EnglishFreePrintable

Story Mind Map Comprehension

A free english worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Story Mind Map Comprehension

Read the story carefully. Then answer the questions using details from the text. For questions asking you to explain, support your ideas with evidence.

The Last Lap

The lights over the ice rink dimmed, leaving the practice sheet bright beneath them. Isla tightened the laces on her skates while Ari stood near the boards, watching the clock. “Ten minutes until they close,” Ari said. “We could try the new lift once more.” Isla glanced at Keira, who was sitting on the bench with her ankle wrapped in a cold pack. Their trio had planned to perform a lift at the club’s winter showcase. Keira had slipped during practice the day before, and the coach had told her to rest. Isla and Ari could still skate their routine without the lift, but the music would reach its final swell with an empty space where Keira should have been. “We can change the ending,” Isla said. She tried to sound certain, though she had spent the whole afternoon worrying that the routine would look unfinished. Keira studied the rink, then pointed towards the far corner. “What if the ending is a glide instead?” she suggested. “You two travel past me, and I’ll mark the final pose from the boards. It keeps us together without putting weight on my ankle.” Ari frowned. “Will it feel like our routine?” “Let’s test it,” Isla replied. “We don’t need to make it bigger. We need to make it ours.” They started the music. Isla and Ari swept across the ice, their blades drawing two clean curves. At the final swell, they glided past Keira. She lifted her arms from the boards, and all three held the same finishing pose. For a moment, nobody spoke. Then the coach clapped once, sharply. “That works,” she said. “You listened to what the routine needed—and to what Keira needed.” As the rink lights came up, Isla looked at the marks their skates had left in the frost. The ending was different from the one they had planned, but it did not feel like a missing piece. It felt like a choice they had made together.

Build your understanding

Use details from the story to explore its characters, events and message.

1.Name the three skaters. What does each contribute to solving the problem?

2.Identify the setting and give one detail that helps you picture it.

3.What problem interrupts the trio’s original plan for the showcase?

4.Which event happens first?

The coach claps at the new ending.
Keira suggests a glide and a pose from the boards.
The trio performs the routine with its changed ending.
Keira slips during practice and is told to rest.

5.Isla says, “We don’t need to make it bigger. We need to make it ours.” What does this suggest she values more than an impressive move?

6.Which description best fits Isla before the group tests the new ending?

Relaxed because she knows the routine will be perfect.
Worried that the routine may seem unfinished, but willing to try a change.
Angry that Keira has offered an idea.
Bored because the practice is nearly over.

7.The coach says the skaters listened to both “what the routine needed” and “what Keira needed.” Explain what she means.

8.Choose the message that best fits the story.

A plan should never be changed once practice begins.
A successful team adapts and makes room for everyone.
The most difficult move always makes the best ending.
Competition matters more than cooperation.

9.What might the trio do next before the winter showcase? Give one likely action and a reason from the story.

10.Create a mind map with “The Last Lap” in the centre. Add branches for characters, setting, problem, key events (beginning, middle and end), solution, and message. Include at least one specific detail on each branch.

Use this space for your story mind map. Put the title in the centre and connect your branches with lines.