· Question 1. Describe Lars at this point in the story.  Give specific traits and use examples from the passage.
Answer:  Lars is uninterested in school and history. P. 2 line 1, para 4, para 6; p. 5 para 4.  Sarcastic p. 4 para 4, p. 7 para 6.  Lonely p. 5 last para, p. 4 para 2.

· Question 2.  Make a prediction about Lars- will these character traits change as the story unfolds?  Why?
Answer:  opinion

· Question 3 p. 9.  Fact or opinion:  Lars saw a figure in the second floor window upon arriving at Penncroft Farm.
Answer:  fact

· Question 4.  From the final line of page 8 to para 5 on page 11, the mood at Penncroft Farm could be described as
a) carefree
b) spooky
c) dull
d) comical
Answer:  b

· Question 5.  What genre is this book?  How do you know?
Answer:  historical fiction- the setting, mention of the Revolutionary War, Lars’s ancestors.
 

The Riddle of Penncroft Farm
Passage Picker
SectionI p. 1-16
Target:  figurative language   foreshadowing

· P. 1 para 3
“Mom was…Uncle George.”

The author gives clues about what happened to George and his significance later in the story.

Question:  Why do you think Mom is sad when she talks about George?

Answer:  (may vary) She misses her beloved brother, who has died.

Purpose:  to inform

· P. 6 para 6
“It makes…years old.”

Use of figurative language- simile

Question:  identify the figurative language in this passage and explain it’s meaning.

Answer:  “feel like such a vulture”- Lars’s mom feels like she is threatening to take something from Cass by asking her about the will.

Purpose:  to describe

· P. 7 para 5 & 6
“It is…have bathrooms?”

it is a humorous story and one of many puns by Lars

Question:  Explain Lars’s pun.

Answer:  a canopy is an overhang on a bed, but Lars pretends to take the word apart and take it as can o’ pee, or chamber pot, which is what people used to use before there were bathrooms.

Purpose:  to entertain

· P. 15 para 2
“Oh, he did…stairs anymore.”

A humorous passage and a good description

Question:  How does the author use humor and descriptive words in this passage?

Answer:  “as if she were trying to guess what size I wore or something.”  She uses Lars’s humor and this descriptive passage to get her point across and make the reader entertained.

Purpose: to describe/entertain

· p. 20 para
“The main…civil war.”
Foreshadowing and info about the war

Question:  What could Cass mean when she says that the revolution was a civil war?

Answer:  She meant that it wasn’t just a war between two countries, but that people in America were also divided against each other and fought each other.

Purpose:  to persuade/inform
 

The Riddle of Penncroft Farm
By Dorothea Jensen
Word Wizard
SectionI p. 1-16
Target:  roused   quaint   fiendish   vigorously

Roused p. 7 para 4
“Rattling through the old wooden structure roused me.”
Definition:  v. to excite, to stir up
I was roused by the thought of the up-coming weekend.

Quaint p. 7 para 5
“It is quaint,” Mom said.”
Definition:  adj. Odd, especially in an old fashioned way.
Penncroft Farm is a quaint old place with lots of charm.

Fiendish p. 9 para 3
“Now that is something you’re going to have to discover for yourself,” she said, giving her version of a fiendish laugh.”
Definition:  adj. Devilish, having to do with mischief.
What part of speech would the root word of fiendish be? (a noun)

Vigorously p. 11 para 6
“My great-aunt sat playing at the keyboard, her feet vigorously working the pedals below.”
Definition:  adv. Energetic and lively
Give a synonym for vigorously (enthusiastically).
 

The Riddle of Penncroft Farm
By Dorothea Jensen
Investigator
SectionI p. 1-16

Using 3 sources, investigate Charles Willson Peale (he is mentioned on page 8 and again on the first page of section 2).
-When did he live?
-Why is he famous?
-Why does the author refer to him in the text?
 

The Riddle of Penncroft Farm
By Dorothea Jensen
Character Sketcher
SectionI p. 1-16
 

Character traits/proof

Skeptical- p.2,4,5.  Lars is sarcastic about moving and is not optimistic about Penncroft farm or meeting his aunt Cass.

Lonely- p. 4 & 5.  Lars is lonely because he doesn’t know anyone in Pennsylvania, and he hates the thought of his old friends trick-or-treating without him.

Humorous- all.  Lars makes frequent puns and enjoys Cass’s bamboozling.
 

Problem
Lars is lonely after moving to a new town and has a mystery to solve- is Penncroft Farm haunted?
 

Character Goal

To make a home at Penncroft Farm

Solution
Make new friends, Cass included and explore Penncroft for answers.