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Copywork
About This Passage
This is the passage that turns the whole book's accidents into a pattern. Stanley, lying under a sky of stars, recognizes that the moment the shoes fell from the overpass and hit him on the head was not bad luck but destiny — because it gave him Zero. Copying this passage asks a student to feel what it means when a person stops fighting their own story and begins to read it gratefully.
As Stanley stared at the glittering night sky, he thought there was no place he would rather be. He was glad Zero put the shoes on the parked car. He was glad they fell from the overpass and hit him o...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In three or four sentences, summarize Chapter 42 — from Zero declaring that 'last hole I will ever dig' to Stanley asking Zero at the end of the chapter, 'You want to dig one more hole?'
Discussion Questions
- Zero declares, 'That's the last hole I will ever dig,' and throws down the shovel. By the end of the chapter Stanley asks him to dig one more. What does Sachar suggest by pairing Zero's declaration with Stanley's request so close together in the same chapter?
- Stanley realizes, 'He liked himself now.' Why is this a turning point for Stanley? Back the answer up with what Stanley used to think about himself earlier in the book, including bullies like Derrick Dunne at school.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A device that tells time using the shadow cast by the sun on a flat surface.
Item 2
Two events happening at the same time by chance, with no clear reason or plan.
Item 3
The idea that something is meant to happen; a future shaped by forces beyond chance.
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Critical Thinking
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