UNIT 3A
REASLISNG DREAMS
The Junkyard Wonders, Patricia Polacco
WORD MEANING
1. Misfit
– not fitting
2. Badges
– mark, label
3. Mean
– cruel
4. Grabbed
– held (hold)
5. Twinkle
– gleaming, sparkling
6. Backed
off – moved back
7. Contractions
– shortening
8. Throwaways
– rejected
9. Puzzled
– surprised
10. Latches
– door handles
11. Pile
– gathering
12. Wrecked
– damaged, broken
13. Hammered
– hit with hammer
14. Sawed
– cut with saw
15. Struts
– supports, bars, frame
16. Resistance
– that can prevent or stop
17. Unveiled
– uncovered
18. Tangled
– twisted
19. Fabulous
– extraordinary
20. Vibraphone
– a kind of music instrument
21. Levers
– bars to move things
22. Fulcrums
– lever point
23. Counterweight
– counterbalance
24. Clattered
– noise of metal
25. Shivered
– shaken
26. Device
– gadget
27. Defy
– deny, disobey
28. Perpetual
– never ending or changing
29. Trumpeted
– proclaim widely or loudly
A.3 Introduction
a. Why do you think the narrator calls her
class ‘special’?
The
narrator calls her class special because it was different from other
classrooms. As the name goes 'The Junkyard', it was unique and extraordinary.
The students made it special by creating unimaginable wonders from waste.
b. Comment on the incident which left the
kids upset and shaken.The day the ‘Junkyard kids’ got the badges,
the other mean boy came running and started bullying them. A boy named Barton
Poole, even took off the badges given to these kids. Such distasteful comment
and ill-treatment left the kids upset and shaken.
A.3 From the Text
a. Do you feel proud when you get to wear a badge?
DO BY SELF
Yes, I
feel proud when I wear a badge that shows my achievements. Badges are
considered as achievement of hard work and consistent efforts and convey our
overall performance. But badges also put a label on people. Handing out badges
that depict poor performance can be harsh and demotivating for students at
school.
b. What does a junkyard remind you of? Do you agree with Mrs
Peterson that it is a place full of wondrous possibilities?
A
junkyard reminds me of a place where useless or unwanted items are piled up.
Yes, I agree with Mrs Peterson that it is a place full of wondrous
possibilities; it just depends on how we see it. We can reuse some of these
things in a junkyard that can be used to make something different, for example,
cardboard, polythene, metal or steel substance, etc.
A.9 Arrange the
following sentences in order: (Page 62)
A boy named Barton Poole grabbed the pin off Trisha’s
shirt. ❷
At the junkyard, the kids collect everything that they
thought could be made into something new. ❻
Jody appeared from nowhere. Barton snarled as he
stalked away. ❹
Mrs. Peterson asked the whole class if they’d help
raise money for the motor needed to make the model airplane fly. ❽
The kids used things they had gotten from Mr. Beach’s
and made gadgets to sell. ❾
Mrs. Peterson helped the kids make badges that said
“The Junkyard Wonders.” ❶
The kids had made enough money to buy the perfect
motor for the model airplane. ❿
Mrs. Peterson could see that the kids were badly
shaken. She took the kids to the Melvin Beach junkyard.
❺
The kids worked on their new inventions, while Mrs.
Peterson read Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and poetry to them.
❼
Thom and Gibbie ran at Barton and his friends. ❸
A.10 Choose the
correct options: (Page 63)
That day we got the badges, this mean boy came running
up to us. “Weirdos, now you even wear dumbbell pins!”… That day, Mrs. Peterson
could see that we were badly shaken.
a. Which of these words best describe
Barton in your opinion?
i. aggressive
b. Barton and his friends were
………………………………………
ii. bullying Trisha and her friends.
c. What did Barton refer to using the words
dumbbell pins?
ii. the badges that said “The Junkyard Wonder”
d. Who was Barton and his friends afraid
of?
iv. Jody
e. Choose the word which is similar in
meaning to the phrase badly shaken.
ii.
flustered
A.11 Choose the
correct options: (Page 63)
a. Which ‘tribe’ made Vibraphonium?
i. Cinnamons
b. Which of these words describe Gibbie
best in your opinion?
iv. creative
c. Why do you think the kids painted the
rebuild model with low-resistance lacquer?
ii.
to minimize air resistance
A. 12 Answer the following questions.
a. The junkyard kids were pretty amazing… Cite evidence from the
text to support the statement.
The
junkyard kids were pretty amazing. They were creative and had the ability to
make best from the trash. They saw the trash with innovative ideas and change
them into something unexpected and surprising. They never saw things as they
are; but what they could make of it.
b. Mrs. Peterson showed us how to shine… What does the author mean
by the word shine here? Find examples from the text to show how Mrs Peterson
helped the kids shine?
By the
word shine, the author means to be able to do something beautiful and creative.
We find
Mrs. Perterson inspiring, explaining and showing these kids to be unique. She
consistently encouraged her students, even when other mean boys bullied them.
When the junkyard kids were busy working, she read The Great Expectation and
David Copperfield; books for them. She taught the kids to explore what all they
can make beautiful out of trash.
c. How did the kids make enough money to buy the perfect motor?
In order
to buy a perfect motor for their project, the Junkyard Kids had to raise money
for it. For this purpose alone, we find their moms making cakes and cookies and
sold them at bake sales; dads sponsored car washes; and the kids made gadgets
for selling and collecting money.
d. Do you think the name given to the model airplane was an apt one?
Why/ Why not?
Yes, I
think the name given to the model airplane was apt. It was found in the
junkyard. In addition, they did hard work, showed determination to turn trash
into amazing and wonderful. They also raised money to buy a motor. In this
story we find the reference of Junkyard. Hence it was apt to call this model airplane as , “Junk wonders.”
Who is Charles Dickens? Mention two of his famous novels.
Charles
Dickens is an English authorwho created soe of the world’s best-known fictional
characters and is regarded by many as one of the greatest novelists of his
time.
His two
famous books are David Copperfield and Great Expectation.
A.13 Answer in details:
a. How do you think Trisha felt when she was bullied by Barton and his
friends. Choose the words that fit her state of mind.
upset, scared,
bullied, hurt, threatened vulnerable, threatened, terrified
b. Make a diary entry using the words the words answered in A.13 (a)
to present Trisha’s state of mind. (present evidence from the text)
August
28, 2023
Monday
9:00 p.m.
Dear Diary,
I had s
strange experience in my school today. I came to know not all could be friendly
and this made me upset. In the middle of unfriendly students, I felt so helpless.
Barton Poolee had grabbed the pin of my shirt. I started to cry, yet they
continued bullying me. He threatened me, if I would complain to teacher about his
vulnerable behaviour. I was nervous and lost all my confidence. It was then
Thom and Gibbie came and ran at Barton and his friends. They were scared to see
so many of my friends supporting and went away. This moment was amazing to feel
proud of my friends.
Trisha
c. This story has lot of American expression. Find two examples of
such usage.
gonna – going
to is informal usage in American English.
cookies –
a biscuit in British English, is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is
typically small, flat and sweet.
junkyard -
is an American expression, the location where wrecked or decommissioned
vehicles are brought (scrapyard, in British English)
badly
shaken – this refers to someone who has been deeply hurt and is heartbroken.
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