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Copywork
About This Passage
This is how Chapter 31 starts. Stanley is angry — but not just at the other boys. He is most angry at HIMSELF. In Chapter 30 Zero walked away from Camp Green Lake. Stanley could have gone after him but he didn't. Now he is digging Zero's hole all alone and thinking about all the things he should have done. Sachar uses the short sentence 'But mostly he was angry at himself.' to show us that Stanley has grown up enough to see his own part in the trouble.
Stanley angrily dug his shovel into the dirt. He was angry at everyone. But mostly he was angry at himself.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 31 to a grown-up. Start with Stanley digging Zero's hole all by himself. Then tell what Stanley thinks about doing (going after Zero). Then tell what Stanley actually does (stays at camp). Finish by telling what the Warden orders Mr. Pendanski to do at the end.
Discussion Questions
- What in the story tells you that Stanley is sorry he didn't teach Zero to read all along — that he wishes he had tried harder instead of letting Zero dig part of his hole for him?
- What in the story tells you that Stanley is brave in his thoughts but scared in his body — that he keeps saying 'I should go after Zero' but never actually goes?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Pushed a shovel into the ground to make a hole.
Item 2
A tool with a long handle and a wide blade used to dig.
Item 3
The brown or gray earth under your feet that plants grow in.
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Critical Thinking
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