© Corbis
Do one thing every day that scares you.
—Eleanor Roosevelt
Facing Fear
1
COLLECTION 1
©Corbis
Facing Fear
In this collection, you will
explore how people experience
fear and how fear affects the
brain and the body.
COLLECTION
PERFORMANCE TASK Preview
After reading this collection, you will have the opportunity to complete two
performance tasks:
t*OPOFZPVXJMMQSFTFOUBSFTQPOTFUPPOFPGUIFTFMFDUJPOTGSPNUIFDPMMFDUJPO
t*OUIFTFDPOEZPVXJMMXSJUFBOJOGPSNBUJWFFTTBZBCPVUBGFBSVTJOHJOGPSNBUJPO
found in selections from the collection and your own research.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Study the words and their definitions in the chart below. You will use these words
as you discuss and write about the texts in this collection.
Word Definition Related Forms
evident
(≈v´ Δ-d∂nt) adj.
easily seen or understood; obvious evidence, evidently
factor
(f√k´t∂r) n.
someone or something that has an affect
on an event, a process, or a situation
factorable
indicate
(Δn´dΔ-k∑t´) tr.v.
to point out; also, to serve as a sign or
symbol of something
indication, indicator,
indicative
similar
(sΔm´∂-l∂r) adj.
alike in appearance or nature, though
not identical; having features that are
the same
similarly, similarity
specific
(spΔ-sΔf´ Δk) adj.
concerned with a particular thing; also,
precise or exact
specifically, specifics,
specification
hm
hmhf
yi
.
c
om
om
2
COLLECTION 1
(t) Graham Salisbury, (l) ©Martha Lazar/Getty Images; (r) ©Johner Images/Getty Images
10
Graham Salisbury (b. 1944) was born in Pennsylvania but
grew up in Hawaii. Growing up with a distant mother and
without a father, who was killed in World War II, Salisbury
lacked guidance. His characters explore choices similar to those
he faced—making and keeping friends and learning honesty
and courage. Their struggles, like Salisbury’s, also take place in
a Hawaiian setting. Among his many writing awards are the
Boston Globe/Horn Book award and a School Library Journal
Best Book of the Year award.
SETTING A PURPOSE As you read, pay attention to how a
tragic event affects Vinny. Write down any questions you have
while reading.
W
hen Vinny and three others dropped down into the
ravine,
1
they entered a jungle thick with tangled
trees and rumors of what might have happened to the dead
boy’sbody.
The muddy trail was slick and, in places where it had
fallen away, flat-out dangerous. The cool breeze that swept the
Hawaiian hillside pastures above died early in the descent.
There were four of them—Vinny; his best friend, Joe-
Boy; Mo, who was afraid of nothing; and Joe-Boy’s haole
2
girlfriend, Starlene—all fifteen. It was a Tuesday in July, two
weeks and a day after the boy had drowned. If, in fact, that’s
what had happened to him.
1
ravine(rә-vēn´): a deep, narrow valley made by running water.
2
haole(hou´ lē): in Hawaii, a white person or non-native Hawaiian.
Short Story by Graham Salisbury
As you read, save new
words to myWordList.
The Ravine 3
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Vinny slipped, and dropped his towel in the mud. He
picked it up and tried to brush it off, but instead smeared
the mud spot around until the towel resembled something
someone’s dog had slept on. “Tst,” he said.
Joe-Boy, hiking down just behind him, laughed. “Hey,
Vinny, just think, that kid walked where you walking.”
“Shuddup,” Vinny said.
“You prob’ly stepping right where his foot was.”
Vinny moved to the edge of the trail, where the ravine fell
through a twisted jungle of gnarly trees and underbrush to the
stream far below. He could see Starlene and Mo farther ahead,
their heads bobbing as they walked, both almost down to the
pond where the boy had died.
“Hey,” Joe-Boy went on, “maybe you going be the one to
find his body.”
“You don’t cut it out, Joe-Boy, I going . . . I going . . . ”
“What, cry?”
Vinny scowled. Sometimes Joe-Boy was a big fat babooze.
They slid down the trail. Mud oozed between Vinny’s
toes. He grabbed at roots and branches to keep from falling.
Mo and Starlene were out of sight now, the trail ahead having
cutback.
Joe-Boy said, “You going jump in the water and go down
and your hand going touch his face, stuck under the rocks.
Haha ha . . . a ha ha ha!”
Vinny winced. He didn’t want to be here. It was too soon,
way too soon. Two weeks and one day.
He saw a footprint in the mud and stepped around it.
The dead boy had jumped and had never come back up.
Four search and rescue divers hunted for two days straight
and never found him. Not a trace. Gave Vinny the creeps. It
didn’t make sense. The pond wasn’t that big.
He wondered why it didn’t seem to bother anyone else.
Maybe it did and they just didn’t want to say.
Butchie was the kid’s name. Only fourteen.
Fourteen.
Two weeks and one day ago he was walking down this
trail. Now nobody could find him.
The jungle crushed in, reaching over the trail, and Vinny
brushed leafy branches aside. The roar of the waterfall got
louder, louder.
gnarly
(när´ l∏) adj.
Something that is
gnarly has many
knots and bumpy
areas on its surface.
Collection 14
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70
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Starlene said it was the goddess that took him, the one that
lives in the stone down by the road. She did that every now
and then, Starlene said, took somebody when she got lonely.
Took him and kept him. Vinny had heard that legend before,
but he’d never believed in it.
Now he didn’t know what he believed.
The body had to be stuck down there. But still, four divers
and they couldn’t find it?
Vinny decided he’d better believe in the legend. If he
didn’t, the goddess might get mad and send him bad luck. Or
maybe take him, too.
Stopstopstop! Don’t think like that.
“Come on,” Joe-Boy said, nudging Vinny from behind.
“Hurry it up.”
Just then Starlene whooped, her voice bouncing around
the walls of the ravine.
“Let’s go,” Joe-Boy said. “They there already.”
Moments later, Vinny jumped up onto a large boulder at
the edge of the pond. Starlene was swimming out in the brown
water. It wasn’t murky brown, but clean and clear to a depth of
maybe three or four feet. Because of the waterfall you had to
yell if you wanted to say something. The whole place smelled
of mud and ginger and iron.
Starlene swam across to the waterfall on the far side of the
pond and ducked under it, then climbed out and edged along
the rock wall behind it, moving slowly, like a spider. Above,
sun-sparkling stream water spilled over the lip of a one-
hundred-foot drop.
Mo and Joe-Boy threw their towels onto the rocks and
dove into the pond. Vinny watched, his muddy towel hooked
around his neck. Reluctantly, he let it fall, then dove in
afterthem.
The cold mountain water tasted tangy. Was it because the
boy’s body was down there decomposing?
3
He spit it out.
He followed Joe-Boy and Mo to the waterfall and ducked
under it. They climbed up onto the rock ledge, just as Starlene
had done, then spidered their way over to where you could
climb to a small ledge about fifteen feet up. They took their
time because the hand and footholds were slimy with moss.
3
decomposing(dē´kәm-pōz´ĭng): starting to decay and fall apart.
The Ravine
5
©Getty Images
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Starlene jumped first. Her shriek echoed off the rocky cliff,
then died in the dense green jungle.
Mo jumped, then Joe-Boy, then Vinny.
The fifteen-foot ledge was not the problem.
It was the one above it, the one you had to work up to,
the big one, where you had to take a deadly zigzag trail that
climbed up and away from the waterfall, then cut back and
forth to a foot-wide ledge something more like fifty feet up.
That was the problem.
That was where the boy had jumped from.
Joe-Boy and Starlene swam out to the middle of the pond.
Mo swam back under the waterfall and climbed once again to
the fifteen-foot ledge.
Vinny started to swim out toward Joe-Boy but stopped
when he saw Starlene put her arms around him. She kissed
him. They sank under for a long time, then came back up,
stillkissing.
Vinny turned away and swam back over to the other side
of the pond, where he’d first gotten in. His mother would kill
him if she ever heard about where he’d come. After the boy
drowned, or was taken by the goddess, or whatever happened
to him, she said never to come to this pond again. Ever. It was
off-limits. Permanently.
But not his dad. He said, “You fall off a horse, you get back
on, right? Or else you going be scared of it all your life.”
Collection 16
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His mother scoffed and waved him off. “Don’t listen
to him, Vinny, listen to me. Don’t go there. That pond is
haunted.” Which had made his dad laugh.
But Vinny promised he’d stay away.
But then Starlene and Joe-Boy said, “Come with us
anyway. You let your mommy run your life, or what?” And
Vinny said, “But what if I get caught?” And Joe-Boy said, “So?”
Vinny mashed his lips. He was so weak. Couldn’t even say
no. But if he’d said, “I can’t go, my mother won’t like it,” they
would have laughed him right off the island. No, he had to go.
Nochoice.
So he’d come along, and so far it was fine. He’d even gone
in the water. Everyone was happy. All he had to do now was
wait it out and go home and hope his mother never heard
about it.
When he looked up, Starlene was gone.
He glanced around the pond until he spotted her starting
up the zigzag trail to the fifty-foot ledge. She was moving
slowly, hanging on to roots and branches on the upside of the
cliff. He couldn’t believe she was going there. He wanted to
yell, Hey, Starlene, that’s where he died!
But she already knew that.
Mo jumped from the lower ledge, yelling, “Banzaiiii!” An
explosion of coffee-colored water erupted when he hit.
Joe-Boy swam over to where Starlene had gotten out. He
waved to Vinny, grinning like a fool, then followed Starlene up
the zigzag trail.
Now Starlene was twenty-five, thirty feet up. Vinny
watched her for a while, then lost sight of her when she slipped
behind a wall of jungle that blocked his view. A few minutes
later she popped back out, now almost at the top, where the
trail ended, where there was nothing but mud and a few plants
to grab on to if you slipped, plants that would rip right out of
the ground, plants that wouldn’t stop you if you fell, nothing
but your screams between you and the rocks below.
Vinny’s stomach tingled just watching her. He couldn’t
imagine what it must feel like to be up there, especially if you
were afraid of heights, like he was. She has no fear, Vinny
thought, no fear at all. Pleasepleaseplease, Starlene. I don’t
want to see you die.
Starlene crept forward, making her way to the end of the
trail, where the small ledge was.
The Ravine 7
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190
Joe-Boy popped out of the jungle behind her. He stopped,
waiting for her to jump before going on.
Vinny held his breath.
Starlene, in her cutoff jeans and soaked T-shirt, stood
perfectly still, her arms at her sides. Vinny suddenly felt like
hugging her. Why, he couldn’t tell. Starlene, please.
She reached behind her and took a wide leaf from a plant,
then eased down and scooped up a finger of mud. She made
a brown cross on her forehead, then wiped her muddy fingers
on her jeans.
She waited.
Was she thinking about the dead boy?
She stuck the stem end of the leaf in her mouth, leaving
the rest of it to hang out. When she jumped, the leaf would
flap up and cover her nose and keep water from rushing into
it. An old island trick.
She jumped.
Down, down.
Almost in slow motion, it seemed at first, then faster and
faster. She fell feetfirst, arms flapping to keep balance so she
wouldn’t land on her back, or stomach, which would probably
almost kill her.
Just before she hit, she crossed her arms over her chest and
vanished within a small explosion of rusty water.
Vinny stood, not breathing at all, praying.
Ten seconds. Twenty, thirty . . .
She came back up, laughing.
She shouldn’t make fun that way, Vinny thought. It was
dangerous, disrespectful. It was asking for it.
Vinny looked up when he heard Joe-Boy shout, “Hey,
Vinny, watch how a man does it! Look!”
Joe-Boy scooped up some mud and drew a stroke of
lightning across his chest. When he jumped, he threw himself
out, face and body parallel to the pond, his arms and legs
spread out. He’s crazy, Vinny thought, absolutely insane. At
the last second Joe-Boy folded into a ball and hit. Ca-roomp!
He came up whooping and yelling, “Wooo! So good! Come on,
Vinny, it’shot!”
Vinny faked a laugh. He waved, shouting, “Naah, the
water’s too cold!”
Collection 18
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210
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Now Mo was heading up the zigzag trail—Mo, who
hardly ever said a word and would do anything anyone ever
challenged him to do. Come on, Mo, not you, too.
Vinny knew then that he would have to jump.
Jump, or never live it down.
Mo jumped in the same way Joe-Boy had, man-style,
splayed out in a suicide fall. He came up grinning.
Starlene and Joe-Boy turned toward Vinny.
Vinny got up and hiked around the edge of the pond,
walking in the muddy shallows, looking at a school of small
brown-backed fish near a ginger patch.
Maybe they’d forget about him.
Starlene torpedoed over, swimming underwater. Her body
glittered in the small amount of sunlight that penetrated the
trees around the rim of the ravine. When she came up, she
broke the surface smoothly, gracefully, like a swan. Her blond
hair sleeked back like river grass.
She smiled a sweet smile. “Joe-Boy says you’re afraid to
jump. I didn’t believe him. He’s wrong, right?”
Vinny said quickly, “Of course he’s wrong. I just don’t
want to, that’s all. The water’s cold.”
“Naah, it’s nice.”
Vinny looked away. On the other side of the pond Joe-Boy
and Mo were on the cliff behind the waterfall.
“Joe-Boy says your mom told you not to come here. Is
thattrue?”
Vinny nodded. “Yeah. Stupid, but she thinks it’s haunted.”
“She’s right.”
“What?”
“That boy didn’t die, Vinny. The stone goddess took him.
He’s in a good place right now. He’s her prince.”
Vinny scowled. He couldn’t tell if Starlene was teasing him
or if she really believed that. He said, “Yeah, prob’ly.”
“Are you going to jump, or is Joe-Boy right?”
“Joe-Boy’s an idiot. Sure I’m going to jump.”
Starlene grinned, staring at Vinny a little too long. “He is
an idiot, isn’t he? But I love him.”
“Yeah, well . . . ”
“Go to it, big boy. I’ll be watching.”
Starlene sank down and swam out into the pond.
Ca-ripes.
The Ravine 9
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Vinny ripped a hank
4
of white ginger from the ginger
patch and smelled it, and prayed he’d still be alive after the
sun wentdown.
He took his time climbing the zigzag trail. When he got to
the part where the jungle hid him from view, he stopped and
smelled the ginger again. So sweet and alive it made Vinny
wish for all he was worth that he was climbing out of the
ravine right now, heading home.
But of course, there was no way he could do that.
Not before jumping.
He tossed the ginger onto the muddy trail and continued
on. He slipped once or twice, maybe three times. He didn’t
keep track. He was too numb now, too caught up in the insane
thing he was about to do. He’d never been this far up the trail
before. Once he’d tried to go all the way, but couldn’t. It made
him dizzy.
When he stepped out and the jungle opened into a huge
bowl where he could look down, way, way down, he could see
their three heads in the water, heads with arms moving slowly
to keep them afloat, and a few bright rays of sunlight pouring
down onto them, and when he saw this, his stomach fluttered
and rose. Something sour came up and he spit it out.
It made him wobble to look down. He closed his eyes.
Hiswhole body trembled. The trail was no wider than the
length of his foot. And it was wet and muddy from little
rivulets of water that bled from the side of the cliff.
The next few steps were the hardest he’d ever taken in
his life. He tried not to look down, but he couldn’t help it.
His gaze was drawn there. He struggled to push back an
urge to fly, just jump off and fly. He could almost see himself
spiraling down like a glider, or a bird, or a leaf.
His hands shook as if he were freezing. He wondered, Had
the dead boy felt this way? Or had he felt brave, like Starlene or
Joe-Boy, or Mo, who seemed to feel nothing.
Somebody from below shouted, but Vinny couldn’t make
it out over the waterfall, roaring down just feet beyond the
ledge where he would soon be standing, cascading past so
close its mist dampened the air he breathed.
The dead boy had just come to the ravine to have fun,
Vinny thought. Just a regular kid like himself, come to swim
4
hank(hăngk): a coiled or looped bundle of something, such as rope or yarn.
rivulet
(rΔv´y∂-lΔt) n. A
rivulet is a small brook
or stream.
cascade
(k√s-k∑d´ ) v.
Something that can
cascade will fall, pour,
or rush in stages, like
a waterfall over steep
rocks.
Collection 110
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300
310
and be with his friends, then go home and eat macaroni and
cheese and watch TV, maybe play with his dog or wander
around after dark.
But he’d done none of that.
Where was he?
Inch by inch Vinny made it to the ledge. He stood,
swaying slightly, the tips of his toes one small movement from
theprecipice.
Far below, Joe-Boy waved his arm back and forth. It was
dreamy to see—back and forth, back and forth. He looked so
small down there.
For a moment Vinny’s mind went blank, as if he were in
some trance, some dream where he could so easily lean out
and fall, and think or feel nothing.
A breeze picked up and moved the trees on the ridge-line,
but not a breath of it reached the fifty-foot ledge.
Vinny thought he heard a voice, small and distant. Yes.
Something inside him, a tiny voice pleading, Don’t do it. Walk
away. Just turn and go and walk back down.
“ . . . I can’t,” Vinny whispered.
You can, you can, you can. Walk back down.
Vinny waited.
And waited.
Joe-Boy yelled, then Starlene, both of them waving.
Then something very strange happened.
Vinny felt at peace. Completely and totally calm and at
peace. He had not made up his mind about jumping. But
something else inside him had.
Thoughts and feelings swarmed, stinging him: Jump!
Jump! Jump! Jump!
But deep inside, where the peace was, where his mind
wasn’t, he would not jump. He would walk back down.
precipice
(pr≈s´∂-pΔs) n.
A precipice is an
overhanging or
extremely steep area
of rock.
The next few steps were the
hardest he’d ever taken in his life.
The Ravine 11
No! No, no, no!
Vinny eased down and fingered up some mud and made a
cross on his chest, big and bold. He grabbed a leaf, stuck it in
his mouth. Be calm, be calm. Don’t look down.
After a long pause he spit the leaf out and rubbed the cross
to a blur.
They walked out of the ravine in silence, Starlene, Joe-Boy,
and Mo far ahead of him. They hadn’t said a word since he’d
come down off the trail. He knew what they were thinking.
Heknew, he knew, he knew.
At the same time the peace was still there. He had no
idea what it was. But he prayed it wouldn’t leave him now,
prayed it wouldn’t go away, would never go away, because in
there, in that place where the peace was, it didn’t matter what
theythought.
Vinny emerged from the ravine into a brilliance that
surprised him. Joe-Boy, Starlene, and Mo were now almost
down to theroad.
Vinny breathed deeply, and looked up and out over the
island. He saw, from there, a land that rolled away like honey,
easing down a descent of rich Kikuyu grass pasture-land,
flowing from there over vast highlands of brown and green,
then, finally, falling massively to the coast and flat blue sea.
He’d never seen anything like it.
Had it always been here? This view of the island?
He stared and stared, then sat, taking it in.
He’d never seen anything so beautiful in all his life.
320
330
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION With a small group, discuss how
Vinny’s feelings and behavior are influenced by the boy’s tragic
death. Refer to events in the story to support your ideas.
Collection 112
Describe Stories: Character and Setting
Like real people, characters have personalities, drive, and life-changing
events. To describe characters in terms of how they appear in stories, you can
use these terms:
t Character traits are the qualities shown by a character, such as physical
traits (tall, brown eyes) or expressions of personality (kind, anxious).
t Character motivation is the reason or reasons a character acts, feels, or
thinks in a certain way.
t Character development is how a character changes throughout
a story.
Think about your impressions of the characters in “The Ravine.” What traits
and motivations does Vinny exhibit throughout the story?
In a story like “The Ravine,” the setting is a key factor in the events of the
story and how the characters react to it and each other. The setting is the
time and place in which the action occurs. The time can be a particular time
of day, season, year, or historical period. The place can be an outside location,
a room, a building, or a country.
Setting can affect characters by influencing their values, beliefs, and
emotions or by affecting the way they live and interact with other characters.
What impact does the setting have on Vinny?
Make Inferences
Readers often make inferences to figure out something an author has not
explained. An inference is a logical guess that is based on facts and one’s
own knowledge and experience. To support your inference, you may need
to cite evidence, or provide examples and quotations from the story. For
example, you can make an inference about Vinny and Joe-Boy’s friendship.
Evidence from the Story My Own Knowledge Inference
t Joe-Boy is Vinny’s “best
friend.”
t Joe-Boy teases Vinny
about finding the body.
Sometimes friends tease
each other in a friendly
way, but this teasing does
not seem kind.
They may be friends, but
Joe-Boy is not especially
nice to Vinny.
ELA RL.6.1
ELD PI.6.6
ELA RL.6.3
ELD PI.6.6
The Ravine
13
Analyzing the Text
Cite Text Evidence
Support your responses with evidence from the text.
1. Summarize Review lines 38–65. In your own words, describe what Vinny
knows about the dead boy. Explain his thoughts and feelings about this
past event.
2. Draw Conclusions Review lines 71–100. What are some examples of
language the author uses to describe the setting? Why is the setting
important to the story?
3. Cite Evidence Reread lines 110–132 and think about what the author
wants us to understand about Vinny. What words would you use to
describe Vinny’s character traits?
4. Make Inferences Before jumping, the characters perform certain
rituals. Reread lines 163–206 to review how they prepare to jump. What
inferences can you make about the characters’ feelings and their reasons
for these rituals?
5. Analyze Consider Vinny’s feelings and actions throughout the story. How
is Vinny different by the end of the story? How is he the same?
6. Critique Review the story’s ending in lines 319–339 and examine the
descriptions the author provides. Do you think the ending makes the story
more powerful? Why or why not?
PERFORMANCE TASK
Writing Activity: Informative
Essay Write a two- or three-paragraph
essay to compare and contrast the
character traits of Vinny and Joe-Boy.
t Introduce your topic by briefly
describing the characters and their
relationship to each other.
t Next, tell about how their character
traits are different. Use examples
from the text to support your ideas.
t Then indicate the character traits
that the boys share or that are
similar. Include evidence from
the text.
ELA RL.6.1, RL.6.3, RL.6.5, W.6.2a–f,
W.6.9a ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.7, PI.6.10,
PI.6.11
eBook
Collection 1
14
Critical Vocabulary
gnarly rivulet cascade precipice
Practice and Apply With a partner, discuss the following questions. Then
work together to write a sentence for each vocabulary word.
1. Which vocabulary word goes with twisted? Why?
2. Which vocabulary word goes with edge? Why?
3. Which vocabulary word goes with trickle? Why?
4. Which vocabulary word goes with pouring? Why?
Vocabulary Strategy: Using Context Clues
When you encounter an unfamiliar word in your reading, one way to figure
out the meaning is to use context clues. Context clues are hints about the
meaning of an unknown word that may be found in the words, phrases,
sentences, and paragraphs that surround that unknown word. Look at
this example:
And it was wet and muddy from little rivulets of water that
bled from the side of the cliff.
To figure out the meaning of rivulets, look for clues in the surrounding
words and ideas in the sentence. The sentence says that the rivulets of water
“bled” from the cliff. This helps you imagine water flowing from the cliff in the
same way that blood flows from a cut or scrape on your arm; the blood looks
like a running stream. Combining this image with the word “little,” you can
imagine that rivulets might be little streams. Then use a dictionary to confirm
your guess: A rivulet is “a small brook or stream.”
Practice and Apply Reread “The Ravine” and find the following words. Look
at the surrounding words and sentences for clues to each word’s meaning. Fill
out a chart like the one shown.
Word
Context
Clues
My Guessed
Definition
Dictionary
Definition
winced (lines 35–39)
scoffed (lines 116–120)
parallel (lines 192–194)
ELA L.6.4a, L.6.4c, L.6.4d,
L.6.6 ELD PI.6.6
The Ravine
15
Language Conventions: Recognize
Variations from Standard English
Writers often use words in dialogue that vary from Standard English to bring
their characters to life. Writers may also use dialect to convey information
about a community in which a character lives. Dialect is a form of language
that is spoken in a particular region by the people who live there. In “The
Ravine,” the author uses the following sentences to give his characters an
informal and conversational voice.
“Shuddup,” Vinny said.
“You prob’ly stepping right where his foot was.”
“Hey,” Joe-Boy went on, “maybe you going be the one to find
his body.”
Stopstopstop! Don’t think like that.
Notice the informal spelling of Shut up and probably in the first two
sentences. These variations indicate informal speech patterns that many
people use every day. The phrase “maybe you going be the one” is an example
of incorrect grammar that can be a part of dialect. In the last sentence,
the words Stopstopstop are run together to indicate the urgency of Vinny’s
thoughts. A character’s way of speaking can help you better understand that
character.
Practice and Apply Read the sentences and identify the variations from
standard English. Then rewrite each sentence to show that you understand
what is being said.
1. “S’up, Denise? How’s it goin’?” asked Claire.
2. Jake did not want to answer. He shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno,”
he mumbled.
3. I refuse. I quit. I will neverever go back to that sad old place again.
4. “Gimme a break!” scoffed Tina. “I saw ya there with Jill, ya liar!”
5. I was just hangin’ out with some friends at the mall. We weren’t lookin’ for
no trouble. Know what I’m sayin’?
ELA L.6.1e
ELD PI.6.10, PI.6.12
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(t) ©Jeff Malet Photography/Newscom; (c) © KidStock/Blend Images/Corbis
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Margaret Peterson Haddix (b. 1964) dreamed about
writing novels as a child. Her interest in writing was sparked
by her father’s imaginative tales; however, she did not think
she could support herself writing stories. She worked as a
newspaper reporter after college but never gave up her dream.
Eventually, Haddix quit her job and began working on her first
novel. Haddix has now written more than a dozen young adult
novels.
SETTING A PURPOSE As you read, pay attention to the clues
that help you understand how Bailey feels and thinks about
her life.
“C
ontrary to popular opinion,” the MRI technician says,
“this is not a torture device, it was not invented by
aliens, and it does not enable us to read your thoughts.”
Bailey looks doubtfully at the huge machine in front of
her. She has already forgotten what MRI stands for. Does that
mean there’s really something wrong with her?
“Just joking,” the man says. “But you wouldn’t believe the
questions I get. This won’t be a problem for you at all unless
. . . you’re not claustrophobic, are you?”
“No,” Bailey says. But she has to think about the question.
Wearing a hospital gown, sitting in a wheelchair, she has a
hard time remembering what and who she is. Bailey Smith,
sophomore at Riverside High School, all-around ordinary kid.
But I won’t be ordinary if that machine finds something
awful in my brain . . . .
technician
(t≈k-nΔsh´ ∂n) n. A
technician is a person
who does skilled
practical work using
specific equipment.
Short Story by Margaret Peterson HaddixShort Stor
y
b
y
Margaret Peterson
H
Fine?
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“Good,” the technician is saying. “Because I have to admit,
some people do go a little nutso in there.” He’s a short man
with glasses; he seems amused that some people might not
enjoy his precious machine.
“Bailey will be fine,” Bailey’s mother says firmly from
behind the wheelchair.
“Mom,” Bailey protests, shorthand for “Mom, you’re
embarrassing me,” “Mom, you’re bugging me,” “Mom, you’re
driving me crazy.” Bailey has said that word that way a
thousand times in the past couple of years: When her mother
said she shouldn’t let her bra straps show. When her mother
thought people went to homecoming with dates. When her
mother asked why Bailey didn’t like Hanson’s music anymore.
The complaint “Mom” was usually so perfect at conveying
Bailey’s thoughts. But it sounds all wrong in this huge, hollow
room.
“Well,” the technician says, “time to get this over with.”
Bailey lies down on a narrow pallet
1
sticking out of the
machine like a tongue. The technician starts to pull a covering
over her head, then stops.
“Almost forgot,” he says. “Want to listen to the radio while
you’re in there?”
“Okay,” Bailey says.
“What station?”
Bailey starts to say Z-98, the station everyone at school
listens to, the only station Bailey ever turns on.
“Country 101?” the technician teases. “Want to hear
cowboys crying in their beer?”
“No,” Bailey says. She surprises herself by deciding,
“Something classical.”
As soon as she’s in the tube, Bailey regrets her choice. All
those throbbing violins, those crashing cymbals—Bailey
knows next to nothing about classical music and cares about it
even less. The slow, cultured voice of the announcer—
“And now we’ll hear Mozart’s finest concerto, at least in my
humble opinion”—could drive anyone crazy. Or nutso, as the
technician had said.
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pallet(p√l´ Δt): a bed-like platform, sometimes covered with padding or cloth.
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“All right,” the technician’s voice comes over her
headphones. He’s in the control room, but he sounds a million
miles away. “Hold very still, and we’ll get started.”
There’s a noise like the clip-clop of horses’ hooves—not
real horses, but maybe a mechanical kind someone might
create if he’d never heard real ones. The noise drowns out the
classical music, and in losing it, Bailey realizes why she asked
for it in the first place: She knew she’d never have to listen
to it again. If she’d chosen Z-98, some song she liked might
be ruined for her forever. She could imagine hearing an Ace
of Base song six months from now and thinking, That’s the
song that was playing the day they found out about my brain
tumor—
But if there’s a tumor, will I even be alive six months from
now?
Something catches in Bailey’s throat and she has to
swallow a cough.
Silly, she chides herself. Nobody’s said anything about a
tumor. The only real possibility the emergency room doctor
mentioned, ordering all these tests, was a stroke, which was
too ridiculous to think about. Old people had strokes. Bailey is
only sixteen.
Maybe they’ll just find out I made the whole thing up.
But she hadn’t. Her arm had gone totally numb, right there
in algebra class. She hadn’t been able to feel the pencil in her
fingers. And she hadn’t been able to see right, she hadn’t been
able to hear much—Mr. Vickers’s raspy voice had seemed to
come at her through a tunnel. Still, she might not have said
anything about it if Mr. Vickers hadn’t called on her to go
work a problem on the board.
“I can’t . . . ,” she tried to say, but she couldn’t seem to
make her brain think the words right, she couldn’t get her
mouth to move. She tried to stand up but fell down instead.
Mr. Vickers had Paula Klinely take her to the nurse, the nurse
called her mother, and now she’s in an MRI tube listening to
the clip-clop of fake horses.
The clip-clopping stops and the violins come back.
“You moved,” the technician says over the headphones
with the same tone of exaggerated patience as the classical
music announcer. “We’ll have to do that one again. The less
you move, the quicker we’ll be done.”
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“I’m sorry,” Bailey apologizes, though she’s not sure he
can hear her. If she’s going to die at sixteen, she wants people
to remember her as a nice person. She can imagine people
giving testimonials at her funeral: She was always so good,
so kind to animals and people alike. Her best friend, Allison,
could reminisce, And if she found a spider indoors, she was
always very careful about carrying it outside instead of killing
it. She hopes Allison would remember to say that. Maybe this
technician would even come to the funeral.
I never get close to the patients, he might say. I view
everyone as just another brain scan. But here was a kid who
was always so gracious and noble. She knew she was dying, but
she was always concerned about other people. She always asked
about my family, my pets, my—
Bailey can’t think what else the technician might be
impressed by her asking about. She decides he should break
down in sobs at that point.
The clip-clopping starts again. Bailey concentrates on not
moving. She’s very glad the MRI can’t read her thoughts.
When the MRI is finally done and the technician pulls her
out of the tube, Bailey scans his face for some expression—of
pity, maybe, or better yet, boredom.
“Well?” she says.
reminisce
(r≈m´∂-nΔs´ ) v.
When you reminisce,
you remember
past experiences or
events.
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“What?” he asks, looking down at the controls that lower
her pallet.
“What did you find?” she asks, forgetting that she is
supposed to be acting like she cares more about his dog than
her life.
“Oh, I’m not allowed to discuss results with patients,” the
technician says. “Your doctor will review everything and then
talk to you.”
He’s less chatty now. Does that mean anything?
Bailey climbs back into the wheelchair—something else
that’s ridiculous, because isn’t she perfectly capable of walking
now? The technician pushes her out to the waiting room,
where Bailey’s mother is intently reading Golf Digest. To the
best of Bailey’s knowledge, Bailey’s mother has never played
golf in her entire life.
“Well?” Bailey’s mother asks. But she directs the question
to Bailey, not the technician. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Bailey insists.
Bailey’s mother lays her hand on Bailey’s shoulder,
something she never would have done under normal
circumstances. Bailey doesn’t pull away.
The technician is on the phone.
“They have a room ready for you now,” he reports. “An
aide will be by in a few minutes to take you up there.”
He leaves, and Bailey and her mother are alone.
“Do you really feel okay?” Bailey’s mother asks. “You
haven’t had another . . . episode?”
“No. I’ve just got a little headache,” Bailey says. But it’s just
the edge of a headache—nothing Bailey would mention if she
weren’t in the hospital. “Do I really have to stay all night?”
“That’s what the doctor said. They can’t schedule the other
tests until tomorrow. And—” Mom stops and starts over.
“Look at it as a chance to play hooky. To avoid biology class.”
She smiles brightly at Bailey, and Bailey resists the urge to
retort, “I’d rather dissect
2
frogs than die.” But she realizes she’d
said exactly the reverse only a week ago in the school cafeteria:
“I’d rather die than dissect a frog.” She remembers the exact
moment she spoke the words: Sunlight had been streaming
in the window behind Allison, grease was congealing on the
school lunch tacos, all her friends were laughing.
2
dissect(dΔ-s≈kt´ ): to cut apart or separate into pieces, especially to study more
closely.
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Oh, God, did I bring this on myself? Bailey wonders. I
didn’t really mean that. God, I’ll dissect a billion frogs if you
want me to. If you let me live. But she knows from TV disease-
of-the-week movies that bargaining with God never works.
“Mom, what do you think is wrong with me?” Bailey asks,
and is amazed that the question comes out sounding merely
conversational. She wants to whimper.
Mom keeps her smile, but it seems even less genuine now.
“I’m no doctor,” she says. “But I think you blacked
out because you skipped lunch to do your history report.
That’sall.”
“I had a candy bar,” Bailey says.
“My point exactly,” Mom says, and laughs, and Bailey
feels much better. Mom wouldn’t dare criticize Bailey’s eating
habits if she thought something was really wrong.
Would she?
Bailey’s room is in the main part of the hospital, not the
pediatric wing, a fact that worries Bailey’s mom.
“Are you sure?” she asks the aide who is skillfully
maneuvering Bailey’s wheelchair past several carts of dinner
trays. “She’s only sixteen. Don’t they—”
“Listen, lady, I just go where they send me,” the aide
responds. He’s a thin man with sallow skin and a dark braid
hanging down his back. Bailey can’t decide if he would have
been considered cool or a scuzz in high school. Probably a
scuzz if he ended up as a hospital aide. Then she decides she
shouldn’t think things like that, not if she wants people to
remember her as a nice person.
The aide is explaining to Mom that lots of kids have
checked in lately; the pediatric wing is full. He makes it sound
like a hotel everyone wants to stay at.
“But if she’s not in the pediatric wing, I can’t spend the
night with her,” Mom frets.
“Nope. Not according to what they tell me,” the aide
agrees.
They arrive at the door of Bailey’s room. At first glance
Bailey thinks the mistake is even bigger than Mom feared:
She’s been given a bed in a nursing home. The room is
crowded with people at least a decade or two older than
Bailey’s own grandparents. Then Bailey realizes that only one
of the old people is actually in a bed. The rest are visitors.
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“Coming through,” the aide says, only barely missing
knocking down one man’s cane and another man’s walker.
“Oh, look, Aunt Mabel’s got a roommate,” someone says.
“Won’t that be nice.”
But they’re all looking back and forth from Bailey to her
mother, obviously confused.
“She fainted,” Bailey’s mother announces. “She’s just in for
a few tests.”
It’s a cue for Bailey to say, once more, “Mom!” This time
she keeps her mouth shut and her head down.
The old people nod and smile. One woman says, “She
looks just like my granddaughter. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” as if
the resemblance could save Bailey’s life. Another woman adds,
“You know those doctors. They just don’t want to get sued.”
As Bailey silently climbs from the chair to the bed she
sees that her mother is smiling back at the old people, but the
corners of her mouth are tighter than ever.
A nurse appears and whips a curtain between Bailey’s bed
and the old people. The aide fades away with a strange little
wave, almost a salute. That one hand gesture makes Bailey
want to call after him: Wait! What happens to most of the
people you wheel around? Do they die?
But the nurse has begun asking questions.
“I know some of these won’t apply to you,” she apologizes,
“but it’s hospital policy . . . .”
Bailey can’t help giggling at “Do you wear dentures?” and
“Do you have any artificial limbs?” The nurse zips through the
questions without looking up, until she reaches “Do you do
recreational drugs?”
“No,” Bailey says. They asked that in the emergency
room,too.
“Are you sure?” The nurse squints suspiciously at Bailey.
“Yes,” Bailey says. “I have never done drugs.” She spaces
the words out, trying to sound emphatic, but it comes out all
wrong.
“My daughter,” Bailey’s mother interjects, “has never taken
anything stronger than aspirin.”
It’s true, and Bailey’s glad it’s true, but she wants to sink
through the floor with humiliation at her mother’s words.
How can she care about humiliation at a time like this?
Someone comes and takes ten vials of blood from Bailey’s
arm. Someone else starts what he calls an IV port on the back
emphatic
(≈m-f√t´ Δk) adj.
If something is
emphatic, it is
expressed in a
definite and forceful
way.
Fine? 23
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of Bailey’s left hand. It’s basically a needle taped into her vein,
ready for any injection she might need. Someone else takes her
blood pressure and makes Bailey push on his hands with her
feet, then close her eyes and hold her arms out straight.
“Good,” the man says when Bailey opens her eyes.
I did that right? So I’m okay? Bailey wants to ask. But
something about lying in a hospital bed has made Bailey mute.
She can barely say a word to her own mother, sitting two
feetaway.
“Visiting hours are over,” the man tells Mom in a flat voice.
“But my daughter—,” Mom protests, and stops, swallows
hard. Bailey is stunned. Mom is never at a loss for words.
“She’s only sixteen, and—”
“No visitors after five. Hospital policy,” the man says, but
there’s a hint of compassion in his voice now. “We’ll take good
care of her. I promise.”
“Well . . . ” Still Mom hesitates. She looks at Bailey. “I know
the Montinis didn’t really want to take Andrew overnight,
they were just being nice, and with your dad away . . . ”
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Andrew is Bailey’s younger brother, seven years old
and, everyone agrees, a pure terror. Bailey’s dad is away on
a business trip. Mom couldn’t even reach him on the phone
from the emergency room. Bailey can’t see why Mom is telling
her what she already knows. Then Bailey understands: Mom is
asking Bailey for permission to leave.
They’re going to make you leave anyway, Bailey wants
to say. What do you want me to do? But it’s strange. For a
minute Bailey feels like she’s the mother and her mother is the
daughter.
“Go on,” she says magnanimously.
3
“I’ll be fine.”
But as soon as her mother is out the door, Bailey wants to
run after her, crying, “Mom-mee! Don’t go!” just like she used
to do at preschool, years and years and years ago.
Once they’re alone together, Bailey’s roommate, Mabel, gets
gabby.
“Ten days I’ve been lying in this hospital bed,” she
announces, speaking to the TV as much as to Bailey. “First
they say it’s my kidneys, then it’s my bladder—or is that the
same thing? I forget. Then there’s my spleen—”
Bailey can’t imagine lying in any hospital bed for ten
days. She’s already antsy, after just two hours. The sheets are
suffocating her legs. She hated that spring in junior high when
she signed up for track and Mom made her finish the whole
season. But now she longs to run and run and run, sprints and
relays and maybe even marathons.
I’ve never run a marathon. What else will I never get to do
if I die now?
Bailey is glad when Mabel distracts her by announcing
joyfully, “Oh good, dinner.”
An aide slides a covered tray in front of Mabel and one in
front of Bailey.
“We didn’t know what you wanted, ’cause you weren’t here
last night,” the aide says accusingly.
Bailey lifts the cover. Dinner is some kind of meat covered
in brown gravy, green beans blanched to a sickly gray, mashed
potatoes that could pass for glue, gummy apples with a slab
of soggy pie dough on top—food Bailey would never eat in a
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magnanimously(m√g-n√n´∂-m∂s-l∏): to do something in a courageous, kind,
unselfish way.
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million years. And yet, somehow, she finds that she can eat it,
and does, every bite.
See? she wants to tell someone. I’m healthy. So healthy I
can eat this slop and not die.
Beside her tray is a menu for the next day. Bailey studies
it as carefully as a cram sheet for some major final exam.
Hospital Food 101, maybe. If she were still here for dinner
tomorrow night, she’d have a choice of meat loaf or fried
chicken, chocolate cake or ice cream.
But of course she won’t be here tomorrow night. Because
they’re going to find out, first thing tomorrow, that there’s
nothing wrong with her.
She hopes.
The aide comes back for Bailey’s tray.
“You didn’t fill that out,” she says, pointing at Bailey’s
menu.
“I’m just here overnight. I don’t need to—,” Bailey protests.
“Fill it out anyway,” the aide orders.
Meekly, Bailey puts check marks in little boxes. Pancakes
for breakfast. Chicken salad for lunch. Meat loaf and chocolate
cake.
It doesn’t matter. If she’s still here tomorrow night, she
knows, she won’t be hungry.
The aide glances out Bailey’s window. “Man, look at that
traffic,” she moans.
Bailey looks up, puzzled, and the aide has to explain:
“Rush hour.”
It’s five forty-five. Bailey is stunned that the rest of the
world is going on outside this hospital room. She is stunned
to realize that she should be at marching band practice,
right now, with Mr. Chaynowski ordering them to do a final
run-through of “Another Opening, Another Show,” before
marching back to the school, packing up her clarinet, joking
with her friends.
It’s too weird to think about. She’s actually glad when
Mabel flips on the local news.
Three hours later Bailey is ready to scream. She can’t stand the
TV. It’s into sitcoms now, old-lady ones Bailey never watches.
Bailey has never noticed before, but on TV everyone smiles all
the time. Everyone laughs at everything.
How dare they?
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Searching desperately for something to distract her, Bailey
notices her backpack, cast off in the corner. She pulls out her
algebra book.
She is a normal sixteen-year-old. Sixteen-year-olds do
homework on Tuesday nights.
Bailey missed the end of class, when Mr. Vickers assigns
the homework, but he always assigns the odd problems.
Shetakes out a pencil and paper, and imagines what Mr.
Vickers will say on Thursday: Bailey, good to have you back.
Remember to make up the homework.
Bailey will use her airiest voice: Oh, it’s already done. Here.
And he’ll stare in amazement.
Why, Bailey, he’ll say, admiration creeping into his voice.
You’re such a conscientious student.
Mr. Vickers is straight out of college, and a real hottie. Lots
of girls have crushes on him.
Why, there you were on the verge of death, he might say.
And you still—
Bailey doesn’t want to think anymore about what
Mr.Vickers might say. The numbers swim in front of her eyes.
The phone rings. Mabel answers it and grunts
disappointedly, “It’s for you.”
Bailey picks up her phone.
“Oh, Bay-ley!” It’s Allison.
Bailey is suddenly so happy she can’t speak. She grins as
widely as someone on TV.
“Bailey?” Allison asks. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Bailey says. But she’s not happy anymore.
Allison’s voice is all wrong, and so is Bailey’s. She can’t seem
to make her words come out right.
“Well,” Allison says, and stops. It strikes Bailey that
Allison doesn’t know what to say either. Allison—who usually
talks so much she could get a speeding ticket for her mouth.
“What’d you think? That I was going to be the dead
person in the yearbook for our class?” Bailey jokes desperately.
Their yearbook came out last week, and Allison had gone on
and on about how every year the senior class had someone die,
usually in a car wreck, and that person got a whole page of
the yearbook dedicated to him. Last year the dead person was
the head cheerleader, so there were lots of pictures. Allison
and Bailey and their friends had spent an entire lunch period
conscientious
(k≤n´sh∏-≈n´sh∂s) adj.
If someone is
conscientious, that
person is very careful
and thorough.
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imagining what a memorial page might say for everyone in
their class.
“Imogene Rogers, world’s biggest airhead, floated off into
outer space . . . John Vhymes, biggest show-off, thought he had
a better idea for running heaven than God does . . . Stanley
Witherspoon, died two years ago but nobody noticed until
now . . . ”
It had been funny last week. It isn’t now. Bailey hears
Allison inhale sharply. Bailey tries to pretend she didn’t say
anything.
“So what happened after I left?” Bailey asks. “Anything
good?”
“Everyone was just talking about you,” Allison says. “Do
you know what’s wrong yet?”
Suddenly Bailey can’t talk to Allison. She just can’t.
“Listen, Al, some nurse is coming in in a minute to take
my blood pressure. I’ll call you later, okay?”
It isn’t really a lie. They’re always coming in to take her
blood pressure.
Allison hangs up. Bailey hopes Mabel’s hearing is as bad as
her kidneys.
Bailey is surprised that she can fall asleep. She’s even more
surprised when they wake her up at 6 .. for an electro-
cardiogram.
“But my mom—,” she protests groggily.
“They don’t want to test your mom’s heart,” the aide says.
“They want to test yours.”
Bailey is climbing into the wheelchair when the
phonerings.
“Oh, Bailey,” her mother’s voice rushes at her. “They said
you were already up. I was just getting ready to come down
there, but something awful happened—the car won’t start.
Icalled Triple A, but it’s going to be an hour before they get
out here. I’m looking for someone to give me a ride or loan me
a car. . . . I am so sorry. This is incredibly bad timing. Are you
okay?”
It’s easiest for Bailey to say automatically, like a robot,
“I’mfine.”
“I’ll get there as soon as I can,” Mom assures her.
“I know. That’s fine,” Bailey says. But the words have no
meaning anymore.
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Down in the EKG room they put cold gel on Bailey’s chest
and the technician runs a probe
4
along Bailey’s rib cage. Even
though the technician is a woman, Bailey is embarrassed
because the probe keeps running into her breasts.
“Um-hmm,” the technician mutters to herself.
Bailey knows better now than to ask what the “Um-hmm”
means. She can’t see the TV screen the technician peers into.
The technician pushes harder and harder on the probe, until
it feels like an animal trying to burrow between Bailey’s ribs.
Bailey can’t help crying out.
The technician looks up, surprised, as if she’d forgotten
that Bailey is an actual human being, capable of feeling pain.
“Sorry,” she says, and pushes the probe down even harder.
I am just a body here, Bailey thinks. Nobody here knows
or cares that I’m nice to animals and small children, that I do
my homework on time. That I’m a person. She wants to say
something to make the technician really see her, but the longer
Bailey lies on the cold table in her hospital gown, the more she
feels like all her personality is leaching away. She is just a body.
Is that what it’s like to die?
4
probe(pr∫b): a small device or instrument used to gather information.
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Another technician in another room repeats the
procedure—the cold gel, the hard probe—on Bailey’s neck
and shoulders, checking out the blood vessels that lead to her
brain.
This woman talks constantly—about her kids, her garden,
her diet—but it’s not like she’s really talking to Bailey. Even
when the woman asks a direct question, “Have you ever heard
of a geranium growing like that?” the woman doesn’t stop long
enough for Bailey to answer.
Bailey is crying, and the woman doesn’t even notice.
Bailey thinks she’ll have to dry her tears and wipe her eyes
before she sees her mother. She can’t wait to see her mother.
She wants Mom to think about all these horrible things so
Bailey doesn’t have to. She wants Mom there to remember
what Bailey is really like, so Bailey can remember how to act
normal.
But when Bailey gets back to her room, there’s only a
message. Mom’s stuck in traffic.
Mom left the number for the Montinis’ car phone, but
Bailey doesn’t call it. She turns her head to the wall so her
roommate won’t see, and lies in bed sobbing silently. She’s
not sure if she’s crying about the stalled traffic or the painful
probe or the shame of having made jokes about dead people
in the yearbook. Or the fact that whatever made Bailey faint
yesterday might also make her die. It really could happen,
Bailey thinks. People die of terrible diseases all the time. There’s
no reason that it shouldn’t happen to me.
Bailey is standing on the edge
of something awful, balanced
between two possible futures.
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For the first time Bailey realizes none of her fears have
been real before. When she imagined the MRI technician
speaking at her funeral, the memorial page in the yearbook,
Mr. Vickers’s response to her devotion to algebra, even her
personality leaching away, it was just a fantasy to her. Role-
playing. A game.
But Bailey is standing on the edge of something awful,
balanced between two possible futures. On one side is the
life she’s always known: homework and marching band and
jokes with Allison and groans at her mother. Health. A future
just like her past. And on the other side, over the cliff into
whatever her illness is, is more time in hospital beds, more
technicians seeing her innards but not really seeing her, more
time crying alone. And maybe—death. Bailey longs fervently
for her normal life back. In her mind it positively glows, an
utterly joyous existence. Ordinary never looked so good.
But it’s not her choice which future she gets.
“Hello?” someone calls tentatively.
Bailey pauses to hide the evidence of her crying before she
turns. But, strangely, she’s not crying anymore.
A man pulls the curtain around her bed, to give some
privacy from her roommate.
“I’m Dr. Rogers, your neurologist,” he says. “I’ve looked at
all your test results, and—”
Bailey’s heart pounds. She can barely hear him for the
surge of blood in her ears. She feels dizzier than she felt
yesterday, when everyone said she fainted.
“Shouldn’t my mom be here to hear this?” Bailey asks.
“She’s coming soon.”
Dr. Rogers looks at his watch.
“No. I can’t wait.”
He’s treating me like I’m a grown-up, Bailey marvels.
Butthe thought has an echo: Grown-up enough to die.
“This is a classic case,” Dr. Rogers is saying. “I’m surprised
nobody caught it yesterday. They still would have wanted
the tests, just to be sure. . . . What you had was a migraine
headache.”
A headache? Not a stroke? Not a tumor? As soon as
Dr.Rogers has said the inoffensive word, all the possibilities
Bailey feared instantly recede. She’s a million miles away from
that frightening cliff now. Of course she isn’t going to die.
Fine? 31
510
520
How silly she’d been, to think she might. How silly, to think
he’d tell her she was dying without her mother there.
Dr. Rogers is still talking, about the link between chocolate
and migraines, about how common migraines are for young
girls, about how it was perfectly normal for Bailey to get the
symptoms of a migraine headache before her head even began
to hurt. But Bailey barely listens. She’s thinking about getting
her ordinary life back—ordinary life with maybe a headache
every now and then. Bailey doesn’t care—her head barely even
hurt yesterday. She doesn’t expect a mere headache to change
anything at all. She waits for the glow to fade from her view
of her ordinary life, and it does, but not entirely. Even with
headaches she has a pretty good life.
Bailey’s mother rushes into the room just then,
apologizing right and left.
“Doctor, you must think I’m a terrible mother, not to be
here at a time like this. What did you find out? Please tell
me—it was just a fluke, right?”
“Mom,” Bailey protests, in humiliation, with perfect
emphasis.
The complaint never sounded so wonderful before.
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION Being hospitalized and waiting
to hear about her test results is an emotional experience for Bailey.
With a partner, discuss the events that take place during her stay.
How does each event help you understand more about Bailey’s
thoughts and feelings?
Collection 132
Describe Stories: Plot and Suspense
Stories, such as “Fine?”, follow a pattern called a plot, which is the series of
events in the story. At the center of a good plot is a conflict. A conflict is a
problem or struggle between opposing forces that triggers the action and
events. Most plots have the following stages:
t Exposition provides background and introduces the setting and
characters. The conflict is also introduced at this stage.
t Rising action includes events that develop and intensify the conflict.
t The climax is the story’s most exciting part and a turning point for the
main character.
t Falling action eases the tension, and events unfold as a result of the
climax.
t The resolution is the final part of the plot and reveals how the problem
is solved.
To keep you involved and excited about the plot, a writer will often
create suspense. Suspense is a feeling of growing tension and excitement
that makes a reader curious about what will happen next in a story. At the
start of “Fine?”, you learn about the story’s conflict—Bailey is in a hospital
undergoing tests—and you want to find out more.
Explain Point of View
In literature, the narrator is the voice that tells the story. A writer’s choice of
narrator is known as point of view.
Think about the following questions to help you analyze point of view:
t How does the author’s choice of point of view affect the story?
t What does the choice of narrator help you learn about characters
and events?
The narrator is a character in the story.
The narrator uses the pronouns I, me,
and my to refer to himself or herself.
The narrator tells about his or her
thoughts and feelings, but does
not know what other characters are
thinking and feeling.
The narrator is not a character in the story but
more like a voice that tells it.
The narrator uses the pronouns he, she, and
they to refer to the characters.
A narrator called third-person omniscient
knows what ALL the characters think and feel.
A narrator called third-person limited knows
the thoughts and feelings of just one person,
usually the main character.
First-Person Point of View Third-Person Point of View
ELA RL.6.6
ELD PI.6.6
ELA RL.6.3, RL.6.5
ELD PI.6.6, PII.6.1
Fine?
33
Analyzing the Text
Cite Text Evidence
Support your responses with evidence from the text.
1. Identify Reread lines 1–15. Identify the point of view of the story. Explain
how you can tell which point of view is being used.
2. Infer An external conflict is a character’s struggle against an outside
force. An internal conflict takes place inside a character’s mind. Go
back through the story and record examples of the internal and external
conflicts that Bailey faces.
3. Draw Conclusions Review lines 333–357. What does this passage tell you
about Bailey’s character?
4. Evaluate Reread the conversation Bailey has with her friend Allison in
lines 371–395. How does the scene add suspense to the plot?
5. Analyze The plot of “Fine?” centers on Bailey’s fear of what her illness is.
Go back through the story and make a list of important events. Label each
event to identify what happens at each stage of the plot—exposition,
rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Explain how each event
fits its plot stage.
6. Connect Reread lines 22–31 and 521–527. Explain why the author repeats
Bailey’s complaint. What does the author want you to know about Bailey
at the end of the story?
7. Analyze How would the story be different if Bailey was the narrator?
Name a detail that Bailey might leave out and explain why.
PERFORMANCE TASK
Writing Activity: Narrative The
story “Fine?” presents Bailey’s thoughts
and feelings about her impending
diagnosis. Write a one- or two-page
narrative that describes the situation
from Bailey’s mother’s point of view.
t Think about and decide whether
you will tell the story using first- or
third-person point of view.
t Follow the actual story; do not
change the events or plot.
t Include relevant details that Bailey
shares with her mother.
ELA RL.6.1, RL.6.3, RL.6.5, RL.6.6,
W.6.3a–e ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.7,
PI.6.10, PII.6.1
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Critical Vocabulary
technician reminisce emphatic conscientious
Practice and Apply Complete the sentences with words that show that you
understand the meaning of each vocabulary word.
1. We are going to have a TV technician come to our house because . . .
2. I like to hear old Uncle Al reminisce because . . .
3. The jury foreperson read the verdict in an emphatic voice because . . .
4. I am very conscientious when I do my chores because . . .
Vocabulary Strategy: Greek Roots
You can often determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word by examining
its root. A root is a word part that contains the core meaning of the word.
For example, tech comes from a Greek root that can mean “art,” “skill,” or “craft.”
You can find this root in the word technician and use its meaning to figure out
that technician refers to someone who has a specific skill.
Practice and Apply The Greek root tech is found in a number of English
words. Choose a word from the web that best completes each sentence. Use
your understanding of the root’s meaning as well as context clues to figure
out the meaning of each word.
technicality
technology
technique
technobabble
tech
1. The artist has a special that she uses to create her sculptures.
2. The audience wished that the scientist would use plain English instead of
to explain her latest invention.
3. Raul likes to be the first to purchase the latest in computers.
4. The suspected thief was released from jail because of a .
ELA L.6.4, L.6.4b, L.6.6
ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.12
Fine?
35
Language Conventions:
Commas and Dashes
Commas can make the meaning of sentences clearer by separating certain
words, phrases, or clauses. Commas can be used to set off nonrestrictive
elements. A nonrestrictive element is a phrase or clause that can be
removed from the sentence without changing the sentence’s basic meaning.
Notice how commas are used in the following sentence from the story “Fine?”
The only real possibility the emergency room doctor
mentioned, ordering all these tests, was a stroke . . .
If you remove the phrase ordering all these tests, the basic meaning of the
sentence is still clear.
Like commas, dashes can also be used to set off nonrestrictive elements.
Dashes are used most often when the nonrestrictive element indicates a
more abrupt break in thought. Notice how dashes are used in this example
from the story.
The slow, cultured voice of the announcer—“And now we’ll
hear Mozart’s finest concerto, at least in my humble opinion”—
could drive anyone crazy.
Using commas and dashes to set off nonrestrictive elements helps to
communicate meaning and information clearly. Look at the examples from
the story again. If the commas and dashes were not included, the sentences
would be confusing and difficult to follow.
Practice and Apply Use commas or dashes as indicated to set off the
nonrestrictive element in each sentence.
1. The concert tickets I just bought them yesterday were expensive and
nonrefundable. (dashes)
2. Mr. Jackson who moved here from Texas was introduced to us as the new
principal. (commas)
3. Nola’s voice never loud to begin with dropped to an airy whisper in the
library. (commas)
4. Sharon eyed the sunrise deep red clouds and wispy flares of pink through
the dining room window. (commas)
5. Our agreed-upon rule is that the drummer not the guitarist or the
keyboardist is responsible for making sure the entire drum kit makes it to
the show. (dashes)
ELA L.6.2a
ELD PI.6.10
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(tr) ©ZUMA/Alamy Images; (c) ©Phillip Lee Harvey/First Light (Toronto)
5
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Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was born Marguerite Annie
Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Though a childhood trauma led
her to stop speaking for five and a half years, Angelou grew up to
pursue a career as a singer and actor. She later turned to writing
as her main form of expression, and in 1970, her best-selling
autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings made her an
international literary star. She is widely admired as a fearless and
inspiring voice.
SETTING A PURPOSE As you read, think about the images
and ideas that the poem brings to your mind.
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all
Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.
Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don’t frighten me at all
Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
1
That doesn’t frighten me at all.
1
counterpane: a bedspread.
Poem by Maya Angelou
Life Doesn’t
Frighten Me
Life Doesn’t Frighten Me 37
© Leslie Evans Illustration
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I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won’t cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.
Tough guys in a fight
All alone at night
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.
Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don’t frighten me at all.
That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don’t frighten me at all.
Don’t show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I’m afraid at all
It’s only in my dreams.
I’ve got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve,
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.
Life doesn’t frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION With a partner, discuss what the
poem’s main message might be, based on the images, words, and
phrases in it. Why do you think the poet wrote this poem?
Collection 138
Analyze Structure
“Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” is a lyric poem. Lyric poetry is a poetic form in
which a single speaker expresses his or her thoughts and feelings. Lyric
poetry can take many different forms and can address all types of topics,
including complex ideas or everyday experiences.
Similar to a narrator in fiction, a speaker in poetry is the voice that “talks”
to the reader. The speaker may be the poet or a fictional character. Even if
a poem uses the pronouns I or me, it does not mean that the poet is the
speaker. Clues in the title and in individual lines can help you determine the
speaker and his or her situation.
To analyze the speaker in a lyric poem, ask yourself:
t Who is speaking? How do I know?
t What ideas does the speaker want to communicate? Why?
Poets use structure and poetic elements to create mood, express ideas,
and reinforce meaning in their work. Most poems are meant to be heard, not
just read. A poem’s sounds are as carefully chosen as its words. The following
elements are often present in lyric poetry as well as other forms of poetry.
As you read a poem, either silently or aloud, look at and listen to its
different elements. Ask yourself:
t How does repetition add to the poem’s meaning or emphasize its ideas?
t What patterns can I find in the poem’s rhyme scheme? What rhythms do
they add to the poem?
t What sounds are emphasized in the poem’s rhyme scheme? Why might
this be?
A stanza is a group of two or more lines that form a unit
in a poem.
Repetition is a technique in which a sound, word, phrase,
or line is repeated.
A rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhymes at the ends of
lines. A rhyme scheme is noted by assigning a letter of the
alphabet, beginning with a, to each line. Lines that rhyme
are given the same letter.
A couplet is a rhymed pair of lines.
ELA RL.6.4, RL.6.5, RL.6.6
ELD PI.6.8, PII.6.1
Life Doesn’t Frighten Me
39
Analyzing the Text
Cite Text Evidence
Support your responses with evidence from the text.
1. Infer Review lines 1–9 and lines 37–40. What conclusions can you draw
about the speaker’s age and personality?
2. Analyze Examine and identify the different rhyme schemes the poet
uses. What general statement could you use to describe the poem’s rhyme
scheme?
3. Draw Conclusions Reread lines 1–21. Which scary things are clearly
imaginary? Which are possibly real? What effect does this variety of things
create in the poem?
4. Evaluate Read aloud lines 1–24. Notice the change to couplets and
shorter line lengths in the third stanza. What effect does this change have
on your reading?
5. Synthesize Explain how the structure of the poem and the repetition of
the line “Life doesn’t frighten me at all” help convey the meaning of the
poem. Do you think the speaker of the poem is truly not afraid? Why or
why not?
PERFORMANCE TASK
Speaking Activity: Response to
Literature Different people can read
the same poem aloud in very different
ways. Prepare an oral reading of all or a
part of “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me.”
t Every person finds his or her own
meanings in a poem. Review the
poem and write a statement that
summarizes its meaning to you.
t Next, practice reading the poem
aloud. At first, focus on the different
rhythms, repetition, and sounds.
t Try giving different “personalities” to
your reading until you find one that
you like.
t Practice until you can read the
poem smoothly. Then read it aloud
to a small group.
ELA RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.4, RL.6.5,
RL.6.6, SL.6.4, SL.6.6 ELD PI.6.4,
PI.6.6, PI.6.8, PII.6.1, PII.6.6
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(tl) ©Corbis, (tr)©Superstock
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SETTING A PURPOSE As you read, pay attention to the
details that explain the nature of fear and how fear can affect
everyday life, both physically and emotionally.
T
he roller coaster hesitates for a split second at the peak of
its steep track after a long, slow climb. You know what’s
about to happen—and there’s no way to avoid it now. It’s time
to hang onto the handrail, palms sweating, heart racing, and
brace yourself for the wild ride down.
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Fear is one of the most basic human emotions. It is
programmed into the nervous system and works like an
instinct. From the time we’re infants, we are equipped with
the survival instincts necessary to respond with fear when we
sense danger or feel unsafe.
Fear helps protect us. It makes us alert to danger and
prepares us to deal with it. Feeling afraid is very natural—and
Background Most people experience fear now and then; fear
is an ordinary part of life. Some fears may be overcome quickly;
others may continue, in varying degrees, for a lifetime. Science
provides knowledge and insight into why we experience fear and
why sometimes our fears seem out of control. Whether it is a fear
of spiders, a fear of the dark, or a fear of flying, using science to
understand the physical and emotional responses that we call
fear is the first step toward conquering it.
Online Article by kidshealth.org
Fears and
Phobias
VIDEOVIDEO
Fears and Phobias 41
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helpful—in some situations. Fear can be like a warning, a
signal that cautions us to be careful.
Like all emotions, fear can be mild, medium, or intense,
depending on the situation and the person. A feeling of fear
can be brief or it can last longer.
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When we sense danger, the brain reacts instantly, sending
signals that activate the nervous system. This causes physical
responses, such as a faster heartbeat, rapid breathing, and an
increase in blood pressure. Blood pumps to muscle groups
to prepare the body for physical action (such as running or
fighting). Skin sweats to keep the body cool. Some people
might notice sensations in the stomach, head, chest, legs, or
hands. These physical sensations of fear can be mild or strong.
This response is known as “fight or flight” because that
is exactly what the body is preparing itself to do: fight off the
danger or run fast to get away. The body stays in this state of
fight-flight until the brain receives an “all clear” message and
turns off the response.
Sometimes fear is triggered by something that is startling
or unexpected (like a loud noise), even if it’s not actually
dangerous. That’s because the fear reaction is activated
instantly—a few seconds faster than the thinking part of the
brain can process or evaluate what’s happening. As soon as
the brain gets enough information to realize there’s no danger
(“Oh, it’s just a balloon bursting—whew!”), it turns off the fear
reaction. All this can happen in seconds.
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Some people find the rush of fear exciting. They might
seek out the thrill of extreme sports and savor the scariest
horror flicks. Others do not like the experience of feeling
afraid or taking risks. During the scariest moments of a
roller coaster ride one person might think, “I’ll never get on
this thing again—that is, if I make it out alive!” while an-
other person thinks, “This is awesome! As soon as it’s over,
I’m getting back on!”
activate
(√k´t∂-v∑t´) v. To
activate something
means to cause it to
start working.
trigger
(trΔg´∂r) v. To trigger
something means to
cause it to begin.
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Fear is the word we use to describe our emotional reaction to
something that seems dangerous. But the word “fear” is used
in another way, too: to name something a person often feels
afraid of.
People fear things or situations that make them feel unsafe
or unsure. For instance, someone who isn’t a strong swimmer
might have a fear of deep water. In this case, the fear is helpful
because it cautions the person to stay safe. Someone could
overcome this fear by learning how to swim safely.
A fear can be healthy if it cautions a person to stay safe
around something that could be dangerous. But sometimes a
fear is unnecessary and causes more caution than the situation
callsfor.
Many people have a fear of public speaking. Whether it’s
giving a report in class, speaking at an assembly, or reciting
lines in the school play, speaking in front of others is one of
the most common fears people have.
People tend to avoid the situations or things they fear. But
this doesn’t help them overcome fear—in fact, it can be the
reverse. Avoiding something scary reinforces a fear and keeps
it strong.
People can overcome unnecessary fears by giving
themselves the chance to learn about and gradually get used
to the thing or situation they’re afraid of. For example, people
who fly despite a fear of flying can become used to unfamiliar
sensations like takeoff or turbulence. They learn what to
expect and have a chance to watch what others do to relax
and enjoy the flight. Gradually (and safely) facing fear helps
someone overcome it.
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Certain fears are normal during childhood. That’s because fear
can be a natural reaction to feeling unsure and vulnerable—
and much of what children experience is new and unfamiliar.
Young kids often have fears of the dark, being alone,
strangers, and monsters or other scary imaginary creatures.
School-aged kids might be afraid when it’s stormy or at a first
sleepover. As they grow and learn, with the support of adults,
most kids are able to slowly conquer these fears and outgrow
them.
turbulence
(tûr´ by∂-l∂ns) n. In
flying, turbulence
is an interruption
in the flow of wind
that causes planes to
rise, fall, or sway in a
rough way.
Fears and Phobias 43
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Some kids are more sensitive to fears and may have a
tough time overcoming them. When fears last beyond the
expected age, it might be a sign that someone is overly fearful,
worried, or anxious. People whose fears are too intense or last
too long might need help and support to overcome them.
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P
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A phobia is an intense fear reaction to a particular thing or
a situation. With a phobia, the fear is out of proportion to
the potential danger. But to the person with the phobia, the
danger feels real because the fear is so very strong.
Phobias cause people to worry about, dread, feel upset
by, and avoid the things or situations they fear because the
physical sensations of fear can be so intense. So having a
phobia can interfere with normal activities. A person with a
phobia of dogs might feel afraid to walk to school in case he
or she sees a dog on the way. Someone with an elevator phobia
might avoid a field trip if it involves going on an elevator.
A girl with a phobia of thunderstorms might be afraid to
go to school if the weather forecast predicts a storm. She might
feel terrible distress and fear when the sky turns cloudy. A guy
with social phobia experiences intense fear of public speaking
or interacting, and may be afraid to answer questions in class,
give a report, or speak to classmates in the lunchroom.
It can be exhausting and upsetting to feel the intense fear
that goes with having a phobia. It can be disappointing to miss
out on opportunities because fear is holding you back. And it
can be confusing and embarrassing to feel afraid of things that
others seem to have no problem with.
Sometimes, people get teased about their fears. Even if
the person doing the teasing doesn’t mean to be unkind and
unfair, teasing only makes the situation worse.
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Some phobias develop when someone has a scary experience
with a particular thing or situation. A tiny brain structure
called the amygdala (pronounced: uh-mig-duh-luh) keeps
track of experiences that trigger strong emotions. Once a
certain thing or situation triggers a strong fear reaction, the
amygdala warns the person by triggering a fear reaction every
Collection 144
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time he or she encounters (or even thinks about) that thing
orsituation.
Someone might develop a bee phobia after being stung
during a particularly scary situation. For that person, looking
at a photograph of a bee, seeing a bee from a distance, or even
walking near flowers where there could be a bee can all trigger
the phobia.
Sometimes, though, there may be no single event that
causes a particular phobia. Some people may be more
sensitive to fears because of personality traits they are born
with, certain genes
1
they’ve inherited, or situations they’ve
experienced. People who have had strong childhood fears or
anxiety may be more likely to have one or more phobias.
Having a phobia isn’t a sign of weakness or immaturity.
It’s a response the brain has learned in an attempt to protect
the person. It’s as if the brain’s alert system triggers a false
alarm, generating intense fear that is out of proportion to the
1
genes(j∏nz): the parts of cells that give a living thing its physical characteristics
and make it grow and develop; a person’s genes come from their parents and
other blood relatives.
immaturity
(Δm´∂-ty≥r´ Δ-t∏) n.
Immaturity is the
state of not being
fully developed or
grown.
Fears and Phobias 45
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situation. Because the fear signal is so intense, the person is
convinced the danger is greater than it actually is.
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People can learn to overcome phobias by gradually facing their
fears. This is not easy at first. It takes willingness and bravery.
Sometimes people need the help of a therapist
2
to guide them
through the process.
Overcoming a phobia usually starts with making a long
list of the person’s fears in least-to-worst order. For example,
with a dog phobia, the list might start with the things the
person is least afraid of, such as looking at a photo of a dog. It
will then work all the way up to worst fears, such as standing
next to someone who’s petting a dog, petting a dog on a leash,
and walking a dog.
Gradually, and with support, the person tries each fear
situation on the list—one at a time, starting with the least fear.
The person isn’t forced to do anything and works on each fear
until he or she feels comfortable, taking as long as needed.
A therapist could also show someone with a dog phobia
how to approach, pet, and walk a dog, and help the person to
try it, too. The person may expect terrible things to happen
when near a dog. Talking about this can help, too. When
people find that what they fear doesn’t actually turn out to be
true, it can be a great relief.
A therapist might also teach relaxation practices such
as specific ways of breathing, muscle relaxation training, or
soothing self-talk. These can help people feel comfortable and
bold enough to face the fears on their list.
As somebody gets used to a feared object or situation, the
brain adjusts how it responds and the phobia is overcome.
Often, the hardest part of overcoming a phobia is getting
started. Once a person decides to go for it—and gets the right
coaching and support—it can be surprising how quickly fear
can melt away.
2
therapist(th≈r´∂-pΔst): a person who is skilled in treating mental or physical
illness.
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION Fears and phobias are related, but
they are quite different in some ways. With a partner, use evidence
from the text to discuss these differences. Which response can be
useful? Which one can be harmful, and why?
Collection 146
Cite Evidence
To support analysis of any text that you read, you need to be able to cite
evidence, or provide specific information from the text. Evidence can include
details, facts, statistics, quotations, and examples. The chart shows different
ways to cite evidence from an informational text such as “Fears and Phobias.”
After reading “Fears and Phobias,” imagine that you came to the conclusion
that when we are afraid, our bodies respond in many ways. To support your
conclusion, you could cite lines 18–25 as examples from the text.
Analyze Structure
Text features are design elements such as boldface type and headings that
highlight the organization and important information in a text. You can use
text features to get an idea of the topics in a text. They can also help you
locate particular topics or ideas after reading. Text features include:
t A heading is a kind of title that identifies the topic of the content that
follows it. Headings often appear at the beginning of a chapter or article.
t A subheading is a kind of title that usually indicates the beginning of a
new topic or section within a chapter or article. A subheading helps you
identify the main idea of the text that follows.
t A sidebar is additional information that is usually set in a box alongside
or within an article.
Analyze text features by asking yourself these questions:
t What text features does the text include?
t Which features help me preview and locate main ideas in the text?
t How does information under a particular heading fit into the whole
text? What important ideas does it contain?
support an idea, opinion,
conclusion, or inference,
cite selected words and details from
anywhere in the text.
analyze how a text is organized, cite sentences that include signal words
that indicate a pattern of organization, such
as first and after for chronological order.
summarize the main idea and
details in a text,
cite details from specific sections
of the text.
If you want to . . . Then . . .
ELA RI.6.5
ELD PII.6.1
ELA RI.6.1
ELD PI.6.6
Fears and Phobias
47
Analyzing the Text
Cite Text Evidence
Support your responses with evidence from the text.
1. Cause/Effect Events are often related by cause and effect: one event
brings about the other. The event that happens first is the cause; the one
that follows is the effect. Reread lines 18–38. Examine the text and identify
examples of cause-and-effect relationships.
2. Cite Evidence What causes phobias? Cite evidence from the text that
explains where phobias come from.
3. Draw Conclusions Review lines 132–162. What factors are important in
helping people overcome phobias? Explain whether the author believes it
is worthwhile to try to overcome phobias and why.
4. Compare Explain how a fear is different from a phobia. Identify examples
of each that the author presents.
5. Interpret What additional information does the sidebar provide?
How does it add to your understanding of the article?
6. Analyze Use the headings in “Fears and Phobias” to examine the main
ideas the author presents. In your own words, describe the way the author
orders the information.
PERFORMANCE TASK
Writing Activity: Summary Write
a summary of “Fears and Phobias.”
A summary is a brief retelling of a
text in your own words. You should
cover only the main ideas and most
important details. Your summary
should be no more than one-third the
length of the original text.
t Review the article to identify the
main ideas.
t Introduce the summary by writing
a topic sentence that explains the
main purpose of the article.
t Tell what a fear is, what a phobia
is, and how they are different. Cite
evidence from the text.
t Conclude your summary by
telling why the article is useful or
important.
ELA RI.6.1, RI.6.3, RI.6.5, RI.6.6,
W.6.2, W.6.4 ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.7,
PI.6.10, PII.6.1
eBook
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48
Critical Vocabulary
activate trigger turbulence immaturity
Practice and Apply Answer each question and explain your response.
1. Which of the following is an example of activate? Why?
unplugging a computer pressing the power button on a computer
2. Which of the following is most likely to trigger an allergy? Why?
getting stung by a bee watching a movie about bees
3. Which of the following involves turbulence? Why?
a canoe trip on a quiet lake a canoe trip on a rushing, rocky river
4. Which of the following is an example of immaturity? Why?
explaining why you are upset crying when you don’t get your way
Vocabulary Strategy: Prefixes That Mean “Not”
A prefix is a word that appears at the beginning of a base word to form a new
word. Many prefixes that mean ”not” come from Latin, the language of ancient
Rome. One example is the vocabulary word immaturity (im + maturity). To
figure out the meaning of a word that contains a prefix and a base word,
follow these steps.
t Think of the meaning of each word part separately.
t Use this information as well as context clues to define the word.
Prefix Meaning Prefix Meaning
in- not; in non- not
mis- not; incorrectly un- not; opposite of
Practice and Apply Use the prefixes in the chart and context clues to help
you determine a meaning for the boldface word in each sentence.
1. Not having Sunday hours at the library is inconvenient for people who
work during the week.
2. The group agreed that their protest would be a nonviolent one.
3. Being late to the party was unintentional; we were stuck in traffic!
4. The careless reporter misquoted the mayor’s remarks.
ELA L.6.4a, L.6.4b, L.6.4d, L.6.6
ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.12
Fears and Phobias
49
Language Conventions:
Subjective and Objective Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun.
Personal pronouns take different forms, or cases, depending on how they are
used in a sentence. A pronoun in the subjective case is one that is used as
the subject of a sentence. A pronoun in the objective case is one that is used
as an object of a verb or preposition. Here are some examples from “Fears and
Phobias.”
Subjective Case: It is programmed into the nervous system.
Objective Case: Fear helps protect us.
Pronouns can also be singular or plural in number. This chart shows the
singular and plural forms of the subjective and objective case.
Subjective Objective
First person Ime
Second person you you
Third person she, he, it her, him, it
First person we us
Second person you you
Third person they them
Singular
Plural
Pronouns can be misused, especially in compound subjects and objects. Use
a subject pronoun if the pronoun is part of a compound subject. Use an
object pronoun if the pronoun is part of a compound object.
Practice and Apply Choose the correct pronoun to complete each sentence.
1. Carlos took swimming lessons to help (him, it) overcome a fear of
deep water.
2. When some people experience extreme fear, (you, they) may feel sick or
dizzy.
3. I do not like small spaces. Being in an elevator makes (her, me) very
anxious.
4. Danielle and Ramon explained how (he, they) use breathing exercises to
help stay relaxed.
5. Leia and (I, me) are sometimes teased about our fears.
ELA L.6.1a
ELD PII.6.2
Collection 1
50
(t) © Glenn Murphy, (c) ©Superstock
10
SETTING A PURPOSE As you read, focus on the science facts
that explain why some people are afraid of speaking in public
and how this fear may be overcome.
T
HE FEAR Some of us are fine with the idea of standing
in front of huge crowds of people. But others would
happily bungee off a 200-foot bridge, or dive into a shoal of
circling sharks, rather than experience the sheer terror of
facing an audience. Shoved out onstage, or to the front of a
class, people like this will quite literally lose their voice. The
mouth may open, but the words won’t come out. They just
stand there gaping like helpless goldfish pulled out of water,
their weak limbs quaking with fear, feeling like they want to
run, hide, or cry. If that sounds like you, then you are one of
the world’s many, many sufferers of glossophobia—the fear of
speaking (or trying to speak) in public.
Glenn Murphy is an expert in explaining science concepts for
kids, teenagers, and adults. After receiving his Masters in Science
Communication from London’s Imperial College of Science, Technology
and Medicine, Murphy managed the Explainer team at the Science
Museum in London, England. This experience led to his first book, Why
Is Snot Green? With the sequel, How Loud Can You Burp?, and several
more books, Murphy continues to explain science topics with humor
and energy.
Informational Text by Glenn Murphy
In the
Spotlight
from Stuff That Scares Your Pants Off!
In the Spotlight 51
20
30
40
50
The Reality
Glossophobia is amazingly common—there are usually
at least four or five kids in every grade who have it, and it’s
very common in adults too because you generally don’t “grow
out” of glossophobia. It takes help or practice to get over it.
This is because it’s basically a type of social phobia—a fear of
being watched, judged, or sized up by other people (especially
strangers, and especially large numbers of them).
So where does it come from, and what use is it? I mean,
if fear of the dark, heights, and dangerous animals helped
keep our ancestors from being ambushed, what good is a fear
of speaking to people? Wouldn’t being able to speak to big
groups have helped those early humans to communicate? The
ones who were best at it, you’d think, could become chiefs,
kings, and emperors. If speaking is that useful, what is this
fear trying to protect us from? Being booed and pelted with
rotten vegetables if we do badly?
Well, the answer is—nothing, really. There’s no real danger
involved in speaking to people. But the action of standing
there and being watched can trigger a much older and more
useful fear—the fear of being surrounded, threatened, and
attacked by other people.
Throughout the animal world, and especially in primates
(the group that includes humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees),
staring at someone is a signal of fighting or aggression. Even
when we chat with people we trust and like, we don’t stare
them down while we talk. Instead, we shift the focus of our
eyes around the other person’s face—from their eyes to their
mouth and nose and back again—and we glance away every
so often during the conversation. (If you don’t believe me, try
it with a friend. Sit close to each other and just stare while you
talk, without looking away, for one minute. You’ll probably
find you both start to feel really uncomfortable very quickly!)
All of this helps to break up the eye contact, and reassures
each person that the other is still friendly. Without it, a long
burst of eye contact feels like the buildup to a fight.
Now multiply that one staring pair of eyes by thirty, and
you have some idea of why standing up to speak in front of
a class can feel so unnerving. Multiply it by 500 or 1,000,
and you see why it takes a lot of confidence to be onstage
in a packed theater. Even though the audience is (probably)
ambush
(√m´ b≥sh) v. Some
animals ambush their
prey by hiding and
then attacking as
the prey comes near
them.
aggression
(∂-gr≈sh´∂n) n.
Angry, violent
behavior or action is
called aggression.
confidence
(k≤n´ fΔ-d∂ns) n.
A person who has
confidence believes in
his or her abilities or
ideas.
Collection 152
60
70
80
friendly, the sensation is like being surrounded by an angry
tribe, and all your brain wants to do is get you out of there.
Sothat’s what it prepares you to do. The “fight-or-flight”
system kicks in, making your heart rate increase, your
breathing tight and rapid, your muscles tense, and your guts
feel queasy
1
(as blood is directed away from them). The whole
time you’re trying to speak or perform, your brain is saying,
“OK—any minute now we make a run for it, right? Get ready
. . . readyyy . . . readyyyyyyyyyy . . . ”
For some people, this feels quite thrilling. But for
glossophobics, it’s absolutely terrifying.
But if you think about it, there really is nothing to be
afraid of this time. Unlike the fear of water, heights, and the
dark, there’s no real danger present at all. Even if you speak or
perform really badly, it’s not like the audience is going to kill
you—the worst response you’ll get is silence, booing, or rotten
fruit and veggies. None of these are pleasant, but none of them
can actually harm you either.
Happily, this also makes glossophobia a perfect example of
a fear you can beat with simple practice. Since there’s no real
danger, it’s much easier to work up from speaking to one, to
two, to ten, to thirty people. Believe it or not, you can go from
stage-phobic to star performer in no time!
The Chances
The odds of being killed by a classroom or theater full
of people just because you’re speaking to or performing for
them? Zero. Unless you’re really, really bad . . .
No, really—it’s zero. Just kidding.
The Lowdown
The fear of being “in the spotlight” is extremely common
and, to those who suffer from it, extremely powerful. But it’s
also extremely easy to work through, given a bit of effort.
Since there’s no real danger involved, it’s just a matter of
convincing your brain that you don’t need the “fight-or-flight”
system to kick in when you’re speaking or performing before
people. How do you do that? Practice!
1
queasy(kw∏´z∏): nauseated; sick to your stomach.
In the Spotlight
53
90
100
110
There are lots of ways of working through your fears and
building your confidence before audiences. The most direct
(and powerful) way is to join a school, church, or community
speaking group, where you can be coached on how to give
speeches. At first, you may practice alone or with one or two
people. Then, as you get more confident, you can work up
to larger and larger groups, until before you know it you’re
speaking to whole school assemblies, church congregations, or
community groups! The best thing is that in many cases you
get to talk about whatever you want, whether it’s “Ten Ways to
Make a Better World” or “My Love of Dinosaurs.”
If that doesn’t sound like any kind of fun, then you can
get experience with speaking in front of audiences without
speaking directly to them. In acting or debating clubs, you can
practice talking to small groups of people while being watched
by an audience, but without having to look straight at them.
Plus the act of concentrating on your lines or on the argument
will help distract you from the many watching eyes. When
you get really good at it, you might even forget the audience
isthere!
And if you really can’t imagine speaking in front of crowds
at all, then you can work up to it (or at the very least gain a
lot more confidence) by trying other types of performance
instead. Ever wanted to dance? How about play guitar, or sing?
Learning a performing art of any kind will help you get over
your fears of an audience if you eventually take it to the stage.
So if you’re one of the world’s many perform-o-phobes,
don’t worry—the “treatment” for it may turn out to be the
most fun you’ve ever had. The prescription looks like this: take
a handful of guitar, acting, or dance lessons, rock a roomful of
people with your mad new skills, and call me in the morning!
distract
(dΔ-str√kt´) v. To
distract is to pull
attention away
from something or
someone.
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION With a partner, discuss the facts
and ideas that explain glossophobia and why it is a fear that
people must work at overcoming.
Collection 154
Determine Central Idea
In informational text, the central idea, or main idea, is the most important
idea that an author of a text wants you to know about the topic. You can look
for the central idea of the entire text and you can look for the central idea in
each paragraph.
The topic sentence of a paragraph states the paragraph’s central idea.
In informational text, the topic sentence is often the first sentence in a
paragraph. However, it may appear anywhere in the paragraph. Sometimes
the central idea is not directly stated but implied, or suggested by details.
To identify an implied central idea, you need to examine the details to
determine what the writer intends.
To find the central idea, follow these steps:
t Identify the specific topic of each paragraph or section.
t Examine all the details the author includes.
Ask what idea or message the details convey about the topic.
Stated Central Idea Implied Central Idea
Lines 87–97: Central idea at the
beginning of a paragraph
Lines 13–19: Central idea at the end
of a paragraph
Lines 48–61: Implied central idea
People who have glossophobia when
speaking in public experience increased heart
rate, rapid breathing, and queasiness.
Determine Details
Supporting details are words, phrases, or sentences that tell more about
the central idea. Facts, opinions, examples, statistics, and anecdotes are all
supporting details that writers may use depending on the type of writing.
t A fact is a statement that can be proved.
t An opinion is a statement that expresses a person’s beliefs, feelings, or
thoughts. An opinion cannot be proved.
t An example is a specific instance that helps to explain an idea, such as
a personal story or experience.
t A statistic is a fact that is expressed in numbers.
t An anecdote is a short account of an interesting incident.
Reread lines 87–97. Ask yourself these questions:
t What is the central idea of this paragraph?
t What details, such as facts and examples, support the main idea?
ELA RI.6.2, RI.6.3
ELD PI.6.6
ELA RI.6.2, RI.6.3
ELD PI.6.6
In the Spotlight
55
Analyzing the Text
Cite Text Evidence
Support your responses with evidence from the text.
1. Interpret Reread lines 1–12. What words and phrases does the author use
to create a vivid image of glossophobia? Explain why this description is
important.
2. Infer What is the central idea of lines 20–33 in “In the Spotlight”? Explain
why this is an important idea in the article.
3. Draw Conclusions Reread lines 34–47. Explain why the experiment the
author proposes is valuable to the reader.
4. Analyze The author states that glossophobia is “. . . extremely easy to work
through, given a bit of effort” (lines 80–82). What examples support this
idea? List one fact and one opinion about this idea.
5. Summarize What is the central idea of “In the Spotlight”? Explain how
each section of the article supports this central idea.
6. Evaluate The author uses an informal, humorous writing style. What
examples in the text show this style? Tell why the author probably used
this style here and how well you think it works.
PERFORMANCE TASK
Writing Activity: Letter Imagine that
you are an advice columnist. Answer
a letter from a reader who would like
advice on how to cure glossophobia.
t Review “In the Spotlight.” Identify
the main ideas about curing
glossophobia.
t Decide which suggestions you
will advise the reader to use.
Cite explicit evidence from “In
the Spotlight” to support your
suggestions.
t Create an alias, or a fake name, for
the reader you are responding to.
t Read your letter aloud to a partner
to see if it is clear and helpful.
ELA RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.3, RI.6.4,
RI.6.5, RI.6.6, W.6.2a–f, W.6.9b
ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.7, PI.6.8, PI.6.10
eBook
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56
Critical Vocabulary
ambush aggression confidence distract
Practice and Apply Answer each question and explain your response.
1. Which situation is an example of an ambush?
a. a person who is hiding suddenly jumps out
b. a dog runs out from a yard to greet someone walking by
2. Which situation shows aggression?
a. a friend gives you a pat on the back
b. a dog growls at someone walking by
3. Which group shows confidence?
a. a debate team that is eager to begin a contest
b. a marching band that decides not to be in a parade
4. Which of these would be a way to distract someone?
a. waiting quietly while the person talks to someone else
b. waving at a person who is giving a speech
Vocabulary Strategy: Suffixes That Form Nouns
A suffix is a word part that appears at the end of a root or base word to form
a new word. Some Latin suffixes, such as -ance, -ence, and -ant, can be added
to verbs to form nouns. If you can recognize the verb that a suffix is attached
to, you can often figure out the meaning of the noun formed from it.
For example, -ence is added to confide to make confidence. One meaning of
confide is “to tell in secret.” Confidence means “trust or the act of confiding.”
Practice and Apply Identify the verb in each underlined word. Use context
clues to define the noun. Use a dictionary to confirm your definitions.
1. The performance was sold out in only one hour.
2. We celebrated my uncle’s emergence as a great writer.
3. Mrs. Lowenstein is the attorney for the defendant in the trial.
4. She won her case because an informant testified at the trial.
Suffix
Meaning
-ance, -ence
-ant
the act of, the condition of, the state of
one that performs or causes an action
ELA L.6.4a, L.6.4b,
L.6.4c, L.6.4d, L.6.6
ELD PI.6.6, PI.6.12
In the Spotlight
57
Language Conventions:
Possessive Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns or other pronouns.
Personal pronouns change form to show how they function in a sentence.
A possessive pronoun shows ownership. Here are some examples from “In
the Spotlight”:
Instead, we shift the focus of our eyes around the other
person’s face—from their eyes to their mouth and nose and
back again . . .
In this sentence, both our and their are examples of possessive pronouns. Both
are used to indicate ownership: our refers to the subjective pronoun we, and
their refers to the “other person.”
The chart shows possessive pronouns in either singular (one person) or
plural (more than one person) form.
Use Before Nouns Use in Place of Nouns
First person my mine
Second person your yours
Third person her, his, its hers, his, its
First person our ours
Second person your yours
Third person their theirs
Singular
Plural
Practice and Apply Complete the sentences with the correct possessive
pronoun. Remember that pronouns must agree with the noun they refer to in
number, gender, and person.
1. The team felt confident; they felt chances of winning were high.
2. Jenna was worried; fear of heights made riding the roller coaster
scary for her.
3. Kevin and I worked together on that project. That project is .
4. I speak next week. I need to practice speech.
5. The dog pressed face against the window.
ELA L.6.1a
ELD PII.6.2
Collection 1
58
MEDIA ANALYSIS
(tl) ©Sebastian Kaulitzki/Alamy Images; (tr) ©Fotolia
Wired for Fear
Background The study and science of fear involves the work of
many scientists over many years. These scientists have explored
exactly how the body deals with fear as a nervous impulse. They
have conducted research and used computer-generated brain
imaging to study activity in the brain. Their work has revealed
different brain structures, paths, and cells that help to explain fear
and how the whole body responds to the fear alarm.
SETTING A PURPOSE “Fear is a full-body experience.” This is how the
website Goosebumps! The Science of Fear introduces its topic “Fear
and the Brain.” This website includes a collection of videos, articles, and
images that covers several aspects of how the body, especially the brain,
processes sensory information (what we see, hear, feel, smell, touch) and
alerts us to what might be harmful to us.
The section of the website titled “Wired for Fear” provides information
on the specific areas and cells of the brain that activate our responses to
scary situations. This web page includes a video that you can access to
watch an animated version of how the brain processes fear reactions. As
you watch the video, note how these pathways connect to the brain’s
threat center and show why fear can be a good thing. Write down any
questions you have during viewing.
Online Science Exhibit by The California Science Center
Wired for Fear 59
©Vogt Productions/California Science Center Foundation
Format: Online science exhibit
Running Time: 4:05
AS YOU VIEW As you view the animated video, consider how
the information is presented. Notice how the video introduces
and explains new terms and ideas using text, sound, and
visuals.
Consider how the use of these three elements helps you
understand the scientific terms and ideas presented. As
needed, pause the video to make notes about what impresses
you or about ideas you might want to talk about later.
Replay or rewind so that you can clarify anything you do not
understand.
COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION With a small group, discuss
how the brain pathways of our body’s fear response work.
What new ideas or information did you learn about fear and
the brain from the video? Cite specific terms and segments
from the video and tell what you learned from them.
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Collection 160
Interpret Information
Like other media, the video “Wired for Fear” was created for a specific
purpose. The purpose, or intent, of any video or form of media is usually to
inform, entertain, persuade, or express the feelings or thoughts of the creator.
In meeting the purpose, the creator uses words as well as visual and sound
elements to convey information.
Visual elements that can be used in animated videos include:
Visual elements can help viewers understand technical terms, which
are the words and phrases used in a particular profession or field of study.
For example, by showing the amygdala as a kind of master computer that
processes information, the animated model in “Wired for Fear” helps viewers
better understand the amygdala and what it does. Using light to highlight
brain pathways is another way that the video’s visuals help to explain the
content in a memorable way.
Sound elements include what you hear in a video:
To interpret visual and sound elements in a video, ask questions such as
the following:
t Does the video use stills or animation? What purpose do they serve?
How do they aid my understanding of the topic?
t How does the music match the video’s topic or content? How does the
music create or add to a mood?
t What does the narration add to the video?
images that are motionless, such as illustrations or photographs.
In “Wired for Fear,” a still of an illustration of the brain is used to
point out where the amygdala is located.
the process of creating images that appear to move and seem
alive. Animation can be created through drawings, computer
graphics, or photographs. For example, the hiking scenes in
“Wired for Fear” are an animation cycle of drawings.
Stills
Animation
sounds created by singing, playing instruments, or using
computer-generated tones. Music is often included in videos to
create a mood.
the words as well as the expression and quality of voice used by
the narrator. In “Wired for Fear,” the narrator uses emphasis and
expression to connect the words to the visuals being shown.
s
c
c
Music
Narration
ELA RI.6.4, SL.6.2
ELD PI.6.6
Wired for Fear
61
Analyzing the Media
Cite Text Evidence
Support your responses with evidence from the media.
1. Summarize What situation does the hiker face in “Wired for Fear”?
Describe how the video explains what the hiker experiences.
2. Cause/Effect Review the sequence that uses the animated model. What
are some ways our bodies respond when the amygdala senses danger?
What parts of the brain activate these responses?
3. Infer Explain the title “Wired for Fear.” Why does the video use flashing
lights and graphics that show movement in the animated model of how
the brain processes potential danger?
4. Integrate Describe the music and narration used in the video. In what
ways do they support the purpose of the video?
5. Critique Think about the purpose of this video. Consider the techniques
that are used to support the information presented. Do you think “Wired
for Fear” is an effective informational video? Why or why not?
PERFORMANCE TASK
Media Activity: Podcast Create an
audio recording for a podcast movie
review of the video “Wired for Fear.”
You can work alone or with a partner.
t Focus on a few elements of the
video that particularly impressed
you. Include both positive and
negative impressions that you think
are relevant. Write notes about
these impressions.
t Explain how each element you have
chosen clarifies the topic, using
examples from the video. Present
ideas for additional information
that could be included in this type
of video. Write notes about these
elements and examples.
t Use your notes to create an outline
or draft of your podcast review.
t Create the recording of your review
alone or with a partner, using a
conversational approach. Share your
review with a larger group.
ELA RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.3, RI.6.4, RI.6.5,
RI.6.6, RI.6.7, W.6.6, SL.6.2, SL.6.5
ELD PI.6.1, PI.6.6, PI.6.9, PI.6.10
Collection 1
62
evident
factor
indicate
similar
specific
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
As you plan, write,
and review your
draft, try to use the
academic vocabulary
words.
Present a Response to Literature
People in the literary works in this collection have to face a fear.
Look back at these texts and share your response to one of them.
Explain your understanding of the text’s meaning and convince
others that your interpretation is valid.
A successful response to literature
t
Includes a clear thesis statement
t provides background information
t provides a variety of evidence to support the thesis
t ends by restating the thesis
t uses effective verbal and nonverbal elements
Choose a Topic Which literary work from the collection
interests you most? Re-read it, studying it closely for details.
Choose a text with at least one literary element that is important
to your understanding of the work as a whole.
Develop a Thesis Draft a thesis statement, or controlling idea,
that sums up the main point you will make in your response. The
thesis statement should clearly identify your purpose and explain
one literary element of the text, such as character, conflict, or theme.
Gather Evidence Use the annotation tools in your eBook
to find evidence from the text to support your thesis. Save your
evidence to myNotebook, in a folder titled Collection 1 Performance
Task. Try to include various kinds of support, such as direct
quotations, paraphrased lines, details, and examples.
“Fine?”
“Go on,” she says magnanimously. “I’ll be fine.”
But as soon as her mother is out the door, Bailey wants to run
after her, crying “Mom-mee! Don’t go!”
This passage shows how Bailey is trying to be brave and
grown-up but is still very frightened.
COLLECTION 1
PERFORMANCE TASK A
PLAN
ELA W.6.2a–b, W.6.9,
SL.6.4, SL.6.6, L.6.1,
L.6.3b
ELD PI.6.4, PI.6.9,
PI.6.11, PI.6.12, PII.6.5
Interactive Lessons
Interactive Lessons
To help you complete this task,
use Giving a Presentation.
Collection Performance Task A 63
Consider Purpose and Audience How can you explain
your interpretation of the text? What evidence will convey your
ideas to your audience? Keeping your purpose and audience in
mind will help you maintain the right tone and include the right
information.
Draft Your Response Write out your response to the literary
work you have selected. As you draft your response, keep the
following in mind:
t The introduction should state the title and author of the
work, clearly explain the thesis, and provide any necessary
background information.
t In the body, discuss your main ideas. Each idea should include
evidence that supports the thesis. Explain what each piece of
evidence shows.
t Restate the thesis in the conclusion and give an overall
impression or insight into the work.
Write your rough draft
in myWriteSmart. Focus
on getting your ideas
down, rather than
perfecting your choice
of language.
PRODUCE
Interactive Lessons
To help you plan
your purpose and
audience, complete
the following lesson:
tKnowing Your
Audience
Interactive Lessons
To help you organize
your response,
complete the following
lessons:
tThe Content of Your
Presentation
tStyle in Presentation
Language Conventions: Modify to Add Details
Adverbs are words that modify, or describe, verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
They provide details about time, place, manner, and cause. Read the following
passage from ”The Ravine.”
“
Vinny watched, his muddy towel hooked around his neck. Reluctantly, he
let it fall, then dove in after them.
”
Notice how the adverb “reluctantly” tells more about how Vinny lets the towel fall.
Look for places where you can add details about the time, manner, place, or cause
of an event.
Practice Your Response Read your response to literature
aloud. Practice using verbal and nonverbal elements to engage
the audience. You can write cues on the text of your presentation
about the verbal and nonverbal elements you plan to use in
presenting your ideas.
t Show enthusiasm through your voice so your audience will
feel enthusiasm for your response.
Have your partner
or a group of peers
review your draft in
myWriteSmart. Ask
them to note any
evidence that does not
support the thesis.
Collection 164
t Grab your audience’s attention by using the pitch of your voice
for emphasis.
t Speak more slowly than you do in conversation, to help
listeners understand you. Pause to let important points sink in.
t Look audience members in the eye. Use gestures and facial
expressions to show your feelings and add emphasis.
Evaluate Your Response Have your partner or group of
peers review your planned response. Use the following chart to
revise your draft.
Questions Tips Revision Techniques
Did I include the author
and title of the literary
work in my introduction?
Highlight the author
and title.
Add a sentence or
phrase naming the
author and title.
Does my introduction
have a clear thesis?
Underline the thesis.
Highlight the literary
element and your
main point about it.
Add a sentence that
clearly states the thesis.
Are the main ideas clear?
Does each main idea
support the thesis?
Highlight each main
idea.
Revise the body of
your response so that
the main ideas are clear.
Is each main idea
supported by evidence?
Underline each
supporting detail,
example, or
quotation.
Add details, examples,
or quotations to
support ideas. Explain
the significance of each
piece of evidence.
Did I use adverbs to
provide details about
time, place, manner, or
cause?
Underline all
adverbs that provide
details.
Add adverbs to provide
details about time,
place, manner, or cause.
Does my conclusion
restate the thesis?
Highlight the
restatement.
Add a restatement of
the thesis.
Share Your Response Finalize your response and choose a
way to share it with your audience. Consider these options:
t Present your response as a speech to the class.
t Record your response as a webcast.
PRESENT
Interactive Lessons
To practice verbal and
nonverbal elements,
complete the following
lesson:
tDelivering Your
Presentation
Collection Performance Task A 65
PERFORMANCE TASK A RUBRIC
RESPONSE TO LITERATURE
Ideas and Evidence Organization Language
4
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JOTJHIUGVM JOUFSQSFUBUJPO PG
UIFUFYU
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JT JODMVEFE
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TVNNBSJ[FT UIF UIFTJT
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BSF PSHBOJ[FE MPHJDBMMZ
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3
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UIFTJT
t5IF DPODMVTJPO SFTUBUFT UIF
UIFTJT
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BOE FWJEFODF JT MPHJDBM JO
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2
t5IF JOUSPEVDUJPO JEFOUJGJFT
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JODPOTJTUFOU
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1
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NJTTJOH
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t7FSCBMBOEOPOWFSCBM
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PS UIFJS JOBQQSPQSJBUF
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t5IFTUZMFJTJOBQQSPQSJBUF
t5IF VTF PG TUBOEBSE &OHMJTI JT NJOJNBM
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GSBHNFOUT NBLF UIF SFTQPOTF IBSE UP
GPMMPX
t.BOZ HSBNNBUJDBM BOE VTBHF FSSPST
DIBOHFUIFNFBOJOHPGJEFBT
Collection 166
Write an Informative Essay
In “Fears and Phobias” and other lessons in this collection, you
learned about fear. Now use the texts you have read and your own
research to write an informative essay about a fear.
A successful informative essay
t
provides an introduction that catches the reader’s attention
and clearly states the topic
t logically organizes main ideas and supporting evidence
t includes evidence such as facts, definitions, examples,
and quotations
t uses appropriate transitions to connect ideas
t provides a conclusion that supports the topic
Mentor Text Notice how this introduction from “In the
Spotlight” catches the reader’s attention and also states the topic.
“
Some of us are fine with the idea of standing in front of
huge crowds of people. But others would happily bungee off a
200-foot bridge . . . rather than experience the sheer terror of
facing an audience. . . . If that sounds like you, then you are one
of the world’s many, many sufferers of glossophobia—the fear of
speaking (or trying to speak) in public.
”
Determine Your Topic Review the selections in the
collection. Choose the fear that you want to learn more about.
Gather Information Jot down important facts, examples,
and definitions, including
t what causes this type of fear
t what happens to our bodies in response to this fear
t what methods can be used to overcome this fear
Do Research Use print and digital sources to find additional
definitions, information, and quotations from experts.
t Search for little-known facts. Make sure facts are credible.
t Cite real-life examples of people living with this fear.
PLAN
Use the annotation
tools in your eBook
to find evidence to
support your ideas.
Save each piece of
evidence to your
notebook.
COLLECTION 1
PERFORMANCE TASK B
evident
factor
indicate
similar
specific
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
As you write about
fear, be sure to use the
academic vocabulary
words.
ELA W.6.2a–f, W.6.4,
W.6.5, W.6.8
ELD PI.6.4, PI.6.10,
PI.6.12, PII.6.1, PII.6.2,
PII.6.6
Interactive Lessons
Interactive Lessons
To help you complete this
task, use
t Writing Informative Texts
t Using Textual Evidence
Visit hmhfyi.com to
explore your topic and
enhance your research.
hm
hmhf
yi.
c
om
om
67Collection Performance Task B
Consider Your Purpose and Audience Think about who
will read you essay and what you want them to know.
Organize Your Ideas Create an outline to organize your
ideas in a logical sequence. Make sure each idea follows from the
previous idea and leads into the next idea.
Write Your Essay Review your notes and your outline as you
begin your draft.
t Begin your introduction with an unusual comment, fact,
quote, or personal anecdote.
t Develop your main ideas with supporting facts, details,
examples, and quotations from experts.
t Use transitions such as in addition to and also to connect ideas.
t Include website links and visuals, such as charts, graphs, or
photos, to add depth to your essay.
t In your conclusion, restate your main idea and summarize
supporting details and facts.
I. Use Roman numerals for main topics.
A. Indent and use capital letters for subtopics.
1. Indent and use numbers for supporting facts and details.
2. Indent and use numbers for supporting facts and details.
Write your
rough draft in
myWriteSmart.
Focus on getting
your ideas down,
rather than
perfecting your
choice of language.
PRODUCE
Interactive Lessons
For help in planning
your essay, use
tUsing Textual
Evidence: Writing an
Outline
Interactive Lessons
For help in writing
your draft, use
tWriting Informative
Texts: Organizing
Ideas
Language Conventions: Connect Ideas
The use of a lot of simple sentences in your writing can make it hard to understand
how details are connected. Two other sentence structures can help you clarify
ideas. A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses joined
together. A complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses.
In the following paragraph from “Fears and Phobias,” a dependent clause is added to
the first sentence and an independent clause is added to the second sentence.
“
Like all emotions, fear can be mild, medium, or intense, depending on
the situation and the person. A feeling of fear can be brief or it can last
longer.
”
Look for places where you can use compound and complex sentences to make your
ideas clearer and your writing smoother.
Collection 168
Review Your Draft Have your partner or a group of peers
review your draft. Use the following chart to revise your draft.
Questions Tips Revision Techniques
Does my
introduction grab
readers’ attention?
Highlight the
introduction.
Add an interesting fact,
example, or quotation that
illustrates the topic.
Does my
introduction clearly
state the topic?
Underline the
topic sentence.
Add a sentence that clearly
states the topic.
Are my main ideas
organized in a clear
and logical way?
Highlight
each main
idea. Underline
transitions.
Reorder ideas so that each
one flows easily to the next.
Add appropriate transitions
to connect ideas and clarify
the organization.
Do I support each
main idea with
evidence?
Underline each
supporting
fact, definition,
example, or
quotation.
Add facts, details, examples,
or quotations to support
ideas.
Do I use compound
and complex
sentences to make
relationships
between ideas
clear?
Underline each
compound and
complex sentence.
Combine some simple
sentences to form
compound and complex
sentences.
Does my conclusion
support the topic?
Highlight the
conclusion.
Add a statement that
summarizes the main ideas.
Create a Finished Copy Finalize your essay and choose a
way to share it with your audience. Consider these options:
t Present your essay as a speech to the class.
t Record your essay as a news report and share it on a school
website.
Have your partner
or a group of peers
review your draft in
myWriteSmart. Ask
your reviewers to note
any details that do not
support your ideas.
PRESENT
69Collection Performance Task B
PERFORMANCE TASK B RUBRIC
INFORMATIVE ESSAY
Ideas and Evidence Organization Language
4
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PGUFOJODPSSFDUCVUEPOPUNBLFSFBEJOH
EJGGJDVMU
t(SBNNBSBOEVTBHFBSFPGUFOJODPSSFDUCVU
UIF XSJUFST JEFBT BSF TUJMM DMFBS
1
t5IF JOUSPEVDUJPO JT NJTTJOH PS
DPOGVTJOH
t4VQQPSUJOH GBDUT EFUBJMT
EFGJOJUJPOTFYBNQMFTPS
RVPUBUJPOT BSF VOSFMJBCMF PS
NJTTJOH
t5IF DPODMVTJPO JT NJTTJOH
t5IF PSHBOJ[BUJPO
JTOPUMPHJDBMNBJO
JEFBT BOE EFUBJMT
BSFQSFTFOUFE
SBOEPNMZ
t/PUSBOTJUJPOTBSF
VTFE NBLJOH UIF
FTTBZEJGGJDVMUUP
VOEFSTUBOE
t5IF TUZMF JT JOBQQSPQSJBUF GPS UIF FTTBZ
t-BOHVBHFJTUPPHFOFSBMUPDPOWFZUIF
JOGPSNBUJPO
t5IFVTFPGUPPNBOZTJNQMFTFOUFODFT
NBLFT UIF FTTBZ NPOPUPOPVT BOE DIPQQZ
BOEUIFSFMBUJPOTIJQTCFUXFFOJEFBTVODMFBS
t4QFMMJOH DBQJUBMJ[BUJPO BOE QVODUVBUJPO BSF
JODPSSFDUBOEEJTUSBDUJOHUISPVHIPVU
t.BOZ HSBNNBUJDBM BOE VTBHF FSSPST DIBOHF
UIFNFBOJOHPGUIFXSJUFSTJEFBT
Collection 170