Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This is the sentence where Brian uses the word 'spark nest' for the first time — he has named the thing he built himself. Paulsen lets us see exactly how many sparks fall (about thirty), how many land in the right spot (six or seven), and how the bark starts to glow red. Copying this sentence helps scouts-age readers see how Paulsen counts the tiny sparks carefully, so we can feel just how close Brian is to fire.
He positioned his spark nest—as he thought of it—at the base of the rock, used his thumb to make a small depression in the middle, and slammed the back of the hatchet down across the black rock. A clo...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell chapter nine in your own words. Start with Brian trying to use dried grass and tiny twigs for his sparks to catch. Then tell about Brian seeing the white birch trees and thinking they looked like paper. Then tell about Brian spending two hours cutting the bark into thin fluffy hairs to make a spark nest. Then tell about Brian learning he needed to add air by blowing on the sparks. Finally tell about Brian making fire and calling it 'a friend.'
Discussion Questions
- What in the story makes Brian feel so upset when his first tries with the grass and twigs do not work? How do you know he is not going to give up?
- How can you tell the birch bark is the right kind of material for Brian's spark nest? What makes you think Paulsen wanted the reader to be happy when Brian finally saw the birch trees?
+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Tiny bits of glowing fire that fly up when two hard things hit each other.
Item 2
A soft, gathered place that holds and protects something — Brian's word for the fluffy bark pile that holds sparks.
Item 3
The tough outer layer of a tree that protects the wood inside.
+ 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