Manners at Houses of Worship

Manners at Houses of Worship

Manners at Houses of Worship
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grade 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.77

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		communion, mall-like, organist, upbeat, pastor, refrain, various, leads, offering, participate, priest, usher, meaning, organ, entail, platform
	content words:		Aunt Rita, Aunt Ruth

Print Manners at Houses of Worship
edHelper.com subscriber options:

	Print Manners at Houses of Worship (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
	Quickly print reading comprehension
	Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Manners at Houses of Worship

Leave your feedback on Manners at Houses of Worship (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Manners at Houses of Worship
By Beth A. Beutler

¹     Aunt Rita put a finger over her mouth and went "Shhh." Melody, who had been talking with her cousin Mia, closed her mouth.

²     "After we enter the building, you should only speak to each other if absolutely necessary," Aunt Rita explained.

³     Mia and Melody looked at each other and nodded.

⁴     They followed Aunt Ruth into a very large, open room with large padded seats called pews. There was a platform in the front where there sat an organ and piano, several wing back chairs, and a podium. A lady was playing soft music on the organ, and everyone in the room was very quiet.

⁵     Aunt Rita handed the girls a piece of folded paper, which listed what the service would entail. Throughout the morning, the girls stood, sang, read out of books, or bowed their heads as the leader directed. They listened to Aunt Rita's pastor share a message about forgiveness. At the very end of the service, the leader dismissed them, and the organist played louder, upbeat music as people left. As the crowd exited into a tiled mall-like area, conversations got louder. The girls could hear people laugh and talk.

⁶     "Is it all right to talk now, Auntie?" said Mia.

⁷     Aunt Rita looked down in surprise. Then she smiled. "Of course, girls. You behaved very well."

⁸     On the way home, Aunt Rita asked, "How did you enjoy the service?"

⁹     Melody responded. "It was quite different from where we go. We attend a Saturday service at our synagogue where they use drums and guitars, and the rabbi conducts the service in both English and Hebrew. At my friend Julie's church, there is a priest in a robe who leads the service in Latin. They are all so different! I'm not always sure how to act!"

Paragraphs 10 to 17:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

Copyright © 2008 edHelper