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Copywork
About This Passage
The chapter's final sentence is the most direct warning in the book. Everything Paterson has built — the rising creek, Jess's fear, Leslie's fearlessness — converges in one image: Jess lying awake, listening to rain, knowing that Leslie will not stop. The simplicity of the sentence makes it devastating. There are no metaphors, no similes, just facts: rain, creek, Leslie, crossing. The reader feels the weight of what Jess knows but cannot prevent.
he hardly slept the rest of the night listening to the rain and knowing that no matter how high the creek came Leslie would still want to cross it
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell someone what happened in this chapter in order. When you get to the most important part, slow down and tell it carefully — what happened, why it mattered, and what you think about it.
Discussion Questions
- Jess is afraid to cross the creek because the water is high and dangerous, but he does not want to tell Leslie he is scared. He thinks it would be 'better to be born without an arm than to go through life with no guts.' Is being afraid the same as having no guts? What in the story makes you think so?
- Leslie wants to go to Terabithia even though it is raining hard and the creek is dangerous. She is not afraid at all. Is Leslie being brave or being careless? What in the story makes you think so?
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Critical Thinking
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