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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage catches Stanley in a private moment of thought — looking up at a wasteland that used to be a lake, remembering a bargain the counselors offered him, and deciding a fossil in his hand might be the ticket to a day of rest. Copying it teaches a reader to watch how Sachar lets big ideas (this land once held water; miracles can be bought with found objects) sit quietly inside small observations.
He looked at the barren land all around him. True, everyone referred to this area as 'the lake,' but it was still hard to believe that this dry wasteland was once full of water. Then he remembered wha...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 10 in your own words, starting with Stanley's sore body at dawn, moving through his second hole, his discovery of the fish fossil, his ride to the water truck, and Mr. Pendanski's response when he is shown the fossil.
Discussion Questions
- The boys always line up for water in the same order — X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, Magnet, Zero, and Stanley at the very back. Examine what this fixed order silently teaches Stanley about how the group ranks itself, and consider what it means that no one has to announce the order — it simply happens.
- X-Ray looks at the fossil, takes off his glasses, wipes them, puts them back on, and then says 'I don't see nothing.' Consider why X-Ray might claim not to see the fossil even though Armpit and Zigzag do, and what this tells you about X-Ray's need to be the one who decides what counts as worth noticing.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Empty of plants, animals, or life; unable to grow crops.
Item 2
A stretch of dry, empty ground that cannot support much living growth.
Item 3
A wonderful event that seems almost impossible, often treated as a gift.
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Critical Thinking
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