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Before the Replay worksheet preview

Worksheet

Before the Replay

Analyze how dialogue and events reveal a handball goalkeeper’s conflict and shape her decisions after a costly mistake.

Grade 8ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRL.8.3

What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 14 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 8
Subject
ELA
Question types
Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students analyze how dialogue reveals a character’s conflicting motives.
  • Students explain how particular events prompt decisions and move a story forward.
  • Students support analysis of character development with precise textual evidence.

How to use

Read the story independently, then complete the paired analysis and evidence questions. Discuss the final responses using specific dialogue and events.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RL.8.3

Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or events move the action forward, reveal a character, or prompt a decision.

Preview

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Name Date

Before the Replay

Analyze how dialogue and events shape a goalkeeper’s next decision.

Read the story

Notice what the characters say, what they leave unsaid, and what happens because of each exchange.

Before the Replay

1The afternoon after the handball semifinal, Zosia arrived early to collect her goalkeeper’s jersey. Someone had folded it on the equipment-room table. Yesterday, with the score tied, she had thrown directly to an opponent, who scored the winning goal. She had replayed the throw through dinner and barely noticed what she ate. Now she pushed the jersey into her bag without unfolding it.

2Bren, who recorded matches for the team, sat beside the laptop. “Coach wants everyone to bring one moment to discuss tomorrow,” he said. Zosia watched the frozen image of herself holding the ball. “Pick one of my saves,” she said. Bren moved the cursor but did not click. “I thought you might want to choose.” Zosia pulled her bag onto her lap.

3“You can leave my throw out of the season video,” Zosia said. “But save it for tomorrow’s review.” Bren turned toward her. She stared at a loose thread on her bag. “If I bring it myself, maybe nobody else will.” Bren’s hand settled beside the keyboard. “Do you want to understand it, or get it over with?” he asked.

4Before she answered, the video resumed. Onscreen, Zosia caught a shot, stepped forward, and searched for a teammate. At the edge of the picture, Leena ran into open space and raised both arms. Zosia’s recorded voice called another player’s name. Then came the throw. Zosia leaned closer. “Back it up. Before I catch the ball.”

5Leena appeared in the doorway carrying practice cones. “I was open,” she said when she saw the screen. Zosia’s shoulders stiffened. “I know that now.” Leena set down the cones. “I raised my arms. I didn’t call. I thought you could see me.” Zosia looked from Leena to the silent figure on the screen. “Tomorrow, can we try that situation with you calling?”

6Bren reached for the trimming tool. “Start the clip at the catch?” “Earlier,” Zosia said. “Leave the run in.” She opened the team’s review document and typed, “My pass gave away the goal.” After a pause, she added, “What information did I miss before I threw?” Leena pulled a chair toward the laptop. Zosia moved her bag off the other chair.

7At the door, Zosia stopped. “Keep one save for the season video, too,” she told Bren. Her voice rose at the end, almost a question. Then she returned to the table and unfolded her jersey before putting it back in her bag. The semifinal would remain a loss tomorrow. She asked Bren to play the whole sequence once more.

1.
How does Zosia initially respond to the opportunity to choose a moment for the team review?
  • A. She tries to direct attention toward a more successful performance.
  • B. She questions whether the team should discuss the semifinal.
  • C. She offers to help Bren select moments for the season video.
  • D. She seeks Bren’s judgment about the technical cause of her mistake.
2.
In paragraph 2, underline the sentence in which Zosia attempts to redirect the choice toward a successful moment.

Bren, who recorded matches for the team, sat beside the laptop.“Coach wants everyone to bring one moment to discuss tomorrow,” he said.Zosia watched the frozen image of herself holding the ball.“Pick one of my saves,” she said.Bren moved the cursor but did not click.“I thought you might want to choose.”Zosia pulled her bag onto her lap.

3.
What does Zosia’s dialogue in paragraph 3 reveal about her first reason for bringing the mistake to the review?
  • A. She wants Bren to explain the mistake while she stays silent.
  • B. She believes the mistake belongs in the team’s season video.
  • C. She hopes the discussion will establish that Leena caused the turnover.
  • D. She hopes naming the mistake herself will limit others’ criticism.
4.
Which line from paragraph 3 most directly supports the answer to question 3?
  • A. “But save it for tomorrow’s review.”
  • B. “If I bring it myself, maybe nobody else will.”
  • C. “Do you want to understand it, or get it over with?” he asked.
  • D. “You can leave my throw out of the season video,” Zosia said.

Trace the turning points

Analyze what changes the direction of the conversation. Support each interpretation with the most precise evidence.

5.
How does the unexpected replay in paragraph 4 move the action forward?
  • A. It persuades Zosia to ask Bren to replace the mistake with a save.
  • B. It allows Zosia to finish preparing her explanation without Leena.
  • C. It redirects Zosia toward examining what happened before the throw.
  • D. It shifts the conversation toward whether the recording is accurate.
6.
In paragraph 4, underline the sentence that explicitly shows Zosia requesting a view of the earlier action.

Before she answered, the video resumed.Onscreen, Zosia caught a shot, stepped forward, and searched for a teammate.At the edge of the picture, Leena ran into open space and raised both arms.Zosia’s recorded voice called another player’s name.Then came the throw.Zosia leaned closer.“Back it up. Before I catch the ball.”

7.
How does Leena’s explanation in paragraph 5 affect Zosia’s next decision?
  • A. It prompts Zosia to postpone studying the play until after practice.
  • B. It prompts Zosia to propose testing a change in their communication.
  • C. It prompts Zosia to ask Leena to speak in her place at the review.
  • D. It prompts Zosia to challenge whether Leena was actually available.
8.
Which line supplies the new information that most directly leads to Zosia’s proposed experiment?
  • A. “I was open,” she said when she saw the screen.
  • B. “Back it up. Before I catch the ball.”
  • C. “I know that now.”
  • D. “I raised my arms. I didn’t call. I thought you could see me.”
9.
What does Zosia’s response to Bren’s trimming suggestion in paragraph 6 reveal?
  • A. She now values the context needed to investigate her decision.
  • B. She now trusts Bren to decide which parts of the play matter.
  • C. She wants Leena’s movement separated from the discussion of her pass.
  • D. She wants the review to emphasize the difficulty of the shot she caught.
10.
Which detail most directly supports the interpretation in question 9?
  • A. Leena pulls a chair toward the laptop on the table.
  • B. Zosia says, “Earlier,” and adds, “Leave the run in.”
  • C. Zosia moves her bag away from the other chair.
  • D. Bren reaches for the trimming tool beside the video.

Connect dialogue and decisions

Consider how the ending grows out of earlier moments. Explain connections rather than simply retelling events.

11.
Which interpretation best explains why the ending is a change in Zosia’s approach rather than a complete resolution of her feelings?
  • A. She accepts Leena’s explanation but decides to avoid the team discussion.
  • B. She feels certain about her ability but remains doubtful about Bren’s editing.
  • C. She remains unsure of herself but chooses to keep examining the play.
  • D. She feels satisfied with the result but remains curious about the recording.
12.
Which pair of details from paragraph 7 best supports both parts of the interpretation in question 11?
  • A. Her request sounds almost like a question; she asks to watch the whole sequence again.
  • B. She stops at the doorway; she tells Bren to keep one save for the season video.
  • C. She returns to the table; the semifinal will remain a loss the following day.
  • D. She puts the jersey in her bag; she unfolds it before putting it away.
13.
Bren asks, “Do you want to understand it, or get it over with?” Explain how this question exposes a conflict in Zosia’s motives. Then explain why having the video resume before she answers is important to the action. Use details from paragraphs 3–4.
14.
In five to seven sentences, analyze how the conversation in paragraph 5 leads to the decisions in paragraph 6. Explain the significance of Zosia keeping both her admission about the pass and her new question in the review document. Use at least two specific details and explain how they reveal a more complex response than simply accepting or avoiding blame.

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