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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage is doing something gentle and watchful. Notice how Dahl uses the same word twice on purpose — 'the most silent silence she had ever heard' — and how the repetition makes the silence feel deeper instead of less. The closing image, that the world was 'holding its breath,' tells you that something is about to happen. Skilled writers often use small physical details (a moonbeam through a curtain gap, a silence that is more than silence) to make the air around the next moment feel thick and waiting.
Sophie could not sleep. A brilliant moonbeam was slanting through a gap in the curtains. It was shining right onto her pillow. The other children in the dormitory had been asleep for hours, but Sophie...
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
- Sophie is shown as a curious child who notices things other people miss. Is curiosity a virtue, a weakness, or both? In what kinds of situations does it help, and in what kinds of situations does it get a person into trouble?
- Sophie breaks the orphanage rule by getting out of bed. The breaking is what leads to her whole adventure. Can rule-breaking that leads to a good outcome be called the right thing to do, or is breaking a rule always wrong even when the result is good?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A child whose parents have died, often used in stories to mark a child as standing alone in the world
Item 2
A large room with many beds, especially in schools, hospitals, and orphanages
Item 3
A large place run by rules where people live or work, often less personal than a home
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Critical Thinking
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