Name: ______________________________
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
Bella sat on the edge of her bed, tears in her eyes.
Today was the first day of fifth grade and, normally, she
would be eager to get going. But today was different.
Her whole life was different. After her accident, Dad’s
job transferred him to a different city, so now she had to
start a new school year in a new school, with new kids
who didn’t understand about her leg. The one she
didn’t have.
“Bella, come on! Time to go.” Her mom was getting
impatient.
With a sigh, Bella walked carefully downstairs and got in the car. Mom
looked at her and said softly, “Bella, it will be all right. The kids here will
understand, just like they did at home.”
A few minutes later, Bella kissed her mom and slid out of the car. She
walked up to the front entrance, and went down the hall to her classroom. At
least she knew where it was, because her mom had dragged her to an Open
House for New Students.
When all the fifth graders were settled in their seats, Miss Maroney, the
teacher, said, “Boys and girls, we have a new student today, Bella Bancroft.
Bella, will you stand up, please?”
Bella stood, sure that everyone would notice her artifical leg and start
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whispering. To her surprise, they all clapped and yelled “Hi Bella” to her.
At recess, kids clustered around her, and one girl said, “Bella, what
happened to your leg?”
One of the boys snorted and said, “Gee, Miranda, why don’t you get
personal? Maybe Bella doesn’t want to tell us about her leg.”
“No, it’s okay,” Bella said. “I was in a car accident and they had to
amputate my leg. I have another false leg at home, but this one is best for
walking and running.”
“Running? You can run with this plastic leg?” asked a boy named Kyle.
“Of course I can run! Want to see?” Bella asked, but before he could
answer, she pushed through the group of kids, and started running around the
playground as fast as she could go.
When she came back, Miranda said, “Bella, you’re awesome! You can run
just like that guy in the Olympics, you know, the one from South Africa who had
both legs amputated. They called him the Blade Runner.”
“Yeah,” said Kyle, “His name was Oscar Pistorius. He ran the 400 meter race
in the 2012 Olympics in London.”
“Now we’ve got our own Blade Runner, Miranda cheered. “It’s Bella the
Blade Runner!”
They all shouted “Bella the Blade Runner”, “Bella the Blade Runner” as they
walked back to class. Bella slipped into her seat with a big smile on her face.
Having a new school, new friends, and a blade for a leg wasn’t going to be so
bad, after all.
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Name: ______________________________
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
1.
2.
3.
The kids at Bella's old school...
a.
teased her about her artificial leg.
b.
always talked about her artificial leg.
c.
were understanding and accepting.
d.
bullied kids who were different.
At recess, Bella's new classmates were...
a.
curious about her leg.
b.
teasing her about her leg.
c.
ignoring her because they thought she could not run around and play.
d.
envious of Bella.
Who is Oscar Pistorius?
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___________________________________________________________________________________________
4.
5.
How is Oscar Pistorius different from Bella?
a.
Oscar Pistorius is able to swim with his artificial leg, but Bella can't.
b.
Bella could not run with her artificial leg, but Oscar Pistorius could.
c.
Oscar Pistorius had two artificial legs. Bella had one.
d.
Bella has two artificial legs. Oscar Pistorius had one.
Bella's classmates began calling her, “Bella the Blade Runner.” How did this make Bella feel?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6.
What lesson can be learned from this story?
a.
It is important to stand up to bullies.
b.
Everyone can run, jump, and play.
c.
Making new friends takes a long time.
d.
It is important to be understanding of people's differences.
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Name: ______________________________
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
Match each vocabulary word on the left
with the definition on the right.
1. _____ tears
a. not real
2. _____ transferred
b. removed a body part, such as an arm, leg,
finger or toe
3. _____ softly
c. excited
4. _____ artificial
d. athletic competition between countries
5. _____ clustered
e. moved
6. _____ amputated
f. quietly
7. _____ Olympics
g. saltwater from the eye
8. _____ eager
h. gathered around
 Now try this: Write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words above.
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Name: ______________________________
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
In the story , “Bella's Blade,” Bella is worried about her first day at a new
school. She is afraid that her new classmates won't be understanding of her
artificial leg.
At recess, after seeing Bella run around, they call her “Bella the Blade
Runner.” Do you think her classmates gave her this nickname to tease her?
Why didn't the nickname bother Bella?
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_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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ANSWER KEY
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
1.
2.
3.
The kids at Bella's old school...
c
a.
teased her about her artificial leg.
b.
always talked about her artificial leg.
c.
were understanding and accepting.
d.
bullied kids who were different.
At recess, Bella's new classmates were...
a
a.
curious about her leg.
b.
teasing her about her leg.
c.
ignoring her because they thought she could not run around and play.
d.
envious of Bella.
Who is Oscar Pistorius?
He was an Olympic athlete who had two artificial legs. He ran the 400 meter race in the 2012
Olympics in London.
4.
5.
c
How is Oscar Pistorius different from Bella?
a.
Oscar Pistorius is able to swim with his artificial leg, but Bella can't.
b.
Bella could not run with her artificial leg, but Oscar Pistorius could.
c.
Oscar Pistorius had two artificial legs. Bella had one.
d.
Bella has two artificial legs. Oscar Pistorius had one.
Bella's classmates began calling her, “Bella the Blade Runner.” How did this make Bella feel?
She liked the nickname. She took it as a compliment.
6.
What lesson can be learned from this story?
d
a.
It is important to stand up to bullies.
b.
Everyone can run, jump, and play.
c.
Making new friends takes a long time.
d.
It is important to be understanding of people's differences.
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ANSWER KEY
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
Match each vocabulary word on the left
with the definition on the right.
1. g
tears
a. not real
2. e
transferred
b. removed a body part, such as an arm, leg,
finger or toe
3. f
softly
c. excited
4. a
artificial
d. athletic competition between countries
5. h
clustered
e. moved
6. b
amputated
f. quietly
7. d Olympics
g. saltwater from the eye
8. c eager
h. gathered around
 Now try this: Write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words above.
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Name: ______________________________
Bella's Blade
By Mikki Sadil
In the story , “Bella's Blade,” Bella is worried about her first day at a new school. She is afraid
that her new classmates won't be understanding of her artificial leg.
At recess, after seeing Bella run around, they call her “Bella the Blade Runner.” Do you think
her classmates called her “Bella the Blade Runner” to tease her? Why didn't the nickname
bother Bella?
ANSWER WILL VARY.
Students may mention:
•
Bella's classmates were comparing her to an Olympic athlete, which is a
compliment.
•
Her classmates genuinely seems to enjoy being around her during recess. They
did not call her “Bella the Blader Runner” to insult her. They chose the nickname
because they were impressed with her ability to run.
•
She was able to show her classmates that, despite her artificial leg, she was still
able to act like a normal, fifth grade child. The nickname was chosen as a way
of cheering for Bella, not as a negative reflection of her handicap.
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