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Secret Garden Language Arts

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Secret Garden Language Arts

Read the original story below. Then answer each question using details from the passage. For open responses, answers may vary if they are supported by the text.

The Gate Behind the Ivy

Mara had been at her uncle’s stone house for only three days when she found the key. It lay beneath a heap of dry leaves beside the garden wall, its dark metal handle shaped like a tiny bird. She wiped it on her sleeve and turned it over. No one had mentioned a key. The house stood on a hill where the wind rattled the windows. Mara often wandered its long halls, listening to the creaks and distant thumps. She missed her old neighborhood, but she was curious about every locked door and shadowy corner. At the far end of the wall, ivy covered a narrow wooden gate. Mara pushed aside the vines and noticed a keyhole. The little bird-shaped key fit. With a soft click, the gate opened. Inside was a neglected garden. Weeds crowded the paths, and dry stems leaned over a stone fountain. Yet a small patch of green leaves shone in a sunny corner. Mara knelt to look closer. A young plant had pushed through the hard soil. “Someone tried to keep this alive,” she whispered. The next morning, Mara returned with a small watering can. She cleared weeds carefully so she would not disturb the young plant. While she worked, a robin hopped along the wall. For the first time since arriving, Mara smiled. The garden was still quiet, but it no longer felt empty. She decided to visit again and see what might grow.

Read for meaning

Use evidence from “The Gate Behind the Ivy.”

1.Where does Mara find the key, and what detail about it makes it easy to recognize?

2.Why does Mara explore the house’s halls? Choose the best answer.

She is searching for her old neighborhood.
She is curious about the locked doors and sounds.
Her uncle asks her to count the rooms.
She is trying to find a place to sleep.

3.What can you infer about Mara’s feelings at the beginning and near the end of the passage? Give one text detail to support your answer.

4.Which detail best shows that the garden has been neglected?

A robin hops along the wall.
Weeds crowd the paths and dry stems lean over the fountain.
The key has a bird-shaped handle.
Mara brings a watering can.

5.What does Mara mean when she says, “Someone tried to keep this alive”? What in the garden leads her to think so?

Word detective

Look closely at how the author uses words and details.

6.In the sentence “Weeds crowded the paths,” what does “crowded” suggest about the weeds?

There were many weeds packed together.
The weeds were speaking loudly.
The paths were full of people.
The weeds had just been planted.

7.Put these events in the order they happen. Write 1, 2, and 3 beside them: Mara waters and clears around the plant; Mara finds the key; Mara opens the gate.

8.How does Mara carefully clear the weeds?

9.The robin is mentioned just before Mara smiles. What might the robin’s visit add to the scene? Explain one reasonable idea.

Think beyond the text

Support your thinking with clues from the story.

10.The garden is described as quiet but no longer empty. What has changed for Mara, even though the garden itself is still quiet?

11.Choose the best theme, or lesson, of the passage.

Small signs of life can encourage someone to begin again.
Old houses are always frightening.
It is better to stay indoors on windy days.
Plants grow best when no one cares for them.

12.Write a short message Mara might put in a journal after her second visit to the garden. Include one event from the passage and one feeling she has.