience: Your teacher
and your classmates Take a fresh look at your draft. This is your chance to improve it.
1. Read your draft quickly and put it aside. Then think about the general
impression you get from your story. Ask yourself these questions.
Revising Rubric
• Does my writing tell the story I want to tell? Does everything in it con-
Your revised short story
tribute to one overall effect without wandering away from the point?
should have
• Are there any parts that are awkward or confusing?
• a clear focus and effective
organization • Do my characters seem like real people? (See the next section for help
• well-developed characters
in developing your characters.)
• a plot with a clear • Is the conflict understandable?
beginning, conflict, and • Is the resolution satisfying?
resolution • Do I describe the setting well enough that readers can picture it?
• a setting that fits your plot
• Does my story have a consistent point of view? Is everything seen
• realistic dialogue
through the same character’s eyes?
2. Reread the draft slowly. Mark places where you want to rewrite.
Develop Believable Characters

Good characters are lifelike people your readers can care about.
Characterization is how you bring them to life. You can develop characters
by describing how they look, how they talk, how they act, and how they
Objectives (pp. 628–633) feel. You can also reveal what other characters say about them. Dialogue is
Writing Use the writing process:
revise, edit, present a short story
another good way to develop your characters. Reread your story, looking
• Use literary elements: plot, set- for opportunities to further develop your characters.
ting, character, dialogue, conflict
• Use good writing traits: organize
Grammar Use compound and
complex sentences
Listening, Speaking, and
Viewing Participate in a group
discussion

Applying Good Writing Traits

Organization • Write a satisfying end to your story. Show how
the conflict is resolved and what the main charac-
Good short stories are well organized and focused. ter learns. Don’t leave readers feeling as if you
They have a point. They move clearly from the got up to answer the door and forgot to come
beginning to the middle to the end. The writing is back. Also avoid overused endings such as “and
smooth, and the conclusion makes sense. then I woke up” or “we lived happily ever after.”
What Is Organization? Organization Practice Check the organization

Organization is the inner structure of a piece of of your story by making a story map like this one.
writing—the order in which the ideas are arranged. Do the three stages of your story do their jobs?
The organization of a story guides readers through
a sequence of events. Beginning
Introduce characters,
Why Is Organization Important conflict, setting.
in My Writing? Middle
Develop characters
• Organizing your ideas can help you get them
and conflict.
down on paper more quickly and easily.
• Clear organization guides readers through your End
ideas and makes your writing easier to follow. Resolve conflict. Tell
• Strong organization gives readers a sense of what protagonist learned.
direction while they read.
How Do I Organize My Writing?

Different types of writing are organized in different
ways. The following guidelines will help you
strengthen the organization of narratives, or stories.
• Organize the events of your story in a logical Analyzing Cartoons
order. Set up the conflict clearly before you try This boy could sure use some help
to resolve it. Use transition words (then, next, getting organized! If you wrote to
finally ) to link ideas and events. a friend about your opinion of this
cartoon, how would you organize
your writing?
res Syndicate, Inc.

with Permission of King Featu
© Zits Partnership. Reprinted

Editing
Finish It Up
Writing Tip When you are satisfied with your story, look carefully to see whether there
Spelling If you are using a
are any errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
computer, you can use the
Use the Editing Checklist to spot and correct errors. Get rid of any words that
Spell Check feature, but the
only way to be 100 percent
aren’t needed. If you have trouble recognizing your mistakes, try reading
sure of a word’s spelling is to
your story aloud. Hearing the words may help you catch mistakes that you
look it up in a dictionary. miss when you only see the words on the page.
Editing Checklist
✓ Pronouns agree with their antecedents.
❑
✓ The writing is free of sentence fragments and run-ons.
❑
✓ All verbs agree with their subjects.
❑
✓ Punctuation is correct.
❑
✓ Spelling and capitalization are correct.
❑
Take one last quick look through your short story before you hand it in.
Ask yourself, Is this as good as I can make it? Did I miss anything?
Presenting
Show It Off
Writing Tip Stories are meant to be read! With your classmates, make a book of short
Read Aloud Another way to stories that you can share with other classes. Your character’s struggle to stay
present your story is to read it true may help readers handle something they are going through.
to your class. You can act out 1. Neatly copy your story or, if possible, use a word-processing program
scenes, use different voices for to enter and print out a final copy of your story.
different characters—whatever 2. If you want to, add pictures to your story to help readers visualize a
you feel like doing. Have fun character, setting, or mood (the general feeling of your story). You can
performing! draw an illustration, find a picture in a magazine or newspaper, or search
the Internet for an image you can use. Be sure that the image you choose
captures an event or mood from your story.
3. Put all of the stories and pictures together in a binder. Now you have a
collection of short stories about many different characters and situations
but about the same theme (staying true to oneself in a difficult situation).
4. Finally, work together as a class to brainstorm possible titles for your
collection. Vote to choose one of them.

Writer’s Model Active Writing Model
Being There for Abuela

Marisol finished getting ready for school. She went into
the kitchen and grabbed her lunch, tuna fish and wheat The beginning of the story
bread, from the counter. She walked into the living room, introduces you to Marisol and
where her grandmother sat on the couch knitting a blue her grandmother.
sweater. “Abuela, how are you feeling today?”
“I am feeling better, Marisol. Are you leaving for
school?” her grandmother asked.
“Yes, I have a math test. I will see you after school.”
Dialogue and description show
“Good, I will make us some asopao for dinner. I know
you what the main character
it’s your favorite.” acts like and looks like.
Marisol walked out of the house into the cold morning.
The tears came into her eyes. Her grandmother looked so
small and weak. Marisol pushed back her hair and pulled
her jean jacket more tightly together. She ran to catch
the bus.
All day in school she thought about her grandmother. The writer uses third-person
They had all moved so far to get to the United States. point of view (“she,” “her”)
Her mom, dad, and brother were doing great. But her here and throughout the story.
grandmother was dying. She was really old, and she did The words “I” and “my” appear
only in dialogue.
less and less every day. Marisol loved her so much. The
thought of losing her broke Marisol’s heart. She tried to
finish writing her essay in English class, the last period of
the day, but she couldn’t concentrate. Finally, the bell rang,
and she was free to go home.
Marisol went to her locker to get her books for home-
work. Her three best friends were there waiting for her.
Julie, Tracy, and Sam had been there for Marisol since
she moved to the new school. They were all on the soccer
team and hung out together.
“Hey, Marisol, you ready for practice?” Julie yelled Dialogue shows you the rela-
down the hallway. tionship between characters
“I can’t go today,” Marisol yelled back as she ran to her and gives you information
about the conflict.
locker. “I have to get home and see my grandmother. She’s
not doing so well.”

Active Writing Model

“Coach isn’t going to like it. That’s three practices
you’ve missed, and we have a game tomorrow,” said Sam.
“I know, but I can’t help it.” Marisol got her books and
shut her locker door. “See you later,” she said to her
friends. They all looked at her.
Tracy smiled. “Tell your grandma we hope she feels
better. See you tomorrow.” The three of them turned and
walked away toward the soccer field. Marisol walked
down the other hall.
When she got home, she could smell the garlic from the
The writer moves the story’s asopao. She ran into the kitchen to see her grandmother,
setting to the kitchen to give who stood at the stove. Her grandmother turned and
readers a better sense of smiled at her. Marisol knew then that not going to soccer
the relationship between practice was the right decision.
Marisol and her grand-
“Just in time,” said her grandmother as she ladled the
mother. Concrete details
help readers imagine sights
meat and vegetables into a bowl and placed it on the
and sounds. table. “Sit and eat.”
Marisol sat down and put her books on the floor. Her
grandmother sat across from her, straightening her red
dress around her as she got comfortable. “Tell me about
your day,” she said, and Marisol began to talk. They sat
there for hours as the sun went down and the rest of
the family came home from work and school.
After dinner, Marisol went into her room. She sat on
her bed and spread her books out. What should she do?
This paragraph focuses on She loved playing soccer, but she loved her grandmother
the main conflict: Marisol’s more. If she didn’t play, would she lose all her friends?
decision about whether to What about college? Without a soccer scholarship, she
stay on the soccer team or
spend time with her dying
didn’t think she would be able to go. Marisol sat in her
grandmother. room and thought about her grandmother dying. How long
did she have? Marisol knew it wasn’t long.
As Marisol started her homework, she made her deci-
sion. She would quit the soccer team this year. She could
always play next year, but her grandmother might not be
The resolution of the story
shows Marisol making her deci-
here then. With her decision made, Marisol finished her
sion and being true to herself homework with no problem. Her mom came in to say good
when she realizes that soccer night. Marisol went to bed and slept better than ever.
will always be there, but her
grandmother will not.

Listening, Speaking, and Viewing

Group Discussion • Think before you speak, but then speak up.
Volunteer your ideas and opinions.
Do you enjoy a good talk with your friends?
• Use the skills of inferring and drawing conclu-
In a group discussion you can try to persuade
sions in your discussion. Bring your own prior
classmates to share your opinions.
knowledge and experience to the conversation.
What Is Group Discussion? • Listen to what others have to say. Give everyone
a chance to talk. Be encouraging.
A group discussion is a gathering of three or more • If you don’t understand the point someone is
students to talk about a piece of writing. You might making, ask for more information.
discuss one specific question (for example, What
is the main conflict? Is the protagonist’s behavior • It’s okay to disagree with a classmate, but be
believable?), or you might cover several elements polite. You might say, “But have you consid-
of a story. It’s usually a good idea to take notes on ered . . .” not “That doesn’t make any sense.”
the group’s ideas so you can share them with the • Build on other group members’ comments.
entire class. • Help the group summarize its progress. Stop
every few minutes and say, “This is what we’ve
Why Is Group Discussion figured out so far. What else do we need to know
Important? or figure out?”
• Identify missing information in the group’s
In a group discussion students help each other answer. Help the other members fill in blanks.
learn. You voice and support your own opinions
and listen to other people’s. You develop skills in
Try It Out Use the guidelines on conducting
listening, dealing with conflict, and making deci-
a group discussion when you discuss these ques-
sions. When you share information and debate its
tions: (1) Did Marisol do the right thing to resolve
meaning, you can learn new ideas and teach them.
her conflict? (2) Is there some way she could have
You also get a chance to see things from other
handled it better? Be prepared to support your
people’s perspectives and appreciate their different
opinions with examples from the text and from life.
ways of communicating.
How Do I Take Part in

Group Discussion?
Use the tips that follow to participate effectively
in group discussion.
Analyzing Cartoons
Would Calvin have found
Tommy’s story funny if he
had read it in a book?
sion. All rights reserved.

SYNDICATE. Reprinted with permis
on. Dist. By UNIVERSAL PRESS
CALVIN AND HOBBES © 1986 Watters

READING WORKSHOP 4
Skills Focus
• “The Fire Pond,” p. 638
• from Savion!: My Life in Tap,
p. 654 Skill Lesson
Reading
• Inferring unstated ideas in text
Making Inferences
Literature
Learn It!
• Analyzing the setting of a story
What Is It? Inferring is like being a detective. It’s
• Recognizing how setting
using your knowledge and information you gather
affects characters and conflicts
from a text to make a good guess. Writers often
• Analyzing tone imply, or hint at, an idea without stating it outright.
To make inferences, you “read between the lines”
Vocabulary and use what you know to figure out what the hints
• Using prefixes to infer mean. For instance, while reading fiction you might
word meaning make inferences about the following:
• Academic Vocabulary: imply • why a character does something
• what a character is feeling
Writing/Grammar • how setting affects conflicts and characters
• Avoiding run-on sentences
icate, Inc.
Permission of King Features Synd
© Zits Partnership. Reprinted with
Analyzing Cartoons
What clue tells Jeremy’s dad that
the phone call was for Jeremy?

Reading Make inferences
634 UNIT 5
© Zits Partnership. Reprinted with Permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc.
0634-0637_U5RW4APP-845478.indd 634 3/12/07 5:40:32 PM

READING WORKSHOP 4 • Making Inferences
Why Is It Important? In life you often do not have complete information

about people or situations. You must use the information you do have to
make inferences. Likewise, texts you read may not spell out every idea for
you. You must use the information authors do give you. Study Central Visit
www.glencoe.com and click on
How Do I Do It? As you read, pay attention to details. They are clues Study Central to review making
that will help you make inferences. Combine the clues with your own inferences.
knowledge and experience. Then make inferences to figure out implied
ideas. Read the following passage from a story. Then read to see how a
student inferred what a character was like.
My brother is eight years older than I am. But he
seems to be twenty years wiser. Though I wouldn’t
say I’m jealous of him, exactly, I do sort of feel as if
I live in the shadow of a giant. He seems to have it
all—brains, looks, a great sense of humor, kindness.
He’s quarterback of his college football team, and
girls are continually e-mailing and calling him. My
aunt calls him Mr. Amourica because amour means
“love” in French. I’ll never get that kind of attention.
I think the narrator has mixed feelings about his brother.

On the one hand, he seems to admire “Mr. Amourica,”
because he talks about all his great qualities. On the other
hand, the narrator seems to want to be his own person.
He may feel pressured to be like his brother. I’ve seen
situations like that. I have a friend whose older sister did
well in everything—school, sports, work, you name it. My
friend had trouble in school. She hated being compared to
her sister. She just wanted to be liked for who she was.
Practice It!
Do you agree with the student’s inferences? List positive things the narrator
says about his brother. Then jot down notes about anything negative about
their relationship. Think about similar brother or sister relationships you’ve
seen or experienced. Write a few sentences describing the relationship
between the narrator and his brother.
Use It!
As you read “The Fire Pond” and from Savion!: My Life in Tap, make
inferences based on details and descriptions in the texts.
Reading Workshop 4 Making Inferences 635

Brent Turner
Before You Read The Fire Pond
Vocabulary Preview
fortune (FOR chun) n. luck; riches (p. 639) When he won the lottery,
the old man could not believe his good fortune.
recedes (ree SEEDS) v. moves or pulls back; form of the verb recede
(p. 641) Whenever we have hot, dry weather for several days, the
water in the pond recedes.
M ic salvaged (SAL vujd) v. saved from ruin; rescued; form of the verb salvage
h a e l J. R o s e n
(p. 641) We salvaged a few pieces of furniture and some pictures from
our home after the flood.
Meet the Author
calculating (KAL kyoo lay ting) v. using math or logic to figure out some-
Michael J. Rosen writes, edits,
thing; form of the verb calculate (p. 646) My sister is calculating how
and illustrates books. He lives
long it will take her to save for a new bicycle.
in the country and loves
nature. He works hard for
the humane treatment of On Your Own In your Learner’s Notebook, write a sentence for each
dogs. Rosen believes that of the vocabulary words. Be sure to use each word correctly.
to succeed at any task takes
persistent effort. He says, English Language Coach
“Inspiration’s overrated. Prefixes That Show Position Knowing what common prefixes mean
Strike until the iron is hot.” will help you unlock the meaning of many words. Look at the chart below.
All the prefixes on the chart show position. As you read “The Fire Pond,”
look for words that begin with these and other prefixes that show position.
EL
Author Search For more Prefix Meaning Word Examples
about Michael J. Rosen, go to
www.glencoe.com. out- “outside” or “beyond” outfield, outbuilding
sub- “beneath” submarine, subway
under- “less than” or “below” underpay, underground
over- “on top of” or “too much” overcoat, overshoot
Partner Work For each prefix, write a word that begins with the prefix.
Objectives (pp. 636–649) (Do not repeat the words on the chart.) Then use the word in a sentence.
Reading Make inferences • Make
connections from text to self Work with a classmate, and use a dictionary if you need to.
setting
prefixes

Michael J. Rosen
0634-0637_U5RW4APP-845478.indd 636 3/12/07 5:40:35 PM


Key Reading Skill: Making Inferences Connect to the Reading
Authors rarely say exactly what a character values or What makes you happy? Your idea of happiness
believes. But you can usually infer what a character may be different from that of your parents, your
values. While you are reading “The Fire Pond,” make classmates, or your friends.
inferences about the characters’ values. Pay special
attention to these points: Write to Learn In a few sentences describe what
• what or whom the characters respect makes you happy and why. Then briefly describe how
you act when you’re happy.
• what the characters do
• how the characters treat each other Build Background
People who live in the country may not have access to
Whole Class Discussion How can you tell what public water pipes and fire hydrants as people in cities
a person values? List ideas. do. So how do farm people find water to put out a fire?
• Many farms have ponds that can supply the
Key Literary Element: Setting
thousands of gallons of water needed to put out a
Setting is the time and the place in which the events fire. Rural fire departments have special pumps that
of a story occur. Setting includes the ideas, customs, move the water from a pond into the hoses.
values, and beliefs of the people who live in a parti-
cular time and place. For example, suppose that a • Many rural fire departments are staffed by volunteer
story takes place now, in your neighborhood. The firefighters. They train together but do not stay at
values and beliefs of the characters may be different the fire station. When a fire is reported, the firefight-
from those of people in a story set in ancient Greece. ers must rush to the fire station from their homes or
jobs to pick up the equipment and fire trucks before
Setting may also influence the conflicts developed in they can get to the fire to extinguish it.
a story. For example, if a story is set in a place often
hit by tornadoes, then an external conflict—people Set Purposes for Reading
against a force of nature—may arise from that setting. Read “The Fire Pond” to
discover how the narrator of the story learns by
To understand the setting and its effects on “The Fire example to stay true to himself.
Pond,” ask yourself questions like these as you read:
When and where does the action take place? What Set Your Own Purpose What else would you like
is the relationship between the characters and their to learn from the story to help you answer the Big
setting? Does conflict arise from the setting? If so, Question? Write your purpose on “The Fire Pond”
how does that affect the characters? page of Foldable 5.
Small Group Discussion “The Fire Pond” is set in

the country. Before you read the story, get together
with a small group of classmates and discuss possible
similarities and differences between country life and Interactive Literary Elements Handbook
city life. Take notes on a Venn diagram.
elements, go to www.glencoe.com.
Keep Moving
Use these skills as you read “The Fire Pond.”
The Fire Pond 637

READING WORKSHOP 4
The
Fire Pond
by Michael J. Rosen
W e stock the fire pond with rainbows. “Fire pond’s” a

thing I’ve said for fourteen years and never once thinking
Practice the Skills
what it means besides this lake that Grandpa and friends

dug behind the barn before I was born—before Dad was
born. It’s perfect for swimming, if you’re not afraid of snakes
(which you shouldn’t be since snakes are more scared of
you), and it’s clear, so you can see your legs treading water1 1 Key Literary Element
underneath. The pond’s large enough to row around in a
Setting The following details
boat, and good for skating, too, unless you’re hotdogging and in the story tell you that it takes
trying those Olympic-medal spins. It’s a place the cows and place in the country.
horses will drink—deer, too, though we’d rather they hang • There’s a lake behind a barn.
out at another farm and leave our crops alone. 1 • There are snakes.
The rainbows are Grandpa’s. A few times a summer, we • Cows, horses, and deer drink
fish out half a dozen for supper. 2 Sometimes we’ll catch from the lake.
them on these hooks that don’t have barbs, so we can measure • There’s a farm and crops.
the trout and release them again. But the rainbows aren’t
2 Key Reading Skill
really for eating, just like the pond’s not really for raising fish.
Making Inferences What are
On the ride back from school, I stop and pick up loaves
rainbows in the context of the
of two-day-old bread that Angela at the bakery holds for story? The narrator says several
Grandpa (her mom was Grandpa’s girlfriend before he met things about them. Here are
Grandma) and, every now and then, a piece of lung the some clues:
butcher saves. Then Grandpa chops it all up and showers • “We stock the pond with
rainbows.”
• “We fish out half a dozen
1. Treading water is staying upright in the water by moving the feet up and down, as if walking. for supper.”

Ric Ergenbright/CORBIS
READING WORKSHOP 4
handfuls around the dock so the rainbows surface, blurring Practice the Skills
Grandpa’s reflection until it’s gone and, looking down, the
fish are all you can see.
He talks to the fish whether I’m there or not. Tells them
stuff the way I guess I talk to the cats when they follow me
around the barn.
“I do all the talking,” Grandpa says. “I’m not expecting
them to answer.”
3 Key Reading Skill
We have two farm cats—and also this Lab-shepherd mix
Making Inferences What
that’s owned by Mrs. Collins, except he spends all day across do you think the fish mean to
the road at our place following whoever of us is on the Grandpa? Think about these
tractor. Grandpa never takes much notice of them. The clues:
rainbows are what he’s got instead of pets—instead of lots • He talks to them.
of things. He walks the edge of the fire pond every day, just • He has them instead of pets
looking, just admiring what he’s got there. It’s like the story or other interests.
about the king—or was it the thief?—who has to count his • He admires them every day.
riches every day because,
well, I guess he can’t believe
his fortune or his luck. Not
that Grandpa’s really lucky
or fortunate. Not that a
bunch of fish swimming
around a fire pond is
something you count on. 3
“That one’s big as a
railroad tie!” 2 he’ll shout to
me, if I’m walking with him,
which I do, especially since
Grandma died.
“At least,” I answer.
“I don’t go in for
exaggerating and you know
that. Don’t need to when
they’re this beautiful big.
But you’re my witness, just
in case someone doubts.”
Analyzing the Photo The
2. A railroad tie is a piece of wood that joins the two rails on which trains run and narrator’s grandpa spends a lot of
holds them in place. time at the pond. Why might this
be? What is it about the pond that
he seems to love most?
Vocabulary
fortune (FOR chun) n. luck; riches
The Fire Pond 639

Masaaki Toyoura/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 4
Analyzing the Photo How does this picture illustrate the changed landscape that the narrator describes?
Rainbow’s the only fish that Grandpa will eat. “No other Practice the Skills
fish worth catching, neither,” he says. Me, I like tuna fish
better. (Only fish Mom and Dad love is the perch on those all-
you-can-eat nights at the lodge.) I like trawling 3 for bluefish,
too, which I’ve done twice, on visits with Mom’s family in
Maryland. So I think I like what all the fish mean to Grandpa
4 Reviewing Elements
more than what the fish mean to me. Mainly, it’s cool to
Sensory Imagery Have you
watch their shiny bodies darting like the sun’s shine on the ever seen the sun shining on a
water, only under. 4 lake or pond? The slightest bit of
wind causes the water to ripple
T he day the Allegheny 4 floods, all hell breaks loose. That’s

how Grandpa calls it: “See, even that devil creature is loose.”
and the sun’s reflection to break
up. Use that image to help you
see what the rainbows looked
like just under the surface of the
And he means the rattlers, which take to moving from the water.
riverbanks toward higher ground near Salamanca. They’re
hanging from the elderberries5 along the road. Who even
knew snakes could drown. 5 5 Key Literary Element
Setting How has the setting
become part of the plot?
3. Trawling is fishing from the side of a boat by using a bag-shaped net.
4. The Allegheny is a large river in western Pennsylvania.
5. Elderberries are large shrubs that have white flowers and purple berries used in cooking.

Photodisc Green/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 4
Every house I visit is filled with rainwater to the doors— Practice the Skills
inside and outside. Creek water. Pond water. Lots of farms
are worse than ours, but to see our place, it looks like another
country, like you’re looking down from an airplane and
seeing these islands in an ocean—like Hawaii—except it’s
all just our two hundred acres. Our whole farm is all pond
except for the stables across the road, and the highest spots
in the meadow, and the animal buildings, which were built
on higher ground just for a time like now that was never
supposed to happen. The fire pond connects with the creeks,
and it’s deep enough for powerboats, and there are some, too,
trying to save the washed-away things—ours, and stuff from
nearby houses—that float or bob to the surface. So much lost
and stranded livestock,6 too, that take weeks to return to their
farms. And drowned ones, too. 6 6 Key Literary Element
Over and over Mom says things like, “No matter what we Setting At the beginning of the
lost, we’re still blessed.” 7 story, the fire pond was a very
As for the rainbows, they’re spilled like oil spots down the peaceful place. How does the
flood cause problems for the
highway.
characters living in this setting?
It’s hard to know if any are left in our pond when the
water recedes —when the banks of the fire pond are where
I remember them, when the rain stops long enough to pump 7 Key Reading Skill
the water from the buildings. We start two lists: what’s been Making Inferences After the
ruined or lost, and what can be salvaged. It’s months, really, problems the flood causes, why
before the house feels dry, and then the winter cold seeps in, might the mother think the fam-
ily is still blessed?
freezing all that extra water into frost and ice—at least, that’s
how it feels.
It’s more months before the check arrives from the
insurance people, which doesn’t pay for hardly anything, and
the check from the state and federal governments on account
of our being declared a disaster area. Almost every day I
remember some little thing I used to have and didn’t realize
the flood had swept it away. But our damages are minor
compared with some people we meet, compared with
families in Knapp Creek, or nearer the Allegheny.
6. Livestock are farm animals, such as cows and sheep, which farmers raise for profit.
Vocabulary
recedes (ree SEEDS) v. moves or pulls back
salvaged (SAL vujd) v. saved from ruin; rescued
The Fire Pond 641

READING WORKSHOP 4
Practice the Skills

W ith the start of winter, the fire pond’s dark gets lighter
and lighter as ice heals over the surface like a scar. No one
goes there much. We just stare at the pond and it stares
back—that is, when it isn’t covered with fresh snow. I hardly
skate at all. A few times at my friend Troy’s pond. But it’s like
I’ve lost my appetite for skating or for the pond, but I don’t
know if that’s possible. As for Grandpa, he has no reason to
trudge through the drifts and walk to the pond. He heads
to North Carolina for a month to visit his sister. And he
spends two weeks in Atlanta, staying with Uncle Miles and
his family. And the other thing is, Grandpa comes back tired,
though vacations are supposed to be for rest. 8 8 Key Reading Skill
Around about Mother’s Day, it’s finally warm enough for Making Inferences What do
Grandpa to stock the pond again, even though Dad tries to you think is making Grandpa feel
suggest in a nice way that maybe the pond’s better left on so tired? (Hint: What is missing
from his life?)
its own. Grandpa won’t hear of that. A truck arrives with
fingerlings7 I can’t believe will grow as large as the rainbows
we lost. Same day, Grandpa calls Angela and the butcher to
start saving up treats for his fish. And that night, after dinner,
out of the clear blue, Grandpa reaches into his shirt pocket as
he leaves the table, and places his driver’s license beside the
centerpiece 8 like he’s presenting us with the check. “I’m done
driving,” he says, and then he points to me: “You’ll need a car
soon anyway.”
He’s already out of the room when Mom and Dad are
saying things like, don’t be silly, and why on earth,
and Pop, come back in here.
Come to find out from Uncle Miles, Grandpa’s
had an accident—just a fender bender—in
Atlanta. Afterward, he insisted on going to an
optometrist or ophthalmologist 9 —whatever—who
told him he had the eyes of a teenager. He did
suggest glasses to help reduce the glare at night. But
as soon as he got home, Grandpa decided he wasn’t going out
on the road. “First and last accident in my life,” he said, when
we tried to talk some sense into him, which is something
7. A fingerling is a small fish about as long as a person’s finger.

8. A centerpiece is a decoration that goes in the center of the dinner table.
9. An optometrist examines the eyes and prescribes glasses to correct eyesight problems.
An ophthalmologist treats diseases of the eyes.

Jeffrey Coolidge/The Images Bank
READING WORKSHOP 4
only Grandma could do—and once in a blue moon, she could Practice the Skills
actually succeed. It’s a year before I can get my license.
E arly summer’s one of the driest on record, but the pond’s

its normal size. Except for sleeping later than six o’clock,
which is when I get up for morning chores during school,
I do what work everyone else does: putting in the crops,
mowing, moving the animals out to pasture and back in,
repairing the grain auger10 and the tractors with Dad. Most
of my school friends do the same at their farms, and after
supper, we meet at the quarry to swim or bike over to
DeWitt’s for ice cream. 9 9 Key Literary Element
In no time flat it’s halfway through summer vacation, Setting How does having to
August first. Grandpa is reading after the rest of us are in do chores on a farm bring the
bed. He reads more than he sleeps at night. “Don’t much like family closer together?
closing my eyes,” he says. “At my age, seeing’s a kind of being
proud.” So Grandpa goes to make some tea, and he sees
smoke rising near the barn. If he’d been asleep—if it hadn’t
been a clear night with an almost full moon—I don’t see how
any one of us would be alive now. 10 10 Reviewing Skills
Grandpa shouts as he runs up the stairs. He pounds on our Interpreting What do you
bedroom doors. He’s the one who phones the head firefighter think Grandpa means when he
from Hinsdale—they’re the closest, still about twelve minutes says that “seeing’s a kind of
away—and they start the chain of calls to rally the volunteers being proud”?
and summon Mr. Tyler at the general store to sound the siren,
which we can’t hear from here, but I know is blaring from
when I bike near town.
Until they come, there’s just the four of us, and Mrs. Collins
and her son, Dean, who live across the road. We all know
what to do though, as if we’ve had fire drills every month,
like at school. We start moving the animals, and then the
machines. It’s like a parade marching out into the middle of
the field, but jumbled and scattered and in the dark. The cows
and pigs are so frightened, they’d trample a person without
even knowing it.
When the volunteers from Hinsdale arrive, it’s no one but
Grandpa who drags the fire truck’s pump hose to the pond
and lowers it, hand over hand, like an anchor. Even these
10. A grain auger is a farm machine with a long tube that lifts grain from a truck
to the top of a tall storage building.
The Fire Pond 643

READING WORKSHOP 4
new fish have learned the sound of his boots on the dock, Practice the Skills
the scattering of food on the water that follows. From
faraway as the front yard, I can see how the glassy surface
of the moonlight shatters into ripples by the dock where
the rainbows are chomping at the empty air.
I help strap the Indian fire pumps on a few of the
volunteers, and they join the truck at the barn to do what
they can. The fire’s already spread to the corn crib, where
Grandpa’s stationed himself.
Now, after a whole year, Grandpa will laugh if someone
makes a joke about the fire. “If only we’d have grown popping
corn, the fire would have popped enough corn to serve all
the whole crowd! It looked like a drive-in movie with all
those cars.” But that night, the dried field-corn burns so fast
and hot that the sweat steams beneath Grandpa’s rubber
coat—but he won’t turn away except until he passes out from
the heat, and the smoke, too. 11 11 Reviewing Skills
A man I don’t know carries Grandpa to the house, where Clarifying Notice that the
he checks his breathing, his eyes, and his pulse. (All the sequence, or order, of events
volunteers—Dad’s one, too—take first-aid courses.) shifts during this part of the
story. How much time has
“Your grandpa’s fine. Long as he stays inside and rests,”
passed since the fire occurred?
he tells me, and I believe him, though Grandpa won’t: He is Reread the paragraph if you’re
going to catch his breath and head back out. I learn the man’s not sure.
name is Hawkins when he phones to tell some doctor that
he’s needed here.
Mom makes me stay with Grandpa. Her voice is so serious,
I think even Grandpa might listen for once.
“Tell them to let the barn burn!” he orders Hawkins before
he leaves the house. “No barn’s going to stand on a half-burnt
frame. And move the horses.”
“But the stables are across the road . . .” I start to say, and
then answer my own question. The twelve horses have got
to be spooked. And even if they’re safe for now, they’ll get to
panicking and kick through their stalls, break a bone or tear
themselves up on the wire. 12 English Language Coach
Grandpa gives me a reason I hadn’t thought of. “Look out Prefixes The word outlined
there. Too much wind.” contains the prefix out-, which
Even though the fire’s around the other side, from the back means “outside” or “beyond.” It
means “to make a line around
door that faces the stables and the corral, I see them outlined
the outside” of something. Does
like by moonlight, only it’s orange because of the flames. 12 I that make sense in this sen-
see Mom shove the gates free. She slides open the stable’s door, tence?

READING WORKSHOP 4
jumping clear since the horses charge out instantly and all at Practice the Skills
once. The horses are pitch-black, but the fire’s light gives them
even darker shadows, however that’s possible. A few horses
bolt along the fence to the entrance of the meadow, and some
of them leap the rails as though it weren’t the fence at all that
kept them here every day, but something else. We’ve lost a
horse before, accidentally, but never all of them at once, and
never in a panicking herd. But now isn’t the time for asking
how we’ll find them. We will. People around here know us
even if we are spread out far from one another. 13 13 Key Literary Element
Then there’s a new sound, louder, closer than the fire. Setting The narrator and his
Before I can turn to ask Grandpa the question, he tells me, family don’t stop to look for the
“It’s all right,” which suddenly makes me think it’s not. A horses because they believe
the animals will be returned to
spray of water bursts on the picture window. The jet runs
them. What does that tell you
across the wall and back, back and forth, across and back, about the community where the
as though it were erasing something. story takes place?
“That means the house’s caught fire?” I ask.
“No, no. Just preventing it,” he says, but his voice is too
faint; it’s a whisper like a part of the farm already gone up
in smoke.
Which makes me say and ask at the same time (that has to
be possible): “Grandpa, we’re going to be okay.”
His nodding means yes and at the same time I don’t know.
The one hose pounds the roof and wall and doesn’t stop.
It’s like our own storm: one thunderbolt rumbling right
against the house, but more like heat lightning since it’s
bright in all the windows. Water pours down the panes in
sheets, and the view is blurred and wobbly, like looking
through the sheer curtains when the window’s cracked open
in Grandpa’s room. But even so, I know what’s out there: I
watch the embers float, slower than pennies in a wishing
well, from the barn to the stables, to the milk house, to the
grain elevator that’s thirty-six feet tall—the tallest thing for
miles—and over to one and then the other silo.
Behind me, from the couch where Grandpa’s supposed to
be lying still, I hear him talking like he’s talking to the
rainbows, or like he’s giving directions and he’s still out there
fighting the flames. I can see the fire outside in his eyes,
which must mean it’s reflected in my eyes, too, if Grandpa
looks up to see it.
The Fire Pond 645

READING WORKSHOP 4
“The pond’s not deep enough,” Grandpa tells me, as if he’d Practice the Skills
just remembered how deep they’d dug it. I bring him some
juice from the fridge. I don’t know why I can’t be doing some-
thing more than watching Grandpa—though if I weren’t here,
he wouldn’t be either. 14 14 Key Reading Skill
There’s so much light, I keep forgetting it’s night. Besides Making Inferences Grandpa
the flames, there’s the white flash of cameras: someone from says that the pond “isn’t deep
the insurance company and a photographer for the Journal. enough.” What isn’t it deep
enough for?
And probably people just wanting to shoot some cool pictures.
And then, even at the farther-away dark edges, there are
yellower lights, and red ones—new ones: headlights and
taillights of cars pulling in. (The Journal, which only comes
out once a week, will say that two thousand people attended
the fire—drove from nearby towns like we were some kind
of county fair that opened after midnight. There should have
been another story to say how people kept coming for days—
not thousands, but more than just people we know by
name—strangers coming to drop off things they had extra
of, like a milking machine or a bridle, and, of course, things
to eat, as though the fire had burned the kitchen, too, but it
didn’t—only whatever it is inside a person that’s supposed
to make us want to eat or want to wake up.) 15 15 Reviewing Skills
When I crack the front door just to see something clearly, Connecting Sometimes
a burst of smoke slips in before my eyes can really make disasters bring out the best
out much. in people. Strangers go out
of their way to help others in
“Seems like maybe there’s even more firemen now,
need. What real-life examples
Grandpa,” I tell him, and he nods, as though he’d been of this can you give?
calculating how long it’d take the volunteers from each
of the neighboring villages to make their way here.
“Probably. Probably be at least three fire trucks by now.”
And then, after too long a pause, he finishes. “Look at it go.
Fire’s just like trout heading upstream: slow and certain of
where it’s going.”
That’s when Mom comes in again with one of the cats,
bringing not only the smell but also the heat of the fire in
her clothes and hair. She confirms what Grandpa guessed:
“There’s three trucks pumping water now. And so many
other people wanting to help, they’ve got two men just
Vocabulary
calculating (KAL kyoo lay ting) v. using math or logic to figure out something
0638-0649_U5RW4SEL-845478.indd 646 3/14/07 11:36:06 AM

READING WORKSHOP 4
keeping the crowd back.” Her eyes leak tears down her
cheek—maybe it’s just from the smoke—her talk has more
Practice the Skills
important things to do than sob. We fill bottles and jugs of
water at the sink to take to the firefighters.
The seven thousand hay bales blaze all night, glowing
right alongside the dawn, when all that’s left of the barn is
an arch that frames the sunrise. It’s quiet, then, suddenly,
like an alarm clock went off, but one that wakes you with
silence since the night was so loud. The firemen coil their
hoses half-filled with pond sludge, and the last of the crowds
drive home to Portville, Ischua, and Knapp Creek. 16 16 Key Reading Skill
Friends in Olean, and farther south than Hinsdale, smell Making Inferences How do
the smoke at sunup, the dead fish at dusk. The phone is you think Grandpa feels about
always ringing. One call is from the Luthers, who have having all the water drained
from the pond? Why do you
managed to pen the four horses that escaped. They’ll hold
think so?
them as long as we need them to.
It’s three days before the coals lose heat, before Mom and
Dad are done meeting the insurance people and the county
agents. Grandpa and I comb the
property after supper. The
machines are still clustered in the
pasture like cows, as though the
only job they had was to wait.
Since nothing else stands but the
house and the woods—and the
stables across the road, which
were unharmed, after all—we
watch the ground as if
something were left here and
we had to come to look. Instead
of grass or dirt it’s ashes, wet
wherever we step. Across the
meadow where the fire pond
was, there’s a mud valley now
that’s like a mirage of water,
shimmering the way a highway in
the summer heat looks wet until
you get closer and see it’s not.
The pond shimmers, but closer
up, it’s the silt rippling where the
tails are flaring beneath. Analyzing the Photo How does this
picture illustrate changes in the pond?
The Fire Pond 647

Peter Johnson/CORBIS
READING WORKSHOP 4
When Grandpa takes off his shoes and socks, I take off Practice the Skills
mine. We set them on the dock and climb down to the muck
of the bottom. Forty years ago, I think to myself, Grandpa
stood on the bottom like this.
We start off walking, our feet sinking into the clay, then
popping free with a suction sound.
“It’s raining,” Grandpa announces to me, or maybe he’s just
used to talking to himself at the pond. He’s smiling, even
though no amount of water—not from clouds, not from our
springs or our well, not from tanker trucks with nothing
better to do than to cart water here—nothing will save the
rainbows. The ones at the shallow end are dead. These last
few that move have already drowned in the air.
Grandpa says, “I already hear them talking.”
“Who, Grandpa?” I ask. I know he doesn’t mean the fish. 17 Key Reading Skill
“Just people. I hear them. ‘You’d think that old fool’d have Making Inferences Do you
learnt that first time never to stock a fire pond.’” 17 think Grandpa cares whether
“No, they’re not, Grandpa,” I answer him, “they won’t,” other people think he’s a fool?
though this is just another thing I don’t know. I don’t know if Why or why not?
Grandpa’s thinking about restocking the pond, or if I should 18 Reviewing Skills
plead with him not to if only so he’ll slap me hard enough to Predicting Do you think
let me cry. I don’t know even why I think this, because he’d Grandpa will restock the pond
never do that. 18 with rainbows? Explain.

Wilfried Krecichwost/Getty Images
READING WORKSHOP 4
“I’m going to tell you something,” he says, “and I don’t Practice the Skills
care if you’re old enough to think you should start ignoring
advice.”
I do know I should tell him I’m not, that I’m listening, to go
ahead, to keep walking—something. So I take a step forward.
Grandpa’s planted there like he’s a boot that just slipped off
your foot and stuck there. So I have to step back.
“You stock your life with what all makes you happy, you
hear me? You put rainbows anyplace you like, not excepting
your young heart.”
And then it’s Grandpa who turns, ready to complete our
tour, if that’s what we’re doing, drawing a circle with footstep
dashes around the fire pond like it’s something you could cut
out. But before I can say anything like I’m sorry or I believe 19
you, he adds: “I’m not expecting you to answer.” How does Grandpa stay true
Grandpa’s footprints are the size of mine (the size of the
on “The Fire Pond” page of
fingerlings—grown a lot, of course, since May): They’re Foldable 5. Your response
little ponds the coming rain will fill, then flood, then wash will help you answer the Unit
away. 19 ❍ Challenge later.
Analyzing the Photo Look closely at the water. How does the photo help you picture what
the rainbows in the fire pond look like?
The Fire Pond 649

Wilfried Krecichwost/Getty Images
After You Read The Fire Pond
Answering the
1. What did you learn about staying true to yourself from reading
the story?
2. Recall What is the first natural disaster in the story?
T IP Right There
3. Summarize In two or three sentences, sum up what happens to
the fire pond during the course of the story.
Critical Thinking
4. Analyze How does the narrator feel about Grandpa at the end of
the story? Give evidence from the story to back up your answer.
T IP Author and Me
5. Analyze What do you think the narrator learns from his experiences?
Support your answer with evidence from the story.
T IP Author and Me
6. Evaluate Do you think Grandpa would be foolish to restock the
pond with rainbows? Explain why or why not.
T IP On My Own

Letter What do you think happens next? Write a letter from the narrator
to a friend telling what happens during the year after the story ends. Use
your imagination to “fill in the blanks,” but make the characters behave
connections from text to self in ways that are consistent with the story. Use the questions below to
Literature Identify literary elements: get started.
setting
• What does the family do about the farm?
prefixes • What happens to Grandpa? Does he restock the pond?
Writing Respond to literature: letter
Grammar Identify and correct run-on • What happens to the narrator? Does he change? If so, how?
sentences

Skills Review Grammar Link: Run-on

Key Reading Skill: Making Inferences Sentences
7. At the beginning of the story, Grandpa says he A run-on sentence is two or more independent
talks to the trout even though he doesn’t expect clauses run together without correct punctuation or
them to answer. When he talks to the narrator at conjunctions. Run-on sentences are mistakes that
the end of the story, why doesn’t Grandpa expect make it hard for readers to understand where one
the narrator to answer him either? thought ends and the next begins.
Key Literary Element: Setting Run-On: Estela loves to play the piano it relaxes her.
8. Grandpa dug the fire pond years before the story
begins. How else has he influenced the setting? To fix a run-on sentence, put a period between the
two independent clauses, or simple sentences. The
9. How might the story change if it were set in a big
period shows readers where one thought ends and
city? Identify at least two events that would turn
the next begins.
out differently, and explain the differences.
Correct: Estela loves to play the piano. It relaxes her.
Reviewing Skills: Connecting
10. What part of the story could you most easily Another way to fix a run-on sentence is to separate
relate to, or connect with? Why? the independent clauses with a comma and a coordi-
11. How did making the connection help you better nating conjunction.
understand or enjoy the story?
Correct: Estela loves to play the piano, and it
Reviewing Skills: Interpreting relaxes her.
12. What does Grandpa mean when he says, “You You can also correct a run-on sentence by adding
put rainbows anyplace you like, not excepting a subordinating conjunction to one of the clauses.
your young heart”? Support your answer with
details from the story. Correct: Estela loves to play the piano because it
relaxes her.
Vocabulary Check Grammar Practice
Match each word with the word or phrase that means On another sheet of paper, copy and fix the following
the opposite. run-on sentences, using each of the ways listed above.
13. salvaged a. destroyed 19. She practices every day she doesn’t mind.
14. recedes b. using instincts 20. She wants to be a music teacher someday
15. fortune c. advances she must learn to play different instruments.
16. calculating d. poverty
Writing Application Review your Write About Your
17. English Language Coach Copy the following Reading activity. Find and fix any run-on sentences.
words on another sheet of paper. Circle the prefix
on each word. Then define the word. Check your
definitions in a dictionary.
outpatient • subtitle • undersea • overreach
18. Academic Vocabulary If a theme is implied, Quick Checks, and other Web activities,
is it directly stated? Explain why or why not. go to www.glencoe.com.
The Fire Pond 651

Brent Turner
Before You Read from Savion!:

My Life in Tap
Meet the Authors
Savion Glover was Vocabulary Preview
born in 1973.
askew (uh SKYOO) adv. turned or twisted to one side (p. 654) He wore
He is an
his baseball cap askew as a fashion statement.
award-winning
hygiene (HY jeen) n. cleanliness; habits that lead to good health (p. 655)
er
dancer and
ov
To maintain good personal hygiene, he takes a shower every day.

Gl
Sav i o n actor who has

performed on translates (TRANZ laytz) v. changes successfully into another form or
stage and in the movies. He language; form of the verb translate (p. 658) Savion feels his dancing
also choreographs, or works translates into life lessons.
out dance moves, for other
dancers. He says, “My Partner Talk Without saying the definitions, give clues to help your partner
class . . . is an opportunity to guess what each vocabulary word is. Give ideas and activities associated with
pick up some of the knowl- the words. Then switch and have your partner give you clues.
edge and experience that I
learned from the people who English Language Coach
taught me.”
Adjective and Adverb Suffixes Knowing what common suffixes mean
Bruce Weber can help you figure out the meaning of many unfamiliar words. Recall that
reports on a suffix is a combination of letters added to the end of a word. Adding a
culture and the suffix may change the word’s meaning and part of speech. For example,
arts for The adding the suffix -ous to the noun glamor makes the adjective glamorous.
er
New York
eb
Look at the suffixes on the chart below.

W
ce
Bru Times. He also
writes for many Suffix Part of Speech Word Example
magazines.
-ly adverb quickly
-ic adjective poetic
Author Search For more about -ive adjective selective
Savion Glover and Bruce Weber, -ful adjective playful
-ous adjective marvelous
Partner Work With a classmate, look at each word below and decide
what part of speech it is. Then separate the word into its base word and
suffix. Decide what part of speech the base word is. Then use both the
word and suffix in a sentence.
connections from text to self • gruffly
tone
• heroic
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: • protective
suffixes
• sorrowful

Michael J. Rosen
0650-0653_U5RW4APP-845478.indd 652 3/14/07 11:36:43 AM


Key Reading Skill: Making Inferences Connect to the Reading
In Savion!: My Life in Tap, Savion Glover talks about Savion Glover talks about older people whom he
his experiences as a youngster and an adult working admired as he was growing up. Are there people in
on stage. What inferences can you make about the your life you feel that way about? It could be your par-
content of the article? What do you think he might ents, teachers, or coaches. Perhaps it’s a neighbor.
talk about in the article? Think about how you feel when that person pays
attention to you and helps you.
Whole Class Discussion As a class, discuss what
kinds of information you think you might find. Partner Talk With a partner, discuss someone
you admire.
Literary Element: Tone
Tone is an author’s attitude toward a subject as Build Background
shown in the language he or she uses. The tone of • Tap dancing developed in the nineteenth century. It
a selection may be admiring, sarcastic, angry, joyous, mixed steps from jigs and reels danced by Irish and
funny, ironic, neutral—any word that you can use to Scottish immigrants with African steps danced by
describe an attitude can be used to describe tone. African Americans. Irish dancers contributed the use
To identify the tone of Savion!: My Life in Tap, ask of shoes with wooden soles that increased the
yourself the following questions: sound. African Americans contributed the stress on
• How does Savion feel about the person, place, or rhythm, contrasting beats, and improvisation.
thing he is describing? How can I tell? • By the 1920s, metal taps under the heels and toes
• If I were reading this aloud with expression, what began replacing wooden soles.
feelings would I try to show in my voice? Why? • Challenges are contests between dancers during jam
sessions. Each dancer tries to outdo the previous
Partner Talk Read the following passage from one by using trickier or faster steps.
Savion!: My Life in Tap. With a classmate, identify
the tone. Give reasons for your ideas. Set Purposes for Reading
“[J]ust a few years ago, in Tap, I was hangin’ with Read the selection from Savion!:
Sammy Davis, Jr., and he was on the set drinking My Life in Tap to find out how Savion learned to be
Kool-Aid and wearing a do-rag. It was red Kool-Aid, true to himself as a dancer and as a human being.
I remember, and he drank it in a big mug. Like
regular folks. Sammy Davis, man! Set Your Own Purpose What else would you like
And then I was on Sesame Street, which was also to learn from the selection to help you answer the Big
cool, a nice vibe. That’s when people started Question? Write your purpose on the Savion!: My Life
recognizing me on the street . . .“ in Tap page of Foldable 5.

elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Use these skills as you read from Savion!:
My Life in Tap.
from Savion!: My Life in Tap 653

READING WORKSHOP 4
from Savion!:
My Life in Tap
by Savion Glover and Bruce Weber
I look back on it now, and it seems like everything

happened so fast. It’s hard to believe all that has happened
Practice the Skills
since I was twelve years old and getting ready to go onstage

for the first time in Tap Dance Kid. I mean, just a few years
ago, in Tap, I was hangin’ with Sammy Davis, Jr.,1 and he was
on the set drinking Kool-Aid and wearing a do-rag. It was EL
red Kool-Aid, I remember, and he drank it in a big mug. Like R
regular folks. Sammy Davis, man!
And then I was on Sesame Street, which was also cool, a
nice vibe. That’s when people started recognizing me on the
street. Kids. And I noticed a lot of them were wearing their 1 Literary Element
hats askew, like I did on the show. I liked Elmo; he was my Tone Remember that tone is
favorite, so innocent even when he was doing wrong stuff. 1 the attitude a writer takes toward
Anyway, looking back to Tap Dance Kid, I can see I knew a subject. Savion’s tone is enthu-
nothing, nothing. I went through all the rehearsals, all the siastic. Look at the details he
mentions:
1. Sammy Davis Jr. became a big star in the 1950s. He was an all-around performer, working • He hung out with celebrities
in theater, movies, and television as a singer, dancer, and actor. when he was a kid.
• He was on Sesame Street.
Vocabulary
• People started recognizing him
askew (uh SKYOO) adv. turned or twisted to one side on the street.

AP
0654-0659_U5RW4SEL-845478.indd 654 3/12/07 5:42:55 PM

READING WORKSHOP 4
understudy’s rehearsals, and what did I know about scripts Practice the Skills
and scenes and blocking and upstaging and cues 2 and
exit lines and all that? I had no idea how to change clothes
between scenes in time to get back on. Someone’s going to
change me? Whoa! Hinton Battle,3 the star, he was always
on us kids about warming up, getting ready. And other stuff
too, like hygiene. I can remember him pulling me aside and
saying, “Yo, man, I don’t know if you’re using any deodorant,
but you better get some.” And he was right. I was funky
that day.
My opening night I was nervous, out of my mind
nervous. 2 Butterflies in my stomach and everywhere else. 2 English Language Coach
I’m not that great a singer to begin with, but that night my Adjective and Adverb
voice was shaky as milk. The only thing that saved me was Suffixes What is the base
my family. There was a scene in the show on the Roosevelt word of nervous? How does
adding the suffix change the
Island tram, and I rode across the stage on this tram, and
part of speech?
while I was riding it, I saw my mom for the first time, and
this relaxing feeling came over me. I saw her face, and it was,
like, relief. I was comfortable from then on.
What I learned from The Tap Dance Kid was the basics,
really the basics. The basic basics. Familiarity with the stage.
How to position myself. How to prepare. How to listen.
How to react to the audience. I took it on myself to learn
the theater, walked around it as if I were working there,
went up on the catwalks4 to see what the guys do up there,
backstage, all that. It was, like, I’m here to perform, but I’m
also interested in what’s behind the secret door. I guess I
was ready for it to be real, not so magical anymore. You
know, I was part of it. The magician has to know what the
explanation for his magic is.
Anyway, that was why Tap Dance Kid was important for
me. As for my performance, I didn’t really feel like I was
2. An understudy is an actor who knows another performer’s part and can substitute if needed.
Blocking is working out the places on stage where the actors should stand during the different
scenes. Upstaging is drawing attention to oneself and taking it away from another actor. A cue
is the action or line that tells an actor to enter the stage or give a speech.
3. Hinton Battle won a Tony award for Best Actor for Tap Dance Kid. He learned to tap to play the
role and has been known as a dancer ever since.
4. A catwalk is a narrow bridge above a stage from where the stage crew works the sets and lights.
Vocabulary
hygiene (HY jeen) n. cleanliness; habits that lead to good health

READING WORKSHOP 4
Analyzing the Photo A tap sensation, Savion dances opposite

Gregory Hines in the Broadway musical Jelly’s Last Jam. What
does Savion learn about performing from his fellow dancers?
performing. That was my life up there, and being onstage Practice the Skills
was just like sitting around the kitchen table telling a story
about what happened to me that day. And every night,
when we’d take our solo bow, I felt like: These people aren’t
clapping for me, for Savion; they’re clapping for Willie, the
Tap Dance Kid. I never felt like Savion was taking that bow.
It was after I got started on Black and Blue that I began to
understand it didn’t have to be that way. During the show I’d
go out and do double times,5 big steps, trying to please the
audience, and then afterward I was hanging out with Slyde
and Chaney, and just by watching them, I saw it wasn’t about
pleasing the audience; it was about expressing yourself. 3 It 3 Key Reading Skill
didn’t happen right away. You don’t just wake up and find Making Inferences What
your voice, your style. It has to develop. But during Black and do you think the difference is
between pleasing the audience
and expressing oneself?
5. Dancing double time is dancing very fast by doing twice the number of steps that the
beat calls for.

Martha Swope
READING WORKSHOP 4
Blue was when I started realizing I could create my own kind Practice the Skills
of dance. Up to that point all I was doing was dancing.
It wasn’t anything they told me, not really. It was just being
there every day. During rehearsals in New York I’d just be
looking—at Slyde, at Chaney,6 at Chuck, even at the women,
like Dianne7—and I’d be watching them, saying to myself:
This is nothing like what I was taught in dance class. The
sounds, their bodies, the way they handled themselves. Once
we got over to Paris, I’m in the wings watching them, I’m in
Chaney’s back pocket when he comes offstage. I was like that
with all of them. I just wanted to follow them around. I don’t
know why; they were interesting, is all. This was a club I
wanted to join.
I was learning how to hang out, to enjoy. People think I
hung out with them and only learned dance. But remember,
I had no father image in my life. And these cats were men,
and they were accepting me, and I was just this little kid
running around, and they let me hang out with them
everywhere. We went out. We went to clubs. You ask what
they taught me? Everything. About life. About being a man.
About how to be. The point is I still spend time conversating
with myself about these men. It doesn’t matter where I
am, something one of them said’ll hit me, mad things, like
footnotes—“Make sure you put the right foot first, even if it’s
the left one,” or “If you can’t flow with it, don’t go with it”—
and I’ll have to ask myself: Are you talking about the dance
or life? 4 4 Literary Element
Slyde would drop info on me. He’s such a wise man. Tone What is Savion’s attitude
Through the dance he’d tell me, “Swing a little, sing the toward the men who helped
song.” I would always come out and do double time, all the him learn about dancing and
life? Does that attitude come
time fast, fast, and Slyde told me, “You should try swinging.”
across clearly in the tone of this
And the first time I tried it, I danced for seven minutes, paragraph?
and my breathing was different. I was relaxed, not tense,
not holding my breath. I felt like I was singing what I was
dancing. So that was something he told me that helped my
dancing. But he was always telling me, “Stay comfortable.”
Now is that about just dancing?
6. Jimmy Slyde has been a tap dancer since the 1940s. His stage name comes from his style
of dancing that makes him appear to slide across the stage. Lon Chaney is part of Slyde’s
generation of tap dancers and has influenced many younger artists.
7. Chuck Green began dancing as a child in the 1920s. Audiences loved him for his graceful style.
Dianne Walker is known as an elegant dancer. Her dance students call her “Aunt Dianne.”

READING WORKSHOP 4
And Chaney would tell me, “Hit it! Put it down, young Practice the Skills
man!” and I understand that as a dancer and as a man. I
can take that information about the dance and use it in my
everyday life. It translates. You see what I’m saying? And I
remember Chuck telling me, “Keep on the cardboard.” What
does that mean? I have no idea. “Keep on the cardboard.”
But I remember it, and I know, like twenty years from now,
it’ll come to me. That’s what Chuck meant!
When we came back to Broadway, I was really trying
to find myself as a tap dancer. My performance began to
change, and even my mom noticed. I wasn’t smiling as much,
not trying to please so much. It wasn’t, like, Hey, I’m here,
it’s show time! anymore. It was more, like, Hey, let’s go out
and dance! Forget what they think they want to see. Chaney,
Slyde, those cats—they saw my progress. It was real. I was
finally asking, Why am I performing?
And then came Jelly’s,8 which was really the turning
point, the first time I ever performed in a show and felt like
it was me. Savion, up there, getting the applause and not
the character I was pretending to be. But mostly Jelly’s was
important to me because of Gregory.9 He took me under his
wing after Tap, and it was Gregory who made sure I got cast
in Jelly’s.
He wasn’t like Slyde, who’s more a grandfather type, with
all the mysterious wisdom he lays on me. For me, knowing
Gregory is like knowing you have a pops but not meeting
him until you’re twenty years old, and it turns out he’s been
very cool all this time. We met in Paris when he came to see
Black and Blue, and little did I know he was setting up this
audition for Tap. Right away he was calling me Save, which
only my brothers call me. After that we just started hanging
out. We’d go to Knicks games; he’d come over to family
barbecues. 5 5 Literary Element
Tone Describe Savion’s tone.
What words and sentences does
he use to describe Slyde and
Gregory Hines?
8. The full name of the musical is Jelly’s Last Jam.
9. Gregory Hines began dancing as a child in the 1950s. He was also an actor, and many
of his movies included dancing.
Vocabulary
translates (TRANZ laytz) v. changes successfully into another form or language

READING WORKSHOP 4
Savion rehearses his steps at New York’s Joyce

Theater in January 2005.
Analyzing the Photo How does this photo
capture Savion’s love of dance?
Anyway, that relationship made it easy for me to, like, Practice the Skills
complete my education as a tap dancer, putting the finishing
touches on all the stuff that Slyde and them had begun
to teach me. And in Jelly’s, I was playing the kid and he
was playing the adult, and it seemed perfect to me that we
were just there being two sides of the same person. And
that number in the second act, Jelly’s Isolation Dance, that
was the highlight. I would do everything he did, right
away, right away, keep spitting back to him what he was
handing me, and we’d really be laying it down some nights.
It was supposed to be a five-minute number, but it went on
longer and longer and longer, we’d go on and on, jamming, 6
and some nights people would just gather in the wings How does Savion stay true to
himself? Write your answer on
and watch. It was six, seven, eight minutes of joy every
the Savion!: My Life in Tap page
performance. And yeah, it felt like he was passing the torch of Foldable 5. Your response
down to me every night. 6 will help you answer the Unit
It was humbling. Still is. ❍ Challenge later.

AP
After You Read from Savion!:

My Life in Tap
Answering the
1. What did Savion learn from his mentors about dance?
2. Summarize What was Savion’s life like as a child?
3. Recall Why did Savion need mentors to help him figure out how
to dance and live?
T IP Right There
Critical Thinking
4. Evaluate Do you think Savion had the right attitude and work ethic
to become successful as a tap dancer?
T IP Author and Me
5. Analyze In what ways did Savion’s role models set positive examples
for him? Give details from the article to support your answer.
T IP Author and Me
6. Analyze Savion says that when he watched older performers he
thought, “This is nothing like what I was taught in dance class.” Do you
think Savion feels his classes were not useful? How is what he learned
from the performers different from what he learned in his classes?
T IP On My Own

Reading Make inferences • Make Talk About Your Reading
Literature Identify literary elements: Small Group Discussion Savion uses a lot of slang, or informal
tone language that is specific to a particular group of people. With a small group
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: of classmates, find and list at least ten examples of slang in the selection.
suffixes
Grammar Identify and correct run-on
You may include single words or whole expressions. Then discuss how the
sentences slang affects your understanding of Savion and the selection. Use the
following questions to guide your discussion.
• What does Savion’s use of slang tell you about him?
• How would the selection change if the author had translated
Savion’s slang into standard English?
• Is the slang Savion uses still in fashion? Explain.

Skills Review Grammar Link: More

Key Reading Skill: Making Inferences Run-on Sentences
7. We know what Savion thought about working In the last Grammar Link you saw one kind of run-on
with the men who were his role models, but sentence—two independent clauses that run together.
what do you think these men thought about
him? What makes you say so? Run-on: I like soccer I like hockey even more.
A second kind of run-on sentence occurs when two

Literary Element: Tone
independent clauses are separated by just a comma.
8. How would you describe the overall tone of the
article? Why? Quote specific words or phrases Run-on: I like soccer, I like hockey even more.
that illustrate the tone.
A comma alone is not strong enough to separate
independent clauses, or simple sentences. Fix this type
Vocabulary Check of run-on, which is sometimes called a comma splice,
by using any of these methods:
Copy the sentences below on another sheet of paper.
A. Separate the sentences with a period.
Then fill in the blank in each sentence with the correct
vocabulary word from the list below. • I like soccer. I like hockey even more.
askew • hygiene • translates B. Put a comma and a coordinating conjunction

between the independent clauses.
9. To avoid infecting patients, the doctors and • I like soccer, but I like hockey even more.
nurses practiced good .
10. After the toddler slept on the rug, he left it lying C. Add a subordinating conjunction to one of the
on the floor. clauses to make it a dependent clause.
11. Studying hard often into good grades. • Though I like soccer, I like hockey even more.
English Language Coach Use one of the suffixes Grammar Practice

below to make each word listed either an adjective or Copy the following paragraph on another sheet of
an adverb. You may use a dictionary if you need to. paper. Then find and fix the three run-on sentences.
Use any of the methods shown above.
-ly • -ic • -ive • -ful • -ous
12. Change the verb thank into an adjective. Last fall my family and I went to the beach. I
had never seen the ocean before, it was quite an
13. Change the verb ponder into an adjective.
experience. At first my little brother was a little
14. Change the noun electron into an adjective. nervous about getting in the water the waves were
15. Change the adjective sincere into an adverb. big and noisy. Everyone else was having fun, so he
16. Change the verb obsess into an adjective. finally decided to try going in. He went in the water
up to his knees, a wave knocked him over. Instead
of being afraid, he started laughing. After that, we
had so much fun! I can hardly wait to go back to
the beach.
to www.glencoe.com.

Brent Turner
A
A RETRIEVED
REFORMATION
by O. Henry & RETRIEVED
REFORMATION
adapted by Gary Gianni
Skills Focus
You will use these skills as you read and
compare the following selections:
• “A Retrieved Reformation,” p. 665
• Adaptation of “A Retrieved Have you ever watched a movie that was based on a book?
Reformation,” p. 675 If so, you’ve seen an adaptation. The word adapt means
“change.” An adaptation is a changed, or new, version of
Reading an existing literary work.
• Comparing and contrasting
literary elements in texts Adaptations tell the same story in different ways. In this
workshop, you will read a short story and its illustrated,
Literature graphic story adaptation. As you read, pay attention to the
similarities and differences between the two versions of the
• Comparing and contrasting story. Notice what things you are told in words in the print
characterization in stories version of the story and what things you are told in pictures
in the graphic story version.
Vocabulary
• Using word analysis
How to Compare Literature:
Characterization
reveal Characterization refers to the methods that an author uses
to show what characters are like. An author may reveal
what a character does, says, and thinks as well as what
other characters or the narrator says. In print stories
authors often reveal character through descriptions of
actions and thoughts. In graphic stories authors often
reveal character through dialogue and pictures.
As you read, think about how the author reveals character

Objectives (pp. 662–663) in each selection. What does O. Henry tell you about the
Reading Compare and contrast:
characterization main character? What does Gary Gianni show you?
Academic Vocabulary
reveal (rih VEEL) v. show

Get Ready to Compare

In your Learner’s Notebook, make a chart like the one below. Use your chart
to record details that characterize—tell you about—Jimmy Valentine. Pay
attention to the differences between the two versions. When you’re finished
reading, you will use your chart to compare Jimmy’s characterization in the
original story and in the graphic story adaptation.
Jimmy Valentine’s character is

Examples from the original story Examples from the graphic story
revealed through . . .
his speech
his actions
his thoughts
his appearance
other characters’ reactions to him
Use Your Comparison

Who are the characters in your life? Perhaps you have a cousin who is just
as funny as your best friend, or a teacher who has a lot of the same caring
qualities as a favorite aunt. Choose two people you know or that you’ve read
about and tell about each of them in a few paragraphs. Discuss how each
person is alike and different.
You also may decide to illustrate a storyboard about the characters you’ve
chosen. (A storyboard is a panel of drawings that shows a story’s action.) For
example, one frame may show the mother from a story you’ve read talking
with her child, and the other may show your mother talking with you. Keep
it brief—use four to six frames.
Comparing Literature Workshop 663

Before You Read A Retrieved Reformation

by O. Henry
Vocabulary Preview
compulsory (kum PUL suh ree) adj. required (p. 666) The final exam
was compulsory for everyone in the course.
retribution (re trih BYOO shun) n. punishment for past deeds (p. 668)
The judge believed that all crimes deserved stiff retribution.
simultaneously (sy mul TAY nee us lee) adv. at the same time (p. 671)
Both doors slammed simultaneously, creating a loud noise.
O . He n r y
Meet the Author English Language Coach

O. Henry’s real name was Multiple Affixes Did you know that more than one prefix and suffix
William Sydney Porter. He can be added to the same base word? Look at the words villainously and
was born in 1862. He began immovable on the chart below. Then complete the chart by jotting down, in
writing stories while serving the last column, what you think the words mean. Use the chart to under-
a short prison sentence for stand some of the prefixes and suffixes in “A Retrieved Reformation.”
stealing money from a bank
where he had worked. When Word Base Word Prefixes or Suffixes Meaning
he left prison in 1901, Porter
villainously villain = -ous = full of
began writing under the pen
an evil person -ly = in a particular way
name O. Henry, partly to
hide his past. Porter lived in immovable move = im- = not
New York City until his death to change places -able = capable
in 1910.
Get Ready to Read

Connect to the Reading
about O. Henry, go to Think of a time when you did the wrong thing. How did you feel afterward?
www.glencoe.com.
Build Background
O. Henry is known for his plots—and plot twists. A plot twist is an
unexpected turn of events in a story.
Reading Compare and contrast: Set Purposes for Reading
characterization
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: Read to find out what Jimmy Valentine, the main
affixes character of “A Retrieved Reformation,” risks to stay true to himself.
Set Your Own Purpose What else would you like to learn from the
selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose
on the “A Retrieved Reformation” page of Foldable 5.

Bettmann/Corbis
0662-0664_U5CLAPP-845478.indd 664 3/15/07 2:32:09 PM

A RETRIEVED
Reformation
by O. Henry
A guard came to the prison shoe shop, where Jimmy

Valentine was assiduously stitching uppers,1 and escorted
Practice the Skills
him to the front office. There the warden handed Jimmy

his pardon, which had been signed that morning by the
governor. Jimmy took it in a tired kind of way. He had
served nearly ten months of a four-year sentence. He had
expected to stay only about three months, at the longest.
When a man with as many friends on the outside as Jimmy
Valentine had is received in the “stir” 2 it is hardly
worthwhile to cut his hair. 1 1 Comparing Literature
“Now, Valentine,” said the warden, “you’ll go out in the Characterization The narrator
morning. Brace up, and make a man of yourself. You’re not means that Jimmy has a lot of
a bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight.” important friends—friends who
will make sure that Jimmy doesn’t
“Me?” said Jimmy, in surprise. “Why, I never cracked a
stay in prison for very long.
safe in my life.”
“Oh, no,” laughed the warden. “Of course not. Let’s see,
now. How was it you happened to get sent up on that Spring-
field job? Was it because you wouldn’t prove an alibi for fear
of compromising somebody in extremely high-toned society?
Or was it simply a case of a mean old jury that had it in for
you? It’s always one or the other with you innocent
victims.” 2 2 Comparing Literature
“Me?” said Jimmy, still blankly virtuous. “Why, warden, Characterization Does the
I never was in Springfield in my life!” warden believe that Jimmy is
telling the truth? Think about
the warden’s
• words
1. If you do something assiduously, you do it steadily and with care. Jimmy was busy sewing
the uppers—the top part of shoes—onto the soles.
• tone
• facial expressions and gestures
2. The “stir” is another name for prison.
A Retrieved Reformation 665

Douglas Grundy/Getty Images
“Take him back, Cronin,” smiled the warden, “and fix Practice the Skills
him up with outgoing clothes. Unlock him at seven in the
morning, and let him come to the bull-pen. Better think over
my advice, Valentine.”
At a quarter past seven on the next morning Jimmy stood
in the warden’s outer office. He had on a suit of the villain-
ously fitting, ready-made clothes and a pair of stiff, squeaky
shoes that the state furnishes to its discharged compulsory
guests.
The clerk handed him a railroad ticket and the five-dollar
bill with which the law expected him to rehabilitate himself
into good citizenship and prosperity. The warden gave him a
cigar, and shook hands. Valentine, 9762, was chronicled on
the books “Pardoned by Governor,” and Mr. James Valentine
walked out into the sunshine.
Disregarding the song of the birds, the waving green trees,
and the smell of the flowers, Jimmy headed straight for a
restaurant. There he tasted the first sweet joys of liberty in
the shape of a broiled chicken and a bottle of white wine—
followed by a cigar a grade better than the one the warden
had given him. From there he proceeded leisurely to the
depot. He tossed a quarter into the hat of a blind man sitting
by the door, and boarded his train. Three hours set him
down in a little town near the state line. He went to the café
of one Mike Dolan and shook hands with Mike, who was
alone behind the bar. 3 3 Comparing Literature
“Sorry we couldn’t make it sooner, Jimmy, me boy,” said Characterization What does
Mike. “But we had that protest from Springfield to buck Jimmy’s behavior reveal about
his character? Keep in mind the
against, and the governor nearly balked. Feeling all right?”
time of the story. With only five
“Fine,” said Jimmy. “Got my key?” dollars, Jimmy was able to buy
He got his key and went upstairs, unlocking the door of a a broiled chicken, a bottle of
room at the rear. Everything was just as he had left it. There wine, and a good cigar. But he
on the floor was still Ben Price’s collar-button that had been wouldn’t have much more left
than the quarter he gave the
torn from that eminent detective’s shirt-band when they had
blind man.
overpowered Jimmy to arrest him. 4
Pulling out from the wall a folding-bed, Jimmy slid back a
4 Comparing Literature
panel in the wall and dragged out a dust-covered suitcase.
Characterization In this one
He opened this and gazed fondly at the finest set of burglar’s
sentence, the author introduces
a new character. How much
Vocabulary does that sentence tell you about
Ben Price?
compulsory (kum PUL suh ree) adj. required

tools in the East. It was a complete set, made of specially Practice the Skills
tempered steel, the latest designs in drills, punches, braces
and bits, jimmies, clamps, and augers, with two or three
novelties invented by Jimmy himself, in which he took pride.
Over nine hundred dollars they had cost him to have made
at , a place where they make such things for the
profession.
In half an hour Jimmy went downstairs and through the
café. He was now dressed in tasteful and well-fitting clothes,
and carried his dusted and cleaned suitcase in his hand. 5 5 Comparing Literature
“Got anything on?” asked Mike Dolan, genially. Characterization How do
“Me?” said Jimmy, in a puzzled tone. “I don’t understand. the author’s descriptions help
I’m representing the New York Amalgamated Short Snap you picture Jimmy? Make notes
on your chart about the way
Biscuit Cracker and Frazzled Wheat Company.”
O. Henry describes Jimmy’s
This statement delighted Mike to such an extent that Jimmy appearance.
had to take a seltzer-and-milk on the spot. He never touched
“hard” drinks.
A week after the release of Valentine, 9762, there was a neat
job of safe-burglary done in Richmond, Indiana, with no clue
to the author. A scant eight hundred dollars was all that was
secured. Two weeks after that a patented, improved, burglar-
proof safe in Logansport was opened like a cheese to the tune
of fifteen hundred dollars, currency; securities and silver 3
untouched. That began to interest the rogue catchers. Then
an old-fashioned bank safe in Jefferson City became active
and threw out of its crater an eruption of banknotes
amounting to five thousand dollars. The losses were now
high enough to bring the matter up into Ben Price’s class
of work. By comparing notes, a remarkable similarity in
the methods of the burglaries was noticed. Ben Price
investigated the scenes of the robberies, and was heard to
remark: “That’s Dandy Jim Valentine’s autograph. He’s
resumed business. Look at that combination knob—jerked
out as easy as pulling up a radish in wet weather. He’s got
the only clamps that can do it. And look how clean those
tumblers were punched out! Jimmy never has to drill but
one hole. Yes, I guess I want Mr. Valentine. He’ll do his bit
next time without any short-time or clemency foolishness.”
3. Currency is paper money, securities are stocks and bonds, and silver is silver coins.
Valentine is careful not to steal securities that could be difficult to sell or silver that
could be heavy and attention-getting. He doesn’t want to get caught.

Ron Chapple/Thinkstock/JupiterImages/Comstock Images
Ben Price knew Jimmy’s habits. He had learned them while Practice the Skills
working up the Springfield case. Long jumps, quick get-
aways, no confederates,4 and a taste for good society—these
ways had helped Mr. Valentine to become noted as a
successful dodger of retribution. It was given out that Ben
Price had taken up the trail of the elusive cracksman, and
other people with burglar-proof safes felt more at ease. 6 6 Comparing Literature
One afternoon Jimmy Valentine and his suitcase climbed Characterization Make notes
out of the mailhack5 in Elmore, a little town five miles off the on your chart about Jimmy’s
railroad down in the blackjack country of Arkansas. Jimmy, characteristics as a thief.
looking like an athletic young senior just home from college,
went down the board sidewalk toward the hotel.
A young lady crossed the street, passed him at the corner,
and entered a door over which was the sign “The Elmore
Bank.” Jimmy Valentine looked into her eyes, forgot what he
was, and became another man. She lowered her eyes and
colored slightly. Young men of Jimmy’s style and looks were
scarce in Elmore. 7 7 Comparing Literature
Characterization Based on
Jimmy collared a boy that was loafing on the steps of

the bank as if he were one of the stockholders, and began
what you know about Jimmy so
far, do you think he can change
and become a good person?
to ask him questions about the town, feeding him dimes at Why or why not?
intervals. By and by the young lady came out, looking royally

unconscious of the young man with the suitcase, and went
her way.
“Isn’t that young lady Miss Polly Simpson?” asked Jimmy,
with specious guile.6
“Naw,” said the boy. “She’s Annabel Adams. Her pa owns
this bank. What’d you come to Elmore for? Is that a gold
watch-chain? I’m going to get a bulldog. Got any more
dimes?”
Jimmy went to the Planters’ Hotel, registered as Ralph D.
Spencer, and engaged a room. He leaned on the desk and
declared his platform to the clerk. He said he had come to
4. Confederates, here, are friends or accomplices.
5. The mailhack was a horse-drawn carriage that delivered mail and carried passengers.
6. Guile is deceit. If something is specious, it seems true but isn’t. Jimmy wants to look as if
he’s asking an innocent question, even though he’s not.
Vocabulary
retribution (re trih BYOO shun) n. punishment for past deeds
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Elmore to look for a location to go into

business. How was the shoe business, now,
in the town? He had thought of the shoe
business. Was there an opening?
The clerk was impressed by the clothes
and manner of Jimmy. He, himself, was
something of a pattern of fashion to the
thinly gilded youth of Elmore, but he now
perceived his shortcomings. While trying
to figure out Jimmy’s manner of tying his
four-in-hand7 he cordially gave
information. 8
Yes, there ought to be a good opening in
the shoe line. There wasn’t an exclusive
shoe store in the place. The dry-goods and
general stores handled them. Business in
all lines was fairly good. Hoped Mr.
Spencer would decide to locate in Elmore.
He would find it a pleasant town to live in,
and the people very sociable.
Mr. Spencer thought he would stop over Analyzing the Image These are the kinds of shoes men
and women wore in Jimmy Valentine’s day. How do they
in the town a few days and look over the differ from the shoes people wear today?
situation. No, the clerk needn’t call the boy. He
would carry up his suitcase, himself; it was rather heavy. Practice the Skills
Mr. Ralph Spencer, the phoenix that arose from Jimmy
Valentine’s ashes—ashes left by the flame of a sudden and 8 Comparing Literature
alterative attack of love—remained in Elmore, and prospered. Characterization Do most
He opened a shoe store and secured a good run of trade. 9 people respond positively or
Socially he was also a success and made many friends. And negatively to Jimmy? How can
he accomplished the wish of his heart. He met Miss Annabel you tell? Write your answer on
your chart.
Adams, and became more and more captivated by her charms.
At the end of a year the situation of Mr. Ralph Spencer was 9 English Language Coach
this: he had won the respect of the community, his shoe store Multiple Affixes If you alter
was flourishing, and he and Annabel were engaged to be something, you change it. The
married in two weeks. Mr. Adams, the typical, plodding, suffix -ive means “having the
quality of.” What do you think
country banker, approved of Spencer. Annabel’s pride in him
the word alterative means?
almost equaled her affection. He was as much at home in the
family of Mr. Adams and that of Annabel’s married sister as
if he were already a member.
7. A four-in-hand is a necktie.

Mary Evans Picture Library
One day Jimmy sat down in his room and wrote this letter, Practice the Skills
which he mailed to the safe address of one of his old friends
in St. Louis:
DEAR OLD PAL:

I want you to be at Sullivan’s place, in Little Rock, next
Wednesday night, at nine o’clock. I want you to wind up some little
matters for me. And, also, I want to make you a present of my kit of
tools. I know you’ll be glad to get them—you couldn’t duplicate the
lot for a thousand dollars. Say, Billy, I’ve quit the old business—a
year ago. I’ve got a nice store. I’m making an honest living, and I’m
going to marry the finest girl on earth two weeks from now. It’s the
only life, Billy—the straight one. I wouldn’t touch a dollar of another
man’s money now for a million. After I get married I’m going to sell
out and go West, where there won’t be so much danger of having old
scores brought up against me. I tell you, Billy, she’s an angel. She
believes in me; and I wouldn’t do another crooked thing for the
whole world. Be sure to be at Sally’s, for I must see you. I’ll bring
along the tools with me.
Your old friend,
JIMMY 10 10 Comparing Literature
Characterization You’ve
On the Monday night after Jimmy wrote learned a lot about Jimmy from
this letter, Ben Price jogged unobtrusively narrative description. This letter,
into Elmore in a livery buggy. He lounged however, contains Jimmy’s own
words. What does the letter
about town in his quiet way until he
reveal about Jimmy’s personal-
Visual Vocabulary found out what he wanted to know. From
A livery buggy is a ity? How do you picture Jimmy
hired horse-drawn the drugstore across the street from now?
carriage. Spencer’s shoe store he got a good look at
Ralph D. Spencer.
“Going to marry the banker’s daughter are you, Jimmy?”
said Ben to himself, softly. “Well, I don’t know!”
The next morning Jimmy took breakfast at the Adamses.
He was going to Little Rock that day to order his wedding
suit and buy something nice for Annabel. That would be the
first time he had left town since he came to Elmore. It had
been more than a year now since those last professional
“jobs,” and he thought he could safely venture out.
After breakfast quite a family party went down together—
Mr. Adams, Annabel, Jimmy, and Annabel’s married sister
with her two little girls, aged five and nine. They came by the

MedioImages
hotel where Jimmy still boarded, and

he ran up to his room and brought
along his suitcase. Then they went on
to the bank. There stood Jimmy’s horse
and buggy and Dolph Gibson, who
was going to drive him over to the
railroad station.
A ll went well inside the high,

carved oak railings into the banking
room—Jimmy included, for Mr.
Adams’s future son-in-law was
welcome anywhere. The clerks were
pleased to be greeted by the good-
looking, agreeable young man who
was going to marry Miss Annabel.
Jimmy set his suitcase down. Annabel,
whose heart was bubbling with
happiness and lively youth, put on
Jimmy’s hat and picked up the
suitcase. “Wouldn’t I make a nice
drummer?” said Annabel. “My! Analyzing the Photo This bank vault is from the same time period as the
Ralph, how heavy it is. Feels like it story. How does the photo help you understand the actions that occur on
this page?
was full of gold bricks.”
“Lot of nickel-plated shoehorns in Practice the Skills
there,” said Jimmy, coolly, “that I’m going to return. Thought
I’d save express charges by taking them up. I’m getting
awfully economical.”
The Elmore Bank had just put in a new safe and vault. Mr.
Adams was very proud of it, and insisted on an inspection
by everyone. The vault was a small one, but it had a new
patented door. It fastened with three solid steel bolts
thrown simultaneously with a single handle, and had a time
lock. Mr. Adams beamingly explained its workings to Mr.
Spencer, who showed a courteous but not too intelligent
interest. The two children, May and Agatha, were delighted
by the shining metal and funny clock and knobs. 11 11 Comparing Literature
Characterization Why does
Jimmy show little interest in the
Vocabulary vault? Do you believe that he
simultaneously (sy mul TAY nee us lee) adv. at the same time has really changed?

American Stock/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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While they were thus engaged Ben Price sauntered in and Practice the Skills
leaned on his elbow, looking casually inside between the
railings. He told the teller that he didn’t want anything; he
was just waiting for a man he knew.
Suddenly there was a scream or two from the women, and
a commotion. Unperceived by the elders, May, the nine-year-
old girl, in a spirit of play, had shut Agatha in the vault.
She had then shot the bolts and turned the knob of the
combination as she had seen Mr. Adams do.
The old banker sprang to the handle and tugged at it for a
moment. “The door can’t be opened,” he groaned. “The clock
hasn’t been wound nor the combination set.”
Agatha’s mother screamed again, hysterically.
“Hush!” said Mr. Adams, raising his trembling hand. “All
be quiet for a moment. Agatha!” he called as loudly as he
could. “Listen to me.” During the following silence they could
just hear the faint sound of the child wildly shrieking in the
dark vault in a panic of terror.
“My precious darling!” wailed the mother. “She will die
of fright! Open the door! Oh, break it open! Can’t you men
do something?”
“There isn’t a man nearer than Little Rock who can open
that door,” said Mr. Adams, in a shaky voice. “My God!
Spencer, what shall we do? That child—she can’t stand it long
in there. There isn’t enough air, and, besides, she’ll go into
convulsions from fright.”
Agatha’s mother, frantic now, beat the door of the vault
with her hands. Somebody wildly suggested dynamite.
Annabel turned to Jimmy, her large eyes full of anguish,
but not yet despairing. To a woman nothing seems quite
impossible to the powers of the man she worships.
“Can’t you do something, Ralph—try, won’t you?”
He looked at her with a queer, soft smile on his lips and
in his keen eyes. 12 12 Comparing Literature
“Annabel,” he said, “give me that rose you are wearing, Characterization Why does
will you?” Jimmy give a strange smile
Hardly believing that she had heard him aright, she when Annabel asks him to do
something?
unpinned the bud from the bosom of her dress, and placed
it in his hand. Jimmy stuffed it into his vest pocket, threw
off his coat and pulled up his shirt sleeves. With that act

Ralph D. Spencer passed away and Jimmy Valentine took Practice the Skills
his place.
“Get away from the door, all of you,” he commanded,
shortly.
He set his suitcase on the table, and opened it out flat. From
that time on he seemed to be unconscious of the presence
of anyone else. He laid out the shining, queer implements
swiftly and orderly, whistling softly to himself as he always
did when at work. In a deep silence and immovable, the
others watched him as if under a spell.
In a minute Jimmy’s pet drill was biting smoothly into the
steel door. In ten minutes—breaking his own burglarious
record—he threw back the bolts and opened the door. 13 13 Comparing Literature
Agatha, almost collapsed, but safe, was gathered into her Characterization Are you
mother’s arms. surprised that Jimmy is willing
Jimmy Valentine put on his coat, and walked outside the to “burglarize” the safe to save
Agatha? Why or why not?
railings toward the front door. As he went he thought he
heard a faraway voice that he once knew call “Ralph!” But
he never hesitated. At the door a big man stood somewhat 14
in his way.
Jimmy risks losing his new life
“Hello, Ben!” said Jimmy, still with his strange smile. when he decides to crack the
“Got around at last, have you? Well, let’s go. I don’t know safe. Do you think he stays
that it makes much difference, now.” true to himself by making
And then Ben Price acted rather strangely. that decision? Explain. Write
your answer on the first “A
“Guess you’re mistaken, Mr. Spencer,” he said. “Don’t
Retrieved Reformation” page
believe I recognize you. Your buggy’s waiting for you, of Foldable 5. Your response
ain’t it?” will help you complete the Unit
And Ben Price turned and strolled down the street. 14 ❍ Challenge later.
This postcard image shows a typical main

street around the year 1900.
Analyzing the Image In what ways is the
town shown here similar to the town in
the story?

Mary Evans Picture Library
Before You Read A Retrieved Reformation

Vocabulary Preview
eminent (EM uh nunt) adj. of outstanding rank or quality (p. 676) In an
effort to fully understand her condition, the patient consulted several
eminent physicians.
flourishing (FLUR ish ing) v. thriving; doing extremely well; form of the
verb flourish (p. 680) The flowers Sharma planted were flourishing in the
summer sun.
G a r y G ia n n i
sauntered (SAWN turd) v. walked leisurely; form of the verb saunter
(p. 682) Looking cool and relaxed, Julio sauntered into the library.
Meet the Author
Gary Gianni spends months—
and sometimes years—
creating all the pen and ink Multiple Affixes Some words have both prefixes and suffixes. Study
drawings and oil paintings the chart below. Look for words in “A Retrieved Reformation” that follow
needed to illustrate a book. a pattern similar to the word unperceived.
The work is often painstak-
ing. In addition to his two Word Base Word Prefix Suffix
graphic novel adaptations,
unperceived perceive = to see un- = not -ed = past tense
Gianni has written and
drawn for Dark Horse
Comics. Gary Gianni is
also the creator of The Get Ready to Read
Monstermen Mysteries.
Connect to the Reading
Jimmy Valentine’s life changed for the better when he fell in love with
Annabel. What other forces can change people’s lives in a positive way?
Author Search For more Think of the people and things that influence you.
about Gary Gianni, go to
www.glencoe.com. Set Purposes for Reading
Read Gary Gianni’s version to help you think further
about what Jimmy Valentine risked to stay true to himself.
Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the selection
Objectives (pp. 674–683) to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the
Reading Compare and contrast: “A Retrieved Reformation” page of Foldable 5.
characterization
affixes

Gary Gianni
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Practice the Skills
Characterization Notice
Jimmy’s facial expressions and
posture in the first nine frames.
Look at the warden’s gestures
toward Jimmy. Make notes on
your chart about your impression
of Jimmy in this story so far. Did
you have the same impression of
him at the beginning of the print
1 version? Why or why not?

Eureka Productions
Practice the Skills
Characterization What do you
think Jimmy feels when he looks
at the button?
Characterization How does
this picture make Jimmy—and
his profession—seem more
2 3 menacing?
Vocabulary
eminent (EM uh nunt) adj. of outstanding rank or quality

Eureka Productions
0675-0683_U5CLGSSEL-845478.indd 676 3/14/07 11:39:18 AM

Practice the Skills

4 4 Comparing Literature
Jimmy’s height and size
compared to Mike Dolan’s.
Who appears to be the more
powerful person? How does this
drawing add to or change your
perception of Jimmy Valentine?
Characterization In your
opinion, does this illustrated
version of the story leave out
important parts of the original?
Do you think this version is
1 true to O. Henry’s descriptions?
Explain your answers on your
chart.
1. Clemency is mercy or forgiveness for wrongdoing.

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Practice the Skills
Characterization How does
Gianni illustrate Jimmy’s change?
On your chart, list the items in
this frame that stand for feelings
of peace and love.
Characterization On your
chart describe Jimmy’s posture.
Does he seem confident or
uncertain? Serious or relaxed?
How does this picture affect what
you know or think about Jimmy?

Eureka Productions
Practice the Skills

Characterization In these two
frames Gianni leaves out several
sentences from the original story.
He also changes Jimmy’s
dialogue with the hotel clerk.
How might this shortened scene
affect your understanding of
Jimmy’s character? What is
gained or lost in this adaptation?
Make notes on your chart about
the way Gianni reveals Jimmy’s
character here.
Jimmy’s facial expression and
gesture. How does this Jimmy
Valentine seem different from the
one who arrived in Elmore? How
do the other drawings in this
frame show other people’s views
of Jimmy?
2. A phoenix is a bird in Greek mythology that burns up when it dies and is reborn from
its own ashes.

Eureka Productions
Practice the Skills
Characterization Imagine
that this page of the story did
not include words. From the
sketches in this frame, what
would you say Jimmy values
most now?
Vocabulary
flourishing (FLUR ish ing) adj. thriving; doing extremely well

Eureka Productions
Practice the Skills
11 11 English Language Coach

Multiple Affixes The word
unobtrusively contains
one prefix and two suffixes.
The prefix -un means “not.”
The suffix -ive changes words
into adjectives. The suffix -ly
means “in the manner of.” If
something obtrudes, it becomes
noticeable. Ben Price jogged
into Elmore unobtrusively, or in
a way that was not noticeable.
Characterization Does this
version of the story show that
Jimmy is trying to look
uninterested in the safe? Do
the sketches create a strong
sense of danger about the
vault? If so, how? Write your
answers in your chart.

Eureka Productions
Practice the Skills
Characterization How
does Gianni show Jimmy’s
transformation? Look at
Jimmy’s posture, gestures,
and facial expression. Also,
pay attention to the shape of
Jimmy’s face. Does it seem
harder or more angular than
in previous frames? Why might
this be? Make notes in your
chart.
Vocabulary
sauntered (SAWN turd) v. walked leisurely

Eureka Productions
Practice the Skills
Characterization Jimmy
hangs his head in shame or
sorrow in this version, but
not in the original. Why
might Gianni have added this
gesture? How could it affect
your impression of Jimmy?
15 15
What did Jimmy have to do
to stay true to himself? What
did he risk? Do you think he’s
glad that he stayed true to
himself? Write your answer
on the second “A Retrieved
Reformation” page of Foldable
5. Your response will help you
complete the Unit Challenge
later.

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After You Read A Retrieved Reformation

Vocabulary Check
In your Learner’s Notebook, answer questions 1–3 below.
O. Henry’s A RETRIEVED REFORMATION

1. Give an example of something that is compulsory.
2. How might being grounded be a form of retribution?
3. If two things happen simultaneously, do they happen a) at the
same time, b) at different times, or c) in the same way?
Copy the sentences below. Draw a line through the italicized word
or phrase; then replace it with the vocabulary word that fits.
Gary Gianni’s A RETRIEVED REFORMATION

eminent flourishing sauntered
4. The reception honored a group of distinguished scientists.
5. Mel strolled in ten minutes late.
6. Students were doing well under the new teacher’s instruction.
7. English Language Coach What does the word burglarious mean?
Use what you have learned to fill in the chart below.
Word Base Word Suffix Meaning
burglarious burgle = to thieve -ous = full of
8. Academic Vocabulary Which of the following comes closest to the

meaning of reveal?
Objectives (pp. 684–685) • complain
Reading Compare and contrast: • show
characterization
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: affixes • listen
Writing Create a chart: compare and
contrast

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Step 3: Compare both columns of your chart.

Reading/Critical Thinking What important dialogue or description (from
On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following O. Henry’s version) does Gianni change or leave
questions. out? Underline these differences.
O. Henry’s A RETRIEVED REFORMATION Step 4: Circle the stories’ similarities that you
noted on your chart. Think about why Gianni left
9. How does Jimmy stay true
original dialogue and description in some parts,
to himself by saving Agatha?
but did not choose to leave them in others.
T IP Author and Me
10. Recall How does Ben Price know that Jimmy Get It On Paper
has “resumed business”? Answer these questions on a separate sheet of paper.
T IP Right There Use examples from the chart and the notes you just
11. List Jimmy gained several things when he moved made to explain your answers.
to Elmore. List three of them. 16. After reading O. Henry’s story, how did you
T IP Right There picture Jimmy Valentine in your mind?
Gary Gianni’s A RETRIEVED REFORMATION 17. Did your mental picture of Jimmy change after
you read Gianni’s version? If so, how?
12. Analyze When Agatha gets locked in the vault,
Jimmy must make a choice. Explain that choice 18. Do you think Gianni’s version of Jimmy is accu-
and its possible consequences. rate? Would you have drawn Jimmy the same
T IP Author and Me way? Why or why not?
19. Which version is more descriptive? Which version
13. Interpret Look at the picture of a keyhole on
is more interesting? Did you learn more about
the first page of the graphic story. What could it
Jimmy Valentine from O. Henry’s description or
symbolize, or mean?
Gianni’s drawings?
20. Why might someone read a graphic story instead
14. Evaluate How does Jimmy change by the end of a text story? What did O. Henry’s story gain in
of the story? graphic form? Lose in graphic form?
T IP Author and Me
21. Jimmy stays true to himself by helping someone
Writing: Compare the else. What does this tell you about the “self” to
whom he stays true? Think about the change
Literature Jimmy undergoes in Elmore.
Use Your Notes
15. Follow these steps to compare Jimmy Valentine’s
characterization in the original and graphic
versions of “A Retrieved Reformation.”
Step 1: Look at the first column of your
Comparison Chart. Underline examples of
O. Henry’s narrative description.
Step 2: Look at the second column of your
chart. When does Gianni choose to draw, or Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection
show, details that O. Henry describes, or tells? to www.glencoe.com.
Underline examples.
Comparing Literature Workshop 685

UNIT 5 WRAP-UP
How Do You
Stay True to
Answering Yourself?
You have read about people who worked to figure out how to stay true to themselves. Now use what
you learned to do the Unit Challenge.
The Unit Challenge

Choose Activity A or Activity B and follow the directions for that activity.
A. Group Activity: Videotape a Soap Opera

With a group of students, read the following 2. Discuss the Different Role Plays As a
situation. Prepare to turn it into a TV show. group, talk about which parts of the different
role plays worked best. Decide which of
It’s Friday, and Chris has a big test on Monday Chris’s values are being challenged in each
in English. English is the hardest subject for her. situation. Figure out how Chris can deal with
Chris started studying on Wednesday but still her dilemma in a way that (1) does not upset
doesn’t feel ready to take the test. Chris will need her parents, or (2) jeopardize her future, yet
to study all weekend if she wants to do well on (3) allows Chris to be true to herself.
the test, which she needs to do to pass English
this year. Late Friday afternoon, Chris learns that 3. Write a Script Use your role plays to write
one of her friends, Steve, is having a party a script for your soap opera. End your script
Saturday night. Steve really wants Chris to come with the best solution you came up with for
to his party. Chris should stay home and study, Chris. Show why this course of action is best.
but she really wants to go to the party too.
Chris’s parents have left it up to her to decide
about Saturday night. What should Chris do? 4. Videotape and Present Your Soap Have
each group member, except the camera
1. Role Play the Situation Have group person, take a role and rehearse. Then video-
members take the parts of Chris, Chris’s tape your show. Afterward, show your soap
friends, and Chris’s parents. Act out the to the class.
situation several times, making sure everyone
has a turn. Each time the group role plays,
come up with a different way of handling
the situation. Look at your Foldable for ideas
about how characters in similar situations
stayed true to themselves.

UNIT 5 WRAP-UP
B. Solo Activity: Values Chart

It’s important to think clearly when making 4. Write a Reflection Think about what
major decisions. Sometimes it’s helpful to put your values say about you. Write a paper
things on paper to clarify your thoughts. Make describing yourself and your values.
a chart like this one to figure out the things you Consider the following questions:
need to keep in mind to stay true to yourself. • What do your values show about you?
• What do you value most and why?
Very Less • What do you value least and why?
Rank
Important Important
• Where do you think your values come
from? Parents? Family? Friends?
• Are there values you would change? Are
there values you would like to have that
you don’t right now?
Finish your paper by discussing how you
think your values will shape the way you live.
5. Revise and Present Your Values Review

your chart and your paper. Make sure there
are no mistakes in grammar, usage, or
1. Determine Your Values On the chart list mechanics. Then share your work with a
the things that are very important to you partner. Do you have values that are the
and those that are less important. You might same? What values do you have that are
include such things as having time alone, different? When you are done sharing, hand
respecting your parents’ opinions, and figuring in your chart and reflection paper.
out solutions to problems for yourself.
• Look over your notes in your Foldable
and your Learner’s Notebook to get ideas
for your chart. Think about what was
important to each main character. Big Question Link to Web resources to further
explore the Big Question at www.glencoe.com.
2. Consider Your Values After you fill in

your values, review them. Think about why
you listed the different items in each column.
You may want to make changes.
3. Rank Your Values Rank your values. Put

a number next to each value in the “very
important ” column. Make number 1 the most
important. You may want to give the same
number to more than one value. Then do the
same for the “less important” column.
Wrap-Up 687
UNIT 5
Your Turn: Read and Apply Skills
Thank You
Na
Meet the Author

o m i S hi h a b N ye
in Arabic
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye is an

Arab American. Her father
is Palestinian, and her
mother is American. She
has published many books
of poetry as well as a novel
called Habibi. When she
was a child, books were her
escape. As an adult, she feels
words help people discover
the things that are important
in their lives. Nye writes
poems about little things
that are an important part
of people’s lives. She says,
S hortly after my mother discovered my brother had been
pitching his vitamin C tablets behind the stove for years, we
“Familiar sights, sounds, left the country. Her sharp alert, “Now the truth be known!”
smells have always been my
startled us at the breakfast table as she poked into the dim
necessities.” See page R4 of
the Author Files for more on crevice with the nozzle of her vacuum. We could hear the
Naomi Shihab Nye. pills go click, click, up the long tube.
My brother, an obedient child, a bright-eyed, dark-skinned
charmer who scored high on all his tests and trilled a boy’s
sweet soprano, stared down at his oatmeal. Four years
about Naomi Shihab Nye, go to younger than I, he was also the youngest and smallest in his
www.glencoe.com. class. Somehow he maintained an intelligence and dignity
rbogast/Digital Vision/Getty Images
more notable than those of his older, larger companions, and
the pills episode was really a pleasant surprise to me.
Companions in mischief are not to be underestimated,
especially when everything else in your life is about to change.

(tl) Aaron Haupt American Stock Photography/Retrofile.com, (tr)Gerardo Somoza/CORBIS
YOUR TURN: READ AND APPLY SKILLS
We sold everything we had and left the Our parents had closed their imported-
country. The move had been brewing for gifts stores. Our mother ran a little shop in
months. We took a few suitcases each. My our neighborhood in St. Louis and our
mother cried when the piano went. I wished father ran a bigger one in a Sheraton Hotel
we could have saved it. My brother and I downtown. For years my brother and I had
had sung so many classics over its been sitting with them behind the counters
keyboard—“Look for the Silver Lining” after school, guessing if people who walked
and “Angels We Have Heard on High”— through the door would buy something or
that it would have been nice to return to a only browse. We curled up with our library
year later, when we came straggling back. books on Moroccan hassocks1 and Egyptian
I sold my life-size doll and my toy sewing camel saddles. I loved the stacks of waiting
machine. I begged my mother to save her white paper bags as they lay together, and
red stove for me, so I could have it when I the reams of new tissue. I’d crease the folds
grew up—no one else we knew had a red as our smooth father in dark suit and daily
stove. So my mother asked some friends to
1. Moroccan hassocks are large, tightly stuffed cushions made in
save it for me in their barn. Morocco, an Arab country in North Africa.
Your Turn: Read and Apply Skills 689

Gerardo Somoza/CORBIS
drench of cologne counted change. Our I said, “Hindu.” We had a swami,3 and
mother rearranged shelves and penned the sandalwood incense. It was over our heads,
perfect tags with calligrapher’s ink. My but we liked it and didn’t feel very attracted
brother and I helped unpack the crates: to the idea of churches and collection baskets
nested Russian dolls, glossy mother-of-pearl and chatty parish good will.
earrings from Bethlehem, a family of Now and then, just to keep things balanced,
sandalwood2 fans nestled in shredded we attended the Unity Sunday School. My
packaging. Something wonderful was teacher said I was lucky my father came from
always on its way. the same place Jesus came from. It was a
But there were problems too. Sometimes passport to notoriety. She invited me to bring
whole days passed and nobody came in. artifacts for Show and Tell. I wrapped a red
It seemed so strange to wait for people to and white keffiyah 4 around my friend Jimmy’s
give you money for what you had. But curly blond head while the girls in lacy socks
that’s what stores did everywhere. Then giggled behind their hands. I told about my
the stockroom filled with pre-Christmas father coming to America from Palestine on
inventory caught on fire and burned up, the boat and throwing his old country clothes
right when our father was between overboard before docking at Ellis Island.5 I
insurance policies. We could hear our felt relieved he’d kept a few things, like the
parents in the living room, worrying and keffiyah and its black braided band. Secretly it
debating after we went to bed at night. made me mad to have lost the blue pants from
Finally they had to give the business up. Jericho with the wide cuffs he told us about.
What seemed like such a good idea in the I liked standing in front of the group,
beginning—presents from around the talking about my father’s homeland. Stories
world—turned into the sad sound of a felt like elastic bands that could stretch and
broom sweeping out an empty space. stretch. Big fans purred inside their metal
Our father had also been attending the shells. I held up a string of olivewood6
Unity School for Christianity for a few years, camels. I didn’t tell our teacher about the
but decided not to become a minister after all. Vedanta Society. We were growing up
We were relieved, having felt like imposters ecumenical, though I wouldn’t know that
the whole time he was enrolled. He wasn’t word till a long time later in college. One
even a Christian, to begin with, but a gently night I heard my father say to my mother
nonpracticing Muslim. He didn’t do anything in the next room, “Do you think they’ll be
like fasting or getting down on his knees five confused when they grow up?” and knew
times a day. Our mother had given up the he was talking about us. My mother, bless
stern glare of her Lutheran ancestors, raising 3. Vedanta is a branch of the Hindu religion that studies several
my brother and me in the Vedanta Society of holy books called the Vedas. A Hindu teacher is called a swami.
St. Louis. When anyone asked what we were, 4. A keffiyah is a cloth headdress for a man that is held in place by
a rope.
5. Ellis Island in New York City was the station where immigrants
entered the United States on the East Coast from 1892 until the
2. Sandalwood is the wood of several trees that grow in Asia. mid-twentieth century.
It has a sweet, perfumed smell. 6. Olivewood is the wood of the olive tree.

her, knew we wouldn’t be. She said, “At And that’s where we were going, to
least we’re giving them a choice.” I didn’t Jerusalem. We shipped our car, a wide
know then that more clearly than all the golden Impala, over on a boat. We would
stories of Jesus, I’d remember the way our meet up with it later.
Hindu swami said a single word three The first plane flight of my whole life was
times, “Shantih, shantih, shantih”—peace, the night flight out of New York City across
peace, peace. the ocean. I was fourteen years old. Every
Our father was an excellent speaker—he glittering light in every skyscraper looked
stood behind pulpits and podiums7 easily, like a period at the end of the sentence.
delivering gracious lectures on “The Holy Good-bye, our lives.
Land” and “The Palestinian Question.” He We stopped in Portugal for a few weeks.
was much in demand during the Christmas We were making a gradual transition. We
season. I think that’s how he had fallen into stopped in Spain and Italy and Egypt,
the ministerial swoon.8 While he spoke, my where the pyramids shocked me by sitting
brother and I moved toward the backs of right on the edge of the giant city of Cairo,11
gathering halls, hovering over and eyeing not way out in the desert as I had imagined
the tables of canapes and tiny tarts, slipping them. While we waited for our baggage to
a few into our mouths or pockets. clear customs, I stared at six tall African
What next? Our lives were entering a men in brilliantly patterned dashikis12
new chapter, but I didn’t know its title yet. negotiating with an Egyptian customs agent
We had never met our Palestinian and realized I did not even know how to
grandmother, Sitti9 Khadra, or seen say “thank you” in Arabic. How was this
Jerusalem, where our father had grown up, possible? The most elemental and important
or followed the rocky, narrow alleyways of of human phrases in my father’s own
the Via Dolorosa,10 or eaten an olive in its tongue had evaded me till now. I tugged on
own neighborhood. Our mother hadn’t his sleeve, but he was busy with visas and
either. The Arabic customs we knew had passports. “Daddy,” I said. “Daddy, I have
been filtered through the fine net of to know. Daddy, tell me. Daddy, why didn’t
folktales. We did not speak Arabic, though we ever learn?” An African man adjusted
the lilt of the language was familiar to us— his turban. Always thereafter, the word
our father’s endearments, his musical shookrun, so simple, with a little roll in the
blessings before meals. But that language middle, would conjure up the vast African
had never lived in our mouths. baggage, the brown boxes looped and
looped in African twine.
7. A pulpit is the stand inside a church from which a preacher
We stayed one or two nights at the old
delivers a sermon. A podium is a raised platform used by a Shepheard’s Hotel downtown but couldn’t
speaker or music conductor. sleep due to the heat and honking traffic
8. To fall into the ministerial swoon is to get enthusiastic
about becoming a minister.
beneath our windows. So our father moved
9. Sitti means grandmother.
10. The Via Dolorosa is the Way of Sorrow, the streets Jesus 11. Cairo is the capital of Egypt.
walked on the way to his death. 12. A dashiki is a loose-fitting, colorful African shirt.

Guests of Egypt’s Mena House Hotel get a bird’s-eye view of the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
Analyzing the Photo How does this photo help you better understand Nye’s overseas experience?
us to the famous Mena House Hotel next mentioned. We lay in bed for a week. The
to the pyramids. We rode camels for the aged doctor tripped over my suitcase every
first time, and our mother received a dozen time he entered to take our temperatures.
blood-red roses at her hotel room from a We smothered our laughter. “Shookrun,” I
rug vendor who apparently liked her pale would say. But as soon as he left, to my
brown ponytail. The belly dancer at the brother, “I feel bad. How do you feel?”
hotel restaurant twined a gauzy pink scarf “I feel really, really bad.”
around my brother’s astonished ten-year- “I think I’m dying.”
old head as he tapped his knee in time to “I think I’m already dead.”
her music. At night we heard the sound and lights
Back in our rooms, we laughed until we show14 from the pyramids drifting across
fell asleep. Later that night, my brother and the desert air to our windows. We felt our
I both awakened burning with fever and lives stretching out across a thousand miles.
deeply nauseated, though nobody ever The pharaohs stomped noisily through my
threw up. We were so sick that a doctor head and churning belly. We had eaten
hung a Quarantine sign in Arabic and spaghetti in the restaurant. I would not be
English on our hotel room door the next day. able to eat spaghetti again for years.
Did he know something we didn’t know? I Finally, finally, we appeared in the
kept waiting to hear that we had malaria or restaurant, thin and weakly smiling, and
typhoid,13 but no dramatic disease was ever ordered the famous Mena House shorraba,
13. To quarantine is to separate people from everyone else to keep
them from spreading diseases. Malaria is a disease that causes 14. A sound and lights show is a narrated presentation that uses
fever and chills. Typhoid causes intestinal problems. sound effects and lighting effects.

Carl & Ann Purcell
lentil soup, as my brother nervously among fields and white stones and
scanned the room for the belly dancer. wandering sheep. My brother was enrolled
Maybe she wouldn’t recognize him now. in the Friends Girls School and I was
In those days Jerusalem, which was then enrolled in the Friends Boys School in the
a divided city, had an operating airport town of Ramallah16 a few miles farther
on the Jordanian side. My brother and I north—it all was a little confused. But the
remember flying in upside down, or in a Girls School offered grades one through
plane dramatically tipped, but it may have eight in English and high school continued
been the effect of our medicine. The land at the Boys School. Most local girls went to
reminded us of a dropped canvas, graceful Arabic-speaking schools after eighth grade.
brown hillocks and green patches. Small I was a freshman, one of seven girl
and provincial, the airport had just two students among two hundred boys, which
runways, and the first thing I observed as would cause me problems a month later.
we climbed down slowly from the stuffy I was called in from the schoolyard at
plane was all my underwear strewn across lunchtime, to the office of our counselor
one of them. There were my flowered who wore shoes so pointed and tight her
cotton briefs and my pink panties and my feet bulged out pinkly on top.
slightly embarrassing raggedy ones and my “You will not be talking to them
extra training bra, alive and visible in the anymore,” she said. She rapped on the desk
breeze. Somehow my suitcase had popped with a pencil for emphasis.
open in the hold and dropped its contents “To whom?”
the minute the men pried open the cargo “All the boy students at this institution.
door. So the first thing I did on the home It is inappropriate behavior. From now on,
soil of my father was re-collect my under- you will speak only with the girls.”
wear, down on my knees, the posture of “But there are only six other girls! And
prayer over that ancient holy land. I like only one of them!” My friend was
Our relatives came to see us at a hotel. Anna, from Italy, whose father ran a small
Our grandmother was very short. She wore factory that made matches. I’d visited it
a long, thickly embroidered Palestinian once with her. It felt risky to walk the aisles
dress, had a musical, high-pitched voice and among a million filled matchboxes. Later we
a low, guttural15 laugh. She kept touching visited the factory that made olive oil soaps
our heads and faces as if she couldn’t and stacked them in giant pyramids to dry.
believe we were there. I had not yet fallen “No, thank you,” I said. “It’s ridiculous
in love with her. Sometimes you don’t fall to say that girls should only talk to girls.
in love with people immediately, even if Did I say anything bad to a boy? Did
they’re your own grandmother. Everyone anyone say anything bad to me? They’re
seemed to think we were all too thin. my friends. They’re like my brothers. I
We moved into a second-story flat in a won’t do it, that’s all.”
stone house eight miles north of the city,
16. Ramallah is a town north of Jerusalem. The majority of the
15. A guttural laugh is a throaty laugh. population is Christian.

The counselor conferred with the head- at birthday parties in the United States.
master and they called a taxi. I was sent Wouldn’t that taste good right now?” Our
home with a little paper requesting that I mother said she was thinking about
transfer to a different school. The charge: mayonnaise. You couldn’t get it in Jerusalem.
insolence. My mother, startled to see me She’d tried to make it and it didn’t work. I
home early and on my own, stared out the felt too gloomy to talk about food.
window when I told her. My brother said, “Let’s go let Abu
My brother came home from his school Miriam’s chickens out.” That’s what we
as usual, full of whistling and notebooks. always did when we felt sad. We let our
“Did anyone tell you not to talk to girls?” fussy landlord’s red-and-white chickens
I asked him. He looked at me as if I’d gone loose to flap around the yard happily,
goofy. He was too young to know the puffing their wings. Even when Abu
troubles of the world. He couldn’t even Miriam shouted and waggled his cane
imagine them. and his wife waved a dishtowel, we knew
“You know what I’ve been thinking the chickens were thanking us.
about?” he said. “A piece of cake. That puffy My father went with me to the St.
white layered cake with icing like they have Tarkmanchatz Armenian17 School, a
solemnly ancient stone school tucked deep
Old City, Jerusalem.
into the Armenian Quarter of the Old City
Analyzing the Photo What can you learn about Jerusalem’s
climate and architecture from this photo? of Jerusalem. It was another world in there.
He had already called the school officials
on the telephone and tried to enroll me,
though they didn’t want to. Their school
was for Armenian students only, kinder-
garten through twelfth grade. Classes
were taught in three languages: Armenian,
Arabic and English, which was why I
needed to go there. Although most Arab
students at other schools were learning
English, I needed a school where classes
were actually taught in English—otherwise
I would have been staring out the windows
triple the usual amount.
The head priest wore a long robe and a
tall cone-shaped hat. He said, “Excuse me,
please, but your daughter, she is not an
Armenian, even a small amount?”
17. Armenia is a Christian country north of Turkey and Iran. The

Armenian community in Jerusalem is very old. The Armenian
Apostolic Church first set up churches there in the sixth century.

Aaron Haupt
“Not at all,” said my father. “But in case an hour-and-a-half break and I lived too
you didn’t know, there is a stipulation in far to go to my own house.
the educational code books of this city Their houses were a thousand years old,
that says no student may be rejected solely clustered bee-hive-fashion behind ancient
on the basis of ethnic background, and if walls, stacked and curled and tilting and
you don’t accept her, we will alert the dark, filled with pictures of unsmiling
proper authorities.” relatives and small white cloths dangling
They took me. But the principal wasn’t crocheted edges. We ate spinach pies and
happy about it. The students, however, white cheese. We dipped our bread in olive
seemed glad to have a new face to look oil, as the Arabs did. We ate small sesame
at. Everyone’s name ended in -ian, the cakes, our mouths full of crumbles. They
beautiful, musical Armenian ending— taught me to say “I love you” in Armenian,
Boghossian, Minassian, Kevorkian, which sounded like yes-kay-see-goo-see-rem.
Rostomian. My new classmates started I felt I had left my old life entirely.
calling me Shihabian. We wore uniforms, Every afternoon I went down to the base-
navy blue pleated skirts for the girls, white ment of the school where the kindergarten
shirts, and navy sweaters. I waited during class was having an Arabic lesson. Their desks
the lessons for the English to come around, were pint-sized, their full white smocks tied
as if it were a channel on television. While around their necks. I stuffed my fourteen-
other students were on the other channels, year-old self in beside them. They had rosy
I scribbled poems in the margins of my cheeks and shy smiles. They must have
pages, read library books, and wrote a lot thought I was a very slow learner.
of letters filled with exclamation points. All More than any of the lessons, I remember
the other students knew all three languages the way the teacher rapped the backs of
with three entirely different alphabets. How their hands with his ruler when they made
could they carry so much in their heads? I a mistake. Their little faces puffed up with
felt humbled by my ignorance. One day I quiet tears. This pained me so terribly I
felt so frustrated in our physics class—still forgot all my words. When it was my turn
another language—that I pitched my book to go to the blackboard and write in Arabic,
out the open window. The professor made my hand shook. The kindergarten students
me go collect it. All the pages had let loose whispered hints to me from the front row,
at the seams and were flapping free into but I couldn’t understand them. We learned
the gutters along with the white wrappers horribly useless phrases: “Please hand me
of sandwiches. the bellows18 for my fire.” I wanted words
Every week the girls had a hands-and- simple as tools, simple as food and yesterday
fingernails check. We had to keep our nails and dreams. The teacher never rapped my
clean and trim, and couldn’t wear any hand, especially after I wrote a letter to the
rings. Some of my new friends would invite city newspaper, which my father edited,
me home for lunch with them, since we had
18. A bellows is an accordion-like tool that pumps air through a
tube. It is used to blow oxygen into a fire to make it burn hotter.

protesting such harsh treatment of young We wore our beat-up American tennis
learners. I wish I had known how to talk shoes and our old sweatshirts and talked
to those little ones, but they were just about everything we wanted to do and
beginning their English studies and didn’t everywhere else we wished we could go.
speak much yet. They were at the same place “I want to go back to Egypt,” my brother
in their English that I was in my Arabic. said. “I sort of feel like I missed it. Spending
From the high windows of St. all that time in bed instead of exploring—
Tarkmanchatz, we could look out over the what a waste.”
Old City, the roofs and flapping laundry “I want to go to Greece,” I said. “I want
and television antennas, the pilgrims and to play a violin in a symphony orchestra in
churches and mosques, the olivewood Austria.” We made up things. I wanted to
prayer beads and fragrant falafel 19 lunch go back to the United States most of all.
stands, the intricate interweaving of Suddenly I felt like a patriotic citizen. One of
cultures and prayers and songs and my friends, Sylvie Markarian, had just been
holidays. We saw the barbed wire shipped off to Damascus, Syria, to marry a
separating Jordan from Israel then, the man who was fifty years old, a widower.
bleak, uninhabited strip of no-man’s land Sylvie was exactly my age—we had turned
reminding me how little education saved fifteen two days apart. She had never met
us after all. People who had differing ideas her future husband before. I thought this
still came to blows, imagining fighting was the most revolting thing I had ever
could solve things. Staring out over the heard of. “Tell your parents no thank you,”
quiet roofs of afternoon, I thought it so I urged her. “Tell them you refuse.”
foolish. I asked my friends what they Sylvie’s eyes were liquid, swirling brown.
thought about it and they shrugged. I could not see clearly to the bottom of them.
“It doesn’t matter what we think about “You don’t understand,” she told me. “In
it. It just keeps happening. It happened in United States you say no. We don’t say no.
Armenia too, you know. Really, really bad We have to follow someone’s wishes. This
in Armenia. And who talks about it in the is the wish of my father. Me, I am scared. I
world news now? It happens everywhere. never slept away from my mother before.
It happens in your country one by one, yes? But I have no choice. I am going because
Murders and guns. What can we do?” they tell me to go.” She was sobbing,
Sometimes after school, my brother and sobbing on my shoulder. And I was stroking
I walked up the road that led past the her long, soft hair. After that, I carried two
crowded refugee camp of Palestinians who fists inside, one for Sylvie and one for me.
owned even less than our modest relatives Most weekends my family went to the
did in the village. The little kids were village to sit with the relatives. We sat and
stacking stones in empty tin cans and sat and sat. We sat in big rooms and little
shaking them. We waved our hands and rooms, in circles, on chairs or on woven
they covered their mouths and laughed. mats or brightly covered mattresses piled
on the floor. People came in and out to
19. Falafel are fried chickpea patties.

greet my family. Sometimes even donkeys

and chickens came in and out. We were
like movie stars or dignitaries. They never
seemed to get tired of us.
My father translated the more interesting
tidbits of conversation, the funny stories my
grandmother told. She talked about angels
and food and money and people and
politics and gossip and old memories from
my father’s childhood, before he emigrated20
away from her. She wanted to make sure
we were going to stick around forever,
which made me feel very nervous. We ate
from mountains of rice and eggplant on
large silver trays—they gave us little plates
of our own since it was not our custom to
eat from the same plate as other people.
We ripped the giant wheels of bread into
triangles. Shepherds passed through town
with their flocks of sheep and goats, their Analyzing the Photo Sheep graze on a hillside near Jerusalem’s
Old City. How does Jerusalem seem similar to or different from the
long canes and cloaks, straight out of the cities you know?
Bible. My brother and I trailed them to the
edge of the village, past the lentil fields to Everything grew quiet.
the green meadows studded with stones, Someone always asked in Arabic, “What
while the shepherds pretended we weren’t is wrong? Are you sick? Do you wish to lie
there. I think they liked to be alone, down?”
unnoticed. The sheep had differently My father made valiant excuses in the
colored dyed bottoms, so shepherds could beginning. “She’s overtired,” he said. “She
tell their flocks apart. has a headache. She is missing her friend who
During these long, slow, smoke-stained moved to Syria. She is homesick just now.”
weekends—the men still smoked cigarettes My brother stared at me as if I had just
a lot in those days, and the old taboon, my landed from Planet X.
family’s mounded bread-oven, puffed Worst of all was our drive to school every
billowy clouds outside the door—my crying morning, when our car came over the rise
jags began. I cried without any warning, in the highway and all Jerusalem lay
even in the middle of a meal. My crying was sprawled before us in its golden, stony
usually noiseless but dramatically wet— splendor pockmarked with olive trees and
streams of tears pouring down my cheeks, automobiles. Even the air above the city
onto my collar or the back of my hand. had a thick, religious texture, as if it were a
shining brocade filled with broody incense.
20. To emigrate is to leave one’s country to go live somewhere else. I cried hardest then. All those hours tied up

Richard T. Nowitz
in school lay just ahead. My father pulled my mother had been saving. I gave my extra
over and talked to me. He sighed. He kept shoes away to the gypsies. One night when
his hands on the steering wheel even when the gypsies camped in a field down the road
the car was stopped and said, “Someday, from our house, I thought about their mounds
I promise you, you will look back on this of white goat cheese lined up on skins in
period in your life and have no idea what front of their tents, and the wild oud 22 music
made you so unhappy here.” they played deep into the black belly of the
“I want to go home.” It became my night, and I wanted to go sit around their fire.
anthem. “This place depresses me. It Maybe they could use some shoes.
weighs too much. I hate all these old stones I packed a sack of old loafers that I rarely
that everybody keeps kissing. I’m sick of wore and walked with my family down the
pilgrims. They act so pious and pure. And road. The gypsy mothers stared into my
I hate the way people stare at me here.” shoes curiously. They took them into their
Already I’d been involved in two street tent. Maybe they would use them as vases
skirmishes 21 with boys who stared a little or drawers. We sat with small glasses of
too hard and long. I’d socked one in the hot, sweet tea until a girl bellowed from
jaw and he socked me back. I hit the other deep in her throat, threw back her head,
one straight in the face with my purse. and began dancing. A long bow thrummed
“You could be happy here if you tried across the strings. The girl circled the fire,
just a little harder,” my father said. “Don’t tapping and clicking, trilling a long musical
compare it to the United States all the time. wail from deep in her throat. My brother
Don’t pretend the United States is perfect. looked nervous. He was remembering the
And look at your brother—he’s not having belly dancer in Egypt, and her scarf. I felt
any problems!” invisible. I was pretending to be a gypsy.
“My brother is eleven years old.” My father stared at me. Didn’t I recognize
I had crossed the boundary from the exquisite oddity of my own life when
uncomplicated childhood when happiness I sat right in the middle of it? Didn’t I feel
was a good ball and a hoard of candy-coated lucky to be here? Well, yes I did. But some-
Jordan almonds. times it was hard to be lucky.
One problem was that I had fallen in love When we left Jerusalem, we left quickly.
with four different boys who all played in Left our beds in our rooms and our car
the same band. Two of them were even in the driveway. Left in a plane, not sure
twins. I never quite described it to my where we were going. The rumbles of
parents, but I wrote reams and reams of fighting with Israel had been growing
notes about it on loose-leaf paper that I louder and louder. In the barbed-wire no-
kept under my sweaters in my closet. man’s land visible from the windows of our
Such new energy made me feel reckless. I house, guns cracked loudly in the middle
gave things away. I gave away my necklace of the night. We lived right near the edge.
and a whole box of shortbread cookies that My father heard disturbing rumors at the
21. In war, a skirmish is a short fight. 22. An oud is a stringed instrument that is plucked like a guitar.

newspaper that would soon grow into the had just left: the piercing call of the
infamous Six Day War 23 of 1967. We were muezzin 24 from the mosque at prayer time,
in England by then, drinking tea from thin the dusky green tint of the olive groves, the
china cups and scanning the newspapers. sharp, cold air that smelled as deep and old
Bombs were blowing up in Jerusalem. We as my grandmother’s white sheets flapping
worried about the village. We worried from the line on her roof. What story hadn’t
about my grandmother’s dreams, which she finished?
had been getting worse and worse, she’d Our father used to tell us that when he
told us. We worried about the house we’d was little, the sky over Jerusalem crackled
left, and the chickens, and the children at with meteors and shooting stars25 almost
the refugee camp. But there was nothing every night. They streaked and flashed,
we could do except keep talking about it all. igniting the dark. Some had long golden
My parents didn’t want to go back to tails. For a few seconds, you could see their
Missouri because they’d already said whole swooping trail lit up. Our father and
goodbye to everyone there. They thought his brothers slept on the roof to watch the
we might try a different part of the country. sky. “There were so many of them, we
They weighed the virtues of different states. didn’t even call out every time we saw one.”
Texas was big and warm. After a chilly year During our year in Jerusalem, my brother
crowded around the small gas heaters we and I kept our eyes cast upwards whenever
used in Jerusalem, a warm place sounded we were outside at night, but the stars were
appealing. In roomy Texas, my parents different since our father was a boy. Now
bought the first house they looked at. My the sky seemed too orderly, stuck in place.
father walked into the city newspaper and The stars had learned where they belonged.
said, “Any jobs open around here?” Only people on the ground kept changing. ❍
I burst out crying when I entered a grocery
store—so many different kinds of bread.
A letter on thin blue airmail paper reached
me months later, written by my classmate,
the bass player in my favorite Jerusalem
band. “Since you left,” he said, “your empty
desk reminds me of a snake ready to strike. I
am afraid to look at it. I hope you are having
a better time than we are.”
Of course I was, and I wasn’t. Home had
grown different forever. Home had doubled.
Back home again in my own country, it
seemed impossible to forget the place we
23. The Six Day War was fought in June 1967 between Israel 24. The muezzin calls Muslims to prayer five times a day.
on one side and Egypt, Syria, and Jordan on the other. Israel 25. Meteors and shooting stars are the same thing: small heavenly
won and took control of the Old City of Jerusalem as well as bodies that burn up as they enter the earth’s atmosphere from
territory from the other three countries. outer space.

UNIT 5
Reading on Your Own
To read more about the Big Question, choose one of these books from your
school or local library. Work on your reading skills by choosing books that
are challenging to you.
Fiction
A House for Mr. Biswas Slap Your Sides

by V. S. Naipaul by M.E. Kerr
A Hindu man tries to find a house of his own in the This World War II-era story deals with issues of
British colony of Trinidad in the Caribbean. In this aggression and pacifism in the thirteen-year-old Jubal
humorous story he is forced to overcome people’s Shoemaker’s Pennsylvania Quaker community. Are
prejudices against his culture to discover who he is there times when it is wrong to fight? Are there times
inside and stick up for himself. when it is wrong not to? Read this piece of fiction and
then decide.
Of Sound Mind The Glory Field

by Jean Ferris by Walter Dean Myers
The only member of his This novel traces the

family who can hear, Theo lives of an African
is frustrated by the silence in his household and by the American family, beginning with the capture and
individual demands of his high-maintenance relatives. enslavement of the first member in 1753. Each
Read this book to find out about the special friendship generation struggles against poverty and racism.
that helps Theo cope with the stress he has at home. But their love for one another and for their land
keeps the members of the Lewis family strong.

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UNIT 5 READING ON YOUR OWN
Nonfiction
The Rose That

Grew from
No Body’s Perfect Concrete
by Kimberly Kirberger by Tupac Shakur
A collection of poems, essays, and stories written by Written by Tupac when he was 19 and not yet a star,
teenagers that look at the issues surrounding body these poems bring passion to the experience of stay-
image, food, and self-esteem. The author offers insight ing true to yourself.
as well as hope and helps young people think about
how to stay true to themselves.
And Still We
Rise: The
Counting Coup: Trials and
A True Story of Triumphs of
Basketball and Twelve Gifted
Honor on the Inner-City High
Little Big Horn School Students
by Larry Colton by Miles Corwin
Battling racism, alcoholism, and domestic violence, the Twelve seniors from an Advanced Placement English
girls on the Hardin High School basketball team learn class in Los Angeles dream of going to college. This
how to be winners on and off the court. book deals with the hard realities of their lives and
their struggle to achieve their dreams.
Reading on Your Own 701

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UNIT 5 SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT
Test Practice
Part 1: Literary Elements
Read the passage. Then write the numbers 1–7 on a separate sheet of paper.
Next to each number, write the letter of the right answer for that question.
from A Safe Space

by Joyce Hansen
1 “Concentrate! Only one hour before Away,” his favorite. And I know that by
showtime, people,” Mr. Walker yells. the time the tenors and the bass join in
“You’re out of sync, son. Stand still. Don’t he will move even though Walker told
move.” A few people giggle. We know him not to because Tommy is a feeling
who he’s shouting at as he taps his baton person. And the music moves you. It was
on the podium. just that Tommy didn’t move the way the
2 Poor Tommy. His voice wasn’t bad, rest of us did. For some of our songs we
deep bass like mine. But he couldn’t sway from side to side as we sing. Walker
move in time to the music. I knew he is a perfectionist. I call him Perfect Pitch.
shouldn’t have joined our high school “We move as one body. We sing with one
gospel chorus. I tried to talk him out of voice, people,” he’d shout at us.
it. But like my girlfriend Deidre always 4 It’s our turn. As the tenors and bass
says, “Tommy’s been around us so long sing I can’t look at Tommy and he can’t
he don’t know he’s white anymore.” keep still. If I look at him I’ll get out of
3 Walker is springing up and down and whack too.
waving his arms. Tommy stands next 5 “Concentrate,” Walker shouted again.
to me and I feel him twitch when the “We move as one body.” I wish I could
altos and sopranos begin to sing “I’ll Fly help Tommy.
6 “I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away.”
Tommy sings with all of his heart.
Happy. He breaks loose and moves to
his own time.
Objectives
Literature Identify literary elements: character, plot,
theme, setting
Unit Assessment To prepare for the Unit

Test, go to www.glencoe.com.

SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT UNIT 5
1. In the passage, Tommy’s character is revealed 5. The first two paragraphs introduce the characters,
through setting, and situation. This part of the plot is called
A. Tommy’s dialogue. the
B. Deidre’s dialogue. A. climax.
C. Mr. Walker’s descriptions of Tommy. B. resolution.
D. the narrator’s descriptions of Tommy. C. exposition.
D. falling action.
2. Which of the following best describes the

narrator’s main internal conflict? 6. This passage suggests that the plot will be centered
A. He does not get along with Mr. Walker. around the external conflict between
B. He wants to help Tommy but does not think A. Tommy and Mr. Walker.
that he can. B. Tommy’s body and his mind.
C. If he looks at Tommy, the narrator will “get C. the narrator and Mr. Walker’s perfectionism.
out of whack too.” D. the narrator’s friendship with Tommy and
D. He did not want Tommy to join the chorus, Deidre.
but Tommy wouldn’t listen.
7. The main idea or message of a story is called the

3. Which of the following character traits best A. plot.
describes Tommy?
B. tone.
A. eager
C. theme.
B. greedy
D. point of view.
C. frustrated
D. embarrassed
4. The passage does not specifically state the setting,

but based on clues in the text you can determine
that it is set
A. outdoors.
B. far in the past.
C. in a classroom early in the morning.
D. shortly before a school chorus concert.
Skills and Strategies Assessment 703

Part 2: Reading Skills

Read the passage. Then write the numbers 1–6 on a separate sheet of paper. For
the first five questions, write the letter of the right answer next to the number for
that question. Then next to number 6 write your answer to the final question.
from The Cub

by Lois Dykeman Kleihauer
1 One of the boy’s first memories was rested side by side upon the gleaming
of his father bending down from a great wood. His mother’s hands were small
height to sweep him into the air. Up and slim and delicate, his father’s large
the boy went, laughing with delight. and square and strong.
He could look down on his mother’s 4 As he grew, he learned to play bear.
upturned face as she watched, laughing, When it was time for his father to come
and at his father’s thick brown hair and home at night, he would hide behind the
white teeth. kitchen door. When he heard the closing
2 Then down he came, shrieking happily. of the garage doors, he would hold his
He was never afraid, not with his father’s breath and squeeze himself further into
hands holding him. No one in the world the crack behind the door. Then he would
was as strong, or as wise, as his father. be quiet.
3 He remembered a time when his father 5 It was always the same. His father
moved the piano across the room for his would open the door and stand there,
mother. He watched while she guided the backs of his long legs close enough
it into its new position. He saw the to touch. “Where’s the boy?” his father
difference in his parents’ hands as they would ask loudly.
6 The boy would glance at the
knowing smile on his mother’s face. Then
he would leap out and grab his father
about the knees. His father would look
down and shout, “Hey, what’s this? A
bear—a young cub!”
Objectives
Reading Analyze texts • Make inferences
• Ask questions • Make predictions

1. In the first and second paragraphs the author shows 4. After reading paragraph 6, readers can infer that
A. what the father looked like the mother
B. the boy’s affection for his father A. can’t wait to see the father
C. how much the boy liked to laugh B. wishes she could play bear
D. how far back the boy can remember C. needs the piano moved again
D. enjoys it when her son plays bear
2. The first paragraph contains a lot of action and

movement. In order to understand the paragraph, 5. If the story continued, what would most likely
it is most important to ask: happen next?
A. How much do I like it? A. The family would order pizza.
B. How does the paragraph begin? B. The mother would close the garage.
C. What is happening in the scene? C. The father would pick up the boy.
D. Where does the story take place? D. The father would tell the boy to stop
playing bear.
3. Which of these sentences from the passage shows

that the narrator trusted his father? 6. Based on the passage, what can you infer about
A. As he grew, he learned to play bear. the father’s feelings toward the boy? Briefly
explain.
B. Then down he came, shrieking happily.
C. No one in the world was as strong, or as wise,
as his father.
D. He saw the difference in his parents’ hands
as they rested side by side upon the gleaming
wood.

Part 3: Vocabulary Skills

On a separate sheet of paper, write the numbers 1–10. Next to each number,
write the letter of the right answer for that question.
Write the letter of the word or phrase that means Choose the right answer for each question.
about the same as the underlined word.
6. What is the base word of disappearing?
1. recedes quickly A. ing C. appear
A. speaks C. pulls back B. sap D. dis
B. opens up D. remembers
7. Which word belongs in the same word family
2. her authentic diamond as unfold?
A. real C. fake A. folder C. open
B. bright D. giant B. unfair D. follow
3. she mimicked 8. In which word are the letters -est a suffix?

A. copied C. laughed A. establish C. tallest
B. moved D. invented B. restful D. festival
4. he confesses 9. In which word are the letters re- a prefix?

A. studies C. teaches A. read C. dare
B. interrupts D. admits B. recall D. unreal
5. her significant decision

Use what you know about prefixes to complete
A. bad C. easy the statement.
B. important D. successful
10. An unlucky person is one who is .
A. very lucky C. not lucky
B. always lucky D. sometimes lucky
Objectives
Vocabulary Use structural analysis: roots,
bases, prefixes, suffixes
Grammar Identify clauses and phrases
• Combine sentences

Part 4: Grammar and Writing Skills

Write the numbers 1–6 on a sheet of paper. Then write the letter of the right
answer next to the number for that question.
1. Which of the following is a clause? 2. Which of the following is a complex sentence?

A. the cute kitten A. I didn’t watch TV last night.
B. Tasha laughed B. I didn’t watch TV last night I had social studies
C. before Sunday evening homework.
D. skipping down the sidewalk C. I had social studies homework, and I didn’t
watch TV last night.
D. Since I had social studies homework, I didn’t
watch TV last night.
Read the paragraph. Then answer the questions that follow.

1 Nina had been at a dance competition all morning. 2 She raced to catch up
to her friends. 3 Her skates barely touched the floor of the rink, as she sped
around the corner. 4 Since, she was already warmed up it only took her a
minute to join the group. 5 Dancing that morning had been hard work now
Nina could skate and have fun.
3. Which of the following correctly combines 5. Which correction should be made to sentence 4?
sentences 1 and 2? A. Insert a comma after up.
A. Nina had been at a dance competition all B. Remove the comma after Since.
morning and she raced to catch up to her
C. Remove the comma after Since and insert
friends.
a comma after up.
B. Nina had been at a dance competition all
D. No change is needed.
morning, so she raced to catch up to her
friends. 6. Which correction should be made to sentence 5?
C. Nina raced to catch up to her friends she had
A. Remove the word now.
been in a dance competition all morning.
B. Insert a comma after work.
D. Because Nina raced to catch up to her
friends, she had been in a dance competition C. Insert a comma after morning.
all morning. D. Insert a period after work and capitalize now.
4. Which correction should be made to sentence 3?

A. Remove the comma after rink.
B. Insert a comma after touched.
C. Change the comma to a period and capitalize as.
D. Remove the comma after rink and insert a
comma after sped.

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UNIT 5

Gandee Vason/Getty Images

UNIT 5 WARM-UP • Connecting to the Big Question

READING WORKSHOP 1 Skill Lesson: Analyzing

WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580

READING WORKSHOP 2 Skill Lesson: Questioning

READING WORKSHOP 3 Skill Lesson: Predicting

WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628

READING WORKSHOP 4 Skill Lesson: Making Inferences

COMPARING LITERATURE WORKSHOP

UNIT 5 WRAP-UP • Answering the Big Question

To be true to yourself, you have to be true to your own values and

Real Kids and the Big Question

SARA has been invited to James’s party.

544 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

You and the Big Question

You’ll choose one of the following activities:

Keep Track of Your Ideas

Titl Titl Titl Titl

Why Read Short Stories?

Key Literary Elements

546 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

The notes in the side columns

Genre Focus: Short Story 547

“Life is hard,” his father

548 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

ACTIVE READING MODEL

4. Bechtel is probably Stephen D. Bechtel (1900–1989), who was president of a large

Genre Focus: Short Story 549

ACTIVE READING MODEL

550 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

ACTIVE READING MODEL

Genre Focus: Short Story 551

“That’s right,” Arnie said,

Clemens said, “or it’s not worth it.”

6. To compensate is to pay someone for his or her work.

552 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

ACTIVE READING MODEL

7. Algae are plants, such as pond scum, that grow in water.

Genre Focus: Short Story 553

ACTIVE READING MODEL

8. Mazatlán is a seaport in western Mexico. It is popular with tourists who like

554 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

ACTIVE READING MODEL

Genre Focus: Short Story 555

“Sir, you’ll be all right,” José cooed,

556 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

ACTIVE READING MODEL

Study Central Visit www.glencoe.com and

Genre Focus: Short Story 557

Literature Learn It!

Objectives (pp. 558–559)

0558-0561_U5RW1APP-845478.indd 558 3/14/07 11:30:25 AM

Why Is It Important? Analyzing helps you gain a deeper understanding of

Here’s how a student analyzed a passage from a short story.

Reading Workshop 1 Analyzing 559

Before You Read Cream Puff

560 UNIT 5 How Do You Stay True to Yourself?

0558-0561_U5RW1APP-845478.indd 560 3/12/07 5:22:05 PM

Skills Preview Get Ready to Read

Elements Handbook To review or learn

Cream Puff 561

O kay, I stepped aside. Wait a minute—step is too big a

heel. I couldn’t believe Coach Brandt could even notice, but