Name__________________________________________Date___________________________
Reading Comprehension
Volume 3, Number 22, February 23, 1998
www.rhlschool.com
A Story Starter:
. . . Mr. El sat
on Stephen’s front center row desk. Speaking in a somewhat
louder voice than usual, he addressed the class. “Before
school ends today and you all go home for the weekend, I want to remind
you about the math facts game we are having against Mrs.
Plant’s fourth grade on Monday. Use the flash cards you made
and drill, drill, drill! All I ask is that you know your multiplication
facts perfectly by Monday!”
. . . Tiffany raised her
hand.
. . . “Yes,
Tifmeister,” Mr. El responded.
. . . “Are you
going to be mad if we lose?”
. . . “Of
course not. Remember, it’s not whether you win or lose that
matters, it’s how you play the game. Oh, by the way, did I
mention that if we win, I’ll treat you all to a big pizza
party?”
. . . The class cheered.
That is everyone but Laura. Mr. El noticed that she was reading a
magazine instead of paying attention to the discussion. Mr. El strolled
over to her desk and lifted the magazine from the startled
girl’s hands.
. . . “Hmmm,”
he said, “Teenage Today Magazine.”
. . . “Please
don’t take my magazine away!” Laura pleaded.
. . .
“That’s strange, last time I knew, you were ten
years old. How quickly you’ve grown.” He looked at
the cover, “It says that this issue features the ten coolest
guys in the world. What page am I on?”
. . . “I’m
sorry, Mr. El, you’re not in there.”
. . . “Are you
sure?”
. . .
“I’m positive.”
. . . Mr. El sighed,
“I know what happened. I came in eleventh again.”
He tossed the magazine onto Laura’s desk. “I hate
it when that happens!”
. . . Laura quickly
shoved the magazine into her desk.
. . . Mr. El returned to
the front of the class. “Now where were we? Oh yes, the math
game. “Know your facts and victory shall be ours! We are the
best fourth grade in the world!”
. . . He turned to his
left, “Dennis, how much is five times six?”
. . .
“Thirty.”
. . . “Good
man!” He looked to his right. “Heidi, how much is
nine times seven?”
. . .
“Sixty-three.”
. . .
“You’re a treasure, Heidi!” Then Mr. El
spoke to everyone. “We can win and each one of you can
help.”
. . . The dismissal bell
rang. With flash cards in hand, all the kids lined up to go home.
. . . Before you could
say nine times nine, Monday afternoon had arrived.
. . . “In less
than ten minutes,” Mr. El began, “Mrs. Plant and
her class will walk through our door and the game will begin. Is
everyone ready?”
. . .
“Yes!” came back a chorus of voices.
. . . Chris spoke out,
“Mrs. Plant’s kids were bragging in the lunchroom.
They said they were going to destroy us!”
. . . Katey added,
“And they said that Miss Joan was helping them practice
during her break times.”
. . . Mr. El looked
annoyed. “That will just make it all the sweeter when we win.
One more thing. Remember that the other team gets two points if anyone
talks out of turn or fools around. If a person did that in a close
game, it could cause the other team to win when we
should have won. I can think of a certain teacher who would not be
happy with such a person. I can think of a certain teacher
who’s filling out report cards next week.”
. . . There was a knock
at the door. “That must be Mrs. Plant’s
class,” Mr. El said.
. . . The door opened,
but it wasn’t Mrs. Plant and her class. It was Miss Joan and
her kindergartners.
. . . “I hope
it’s OK if we watch your math game,” Miss Joan said
in her sweetest voice.
. . . “Of
course,” Mr. El said in the most pleasant voice he could
manage. “By the way, I heard this crazy rumor that a certain
kindergarten teacher was helping Mrs. Plant’s class prepare
for this game.”
. . . “What a
coincidence,” Miss Joan said, “I heard a crazy
rumor that a certain fourth grade teacher was using bribery to get his
kids to work harder.”
. . . Mr. El grinned.
“Bribery, that word isn’t in my
vocabulary,”
. . . Miss Joan smirked.
“That’s BRI-BER-Y, spelled P-I-Z- Z-A.”
1. Do you think that Miss Joan approved of Mr. El offering a pizza party to his class as a reward for winning the game? Explain your answer.
2. Do you think it was a good idea? Why or why not?
3. Do you think that Mr. El approved of Miss Joan helping Mrs. Plant's class? Explain your answer.
4. Do you think Miss Joan did the right thing? Why or why not?
5. Now it's your turn to be the author. Write the rest of the story. Think of a good title.
Copyright 1998 RHL