Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Katarina - A New Home
"Hi! I'm Amelia. What's your name?" asked Amelia as she sat down in the back of the classroom. It was the first day of another year of middle school. She had noticed a new girl at school who was very quiet. She seemed almost scared.
The girl looked up. "I'm Katarina. I'm from Russia."
"How long have you lived here?" Amelia asked.
"I just moved here this summer. I was adopted by an American family."
Amelia was surprised. Katarina must be around thirteen years old. Amelia thought all kids who were adopted had been adopted when they were infants or toddlers. "That's very interesting," Amelia said. "What happened to your parents?"
Katarina looked down. "Both of my parents were killed during a terrorist attack on a school in Russia. They both were teachers."
Amelia didn't know what to say. Amelia took for granted her parents, brother, sister, and their comfortable two-story house. To hear someone say so matter-of-factly that her parents had been killed made Amelia's stomach quiver. "I imagine that was very difficult," Amelia cautiously continued.
Katarina looked up. "Yes. I missed them very much, and I still do. At first, I was very frightened about what might happen to me. Some adults who came to help on that terrible day let me stay with them for a while. Then they made arrangements for me to move to the orphanage."
"Did you make friends there?" Amelia asked.
