Name: ______________________________

Out of Time
By Kelly Hashway

Reese jumped up and cheered as he finally

beat his new video game. “Yes! I did it!”

His mother came running into the room.

“What’s wrong?” She looked at Reese and then at

the video game. “I thought you were working on

your English essay. It’s due tomorrow.”

“I’m going to right now. I had to finish the game first. I just knew I was going to beat it. I

was in the zone.” Reese couldn’t stop smiling. He’d been playing this game all weekend,

trying to beat the final level. And now he’d done it.

“Well, you better hope you get into a zone with that paper,” Mom said, walking out of

the room.

Reese shut off the video game and sat at his desk. His clock read seven-thirty. That

didn’t leave him much time. He tapped his pencil against the blank paper. He had no idea

what to write about. The minutes ticked by, and all Reese could think about was beating the

video game again. Maybe playing would give him an idea for his essay. He crept over to the

game and lowered the volume. He dodged the castle defenders and raced across the

moat. He was going to do it again. Twice in one night! He could barely keep from yelling, but

he didn’t want his mom to come into the room and find him playing instead of writing his

essay.

He won the game again and sighed. It felt good but not as good as the first time. “All

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right. Time to write my essay.” He sat at his desk and looked at the clock. “Nine-thirty?”

Mom knocked on the door. “How’s the essay coming along?”

Reese stared at his blank paper. Mom looked at the video game. Reese had forgotten

to turn it off.

“You were playing again, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.” Reese held up the small clock. “And now it’s time for bed and I haven’t written

a word.”

Mom crossed her arms. “You’ve been so busy playing that game all weekend that you

forgot to turn your clock back last night.”

“Turn the clock back?” Reese wrinkled his brow.

“For Daylight Savings. It’s really eight-thirty.”

“I still have time to write my essay.” Reese smiled. “And I can write about how I beat my

video game and got an extra hour this weekend.”

About the Author

Kelly Hashway's picture book, May the Best Dog Win, is now available!

Dash has the perfect life until the Super Sweeper 5000 shows up. Sweeper runs
all over the house sucking up the leftover food scraps,
and he even gets his own room! But Dash won't give up his place as
the favorite dog without a fight.

Hashway, Kelly. May the Best Dog Win. ISBN: 9780984589081

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Name: ______________________________

Out of Time
By Kelly Hashway

1. On which day of the week does this story probably take place?
a. Friday b. Saturday
c. Sunday d. Monday

2. How does Reese's mother react when she find out Reese did not complete his essay.
a. She seems disappointed in Reese, and she reminds him to work on the essay.
b. She is worried the Reese will get in trouble at school, and she helps him get it done.
c. She is worried that Reese is up too late, and she tells him to go to bed.
d. She wants Reese to finish his game, and writes a note to his teacher.

3. When does this story take place?

a. spring b. fall
c. summer d. winter

Explain why you chose the answer above.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which word best describes Reese? Use a dictionary if you're not sure what the words mean.

ambitious eager procrastinator curious conscientious

Write a definition for the word you circled above.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Name: ______________________________

Out of Time
By Kelly Hashway

Match each vocabulary word on the left

with the definition on the right.

1. _____ English a. river or stream of water around a castle

2. _____ essay b. people who protect a place

3. _____ dodged c. short writing assignment

4. _____ defenders d. avoided

5. _____ moat e. large, stone building where a king, queen, or

other royal person lives

6. _____ castle f. subject in school in which reading and writing

in taught

7. _____ brow g. moved slowly and quietly

8. _____ crept h. a person's forehead

 Now try this: Write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words above.

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Name: ______________________________

Out of Time
By Kelly Hashway

In the story, “Out of Time,” Reese does not complete his writing
assignment until late Sunday night because he spends too much
time playing video games.

Write a list of tips for Reese to help him better manage his time.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 ANSWER KEY
Out of Time
By Kelly Hashway

1. On which day of the week does this story probably take place? c
a. Friday b. Saturday
c. Sunday d. Monday

2. How does Reese's mother react when she find out Reese did not complete his essay. a
a. She seems disappointed in Reese, and she reminds him to work on the essay.
b. She is worried the Reese will get in trouble at school, and she helps him get it done.
c. She is worried that Reese is up too late, and she tells him to go to bed.
d. She wants Reese to finish his game, and writes a note to his teacher.

3. When does this story take place? b

a. spring b. fall
c. summer d. winter

Explain why you chose the answer above.

The clock moves back an hour during the fall.

4. Which word best describes Reese? Use a dictionary if you're not sure what the words mean.

ambitious eager procrastinator curious conscientious

Write a definition for the word you circled above.

A procrastinator is someone who put off work as long as possible.

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 ANSWER KEY
Out of Time
By Kelly Hashway

Match each vocabulary word on the left

with the definition on the right.

1. f English a. river or stream of water around a castle

2. c essay b. people who protect a place

3. d dodged c. short writing assignment

4. b defenders d. avoided

5. a moat e. large, stone building where a king, queen, or

other royal person lives

6. e castle f. subject in school in which reading and writing

in taught

7. h brow g. moved slowly and quietly

8. g crept h. a person's forehead

 Now try this: Write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words above.

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