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Copywork
About This Passage
Four tiny sentences that flip the whole chapter upside down. All evening Stanley has heard about a tough boy called the Caveman — X-Ray even warned the Lump, 'You don't want to mess with the Caveman' — and Stanley was glad to be rescued from a fight. Then dinner is called, and these lines land the surprise: the scary Caveman was Stanley himself, all along. Copy the sentences exactly, with the apostrophe in 'wasn't' and the capital letters in the names. Notice how the writer saves the secret for two of the shortest sentences in the chapter — and how Stanley answers the big news with one small shrug.
The Lump wasn’t the Caveman. He was. He shrugged his left shoulder. It was better than Barf Bag.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Stanley's evening in order: the four-minute shower, the WRECK ROOM sign, tripping over the Lump's leg, X-Ray's rescue, the second-hole warning, the letter to Mom, Zero's question, and the walk to dinner. Then explain the chapter's surprise ending in your own words: who is the Caveman, and when did you figure it out?
Discussion Questions
- All evening the boys talk about the Caveman: X-Ray warns, 'You don't want to mess with the Caveman,' and Squid says, 'The Caveman's one tough dude.' At the very end, Stanley learns the Caveman is him. What did that name do in the scene before Stanley knew it was his? What part of the chapter shows you that?
- Stanley tells his mother he has 'already made some friends' and that he will 'learn how to water-ski,' even though his day was hard. Is Stanley being kind, hiding the truth, or a little of both? Use the chapter's words — 'She'll worry if I don't' — to show why you decided that way.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A place or moment that feels perfect and wonderful
Item 2
Smashed or not working anymore
Item 3
Stanley's new camp name
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Critical Thinking
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