Charles

Skills Sheet
1. What does the idiom read between the lines mean?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Page 544, Paragraph 1: Using the title of the selection and details from the first paragraph,
predict what you think the story is about.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Page 545, Paragraph 4: Why do you think Laurie grins enormously when he describes what
Charles has done?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Page 544, Paragraph 1 AND Page 545 Last 3 Paragraphs: Give one character trait to
describe Laurie before he started kindergarten and one character trait to describe Laurie as a
kindergartener. Remember, a trait is one word that describes what the character is like.
Before kindergarten: ____________________________________________________________
As a kindergartener: ____________________________________________________________
5. Page 546, Paragraph 4: Do you agree with Lauries father that Laurie may as well meet
people like Charles now as later? Explain
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

6. Page 547, Paragraph 5: What is the idiom in this paragraph? Remember an idiom is an
expression that doesnt literally mean what it says. The expression comes from an earlier,
original story.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. Page 547, Paragraph 12: What does Lauries father mean when he says that Charles may just
be plotting?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8. Page 547, Paragraphs 13-15: How has Charles behavior changed in these paragraphs?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
9. Page 547, Last 3 Paragraphs: Infer why Laurie takes so much joy in whispering the bad word
to his father. Remember, infer means to figure out based on clues when the author doesnt
directly tell you.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10. Page 548, Paragraph 4: After you finish reading the story, explain what is ironic about this
paragraph.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
11. Why does the author tell the story from the moms point of view and not from Lauries?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

12. Carefully go back through the story and write down two clues that give you a hint to the
outcome of the story. (There are four total)
1. ____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
BONUS
What seems unrealistic or odd in the story after you find out that Laurie has been the one
misbehaving so badly all this time? (Is there something the author maybe didnt think about
which makes the reader question why didnt ____________________?)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________