Worksheet
The Gap in the Park Wall: Set the Scene and Sequence a Story
Read a story about a boy who helps his stonemason aunt rebuild a park wall, then study how it sets the scene, introduces characters and orders events.
Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable
Aligned toW.5.3.a
What’s included
- Single worksheet
- Auto-graded online
- 1 Common Core standard
- Printable answer key
- 9 questions
- Classroom-ready
Details
- Format
- Interactive · Printable
- Grade
- Grade 5
- Subject
- ELA
- Question types
- Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer
About this worksheet
What students practice
- Students explain how a story's opening sets up the situation and introduces characters.
- Students sort and sequence story events so they unfold naturally.
- Students plan a story opening and a clear order of events.
How to use
Read the story aloud, then talk about what the first three paragraphs tell the reader before the work begins. Students answer the questions and plan their own story.
Curriculum
Common Core standard covered
Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator or characters, and organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
Preview
OwlSheets.com
The Gap in the Park Wall: Set the Scene and Sequence a Story
Study how a story orients the reader and moves through a day in order.
Read the story
The Gap in the Wall
1The stone wall around Linden Park was older than anyone in town. It was waist-high and made of gray stones stacked so carefully that no cement held them together. People sat on it to eat their lunch, and small children walked along its top while holding a grown-up's hand.
2One windy night in April, a large branch from an oak tree crashed onto the wall. In the morning, a gap as wide as a car stood where the stones had been, and a heap of rocks lay in the grass. Town workers set orange cones around the gap.
3Ten-year-old Kofi Mensah saw the cones on his way to school. That afternoon, he told his aunt Ruth about the broken wall. Aunt Ruth was a stonemason, someone who builds and repairs things with stone. "The town called me this morning," she said with a grin. "Want to help me fix it on Saturday?"
4On Saturday, they started early. First, Aunt Ruth had Kofi sort the fallen stones into three piles: big flat ones, medium ones, and small chips. "The big ones go on the bottom," she explained. "The small chips fill the cracks."
5By midmorning, they were setting the big stones along the base. Each stone had to lean slightly inward, toward the middle of the wall. Kofi lifted with his legs, the way his aunt showed him, and pressed on each stone to test it. If a stone wobbled, they tried another one.
6After lunch, the wall began to rise. Kofi tapped small chips into the gaps between stones, and Aunt Ruth placed long stones across the whole wall to tie its two sides together. Finally, they laid wide, flat stones along the top.
7As the sun went down, Kofi climbed onto the wall and sat on the newest stone. It did not move at all. "Someday," Aunt Ruth said, "you can bring your own kids here and tell them you fixed this."
Setting up the story
The beginning of a story orients the reader: it shows the setting, introduces the characters and sets up the situation.
- A. Kofi, who uses the words I and me
- B. Aunt Ruth, who uses the words I and me
- C. a town worker who set out the cones
- D. a narrator outside the story, using he and she
- A. to show the reader what the wall was like before it broke
- B. to explain how Kofi first learned to build stone walls
- C. to tell the reader that Aunt Ruth built the wall long ago
- D. to show that people in town did not care about the wall
Ten-year-old Kofi Mensah saw the cones on his way to school.That afternoon, he told his aunt Ruth about the broken wall.Aunt Ruth was a stonemason, someone who builds and repairs things with stone."The town called me this morning," she said with a grin."Want to help me fix it on Saturday?"
- A. Kofi Mensah liked soccer, drawing, music, and lots of other things.
- B. Stones can be found in many colors, shapes, and sizes around the world.
- C. On an April morning, Kofi Mensah walked past a broken park wall.
- D. That evening, Kofi sat on the finished wall as the sun went down.
Putting events in order
The events of a story should unfold in an order that makes sense.
| Before Saturday | On Saturday |
|---|---|
, Kofi sorted the fallen stones into three piles. , the wall began to rise as Kofi tapped chips into the gaps. , they laid wide, flat stones along the top.
- A. The town had asked them to count every stone in the wall.
- B. They had to know which stones go on the bottom and which fill cracks.
- C. Kofi was not strong enough yet to lift any of the stones.
- D. The small chips had to be placed along the top of the wall first.
Related worksheets
WorksheetGrade 5
The Green Armchair: Introduce a Narrator and Order Events
Writing · W.5.3.a
Premium10 questions
WorksheetGrade 5
The Tortoise Sitter: Set Up a Story and Order Events
Writing · W.5.3.a
Premium9 questions
WorksheetGrade 5
A Pit for Everyone: Linking Reasons for Gaga Ball
Writing · W.5.1.c
Premium11 questions
WorksheetGrade 5
Our Art in Their Windows: Linking Reasons in a Newsletter Article
Writing · W.5.1.c
Premium10 questions
WorksheetGrade 5
A Corner for Kids: Linking Reasons in a Letter to the Clinic
Writing · W.5.1.c
Premium12 questions
WorksheetGrade 5
Let the Clover Grow: Linking Reasons for a No-Mow Corner
Writing · W.5.1.c
Premium12 questions