Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This passage was chosen because it shows a simple but important idea for young readers: even when Brian has a safe place to live, he still has a problem. The passage uses four vocabulary words (shelter, shelf, food, store) in a small space and models the kind of thinking that comes after a success — noticing what is still missing. It also sets up the fish-pen invention later in the chapter.
He had made a good shelter and food shelf, but he had no food except for fish and the last of the berries. And the fish, as good as they still tasted then, were not something he could store.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of chapter fourteen in four or five sentences. Start with Brian's thought 'Mistakes,' move through the skunk that sprayed him, the new shelter he built, and end with the fish pen he made for live fish.
Discussion Questions
- What in the story tells you why Brian is so scared of small mistakes in the woods? How do you know a mistake in the woods is different from a mistake in the city?
- What makes you think Brian did not understand how dangerous the skunk could be at first? What in the story shows his feelings changing?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A black and white animal that sprays a very bad smell when it feels scared.
Item 2
A stream of tiny drops of liquid that shoots out in a fine mist.
Item 3
Round or oval objects that baby birds, turtles, and other animals grow inside before they hatch.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
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