Grade 3

2013 Summer Reading Activity Packet

Blair Mill Elementary School

Name: _____________________________To be completed at home during the summer 2013 and submitted to grade 4 teacher by September 12, 2013

Take the Stone Fox Challenge!1

How many of these activities can you complete?Read Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner and complete at least one activity from each section: chapters 1-3, chapters 4-6, chapters 7-10.The character analysis and vocabulary activities are required to be completed, in addition to the activity choices.

Student Name: _____________________________________

Parent Signature: ___________________________________

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Section 1: required to complete one of the three activities, along with vocabulary.Chapters 1-3: You will meet and learn about Little Willy, his dog Searchlight, and Grandfather. Two important characters and the major problem of this book will be introduced. Before reading chapters 1-3, complete the vocabulary definitions below.

1. harmonica, p. 7 ________________________________________________________________________________

2. palomino, p. 7 _________________________________________________________________________________

3. irrigation, p. 12 ________________________________________________________________________________

4. harvest, p. 13 _________________________________________________________________________________

5. mare, p. 16 _____________________________________________________________________________________

6. mature, p. 18 ____________________________________________________________________________________

7. outskirts, p. 24 ___________________________________________________________________________________

8. errands, p. 24 ____________________________________________________________________________________

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9. deposited, p. 26 __________________________________________________________________________________

10. city slickers, p.26 _____________________________________________________________________________

11. whereabouts, p. 27 ____________________________________________________________________________

12. gully, p. 27 __________________________________________________________________________________

13. enabled, p. 27 _______________________________________________________________________________

14. exhausted, p. 29 _____________________________________________________________________________

15. impatiently, p. 29 _____________________________________________________________________________

Section 1 choices: you must complete at least one

Looking at WyomingPotato PartsGetting Ready for Winter

Looking at Wyoming:

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Little Willy and his grandfather lived in Jackson, Wyoming. Use an atlas or Google Maps (USA) to find and label the following states:Colorado Kansas North DakotaSouth Dakota Montana NebraskaIdaho Utah Wyoming

Potato Parts:

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Paci

fic O

cean

Canada

Jackson

Mexico

Little Willy know just about everything there was to know about potatoes. For example, he knew that the fleshy, fat part of the potato's stem is a tuber, the part of the potato plant we eat.

1. Label the five parts of the potato plant below. Write each word on the line which points to that part.

2. Did you know that potatoes were first grown by the Inca Indians of Peru? Find Peru on a map. On what continent is Peru located? ________________________

Getting Ready for Winter:With his grandfather sick in bed, it was up to little Willy to get

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Things To Do:

1. Buy extra food.

2. Chop firewood.

3. Put screens on windows.

4. Buy warm boots.

everything ready for winter on the farm. Think about the kinds of things someone might have had to do to get ready for a hard, cold Wyoming winter long ago.Read the "to do" list. For each item, circle YES if it is something that little Willy might do to prepare for winter. Circle NO if the item describes something that would need to be done. Then give reasons for your answers.

1. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

2. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

3. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

4. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

5. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

6. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Things To Do:

1. Buy extra food.

2. Chop firewood.

3. Put screens on windows.

4. Buy warm boots.

7. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

8. YES NOBecause _________________________________________________________________________________________

Section 2: you must complete at least one of the following, in addition to the vocabulary activity.

Pretend you are Clifford SnyderPoster TimeVenn Diagram

Chapters 4-6: In this part of the story you will find out the reason Grandfather, anxious and overwhelmed, has given up. Willy plans

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to enter a race to get the money he needs to pay the taxes. He hears about a man named Stone Fox who is also going to race.

Complete the chart for each vocabulary word listed below:

Pretend you are Clifford Snyder:

When you returned home later that evening you think about what happened that day at Willy's house. You remember what you were like when you were ten years old and you feel very sorry for the way you scared Willy. Although you still want the taxes, you wish you had done things differently. Write a letter of apology to Willy. Explain why you are sorry and describe how the situation could have been different.

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vocabulary word action word(verb)

noun describing word(adjective)

1. contestant2. ricochet3. derringer4. snatch5. blurt6. bobble7. pry8. saliva9. expose10. stunned11. unison 12. granite13. amateur14. cunning15.

Vocabulary for chapters 4-6

________________(date)

__________________, (salutation)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Poster Time:

Little Willy found out about the National Dogsled Races when he read a poster in Lester's General Store. Create your own version of the poster in the space below. Be sure to include important information about the race - the date, time, location, prize offered, entry requirements, and so on. Add a drawing to your poster as well.

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________________(date)

__________________, (salutation)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Venn Diagram:

Complete the Venn Diagram to compare and contrast Stone Fox and Willy. Use facts you have learned while reading. Make some inferences based on the information about Stone Fox, too.

Stone Fox Willy

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same

_________________________________ __________________________________

_____________________________ ______________ __________________________________

___________________________ _________________ _________________________________

Section 3: you must complete at least one of the following, in addition to the vocabulary activity.

Art IdeasWriter's ChoiceWhat Do You Think?

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same

_________________________________ __________________________________

_____________________________ ______________ __________________________________

___________________________ _________________ _________________________________

Chapters 7-10: The Meeting The Day The Race Finish Line

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Vocabulary, Chapters 7-10

Across3. come near6. sudden7. not trying hard10. large and heavy11. not to be trusted12. get back to; reach again13. a short look; very brief view

Down1. leave2. not moving4. chase5. close tightly together6. side by side

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WORD BANK

pursuit treacherousdepart glimpseapproach motionlessabreast clenchregain forgeabrupt effortlessmassive steadily

8. move forward 9. in a steady manner; firmly

Art Ideas:

Share your thoughts and feeling about Stone Fox by creating one or more of the works of art suggested below.

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Make a model of a sled like the one Searchlight pulled. Your sled can be made from paper, cardboard, toothpicks, craft sticks, and other materials. You may also want to draw and cut out a dog to pull the sled.

Make a poster that

advertises the book. Include the title and author, a sentence that describes the story, and an illustration that gives an idea of what the book is about.

Create a mural that shows the beginning of the National

Dogsled Races. Include the snow-covered street, the buildings described in the story, the crowd watching the race, and the dogs, sleds, and drivers who entered the race.

Draw a picture of your favorite part of the story. Then write a caption for your picture that explains your drawing.

Writer's Choice:Choose one of the writing activities below to help you further explore Stone Fox.

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Patterns in Poetry

Little Willy loved everything about his life in Wyoming. He loved his grandfather and his dog, Searchlight. He loved the crisp snow of winter and the tall mountain peaks that towered over the farm. He even loved growing potatoes.Write a cinquain about one of your favorite things on the following page. A cinquain is a poem that has five lines - it doesn't rhyme. The lines have this pattern:Line 1 One word (1 noun that tells what the poem is about)Line 2 Two words (2 adjectives that describe the noun)Line 3 Three words (3 verbs that tell about the noun)Line 4 Four words (a phrase that tells how you feel about the subject)Line 5 One word (1 noun that tells what the poem is about)

Race Report

Imagine that you are a reporter who watched the race between little Willy and Stone Fox. On the following page, write an article for the Jackson, Wyoming newspaper. As you describe the race, be sure to answer the following questions in order: who, what, when, where, and why.

The Jackson Daily News

Sunday, December 5, 1892 15 cents

Reported by ________________________________

________________________________________________

Cinquain

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______________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________________

_______________________________________________

______________________________

The Jackson Daily News

Sunday, December 5, 1892 15 cents

Reported by ________________________________

________________________________________________

What Do You Think?Read each of the situations described in the boxes below. Think about what happened in each situation. Then answer the questions next to each box.

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Situation 1

Doc Smith suggested that little Willy let someone else take care of his sick grandfather. She said that little Willy could live with her, and a neighboring farmer might want to take Searchlight. Little Willy refused to listen to her. He said that he, Grandfather, and Searchlight were family - they would take care of each other.

Do you agree with Doc Smith that is would be better to break up the family and let someone else care for Grandfather? Why or why not?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Situation 2

When little Willy looked at the snow-covered mountains, he thought of something Grandfather had once said: "There are some things in this world worth dying for." Little Willy was faced with the possibility that his grandfather might die. And if he did die, it was because he was afraid of losing the farm. He had given up on living because he couldn't pay the taxes.

Situation 3

Grandfather wouldn't let little Willy use his college money to help pay the taxes. More than anything, he wanted his grandson to get an education. But then little Willy took the money out of the bank to pay the entrance fee for the dogsled race.

Do you think Grandfather is right to give up on life? Is his problem something worth dying for? Why do you feel as you do?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Do you think little Willy was wise to use his college money to pay the entrance fee? Why or why not?

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Character Analysis: Required ActivityStone Fox is a very complex character. Fill out the chart below to identify the character's description, behavior and beliefs from the beginning, the middle and at the end of the story. Use this information to write a paragraph about Stone Fox's motivation and reason

to win the race. Make sure to include how and why Stone Fox changed later in the story.

Character: Stone Fox

Beginning of the story events Middle of the story events End of the story events

descriptivewords aboutthe character

how the character behaved

his beliefs and values

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Write a paragraph that explains Stone Fox's motivation and reason about winning the race. Make sure to include how and why Stone Fox changed later in the story.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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