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Literature

Interactive Reading Practice


The Election

Rory had always been a little on the shy side, so the announcement she made at dinner one night caught her parents a little off-guard.

"I'm running for class president," Rory said in between bites of mashed potatoes. She waited for a response. Her mother put down her fork and looked quizzically at Rory. She had been urging Rory to get more involved at school, but her daughter had made a face at the idea of joining the choir, science club, or spelling team.

Rory's father was elated. "Wonderful! My daughter running for U.S. president," he teased. Rory laughed and rolled her eyes, "Seriously, dad."

"What brought this on?" asked her mother.

"You've been telling me to get more involved at school. I've wanted to, but I just hadn't found anything that sounded interesting to me until now. Mr. Hunt, my social studies teacher, said that I would make a good candidate because I have a knack for debate. The campaign starts next week."

Rory's mom forced a smiled and said, "Honey, I'm proud of you." And she was proud of her daughter, but she was worried too.

While cleaning up dinner, Rory's mom pulled her husband aside and asked, "Aren't you troubled about this? Rory has had such a hard time making friends since we moved. What if she can't find anyone to help her with the campaign? What if she is crushed when she loses?"

"What if she wins?" her husband replied.

The following Monday at school, Rory asked Mr. Hunt if she could make an announcement before social studies started. When the bell rang, Rory stood up and walked to the front of the room. She wrung her hands and said softly, "I'm Rory Cuthbert. I moved here from Memphis…"

"We can't hear you!" shouted Tucker from the back of the room. A few classmates snickered.

Rory turned red and started again, only louder this time. "I'm Rory Cuthbert. I moved here from Memphis over the summer. I am running for class president and need help with my campaign. If anyone would like to give me a hand, I would appreciate it. Thanks."

Tucker clapped, and Mr. Hunt shot him a look. "What? I'm just giving her a hand." "Enough," Mr. Hunt said. "If anyone would like to help Miss Cuthbert, please meet with her after class."

Much to Rory's surprise, three classmates came to her desk after class. Henry, who was very organized, offered to be her campaign manager. Carlos, who was the best artist in the school, said he could design campaign posters. Adele was very friendly and said she would introduce Rory to more people.

The foursome met at Rory's house after school. Henry had already gotten the scoop on Rory's two opponents. "It will be a tough race," he said. "Juan Gonzalez is the incumbent. That means he was president last year and is running again. Meg McShane is promising that if she wins, we'll have a pizza day once a week instead of just once a month. I'm pretty sure she can't make that happen, but students are excited about the pizza anyhow."

"What am I promising?" Rory asked.

"Good question. You need a campaign slogan," replied Henry. "Why are you running for president?"

Rory thought a minute and answered honestly, "I'm running to make friends and be more involved at school." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Rory cringed and worried her new friends would think she was dumb. Instead, they were excited. Adele suggested "Rory Cuthbert for a more friendly school" as a campaign slogan. Carlos came up with the idea to use yellow smiley faces on all the campaign posters.

"But how will you make it a more friendly school?" Henry asked. The foursome puzzled over that question for what seemed like hours. Just then, Mrs. Cuthbert stuck her head in the room and asked if the kids wanted a snack.

"I've got it!" Rory exclaimed. "My mom was always bugging me to join a sport, club or group, but I never did because I didn't know much about them. What if we had a "Fun Fair" where each club set up a booth and students could gather information about school activities that interested them."

Rory's friends nodded their approval of the idea. The group high-fived and wandered into the kitchen to eat chocolate chip cookies.

Every day, Rory arrived at school early and walked the halls shaking hands with students and talking about her idea. Two weeks before, she would never have been able to introduce herself to someone new. Now her name was on posters all over the school. Everyone knew her.

Election Day finally arrived. When Rory went to cast her vote during lunch, the cafeteria was abuzz with excitement. Meg McShane was handing out slices of pizza! Was that fair? Could she do that? Rory wished she had some of her mom's cookies to hand out. Henry, ever the confident campaign manager, told Rory not to worry. Their classmates would see through Meg's ploy and vote for the candidate with the best idea. Rory hoped so, but she would have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Crackle, crackle went the loudspeaker. "May I have your attention, please? This is the principal with the results of yesterday's elections." He announced the sixth and seventh grade results, before moving onto eighth grade.

"And the eighth-grade class president is…" Rory's head started to spin. What if she won? "Meg McShane. Congratulations to the new officers and thanks to everyone who ran."

The pizza had won after all. For a moment, Rory felt disappointed, but it didn't last long. Henry, Carlos, and Adele came up and patted her on the back.

"I think we should give Rory a hand," Tucker said, and this time he was serious. The class stood and gave her a round of applause. Rory didn't win the election, but she was happy with the results anyway. She had made new friends and finally felt like she fit in at her new school.




1.

PREDICT

What do you think was Rory's announcement?



2.

INFER

Why was Rory's mom so surprised?



3.

REVIEW

Why did Mr. Hunt encourage Rory to run for class president



4.

ANALYZE

What are some of the reasons Rory's mom is worried?



5.

INFER

Why did Rory wring her hands?



6.

PREDICT

How do you think Rory will react to Tucker's taunting?



7.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

How are Rory and Adele different?



8.

INFER

Why couldn't Meg make good on her promise for more pizza?



9.

REVIEW

Who are the candidates running for class president?



10.

INFER

Why was Rory upset that Meg was handing out pizza?



11.

PREDICT

Who do you think will win the election?



12.

ANALYZE

How did Rory feel about the results of the election?

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