The secret Lion
Interpretive Questions: Answer all questions in complete sentences. Provide quotes/textual evidence to support your answers.
1.) Why do they boys bury the grinding ball?
1.) The boys bury the grinding ball because they don't want their parents to take it away from them. They say “We couldn't take it home to our mothers” (p 122) because of this they believe that all adults do is ruin their happiness.
2.) After they lose the grinding ball, why do the boys talk about it in “small words,…Kid words”? (p. 122)
2.) The kids talk about it in small words,…Kid words” (p 122) because they don't know what it is so they are describing it how kids would.
3.) Why does the narrator tell the story of finding the golf course years before he and Sergio find the grinding ball?
3.) The narrator tells the story because the course to them was heaven so remembering how the course was taken away they hide the ball so no one can take it away from them “On the other side of the hill was heaven.” (p 124) they lost the original treasure and heaven so it prepared them for what might happen with the ball.
4.) Why do the narrator and Sergio stop going to the arroyo after they lose the grinding ball?
4.) They stop going to the arroyo because they lost the grinding ball so they look to other places for cool stuff “We stopped going to the arroyo because we lost the thing.” (p 122) the arroyo is out of treasure so they go and look for it in other places.
5.) Why does the narrator say that he and Sergio buried the grinding ball “because it was perfect”? (p. 126)
5.) They say “it was perfect” (p 126) because they believe perfection is round and they burry it because it is there treasure they don't want anyone to find it.
6.) At the end of the story, why does the narrator say that the grinding ball “was the lion”? (p. 126)
6.) The kids say that the grinding ball “was the lion” (p 126) because when they had it they felt like kings like lions are kings of the jungle.
7.) What is the narrator referring to when he says that “something happened that we didn’t have a name for, but it was there nonetheless like a lion”? (p. 119)
7.) the narrator is referring to how they are maturing and learning, they are going from elementary to junior high and the secret is they are maturing without knowing it.
8.) What does the narrator mean when he says he and Sergio “solved” junior high school? (p. 120)
8.) The narrator means that they are realizing how different everything from elementary school is and how they are having feelings for girls and becoming mature. When they say “school wasn’t school anymore.” (p 120) they are saying its a new environment and experience for them.
9.) Why does the narrator say, “Nature seemed to keep pushing us around one way or another, teaching us the same thing every place we ended up”? (p. 122)
9.) The narrator says that nature is telling them that life is always giving them treasure and then taking it away from them. When the narrator says “Nature seemed to keep pushing us around one way or another, teaching us the same thing every place we ended up”? (p 122) They mean that they are led to treasures just for it to be taken away.
10.) What does the narrator mean when he says, “We learned to be ready for finding the grinding ball”? (p. 126)
10.)When the narrator says “We learned to be ready for finding the grinding ball” (p 126) The narrator means that they are learning to be ready for dealing with new surprises and the twists and turns that life will bring for them to turn out differently than they expected.
Vocabulary in Context:
1.) Dissect (p. 120)
Quote: "We would yell about teachers,and how we loved some of them, like Miss Crevelone, and how we wanted to dissect some of them, making signs of the cross, like priests, and we would yell this stuff over and over because it felt good, we couldn't explain why, it just felt good and for the first time in our lives there was nobody to tell us we couldn’t."
Definition: The definition of dissect is to pull apart
Synonym: separate
Sentence: In science they dissected the frog to see its anatomy.
2.) Quartz (p. 121)
Quote: "That's the way it works with little kids, like all the polished quartz, the tons of it we had collected piece by piece over the years.”
Definition: The definition of quartz is a shiny white mineral
Synonym: rock
Sentence: The miners found some quartz while searching for rare minerals.
3.) Sewage (p. 122)
Quote: "But every third or fourth or fifth day, the sewage treatment plant that was, we found out, upstream, would release whatever it was that it released, and we would never know exactly what day that was, and a person really couldn't tell right off by looking at the water, not every time, not so a person could get out in time.”
Definition: The definition of sewage is filthy water
Synonym: dirty, unsanitary
Sentence: There was a sewage overflow outside the city.
4.) Miscalculated (p. 123)
Quote: "We found a thousand ways to explain what happened on those other days, constructing elaborate stories about neighborhood dogs, and hadn't she, my mother, miscalculated her step before, too?"
Definition: The definition of miscalculated is to calculate wrongly
Synonym: error
Sentence: The scientist miscalculated the trajectory of the rocket.
5.) Treacherous (p. 123)
Quote: "We had read the books, after all; we knew about bridges and castles and wild treacherous-raging alligator mouth rivers."
Definition: The definition of treacherous is to be with then go against
Synonym: betrayal
Sentence: The treacherous soldier was trailed for his actions.
Thinking Map:
Use textual evidence to show examples of when the boys know something or when the boys do not know something. Include 5 examples and support with page numbers and opinion for each column.
the boys know that their mom will get them in trouble for playing with the grinding ball (p 122)
The boys know that they will get in trouble for asking questions in school (p 120)
The boys know that they are maturing and that their feelings towards girls are changing (p 121)
The boys know that their mom is lying to them about what lyes beyond the hill near their house (123)
The boys know that they can dissect teachers and form opinions about them (p 122)
The boys don't know that heaven is actually a golf course (p 125)
The boys don't know that not everything round is perfect (p 121)
The boys don't know what the grind ball is (p 121)
The boys don't know that the creek is sewage (p 120)
The boys don't know that the coke holder is a golf hole p 125
1.) Why do they boys bury the grinding ball?
1.) The boys bury the grinding ball because they don't want their parents to take it away from them. They say “We couldn't take it home to our mothers” (p 122) because of this they believe that all adults do is ruin their happiness.
2.) After they lose the grinding ball, why do the boys talk about it in “small words,…Kid words”? (p. 122)
2.) The kids talk about it in small words,…Kid words” (p 122) because they don't know what it is so they are describing it how kids would.
3.) Why does the narrator tell the story of finding the golf course years before he and Sergio find the grinding ball?
3.) The narrator tells the story because the course to them was heaven so remembering how the course was taken away they hide the ball so no one can take it away from them “On the other side of the hill was heaven.” (p 124) they lost the original treasure and heaven so it prepared them for what might happen with the ball.
4.) Why do the narrator and Sergio stop going to the arroyo after they lose the grinding ball?
4.) They stop going to the arroyo because they lost the grinding ball so they look to other places for cool stuff “We stopped going to the arroyo because we lost the thing.” (p 122) the arroyo is out of treasure so they go and look for it in other places.
5.) Why does the narrator say that he and Sergio buried the grinding ball “because it was perfect”? (p. 126)
5.) They say “it was perfect” (p 126) because they believe perfection is round and they burry it because it is there treasure they don't want anyone to find it.
6.) At the end of the story, why does the narrator say that the grinding ball “was the lion”? (p. 126)
6.) The kids say that the grinding ball “was the lion” (p 126) because when they had it they felt like kings like lions are kings of the jungle.
7.) What is the narrator referring to when he says that “something happened that we didn’t have a name for, but it was there nonetheless like a lion”? (p. 119)
7.) the narrator is referring to how they are maturing and learning, they are going from elementary to junior high and the secret is they are maturing without knowing it.
8.) What does the narrator mean when he says he and Sergio “solved” junior high school? (p. 120)
8.) The narrator means that they are realizing how different everything from elementary school is and how they are having feelings for girls and becoming mature. When they say “school wasn’t school anymore.” (p 120) they are saying its a new environment and experience for them.
9.) Why does the narrator say, “Nature seemed to keep pushing us around one way or another, teaching us the same thing every place we ended up”? (p. 122)
9.) The narrator says that nature is telling them that life is always giving them treasure and then taking it away from them. When the narrator says “Nature seemed to keep pushing us around one way or another, teaching us the same thing every place we ended up”? (p 122) They mean that they are led to treasures just for it to be taken away.
10.) What does the narrator mean when he says, “We learned to be ready for finding the grinding ball”? (p. 126)
10.)When the narrator says “We learned to be ready for finding the grinding ball” (p 126) The narrator means that they are learning to be ready for dealing with new surprises and the twists and turns that life will bring for them to turn out differently than they expected.
Vocabulary in Context:
1.) Dissect (p. 120)
Quote: "We would yell about teachers,and how we loved some of them, like Miss Crevelone, and how we wanted to dissect some of them, making signs of the cross, like priests, and we would yell this stuff over and over because it felt good, we couldn't explain why, it just felt good and for the first time in our lives there was nobody to tell us we couldn’t."
Definition: The definition of dissect is to pull apart
Synonym: separate
Sentence: In science they dissected the frog to see its anatomy.
2.) Quartz (p. 121)
Quote: "That's the way it works with little kids, like all the polished quartz, the tons of it we had collected piece by piece over the years.”
Definition: The definition of quartz is a shiny white mineral
Synonym: rock
Sentence: The miners found some quartz while searching for rare minerals.
3.) Sewage (p. 122)
Quote: "But every third or fourth or fifth day, the sewage treatment plant that was, we found out, upstream, would release whatever it was that it released, and we would never know exactly what day that was, and a person really couldn't tell right off by looking at the water, not every time, not so a person could get out in time.”
Definition: The definition of sewage is filthy water
Synonym: dirty, unsanitary
Sentence: There was a sewage overflow outside the city.
4.) Miscalculated (p. 123)
Quote: "We found a thousand ways to explain what happened on those other days, constructing elaborate stories about neighborhood dogs, and hadn't she, my mother, miscalculated her step before, too?"
Definition: The definition of miscalculated is to calculate wrongly
Synonym: error
Sentence: The scientist miscalculated the trajectory of the rocket.
5.) Treacherous (p. 123)
Quote: "We had read the books, after all; we knew about bridges and castles and wild treacherous-raging alligator mouth rivers."
Definition: The definition of treacherous is to be with then go against
Synonym: betrayal
Sentence: The treacherous soldier was trailed for his actions.
Thinking Map:
Use textual evidence to show examples of when the boys know something or when the boys do not know something. Include 5 examples and support with page numbers and opinion for each column.
the boys know that their mom will get them in trouble for playing with the grinding ball (p 122)
The boys know that they will get in trouble for asking questions in school (p 120)
The boys know that they are maturing and that their feelings towards girls are changing (p 121)
The boys know that their mom is lying to them about what lyes beyond the hill near their house (123)
The boys know that they can dissect teachers and form opinions about them (p 122)
The boys don't know that heaven is actually a golf course (p 125)
The boys don't know that not everything round is perfect (p 121)
The boys don't know what the grind ball is (p 121)
The boys don't know that the creek is sewage (p 120)
The boys don't know that the coke holder is a golf hole p 125