Saving a Garden in Need
Kyle Ellington

Characters:
MR. TORRES, science teacher
ELI, student
BROOKE, student
JENNA, student
MARTY, student

Scene 1

1(A sunny afternoon at Glenside Middle School. A science classroom. STUDENTS are talking and waiting for class to begin. MR. TORRES goes to the front of the room to speak.)

2MR. TORRES: If I can have your attention, please, I have some thrilling news to share. A local philanthropist donated an assortment of trees, bushes, and other plants for our school to construct a garden. It will be a magnificent development for both our school and the local environment.

3ELI: That’s wonderful news, Mr. Torres. Where will the garden be located? We don’t have a very large campus.

4BROOKE: I hope they don’t plan to take over the baseball field, because the playoff competition begins in two weeks.

5MR. TORRES: Not to worry. The administration selected a portion of land alongside the school. Maintenance workers will begin planting the garden early next week. Some of the plants are extremely fragile, and it is of utmost importance to plant them soon.

Scene 2

6 (In MR. TORRES’s afternoon science class, one week later. STUDENTS are talking.)

7ELI: The thunderstorm last night was horrible; a group of angry, dark clouds surrounded my house for hours.

8JENNA: The torrent of rain made such a commotion that I thought my roof might cave in!

9BROOKE: Have any of you seen the baseball field? Water is completely covering the outfield, and the playoff competition begins next week. It will take the maintenance crew a long time to clean up that mess.

10JENNA: I wonder what happened to the plants that the philanthropist donated to our school. Mr. Torres indicated that the plants couldn’t last long in those containers.

11 (MR. TORRES enters the room looking dejected and walks toward the front of the classroom.)

12MR. TORRES: Well, class, it appears that we've met with some obstacles in regards to the new garden. The storm last night caused a colossal amount of damage to the campus. The maintenance crew will be bombarded with work for at least a week, which means they will be unable to tackle the garden project. Perhaps the project was too ambitious.

13BROOKE: Mr. Torres, I have an idea. We just completed a unit about green plants and photosynthesis, so perhaps our class could volunteer to create the garden for some hands-on learning.

14MARTY: Brooke, that’s a fantastic idea. I would gladly donate a day for an outdoor excursion. (With a snicker) It sounds better than algebra!

15MR. TORRES: Well— (hesitating) I suppose some real-world experience with plants and sunlight would be very informational—and fun! We’ll have to take a vote to ensure that everyone supports the idea. All those in favor . . .

16 (The STUDENTS all raise their hands and begin to cheer.)

17STUDENTS: Yeah!

Read the passage on the left to answer the following questions:
8)
This play probably takes place in the
A) fall.
B) spring.
C) summer.
D) winter.
9)
The resolution of this passage comes when the students all raise their hands. They do this because
A) they disagree with Brooke’s idea.
B) they have questions for Mr. Torres.
C) they want to plant the school garden.
D) they are excited about cleaning up the field.
10)
How does Mr. Torres MOST LIKELY feel when he tells his class that the school garden project is canceled?
A) calm
B) giddy
C) nervous
D) unhappy
11)
What is the THEME of this play?
A) practicing to improve oneself
B) working together for a cause
C) changing people's opinions
D) learning to ask for help