Analyzing the Series of Events in Outcasts United Answers

Which is the best example of a theme?

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United.A few minutes later, Luma arrived. Members of the Under Fifteens and Seventeens were warming up when she walked onto the field past Fornatee, without making eye contact. Luma blew her whistle and told the two teams to gather at opposite ends of the field."She's more than a coach—that's why," Fornatee said, almost to himself. "She's a great person. I'm going to go over there and tell her, 'That's my team.'"Fornatee hesitated. I asked him if he was nervous about talking to Coach. He laughed anxiously, then composed himself."Nah—I'm not nervous," he said.

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United.Perhaps no one in Clarkston was as excited to hear about the free soccer program as eight-year-old Jeremiah Ziaty. Jeremiah loved soccer. Since arriving in the United States with his mother, Beatrice, and older brothers, Mandela and Darlington, Jeremiah had been cooped up in his family's Clarkston apartment on strict orders from his mother. After she was mugged on her very first commute home from her job at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, Beatrice had taken a hard line. She wanted the boys inside when they got home from school. When Jeremiah asked his mother if he could try out for the new soccer team in town, she stood her ground."Certainly I say, Jeremiah," Beatrice told him, "you won't play soccer every day."

Look at this chart of chronological events from Outcasts United.Which sentence best fills in the blank?

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United.Luma blew her whistle and told the two teams to gather at opposite ends of the field."She's more than a coach—that's why," Fornatee said, almost to himself. "She's a great person. I'm going to go over there and tell her, 'That's my team.'"Fornatee hesitated. I asked him if he was nervous about talking to Coach. He laughed anxiously, then composed himself."Nah—I'm not nervous," he said.A moment later, Fornatee made his way toward Luma. She was standing in a huddle of Under Fifteen players, assigning them their positions. Fornatee tried to blend into the group as if he expected to get a position."Fornatee," Luma said when she saw him, "go away."

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United.Luma ordered him to stand in goal. She took off her shoes as the boy waited beneath the crossbar, rocking back and forth and growing more anxious by the moment. She asked for a ball, which she placed on the grass. Then, barefoot, as the team looked on, she blasted a shot directly at the boy, who dove out of the way as the ball rocketed into the net. Luma turned toward her team. "Anybody else?" she asked. Take a look at this chart of Luma’s actions listed in chronological order.Which sentence best fills in the blank?

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United.Jeremiah made the team. But when Beatrice Ziaty found out her son was sneaking off to play soccer with strangers after school, she became angry. "You're too small," Beatrice scolded him. "Don't go out of the house!"Jeremiah started to cry. He begged his mother to let him play, but Beatrice wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to her son. And she certainly wasn't going to be defied—not after all she'd done to get the family here. Inside, though, Beatrice was torn. She knew an eight-year-old boy needed to run. She knew it wasn't fair to keep him confined to a small apartment all the time."You say you have a coach," she finally said to Jeremiah. "Why you can't bring the coach to me to see?""Momma," he said, "I will bring her."

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United.Beatrice walked outside with Jeremiah and explained her concerns to Coach Luma: she wanted to know that her son would be safe and with an adult. She wanted to know how to get in touch with Luma if something went wrong. And she wanted to make sure that Jeremiah wasn't walking alone through Clarkston."She did the bulk of the talking," Luma recalled. "She said that Jeremiah was her baby and she wanted to know where he was going."Luma promised to pick Jeremiah up before practice and to drop him off afterward. He wouldn't have to walk alone. She gave Beatrice her cell phone number and promised to be reachable.

Read the excerpt from Outcasts United."She's a girl," he said. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."Luma ordered him to stand in goal. She took off her shoes as the boy waited beneath the crossbar, rocking back and forth and growing more anxious by the moment. She asked for a ball, which she placed on the grass. Then, barefoot, as the team looked on, she blasted a shot directly at the boy, who dove out of the way as the ball rocketed into the net. Luma turned toward her team. "Anybody else?" she asked.