by Dale Lundberg illustrated by Anthony Lewis HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT
by Dale Lundberg illustrated by Anthony Lewis Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-10: 0-547-25363-X ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25363-3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
One day, Mr. Enrico told his students that they would be having a talent show. The kids in the class were ready to erupt in excitement. Well, not Bettina. She was not happy! Mr. Enrico told his class about the talent show. 3
4 Bettina s best friend, Alex, sat next to her on the school bus. I will play the flute, he said. What will you do? I can t think of any talent that I have! said Bettina.
Well, can you sing? asked Alex. No, I m not a very good singer, said Bettina. Can you dance? asked Alex. No, I m not a very good dancer, said Bettina sadly. Don t worry, Bettina, said Alex. We ll think of something. 5
Bettina had trouble falling asleep. 6 That night, Bettina had trouble falling asleep. She thought about the things she was good at. She was good at soccer. You couldn t play soccer at a talent show. She was good at making charts. But you could not make a chart for a talent show!
After school the next day, the kids were getting ready for the show. Kids were singing and dancing. One kid was even doing karate! That was a creative thing to do! 7
Bettina talked to Mr. Enrico about his plan. Bettina went to talk to Mr. Enrico. He said, Hello, Bettina. What do you plan to do for the show? I don t think I have any talents, Bettina said. Well, I don t know about that, said Mr. Enrico. I have a plan. 8
At last, it was the night of the big show. Everyone was waiting for it to begin. Lisa Larken was first to go on. She was going to sing. 9
Lisa s song was very nice, but she forgot some of the words. Next up was Roger Hamilton. He was going to dance. Roger did a good job until he tripped and fell. Everyone clapped anyway. Then it was Alex s turn. 10
Alex played the flute. Alex was a pretty good flute player. This time the song was sprinkled with some flat notes. Even so, Bettina clapped and cheered. One by one, the kids got up and performed. Then it was Bettina s turn. She slowly walked onto the stage. 11
Bettina said, I m going to read a poem called Dust of Snow by Robert Frost. Bettina did not make any mistakes. Her presentation was clear and strong. When she finished, everyone cheered. The show was over. Now it was up to the judges. 12
Third place goes to Alex Saunders for playing the flute, said the judges. Second place goes to Ben Green for playing the drums. Bettina gathered her things together. She was sure that she wasn t going to win. 13
Then, the judges said, First place goes to Bettina Johnson for reading the poem. Bettina was so happy! Mr. Enrico smiled and said, Speaking well in front of a crowd is a real talent! Maybe I have as much talent as everyone else after all! Bettina said proudly. 14
Responding TARGET SKILL Story Structure Bettina has a problem. She doesn t think she has any talent. Copy the story map below. Add story events that tell what happened to Bettina. Character Bettina Setting classroom in school Problem Bettina needs to perform for the class talent show. Plot She can t figure out if she has a talent.?? Write About It Text to World What is a talent you have? Write a paragraph. Use details and exact words to tell about your talent. 15
TARGET VOCABULARY certificate charts creative educational erupt impressive presentation report TARGET SKILL Story Structure Name the setting, character, and plot in a story. TARGET STRATEGY Visualize As you read, use selection details to picture what is happening. GENRE Realistic fiction is a story with events that could happen in real life. 16
Level: M DRA: 28 Genre: Realistic Fiction Strategy: Visualize Skill: Story Structure Word Count: 541 3.3.12 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books 1388037