Plot Advancing Techniques review
The Day I Should Have Won
From the time I was a small child, I knew that I would be a champion runner. My mom had been an Olympic runner, and my father was tall and lean. Even as a kid, I had long, strong muscles and could dash down the streets of our neighborhood faster than anyone else on the block.
However, being a speedy runner does not always mean winning races. One hot June day, during the final week of eighth grade , I learned an important lesson about my pride.
The last week of school was always a fun one—we cleaned out our desks and lockers, chatted with friends about summer plans, and got ready for Field Day. On Field Day all the grades competed in a variety of events. some were funny, like the egg-on-a-spoon race and the bubble-blowing contest. Some of us took the running races very seriously, though. How was I to know that eating six tacos from the Burrito Bar would affect my race so seriously?
As I was ravenously eating my lunch, Mr. Denaro, the gym teacher, passed by. He stopped and looked at me with a funny expression on his face.
“Are you going to be okay to run in the race, Gabby?” he said.
“Sure,” I mumbled through my chewing, “I’ll beat them all.” Then for a brief moment, I felt almost shy. I looked away from Mr. Denaro and then went on eating.
“Well, the whole eighth grade is counting on you—we don’t want to be disappointed,” Mr. Denaro said as he patted me on the shoulder and walked away.
1. Underline the sentence that alerts the reader that the story is a flashback.
2. The statement “I learned an important lesson about my pride” suggests
a. the speaker is not proud of herself.
b. the speaker loses the race.
c. the speaker wins the race.
d. the speaker is jealous of others.
3. Why would an author use foreshadowing in a story?
a. to prepare the reader for a character change
b. to predict future events in the story’s plot
c. to make characters learn important lessons
d. to tell the reader about something that happened in the past
4. What does the title of the story foreshadow?
a. The speaker and her friends enjoy school.
b. The school will be shut down next year.
c. The speaker does not win the race.
d. The speaker’s family will eat out for dinner.
5. What is most likely to happen in the speaker’s future?
a. She will become a teacher.
b. She will stop eating healthy food.
c. She will win manyraces.
d. She will give up running.
6. Squiggle under the evidence in the story that supports your inference in number 5 above. Draw an arrow from number 5 to your squiggled evidence.
7. Infer why the narrator felt shy and looked away from her gym teacher. Answer in a complete sentence.