Worksheet

An Unexpected Voice at the Microphone

Compare an original story and poem about unexpected podcast guests, examining how each form develops a shared theme.

Grade 6ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRL.6.9

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Single worksheet
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1 Common Core standard
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13 questions
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Details

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

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare how a story and a poem develop a similar theme.
Students use evidence from both texts to explain how literary form shapes a theme.

How to use

Have students read both texts independently, then annotate details about listening. Discuss how narrative events and poetic images develop related ideas.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RL.6.9

Compare how texts in different forms or genres, such as poems and stories or fantasy and historical fiction, handle similar themes.

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Name Date

An Unexpected Voice at the Microphone

Compare how a story and a poem explore whose stories deserve attention.

Text A: Short Story

Read the story. Notice how the hosts' plans change.

The Empty Guest Chair

1Dalia had written twelve questions for the student podcast. Their guest, a debate champion from another school, had canceled ten minutes before recording. Across the table, Beck stared at the empty chair. The episode was supposed to be called “People Worth Hearing.” Without their featured guest, the title sounded like a dare.

2A knock interrupted them. Ms. Ibarra, the evening custodian, held out the headphones Beck had left in the auditorium. Dalia thanked her, then glanced at the chair. “Would you be our guest?” Beck asked. Dalia slid her question sheet beneath a notebook. She expected a list of cleaning tasks, not enough material for an episode.

3Ms. Ibarra sat down but left her supply cart outside. Beck asked which room was hardest to clean. “That depends on what happened there,” she said. “After the welcome lunch, I found six chairs pulled around a seventh. Someone had made room.” Dalia moved her notebook aside. That was not an answer she could have predicted.

4Dalia asked whether Ms. Ibarra noticed things students missed. “Mostly what they leave behind,” she answered. “A room after a club meeting can tell you whether people worked together. Chairs in one circle, chairs in separate corners.” She paused. Dalia nearly supplied another question, then waited. “Of course,” Ms. Ibarra added, “I can guess wrong. That's why I ask people, too.”

5When recording ended, Beck checked the clock. They had more material than they needed. Dalia crossed out “People Worth Hearing” and wrote “After Everyone Leaves.” She had thought the guest needed an impressive introduction. Now she wanted an introduction that would get out of the guest's way.

6Before Ms. Ibarra returned to her cart, Dalia asked what question they should have asked. Ms. Ibarra considered this. “You asked me about rooms,” she said. “Next time, ask me what I do when I'm not in one.” Dalia turned her sheet over. The blank side suddenly looked useful.

Text B: Poem

Read the poem. Each numbered paragraph is a stanza. Notice the speaker's images and pauses.

The Space Between Questions

1Our guest cannot come.
The message glows beside the microphone,
and our student podcast has a title,
an opening tune,
and nobody to introduce.
Then the crossing guard appears
with the scarf I dropped outside.
My partner offers her the waiting chair.

2I know her orange vest,
the lifted palm,
the whistle hanging from its cord.
I have passed her every morning
as if she were part of the corner,
like the sign that names the street.
I write TRAFFIC on my question card
and draw a square around it.

3She tells us about waiting:
the student who watches both ways
three times before stepping forward,
the brothers who arrive arguing
and leave with their shoulders touching.
She recognizes footsteps
before she recognizes faces.
Each morning returns familiar people
carrying something different.

4My next question
presses against my teeth.
But she is looking toward the window,
following a thought
I cannot see.
I leave the silence open
instead of filling it with my voice.
The little red recording light
does not ask us to hurry.

5Then she tells us
about her first morning on that corner,
how she practiced lifting her hand
in her kitchen,
afraid no one would stop.
I turn my card over.
There is no square on this side,
only room for a question
I had not brought with me.

6When we finish,
she puts on her orange vest.
It is the same bright color,
but it no longer seems
to contain everything I know.
Tomorrow, at the corner,
I will have a name to say
before the light changes.

Compare the Texts

Choose the best answer unless directed otherwise. Use both texts for comparisons.

In Text A, how does Dalia initially judge whether Ms. Ibarra will be an interesting guest?

A. She considers how confidently Ms. Ibarra speaks.
B. She assumes Ms. Ibarra's job will limit the conversation.
C. She depends on Beck's previous interviews with Ms. Ibarra.
D. She evaluates Ms. Ibarra's knowledge of debate.

Underline the sentence from Text A, paragraph 2, that best supports your answer to question 1.

A knock interrupted them.Ms. Ibarra, the evening custodian, held out the headphones Beck had left in the auditorium.Dalia slid her question sheet beneath a notebook.She expected a list of cleaning tasks, not enough material for an episode.

In Text B, what changes in the speaker's understanding of the crossing guard?

A. The speaker begins to question the guard's ability to direct traffic.
B. The speaker decides that familiar guests require fewer questions.
C. The speaker sees a person whose experiences extend beyond a uniform.
D. The speaker learns that the guard prefers recording to outdoor work.

Which detail from Text B best supports your answer to question 3?

A. The vest no longer seems to contain everything the speaker knows.
B. The podcast already has a title and an opening tune.
C. The partner offers the crossing guard the waiting chair.
D. The guard recognizes footsteps before she recognizes faces.

Which theme do both texts develop?

A. Careful preparation matters more than the ability to adjust.
B. People reveal their strengths by working without recognition.
C. Successful interviews depend on guests with public achievements.
D. Listening beyond first impressions can reveal unexpected depth.

Which pair of details best supports the shared theme in question 5?

A. Text A: Beck has left headphones behind. Text B: The speaker has dropped a scarf outside.
B. Text A: Dalia wants the introduction to get out of the guest's way. Text B: The speaker discovers the guard's earlier fear.
C. Text A: The planned guest cancels before recording. Text B: A message announces that the guest cannot come.
D. Text A: Ms. Ibarra leaves her cart outside. Text B: The crossing guard puts on her orange vest afterward.

How does Text A's story form help develop the shared theme?

A. Its rhyme scheme makes the interview sound increasingly relaxed.
B. Its stage directions let readers watch actors change positions.
C. Its sequence of events connects Dalia's assumptions to her changed actions.
D. Its repeated chorus emphasizes Dalia's original twelve questions.

In Text B, paragraph 4, how do the short lines about waiting and silence help develop the theme?

A. They slow the reading as the speaker makes room for another voice.
B. They speed through the pause to emphasize the recording deadline.
C. They separate instructions that teach readers to operate a recorder.
D. They establish a steady rhyme that makes the interview predictable.

Near the end of both texts, a writing surface is turned over. How does this detail develop the shared theme?

A. The unused space suggests that the hosts need longer prepared scripts.
B. The hidden writing suggests that the hosts want to conceal their mistakes.
C. The reversed pages suggest that the guests have finished their stories.
D. The open space suggests that the hosts are ready for unplanned discoveries.

10.

Match each technique to the explanation of how it develops meaning in these texts.

Text A: Ms. Ibarra's final spoken response
Text B: comparison of the guard to a street sign
Text B: return to the orange vest in the final stanza

A. Uses a repeated image to reveal a changed understanding
B. Uses dialogue to challenge the interview's remaining limits
C. Uses a comparison to expose an earlier, limited view

11.

A reader says, “The two texts develop their theme in exactly the same way because both involve podcasts.” Which response best corrects this comparison?

A. The story focuses on recording equipment, while the poem mainly explains traffic safety.
B. The story uses dialogue and changing plans, while the poem emphasizes images and inner reflection.
C. The story presents an interview without conflict, while the poem presents a debate between hosts.
D. The story explains the theme in its title, while the poem states the theme in its opening line.