But this Friday was different.
“Oh no,” Ms. Rivera sighed. “The audio CD is scratched. The listening section is ruined.”
The class listened carefully, just like they would to the CD. Then Ms. Rivera played a new track—her voice reading the same questions from the worksheet.
“The test is about a family trip. My family went to the lake last summer. Your family went to the mountains, Priya. And Leo, your family went to the beach! We each have a real story.”
“Question 6: Where did Leo’s little brother hide?” “In a suitcase!”
Ms. Rivera plugged the classroom speakers into the old CD player. She pressed Play . Silence. She pressed it again. A low, scratchy hum. Then nothing.
Then Mia had an idea.
After class, Priya hugged Mia. “You turned a broken CD into our best test ever.”
Mia ran to Ms. Rivera. “Instead of the CD, can we act out the missing stories? The class can listen to us, then answer the questions.”
Mia grinned. “Family and friends stories are better than any audio track. They’re real.”
Everyone got full marks. Ms. Rivera smiled and wrote in her evaluation book: “Creativity: 10/10. Teamwork: 10/10. Listening skills: Excellent.”
