Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This passage was chosen because it shows Wilson Rawls building character through contrast — outside versus inside. The author piles on unflattering physical details (grey whiskers, no hair, needs a shave) only to turn the whole paragraph on one pivot sentence: 'It was the inside of my grandpa that really counted.' The washtub simile makes an abstract idea (a big heart) concrete enough for a child to see. Copying this passage trains the writer's eye to build portraits that surprise the reader.
If you were looking at the outside of my grandpa, you wouldn't see very much. He was just about as big around the middle as he was tall. He didn't have much hair either, just a little around the edges...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 2 in your own words. Include Jay Berry's run to the store, Grandpa's reaction to the shouting, what Grandpa reveals about the circus train wreck, and the trap-building scene at the end.
Discussion Questions
- What in the story tells you that Grandpa values Jay Berry's inner self more than he minds being startled by a shouting grandson?
- What in the story tells you that the narrator measures a person's worth by what is inside rather than by what shows on the outside?
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Two pieces of specially shaped clear material worn over the eyes to help a person see clearly.
Item 2
Dried plant leaves that some people chew or smoke; this kind is named Star in the chapter.
Item 3
The short stiff hairs that grow on a man's face between shaves, or on an animal's muzzle.
+ 7 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 5 more questions in the complete study guide
Get the complete study guide — free
Sign up and get your first book with every chapter included. Copywork, discussion questions, vocabulary, and critical thinking.
Sign up free