Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
This is the moment Colin picks up a trowel for the first time in his life. The sentence slows down on purpose — we watch his thin hand, the odd expression on his face, the scratch at the earth, the slow drive of the trowel into the soil. Burnett makes a tiny first-try feel like a very big thing.
On the grass near the tree Mary had dropped her trowel. Colin stretched out his hand and took it up. An odd expression came into his face and he began to scratch at the earth. His thin hand was weak e...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 22 as Colin's second wonderful afternoon in the garden. Begin with Colin telling Ben Weatherstaff 'Look at me!' Then tell how Ben sits down, how he shares that Colin's mother loved this garden and asked him to care for her roses, how Colin picks up Mary's trowel for the first time and digs, and how Ben brings a rose in a pot and Colin plants it. End with Colin standing on his two feet as the sun slips over the edge.
Discussion Questions
- Colin tells Dickon 'I can stand.' Dickon answers 'I told thee tha' could as soon as tha' stopped bein' afraid.' What in the story shows you that stopping being afraid helped Colin's body find its strength?
- Ben Weatherstaff has been climbing the wall once a year for years to prune Mrs. Craven's roses. How do you know Ben loved Colin's mother and kept his promise to her even after she died?
+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A small garden tool with a pointed scoop for digging in the dirt; Mary drops her trowel on the grass and Colin picks it up to dig for the first time
Item 2
The dark dirt that plants grow in; Colin drives the end of the trowel into the soil and turns some over
Item 3
A flower with soft petals and a sweet smell; Ben Weatherstaff brings Colin a rose in a pot from the greenhouse to plant
+ 5 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 4 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