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Copywork
About This Passage
Four short sentences carry the whole turn of the chapter: a boy, a judge, two doors, and the two quiet facts that explain everything. Notice the punctuation working — the comma after 'said,' the quotation marks cradling the judge's exact words, the period that closes each plain fact like a door. And notice what the author does not do: he never says Stanley chose the camp because he was poor and hopeful. He sets the facts side by side and lets us do the connecting. Copying them slowly is a lesson in how much a writer can say by saying less.
Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said, “You may go to jail, or you may go to Camp Green Lake.” Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before.
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell this chapter's story: the question the book answers, the camp's big idea about digging, the little sentence that doubts it, and the choice the judge gave Stanley. Which moment mattered most — and what about it makes it the one the chapter cannot do without?
Discussion Questions
- The big digging idea at Camp Green Lake gets a whole confident sentence, and then four quiet words follow it: 'That was what some people thought.' Why might the author put his doubt in a tiny sentence instead of saying the idea is wrong? Use the chapter's words to explain what the small sentence does to the big one.
- Stanley says yes to Camp Green Lake, and the chapter gives his reasons without ever saying them out loud: 'Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before.' What does Stanley want, and why do those two facts explain his yes? Use the chapter's closing details and the judge's offer in your answer.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
The chance to pick between two or more paths
Item 2
A court official with the power to decide someone's punishment
Item 3
Believed an idea, whether or not the idea was true
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Critical Thinking
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