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Copywork
About This Passage
Kate DiCamillo uses parallel sentence structure ('so busy sleeping... so busy dreaming') and a rhyme of warning sounds (creak, moan) to put the reader on alert while the characters stay peacefully unaware. This is called dramatic irony — the reader knows what the characters do not.
Mr. Watson and Mrs. Watson and Mercy were all so busy sleeping that they did not hear the bed creak. They were all so busy dreaming that they did not hear the floor moan.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell the story of this chapter. What were the most important moments? What made them important — and how do you know?
Discussion Questions
- In chapter 1, Mercy's decision to climb into the Watsons' bed was an act of love and fear. Now in chapter 2, the bed is creaking under her weight. The decision that solved one problem is creating another. What does Kate DiCamillo seem to be saying about decisions — especially the ones we make for the right reasons?
- Three sleepers, three dreams. Mr. Watson is dreaming of driving fast. Mrs. Watson is dreaming of feeding Mercy toast. Mercy is dreaming of being fed toast on her favorite blue plate. What is Kate DiCamillo telling us by showing us all three dreams instead of just one? Whose dream do you think tells us the most about that character, and why?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
experiencing images and stories in one's mind during sleep
Item 2
of unusually high quality; better than ordinary
Item 3
stacked up in a heap, one item on top of another
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Critical Thinking
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