1

UNIT

BEFORE YOU READ

Stray
Reading Skill
A prediction is a guess about what will happen next in a story. You
can use your prior knowledge to make predictions. Prior knowledge
is what you already know about the world and about how people act.
You can also use details from the story to make predictions.

Literary Analysis
Plot is the order of events in a story. The plot includes the
following elements:
Exposition: the introduction of the setting, characters, and basic
situation
Conflict: the storys central problem, or struggle
Rising Action: events that increase the storys excitement
Climax: the high point of the story when the outcome, or end,
becomes clear
Falling Action: the events that follow the climax
Resolution: the end, or final outcome, of the story
Use this chart to record details about plot elements as you read.
Climax:

Event:

Event:

Event:

Ac

Resolution:

tio

n
tio
Ac
ing

ng
n

R is

li
Fal

Event:

Exposition:

16 Adapted Readers Notebook

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Conflict:

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Stray
Cynthia Rylant
Summary Doris and her parents are
stranded at home during a snowstorm.
Doris finds a stray puppy. Her parents
say that she can keep it only until the
snow clears. She is heartbroken. Doris
soon finds out how much her family has
come to love the dog, too.
E BIG
TH

Writing About the Big Question

Is conflict always bad?
In Stray Doris is upset because her
parents tell her they cannot afford to
keep the stray dog she found. Is it true that keeping a
dog as a pet can be expensive? Complete this sentence:
Before you decide if you can own a pet you should resolve
any conflicts about its cost by
.

Note-taking Guide
Each of the characters in the story has different feelings about the
new dog. Use this chart to list details from the story that show the
characters feelings.
Character
Doris

Feelings about dog

likes the dog

Details (thoughts and

actions) that show feelings
hugs the dog

Mr. Lacey

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Mrs. Lacey

Stray 19

Stray

TAKE NOTES

Cynthia Rylant
Activate Prior Knowledge
Think about people you know
who have adopted animals.
Where did they get the animals?

What do you know about

animal shelters?

One snowy morning, Doris Lacey was

shoveling snow. School had been called
off because of the storm. Suddenly, a stray
puppy came wandering down the road. It
looked very cold and frightened. Doris put
down her shovel and called to the pup. The
puppy stopped and wagged its tail, shivering
with the cold. Doris picked it up and carried it
into her house.

Literary Analysis
Exposition introduces the
setting, characters, and basic
situation of a story. Circle the
exposition paragraph on this
page.

Read Fluently
The -ing form of verbs can be
used in phrases that describe
characters, action, and places.
These types of phrases are often
set off with commas. Read the
underlined sentence. The phrase
shivering with cold describes
the puppy. Underline an example
of another -ing verb phrase.

Where did that come from? Mrs. Lacey asked

as soon as Doris put the dog down in the kitchen.
Mr. Lacey was at the table, cleaning his
fingernails with his pocket-knife. The snow was
keeping him home from his job at the warehouse.
I dont know where it came from, he said
mildly, but I know for sure where its going.
Doris hugged the puppy hard against her. She
said nothing.
Because the roads would be too bad for travel
for many days, Mr. Lacey couldnt get out to take
the puppy to the pound1 in the city right away.
He agreed to let it sleep in the basement . . . .

Four snowy days passed. Doris thought

the puppy was about six months old. It
seemed happy to stay in the basement.
When Doris opened the door, she would
often find the pup stretched out on the top
step of the basement stairs. It would always
wag its tail, happy for the company.

mildly (MYLD lee) adv. in a gentle way

1. pound (pownd) n. animal shelter.

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Vocabulary Development

20 Adapted Readers Notebook

Doris knew that her parents wouldnt let

her keep the pup. They had very little money,
and keeping a dog was out of the question.
She knew that the pup would go to the pound
as soon as the snow stopped and the roads
were clear. One night at dinner, though, she
tried to make her parents change their minds.

Shes a good dog, isnt she? Doris said,

hoping one of them would agree with her.
Her parents glanced at each other and went
on eating.
Shes not much trouble, Doris added. I like
her. She smiled at them, but they continued to
ignore her.
I figure shes real smart, Doris said to her
mother. I could teach her things.

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Her parents said nothing.

Doris kept hoping that the snow would
keep falling. But that Saturday, the roads
were clear. Mr. Lacey took the puppy out to
his car.
Doris hugged a pillow and cried. She
pleaded with her mother to let her keep the
puppy, but it was no use. Then she heard her
fathers car drive away.
It was still afternoon, but Doris was so
sad that she went to bed and cried herself
to sleep. She dreamed about searching for
something special that she had lost.
When she woke up, it was almost night.
She felt hungry, but she didnt want to face
her parents. She also didnt want to walk
past the basement door.

TAKE NOTES

Literary Analysis
Part of a storys plot is the
conflict, or problem that
characters face. What is the
conflict in the story?

Reading Skill
You can make predictions, or
guesses, by using prior
knowledge, or what you already
know. What prior knowledge do
you have about how Mr. and Mrs.
Lacey feel about the dog?

What can you predict they are

going to do when the snow
melts?

Reading Check
How do Doriss parents react
when she begs during dinner to
keep the puppy? Circle the text
that tells you.

Vocabulary Development
glanced (glanst) v. looked briefly
ignore (ig NAWR) v. pay no attention to

Stray 21

TAKE NOTES

Stop to Reflect
What would you do if you found
a stray dog?

Her parents were finishing their dinner

when Doris walked into the kitchen. No one
said anything. Then her father shocked her.
He said that she should feed her dog.
Doris couldnt believe her ears. You
didnt take her to the pound? she asked.

Oh, I took her all right, her father answered.

Worst looking place Ive ever seen. Ten dogs to a
cage. Smell was enough to knock you down.
Literary Analysis
A resolution is the part of the
plot that comes after the climax
of a story. What happens to the
puppy?

Mr. Lacey told Doris he couldnt stand to

leave the dog at the pound. He brought the
dog back home instead. Mrs. Lacey smiled.
There was a long pause.

Well, he said, are you going to feed it or not?

What is surprising about the
resolution of the conflict
between Doris and her parents?

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22

Adapted Readers Notebook

AFTER YOU READ

Stray
1. Analyze: Mr. Lacey does not leave the dog at the pound at the end
of the story. Why does Mr. Lacey change his mind about keeping the
dog?

2. Take a Position: Do you think that Doris should have tried harder
to keep the dog? Why or why not?

3. Reading Skill: Readers use prior knowledge and story clues to

make predictions. Use this chart to show how you predicted the
answers to the questions below. One question has been done for
you. Example: What will Doris do with the puppy she finds?
a) What will her parents say about the puppy?
b) What will her father do when the weather finally clears?
Prior Knowledge
Puppies are cute.

Details From Story

The puppy is abandoned.

Predictions
Doris will want to keep it.

a)

b)

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4. Literary Analysis: The climax is the high point in the plot of a

story. What is the climax in this story? Explain.

Stray 23

SUPPORT FOR WRITING AND EXTEND YOUR LEARNING

Writing: List of Reasons
Take notes for your list of reasons that Doris should be able to keep
the puppy. Write details about these topics.
the dogs personality and behavior:

ways that Doris has taken care of the dog so far:

ways that Doris could help her parents pay for puppy food and vet care:

ways that having a dog could be good for the whole family:

Research and Technology: Brochure

Before you search the Internet for information to put on your brochure
about puppy care, answer these questions. If you dont know an answer,
write your best guess. If you really cant guess, write I need to find out.
When is a puppy old enough to leave its mother?
Does a puppy eat the same foods that a grown-up dog eats?
Does a young puppy know that it should go outside to pee and poop?
If not, how do you train a puppy to do this?

About how many walks a day does a puppy need?

About how many times a year does a puppy need to go to the vet?

How do you teach a puppy to obey commands (like Sit!)?

24 Adapted Readers Notebook

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Use these questions and your answers to search the Internet.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for copyrighted material:

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an
imprint of Simon & Schuster
Stray by Cynthia Rylant from Every Living Thing.
Copyright 1985 by Cynthia Rylant. Used with
permission by Atheneum Books for Young Readers,
an imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens
Publishing Division.
Delacorte Press, a division of Random
House, Inc.
The Tail by Joyce Hansen, Copyright 1992
by Joyce Hansen from Funny You Should Ask by
David Gale, Editor. Used by permission of Delacorte
Press, an imprint of Random House Childrens
Books, a division of Random House, Inc. For on-line
information about Random House, Inc. books and
authors, see the Internet web site at http://www.
randomhouse.com
Jean Grasso Fitzpatrick
The Ant and the Dove by Leo Tolstoy from Fables
and Folktales Adapted from Tolstoy. Translated by
Jean Grasso Fitzpatrick. Used with permisison.
Samuel French, Inc.
The Phantom Tollbooth from The Phantom
Tollbooth: A Childrens Play In Two Acts by
Susan Nanus and Norton Juster. Copyright
1977 by Susan Nanus and Norton Juster. Used
by permission of Samuel French, Inc. All rights
reserved. CAUTION NOTICE: Professionals and
amateurs are hereby warned that The Phantom
Tollbooth, being fully protected under the
copyright laws of the United States of America,
the British Commonwealth countries, including
Canada, and the other countries of the Copyright
Union, is subject to royalty. All rights, including
professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation,
lecturing, public reading, radio, television and cable
broadcasting, and the rights of translation into
foreign languages, are strictly reserved. Any inquiry
regarding the availability of performance rights, or
the purchase of individual copies of the authorized
acting edition, must be directed to Samuel French,
Inc., 45 West 25th Street, NY, NY 10010 with other
locations in Hollywood and Toronto, Canada.

Barbara Hogenson Agency

The Tiger Who Would Be King by James Thurber,
from Further Fables for Our Time. Copyright 1956
James Thurber. Copyright renewed 1984 by
Rosemary A. Thurber. Used by arrangement with
Rosemary A. Thurber and The Barbara Hogenson
Agency, Inc. All rights reserved. To read more about
James Thurber, go to www.ThurberHouse.org
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Arachne by Olivia E. Coolidge from Greek Myths.
Copyright 1949 by Olivia E. Coolidge; copyright
renewed 1977 by Olivia E. Coolidge.
Francisco Jimnez
The Circuit by Francisco Jimnez from America
Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories. Copyright
1993 by Anne Mazer. Used by permission of the
author Francisco Jimnez.
Gary Soto
The Drive-In Movies by Gary Soto from A Summer
Life 1990 by Gary Soto. Used by permission of
the author.
The Wylie Agency
Why the Tortoises Shell Is Not Smooth by Chinua
Achebe from Things Fall Apart. Copyright 1959, 1987
by Chinua Achebe. Used by permission of The Wylie
Agency LLC.
Note: Every effort has been made to locate the
copyright owner of material reproduced in this
component. Omissions brought to our attention
will be corrected in subsequent editions.

PHOTO AND ART CREDITS

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