The Legend of the Air Holdens
ROLES:
- NARRATOR: The voice of the arena, providing dramatic context and pacing.
- HOLDEN: An 11-year-old blonde, blue-eyed guard for the Warriors, determined and passionate.
- MATTEO: An 11-year-old forward with black hair and brown eyes, tall, strategic, and supportive.
- DESMOND: An 11-year-old tall, blonde, blue-eyed forward with a powerful court presence.
- COACH SHANNON: The sharp, focused assistant coach; a Black woman with long brown hair, brown eyes, holding a clipboard.
- COACH JORDAN: The legendary head coach, calm under pressure, wise, and highly inspiring.
ACT I: THE DEFICIT
NARRATOR: The atmosphere inside the stadium is absolutely deafening. The scoreboard lights glow a harsh red, broadcasting a grim reality for the Alston Ridge Warriors. They are down by ten points late in the fourth quarter of the middle school national championship. The opposing team, the Panthers, seem unstoppable.
HOLDEN: [Wiping sweat from his forehead, breathing heavily] Keep your heads up! We didn't sweat through months of grueling practices just to hand them the trophy on a silver platter. There are still three minutes left on that clock!
MATTEO: [Nodding, looking determined] Holden is right. Their defense is getting lazy because they think they’ve already won. Look at how high their guards are playing. If we cut hard to the basket, we can exploit those lanes.
- deficit:
- The amount by which a score is falling short; a disadvantage or shortage.
- momentum:
- The driving force or strength gained by motion or a series of events.
- inbound:
- To throw or pass the ball back into the playing area after it has gone out of bounds.
- screen:
- A blocking move by an offensive player to obstruct a defender and free up a teammate.
- execution:
- The carrying out or completion of a plan, play, or action.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is the name of the middle school basketball team that Holden, Matteo, and Desmond play for?
- 2At the beginning of the play, how many points are the Warriors trailing by late in the fourth quarter?
About this reader's theater passage for 8th Grade
“The Legend of the Air Holdens” is a reader's theater reading passage about Basketball Championship, written for 8th Grade. It takes about 7 minutes to read (1,059 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.