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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage introduces Sam the onion man the way a child would first meet him — through his voice. Sachar begins with Sam's call, then shows his helper (Mary Lou the donkey), then shows his work (pulling a cart up and down dirt roads). The sentence is a portrait of a kind working man in three parts: his voice, his animal friend, and his craft. Young readers copying this sentence learn how a writer can put a whole life into one short paragraph without using any big words.
"Onions! Sweet, fresh onions!" Sam would call, as he and his donkey, Mary Lou, walked up and down the dirt roads of Green Lake. Mary Lou pulled a cart full of onions.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 25 in your own words, starting with Sam the onion man walking through town with Mary Lou the donkey, and ending with Hattie Parker pointing her shaking finger and whispering, 'God will punish you!'
Discussion Questions
- What in the story tells you that Sam is a kind man who wants to help people feel better?
- What in the story tells you that Miss Katherine kept finding new things to fix so that Sam would keep coming back to see her?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Round plants that grow under the dirt and have a strong taste and smell when you cut them.
Item 2
Tasting nice and sugary, the opposite of sour or bitter.
Item 3
Just picked or made, and not old or stale.
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Critical Thinking
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