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Copywork
About This Passage
Selected for vocabulary density (ambled, shuffled, boundaries), rhythmic repetition (the cumulative 'nothing to... nothing to... nothing to...'), and thematic weight — this portrait of a slow, poor town sets up everything the story will ask about ordinary life and big injustices.
People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no...
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
- The narrator describes Maycomb as 'tired,' with streets turning to 'red slop' and a courthouse that 'sagged.' Why does the author spend so much time describing the town before telling us about any characters? What does this description teach us about the place where this story will happen?
- When Dill first meets Scout and Jem, he tells them about movies he has seen and claims he wrote a letter for the postman in his hometown. Later we learn that Dill lies about small things — even about his father. What is Dill using these stories to do, and what does that tell us about him as a person?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Walked in a slow, unhurried way, with no particular place to be
Item 2
Calmed or eased, as when a worry is gently put to rest
Item 3
Wishing evil or harm upon others, full of bad intentions
+ 7 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
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