Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This is the opening sentence-block of the flashback chapter — the first time the novel steps completely out of Stanley's present and into the old Green Lake that existed a century before he arrived. Copying this passage lets the student feel the simile ('sparkled like a giant emerald'), the careful color-list ('pink and rose-colored'), and the way one long, calm sentence can rebuild a whole lost world.
One hundred and ten years ago, Green Lake was the largest lake in Texas. It was full of clear cool water, and it sparkled like a giant emerald in the sun. It was especially beautiful in the spring, wh...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 23 in order, beginning with the old Green Lake and its Fourth of July picnics, introducing Miss Katherine Barlow and her spiced peaches, describing her schoolhouse and classes, introducing Trout Walker, and ending with Miss Katherine's answer 'I believe I just did.'
Discussion Questions
- Why does the narrator open the chapter with 'One hundred and ten years ago' and spend whole paragraphs describing a beautiful lake we have never seen, right after a long stretch of the book that has shown us only dirt, holes, and heat?
- Miss Katherine is described as 'wonderful,' 'full of knowledge and full of life,' loved by both children and adults. Why does the book spend time making us admire her in the very first pages of her story, and what does the book want us to feel about her before Trout Walker enters the room?
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Shone with many small flashes of light, the way water or jewels catch the sun.
Item 2
A precious green stone; also a word used to describe something that is a deep, bright green color.
Item 3
The flowers of a fruit tree, especially the ones that open before the fruit begins to grow.
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
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