A Bad Start: (Sample Chapter From The Book THE NEW KID by Maureen Straka)

Name: __________________________ Date: ______________
A Bad Start
(Sample chapter from the book THE NEW KID by Maureen Straka)
I overslept on the first day of school. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. How
could anyone oversleep on their first day? So irresponsible, blah..blah..blah…. Believe me I
heard it all from my parents that morning, but it really wasn’t my fault. I barely got any sleep
the night before. And it wasn’t like I stayed up late playing video games or watching TV. It was
because of kid brother, Dylan. He was on a monster-in-the-closet kick, and I was at his mercy.
He woke up screaming at least ten times during the night. I tried everything to get him to
go back to sleep, but nothing worked.
I put on the hall light. No luck.
I dug an old flashlight out of our toy box and let him hold it, but he shined it in my eyes
like every three minutes asking, “Alex, are you awake? Did you hear that noise? I think the
monster just sneezed.”
Finally, he ended up crawling in my bed, sleeping with his feet in my face.
So, when that alarm clock started beeping at seven o’clock, I thought it was part of my
dream. I was dreaming that an ice cream truck was driving down my street with it’s bells
ringing. I was chasing after it waving my two dollars, trying to catch up to it. That’s when
Dylan rolled over and kicked me in the face, finally waking me up.
I glanced at my alarm clock and my eyes popped open. “Oh God! It’s 7:45. No time to
shower! I’ll miss the bus.” I shouted.
I jumped into my new jeans, tripping over my feet. Then I dug a green polo shirt, from my
hamper and gave it a quick sniff. It would have to do. I squirted a blob of gel in my hand and
pulled it through my hair. I was going for that “messy look”, but it looked a little more like bed
head.
I hurried to the kitchen to scarf down some Captain Cocoa because the bus would be
there any minute. Dylan was busy playing under the table. I pulled out a chair and sat down.
That’s when I felt the squish.
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“What the heck?” I jumped up and felt the gooey mess on the back of my pants. I looked
down at the chair and saw a paint brush lying in a puddle of brown paint.
“O, God. It’s paint!” I glared at my mom and said, “He left his paintbrush on the chair. My
pants are a mess and the bus will be here any second. You’ve got to do something!”
Dylan popped his head out from under the table and said, “Alex, did you go poopy in your
pants? You should use the potty.”
I was about to let him have it when I heard the screech of the bus’s brakes outside.
“Oh God, Mom. Help!” Mom grabbed some paper towels and tried rubbing the brown
stain off the back of my pants. She got most of it out, but now I had a big wet spot in the back.
“Go ahead Alex, you’re fine. It will be dry by the time you get to school.”
I didn’t have a choice. I grabbed my lunch and rushed out the door.
There were only two empty seats left on the bus, one next to my cousin Danielle and one
next to my new neighbor. He was wearing those dark jeans and the goofy saddle shoes. He
looked up and smiled a big hope-we-can-be-friends grin, and then he dropped his pencil case.
A sea of colored pencils rolled across the floor. I knew that I should help him pick them up, but
I stepped over them and kept walking. It was going to be hard enough starting middle school
without Luke, but sitting with this kid could be the kiss of death. He just seemed too weird. I
had to fend for myself. So, I sat next to Danielle, but right away I knew that was a big mistake.
Danielle giggled. “Alex, what’s wrong with your pants. You have a big wet spot on them.
Honestly, Alex, you should try to make yourself look more presentable. After all, it is the first
day of middle school.”
I shrugged. “Gee, thanks for the advice. You look nice, too.”
She rattled on about school for the entire ride. I lost interest when she started blabbing
about our new teacher Ms. Riley, saying she looked like a hippie. I tried staring out the
window and tuning her out. Not a great start for my first day. Things had to get better from
here, right? Boy, was I wrong!
(This passage is an excerpt from the novel THE NEW KID by Maureen Straka)
The
Reading Tree 123 New
Kid
Name: _____________________ Date: ________
Vocabulary:
Find these words in the passage. Use context clues to help
determine the meaning of each word.
1. irresponsible_______
c a. stared in an angry way
2. fault_______
e b. moved shoulders up and down
3. glance ______
d c. not responsible
4. glared _______
a d. a quick look
5. presentable ______
f e. blame
6. shrugged _______
b f. acceptable; well-dressed
7. rattled _____
h g. defend or protect oneself
8. fend _______
g h. made noise; talked incessantly
Choose 2 words from above. Write a sentence using each word.

1. ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
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Name: _______________ Date: ___________
Questions:
1. What is the setting of the this passage? (where/when)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. Why did Alex oversleep on the first day of school?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. What finally woke him up?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
4. How does Alex get a stain on his pants?

_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5. Who does Alex sit next to on the bus?

_____________________________________________________________
6. Do you think that Alex treats his new neighbor fairly? Why or why not?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
7. What is the genre of this passage?

biography drama realistic fiction fantasy fiction
8. What is the author’s main purpose?

entertain persuade inform
9. What is the point of view of this passage?

first person second person third person
10. Fact or opinion?

Alex is having a very bad first day of school. ______________________
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Name: _______________ Date: ___________
Written Response:
Alex is not very kind to his new neighbor at the beginning of this story.
Later in the book, he gets to know his new neighbor and becomes good
friends with him.
There is an old saying. “Never judge a book by it’s cover.” What do you
think this phrase means? Do you think that this is good advice for Alex?
________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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How could Alex be more welcoming to his new neighbor? List some things
that he could do to show kindness to his new classmate.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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Reading Tree 123

A Bad Start: (Sample Chapter From The Book THE NEW KID by Maureen Straka)

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Name: ____________ Date:

Reading Tree 123

Choose 2 words from above. Write a sentence using each word.

Reading Tree 123

2. Why did Alex oversleep on the first day of school?

3. What finally woke him up?

4. How does Alex get a stain on his pants?

5. Who does Alex sit next to on the bus?

7. What is the genre of this passage?

8. What is the author’s main purpose?

9. What is the point of view of this passage?

10. Fact or opinion?

Reading Tree 123

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