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Copywork
About This Passage
This sentence is the whole chapter in a small package. The tornado has just taken Brian's shelter, his fire, his bed, his tools — almost everything he has made since the plane crash. It is dark and raining and he is hurt. A younger Brian would have given up. But THIS Brian looks at the same hatchet he has had since day one and decides that one hatchet and one person who has learned how to use it is enough to start again. Copying this sentence teaches the child that the most important words a person ever speaks are sometimes the quietest — said in the dark, to no one, when everything is gone.
When the light comes I'll start to rebuild. I still have the hatchet and that's all I had in the first place.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell chapter sixteen in three or four sentences for a friend who has not read it. Tell about First Arrow Day and First Rabbit Day, about the MOOSE that attacked Brian while he was washing his hands, about the TORNADO that came in the middle of the night and took everything, and about the moment Brian decides he is going to REBUILD because he still has his HATCHET.
Discussion Questions
- Brian calls many days in the chapter 'First Days' — First Arrow Day, First Rabbit Day. What in the story tells you why these days matter so much to Brian? How do you know these days feel different from ordinary days?
- The moose attacks Brian for no reason at all. What in the story shows that Brian cannot understand the attack? What word does he keep saying to himself, and what makes you think he says it so many times?
+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A very large wild animal with long legs that lives in the forest and can be dangerous when angry.
Item 2
A tall, spinning wind that comes down from a storm and can destroy almost anything in its path.
Item 3
A small ax with a short handle, made to be carried in one hand.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
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