Worksheet

When the River Chose to Bend

Analyze how dialogue, word choice, and reflection develop a river narrator’s point of view in an original myth-style tale.

Grade 6ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRL.6.6

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Single worksheet
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1 Common Core standard
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12 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 6
Subject: ELA
Question types: Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students explain how word choice and dialogue develop a narrator’s point of view.
Students trace changes in a narrator’s judgments using specific textual evidence.
Students distinguish a narrator’s observations from the thoughts the narrator cannot know.

How to use

Have students read the tale independently, then complete the claim-and-evidence pairs. Discuss how the river’s final judgment differs from its first.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RL.6.6

Explain how an author develops the narrator's or speaker's point of view.

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Name Date

When the River Chose to Bend

Trace how a narrator’s judgments change in an original myth-style tale.

Read the Tale

Notice what the river values at the beginning and what changes its judgment.

When the River Chose to Bend

1In the first days, before rivers had bends, I came down from the mountain as straight as a pulled thread. I was the youngest river, and I meant to reach the sea before the older waters. Stones delayed me; reeds crowded me. I called anything that slowed my journey an obstacle. The sea, I imagined, would admire a river that arrived without wasting a single turn.

2One afternoon, a thread of smoke rose beyond a ridge. Below it, people carried heavy jars along my bank. A girl with a blue sash stopped to fill hers. “Our homes are over there,” she said, pointing behind the ridge. “Could you come closer?” I flashed in the sunlight. “Your homes are badly placed,” I told her. “My course is excellent.” She lifted her jar without answering.

3That evening, the wind returned from the ridge carrying the scrape of empty jars. “They walk farther than you think,” it said. I could not see their homes from my channel. Still, I pictured the girl lifting that jar, and my current felt strangely heavy. I had counted the distance to the sea but had never counted anyone else’s steps.

4At dawn, I pressed against the softer earth beside the ridge. Turning hurt my pride more than my banks. When I rounded the slope, I found houses, a dusty square, and people waiting with jars. The girl set hers down and laughed. I cannot tell you whether she laughed at my crooked arrival or simply at the water. For once, I did not need to decide.

5I stayed long enough to hear water splash into every jar. Then I continued toward the sea. Farther down the valley, I heard another settlement beyond a low hill. This time I turned before anyone asked. My journey grew longer, but I no longer measured its worth by its length.

6When I reached the sea, the older rivers spread their mouths in surprise. “You are late,” they murmured. Once, those words would have stung. I let them drift away. I had arrived carrying the sound of filled jars. That is why, even now, rivers do not hurry straight through the world: we leave room in our journeys for the lives beside us.

Examine the Narrator’s Judgments

Choose one answer for each multiple-choice question. For evidence questions, use the exact details in the tale.

In paragraph 1, how does the river judge the things along its route?

A. As signs that the sea may be difficult to find
B. As companions that make its journey less lonely
C. As interruptions to its goal of arriving quickly
D. As warnings that the older rivers have left behind

Underline the sentence from paragraph 1 that most directly supports your answer to question 1.

In the first days, before rivers had bends, I came down from the mountain as straight as a pulled thread.I was the youngest river, and I meant to reach the sea before the older waters.I called anything that slowed my journey an obstacle.The sea, I imagined, would admire a river that arrived without wasting a single turn.

What does the river’s reply to the girl in paragraph 2 reveal about its point of view at that moment?

A. It assumes its own plans matter more than her difficulty.
B. It believes she has misunderstood where the sea lies.
C. It worries that changing direction could harm her homes.
D. It thinks she would prefer to live beside the mountain.

Which detail from paragraph 2 best supports your answer to question 3?

A. The people carry heavy jars along the river’s bank.
B. The girl points toward homes behind the ridge.
C. The girl lifts her jar without answering the river.
D. The river calls the homes badly placed and its course excellent.

In paragraph 3, what new way of thinking begins to influence the river?

A. It considers whether the wind knows a faster route.
B. It considers the effort its route requires of other people.
C. It considers whether the older rivers will welcome it.
D. It considers the difficulty of carrying jars to the sea.

Underline the sentence from paragraph 3 that most directly expresses the new thinking identified in question 5.

That evening, the wind returned from the ridge carrying the scrape of empty jars.“They walk farther than you think,” it said.I could not see their homes from my channel.I had counted the distance to the sea but had never counted anyone else’s steps.

Trace How the Author Develops Point of View

Consider the narrator’s limits, changing language, and final reflections. Support written answers with details from the tale.

How does the author keep the first-person narrator’s knowledge limited in paragraph 4?

A. The river reports what the girl secretly hopes will happen.
B. The river explains what the wind thinks about the girl.
C. The river admits that it cannot know why the girl laughs.
D. The river describes what every person thinks of its arrival.

Which sentence from paragraph 4 best supports your answer to question 7?

A. “I cannot tell you whether she laughed at my crooked arrival or simply at the water.”
B. “When I rounded the slope, I found houses, a dusty square, and people waiting with jars.”
C. “At dawn, I pressed against the softer earth beside the ridge.”
D. “The girl set hers down and laughed.”

How does the author use the older rivers’ comment, “You are late,” in paragraph 6 to develop the narrator’s point of view?

A. It shows that the narrator now hopes to lead the older rivers.
B. It shows that the narrator now regrets visiting the settlements.
C. It shows that the narrator now doubts that it reached the sea.
D. It shows that the narrator now values something beyond speed.

10.

Which pair of details best supports your answer to question 9 by contrasting the river’s early and final attitudes?

A. The river begins on a mountain; the older rivers meet it at the sea.
B. The river first wants to arrive ahead of others; later, it lets their criticism drift away.
C. The river first notices smoke; later, it hears water splashing into jars.
D. The river sees a girl filling a jar; later, it hears another settlement beyond a hill.

11.

In paragraph 4, the river says, “Turning hurt my pride more than my banks.” Explain how this sentence develops the river’s changing point of view. Connect it to one earlier detail and one later detail.

12.

Why is having the river tell this myth useful for showing its change in point of view? Explain what readers learn directly from the river’s thoughts and reflections. Use two specific details from different parts of the tale.