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World Religion

Séance - fiction

Séance - fiction
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.41

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    assured, trilogy, pointer, spelled, smirk, prove, itself, present, positive, advance, backing, focus, manipulate, unable, intense, easily
     content words:    Aunt Tamsin

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Séance - fiction
By Brenda B. Covert 		  
1     Jodie had been arguing all day with her friend Nikeesha about Ouija boards. Nikeesha thought they were a joke, while Jodie assured her that they were truly useful in contacting the spirit world. To prove that she was right, Jodie decided to hold a séance with her Aunt Tamsin's Ouija board.
 
2     Jodie invited Darrel and Abby to join them that Saturday evening. She arranged the board on a round table in the basement. The tablecloth was a bright floral print, not your normal séance fabric, but it had to do. She added some daisies in a vase of water to the table. Aunt Tamsin had said that spirits like flowers and water. She also brought a pencil and paper so she and her guests could write down some questions. Advance planning was a way to make the séance run smoothly. Aunt Tamsin said that the first question should be to ask the spirit guide its name.
 
3     Jodie's mom and stepdad wouldn't bother them because they would be engrossed in their TV programs. Her brother was attending a sleepover at a friend's house. Everything was all set.
 
4     Nikeesha was the first to arrive. She wanted to see the Ouija board. Jodie proudly revealed the board.
 
5     "Okay, so it's got the letters of the alphabet, numbers from zero to nine, and the words ‘yes,' ‘no,' and ‘goodbye,'" Nikeesha observed. "What's this big triangle piece with a hole in it?"
 
6     "That's the pointer," Jodie said. "When we put our fingers on it, a spirit will use our energy to move the pointer to spell out things or answer a yes/no question."
 
7     Nikeesha gave it a push. It moved easily. "What's to stop someone at the table from manipulating it and pretending a spirit is doing it?"
 
8     Jodie put her hands on her hips. "If you don't believe, you don't touch. This isn't a joke!"

Paragraphs 9 to 19:
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