Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This is the moment Brian finds the turtle eggs buried in the sand. Paulsen tells us exactly how many eggs there are (seventeen), exactly what shape they are (round as a ball), and exactly how the shells feel (leathery, giving instead of breaking). Copying this passage helps scouts-age readers see how Paulsen counts and describes things carefully — and why this counting matters. Seventeen eggs is a real number of meals, and that is what makes this moment important for Brian.
He reached into the nest and pulled the eggs out one at a time. There were seventeen of them, each as round as a ball, and white. They had leathery shells that gave instead of breaking when he squeeze...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell chapter ten in your own words. Start with Brian keeping the fire going and finding out that smoke keeps the mosquitoes away. Then tell about Brian realizing he can build a signal fire on top of the rock. Then tell about Brian hearing a strange sound in the night and finding tracks in the sand the next morning. Then tell about Brian thinking 'City boy' and deciding he must change. Finally tell about Brian finding seventeen turtle eggs and eating six of them raw.
Discussion Questions
- What in the story makes Brian say 'City boy... with your city ways' to himself? How do you know Brian is not being mean to himself, but is teaching himself something important?
- How can you tell that the fire helps Brian in more than one way? What makes you think Paulsen wanted to show that one good thing can solve more than one problem?
+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Round or oval objects with thin shells that hold baby birds, turtles, or other animals inside before they are born.
Item 2
Tiny bits of rock that feel rough in your hand and cover beaches and the bottoms of lakes.
Item 3
The hard or leathery outer covers of eggs — Brian finds the turtle eggs have soft, leathery shells instead of hard ones.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 4 more questions in the complete study guide
Get the complete study guide — free
Sign up and get your first book with every chapter included. Copywork, discussion questions, vocabulary, and critical thinking.
Sign up free