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The Mouse and the MotorcycleBy Beverley Cleary

Copywork Passages

Week One The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Week One

Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room 215 of the Mountain View Inn. Neither did his mother and father, who both looked hot and tired.

(Chapter 1, page 1)

© All Rights Reserved - Julie (Bogart) Sweeney - Brave Writer


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Week OneOpening Hook

Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room 215 of the Mountain View Inn. Neither did his mother and father, who both looked hot and tired.

(Chapter 1, page 1)

Why this passage

A good opening hook depends on the element of surprise. In this opening, Cleary lures us forward into the story by revealing that someone is watching, but no one (not even parents whose job it is to protect their children) knows it’s happening or who it is. We want to find out!

The passage above is intended for copywork and dictation. The entire paragraph, however, is meant to be discussed for its literary and grammatical properties. It is included here for easy reference.

Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room 215 of the Mountain View Inn. Neither did his mother and father, who both looked hot and tired. They had come from Ohio and for five days, had driven across plains and deserts and over mountains to the old hotel in the California foothills twenty-five miles from Highway 40.

What to note

Capitalization: This complete paragraph has several capitalized proper nouns: Keith, Mountain View Inn, Ohio, California, and Highway. Proper nouns are names that are unique to the specific item. For instance, “Keith” is the name of the boy, the Mountain View Inn is the name of a specific hotel, Ohio and California are the names of specific states, and Highway 40 is the name of one highway.



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Other capital letters are found at the start of new sentences: Neither, They. In the passage for copywork, there is a phrase and a clause that are set off by commas:

the boy in rumpled shorts and shirtwho both looked hot and tired

These two clauses add descriptive details to the primary sentences. When a writer wants to supply additional detail to a sentence, usually that detail is attached to the sentence with commas.

Let’s try it.Primary sentence.

Lucy drank tea at 11:00 a.m. this morning.

Detail to add.…the children’s British nanny

Attached with commas.Lucy, the children’s British nanny, drank tea at 11:00 a.m. this morning.

When we remove the material between commas, the sentence should still make sense (and in this case, it does!).

Numbers: In writing, you have a choice to make. Either the writer will use the digits (2; 12; 367; 1,972), or the numbers will be written as words (one, sixteen, forty-seven, five million). How do you know when to use which style?

In this passage, Cleary uses both sorts of numbers. When she uses the digits, they are digits specifically related to the identities of the items: Room 215, Highway 40. If you were to look at the room or the highway sign, you would see these numbers in digits.

The other two numbers (five; twenty-five) are relating spans of time and distance. Because these numbers are fewer than four syllables, they are written as words. (Most writing conventions suggest that numbers with fewer than four syllables should be written as words, except in the cases where the numbers specify an age—6 years old, or are a part of a name or identity of the item—4th Street.)

Vocabulary: Cleary introduces readers to plains, deserts, and mountains. These are words that are worth learning to spell.



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Plains is a homonym for planes. They sound exactly alike, but are spelled differently. Plains refers to the expanse of land that is flat and open, good for farming, that sits in the middle of America. Planes is the shortened term “airplanes.” One way to remember the difference between the spellings is to remember that planes comes from airplanes. Therefore, plains is the word that does not have ‘e’ at the end, but the ‘i’ in the middle.

Note that deserts looks a bit like desserts. It’s easy to confuse these. One way to remember the difference in spelling is that desserts represent extra food—more than you need for a meal. Therefore desserts has the extra ‘s’! More ‘s’ than is needed! The desert, which is a place lacking in water and lush vegetation, has less than it needs. Therefore it has only one ‘s’ (no extras).

Wikimedia Commons:: Arizona Saguaro Cactus

Wikimedia Commons:: Arizona Desert Cactus Flower

Wikimedia Commons:: Plains in Nebraska



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Idea:Draw your own mountain word.

Finally, mountains, like plains, uses the ‘ai’ construction. Also, the ‘t’ in the middle almost resembles a peak! Notice how on either side of the ‘t’, there are four letters that are all short (except the dot on the ‘i’). The word can be seen a bit like a mountain, with its humps to start out, its loop (o), and dip (u), and hill (n) before getting to the peak (t)! Then back down again around the windy trail (a), to a little peak (i), over the hill (n), to the path below (s). Creating a visual of the word to go with the lettering is another way to help spellings “stick.” For some kids, sounding out and phonetics are not enough. Telling a story to go with the spelling creates a mental image that in turn creates a memory hook for later use.

How to teach the passage

MondayGo over the notes for the passage.

Proper nouns: The thing to know about proper nouns is that sometimes, the name itself is a common noun in every other instance, except when it is used in this special instance. For example, if I were to describe a white house, I would not capitalize it. However, if I am talking about the building where the president of the United States and his family lives, now I’m referring to a very specific, special place: The White House. In that instance, what was formerly a common noun is now considered a proper noun.

Another example: motel is not capitalized, but Mountain View Inn is capitalized because that is the name of the motel. What’s tricky in this passage is that the word “highway” is usually a common noun and is not capitalized. However, because

Wikimedia Commons::Great Smokey Mountains



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Highway 40 is the name of the highway described in the story, the word “highway” gets capitalized. Family common nouns become proper nouns when we refer directly to the person.

Mother drove me to the store. May I have a piece of gum, Grandpa? I think Aunt Linda smells like magnolias.

Of mountains and foothills: If you’ve never seen a mountain range, the foothills are the little mountains that lead up to the big ones. They are at the “feet” of the big mountains. As you drive to the mountains, you will inevitably pass through the “shorter” mountains and these are known as foothills.

TuesdayCopy the first sentence. If it is too difficult to copy all at once, divide it into two days, stopping after “shirt.” You might also try having your child copy half of the sentence, take a break to run through the house, and then to come back and copy the other half. Even dividing the sentence before and after lunch sometimes works. Take complaints about tired hands seriously.

WednesdayFinish copying the first sentence or copy the second sentence.

ThursdayFinish copying the passage. If your child is not struggling with copying, the rest of the paragraph can also be copied.

Alternatively, your child doesn’t have to copy the third sentence of the paragraph, but can read it aloud and discuss it with you. Use Thursday to prepare for French-style dictation on Friday that covers the first two sentences of the paragraph

Wikimedia Commons:: Foothills Southern California



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Friday: French-style dictationThe following terms are the ones to study before French-style dictation practice.

Keith boy shorts shirt

know room Mountain Neither

mother father looked tired

There are three capitalized words. Discuss them with your child. Keith is both a proper noun and at the start of a sentence. Mountain is a proper noun (due to being connected to the Mountain View Inn), and Neither is the start of a sentence.

The name Keith and the word neither both use the “ei” construction to create the long /ee/ sound. The spelling rule that says, “i before e except after c, and when sounds as /ay/ as in neighbor and weigh” is wrong! There are other instances of “ei” that are accurate spellings and say /ee/ not /ay/, and here are two of them! Another instance where English “rules” don’t apply.

The use of the /sh/ in “shorts” and “shirt” is worth pointing out; creates alliteration.Room and looked both use the double /oo/ to create their sounds.



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Name:_________________________ Date:________________

Week One: French-style Dictation(Chapter 1, page 1)

_____, the ___ in the rumpled ______ and

_____, did not ____ he was being watched as

he entered ____ 215 of the ________ View Inn.

_______ did his ______ and ______, who both

_____ hot and _____.

Week Two The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Week Two

“I’m growing up,” said Ralph. “I’m getting too old to hang around a mouse nest all the time. I want to go out and see the world. I want to go down to the ground floor and see the kitchen and the dining room and the storeroom and the garbage cans out back.”

(Chapter 6, page 68)



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Week TwoDialogue

“I’m growing up,” said Ralph. “I’m getting too old to hang around a mouse nest all the time. I want to go out and see the world. I want to go down to the ground floor and see the kitchen and the dining room and the storeroom and the garbage cans out back.”


Why this passage

Ralph’s idea of the big wide world is so small compared with ours. Yet imagine the world from his vantage point. The house would seem massive! It all depends on the size of the world around you. Homeschooled kids especially might chuckle at the idea of their homes, the place they spend the most time, being the big wide world for a mouse.

What to note

This week’s passage is Ralph’s assertion that he is ready to embark on a journey to places unknown. He addresses this comment to his mother. Just like all good mothers, his mom is concerned that the kinds of friends Ralph is keeping will lead him into unsafe adventures. Naturally she is horrified to think Ralph might go to the ground floor: “Not all the way down there.” She worries that he is not old enough.

Ralph’s declaration of intent is broken into two parts. He makes a statement: “I’m growing up.” This statement is then interrupted by “said Ralph” which ends the initial sentence. The comment resumes with quotation marks and continues until he is finished, making a complete paragraph.

Because his mother responds, if you look at the book you can see that her reply is its own paragraph. So it is with dialogue.

Apostrophes: The word “I’m” is a contraction: I + am.



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Dialogue punctuation requires that the student understand where to put quotation marks. Begin inductively. Ask your student to point out all the quotation marks in the passage. Then ask if quotation marks always come at the beginning and end of a sentence. (This is a tricky question, requiring extra observational powers—some closed quotes come at the end of the comment, but not the end of the sentence because they are followed by the “he said” or “said she” attributive tag.)

In this paragraph, Ralph is speaking. He replies directly to his mother and the author chooses not to interrupt that conversation by beginning with “Ralph replied to his mother.” Instead, the flow of the conversation is supported by launching right into the reply.

However, once the first comment is made, the author steps into the paragraph to ensure that the reader knows who is speaking. That’s when “said Ralph” is added to the sentence.

The dialogue resumes once the reader is aware of who is speaking.All dialogue is indented.Have your students copy one sentence per day before Friday’s French-style

dictation.

Friday: French-style dictation

This week’s French-style dictation features not just spelling words, but some punctuation as well.

“I’m up,” “I’m too to mouse to world

to down to ground kitchen dining garbage back.”



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You might try a dry-run where you print a copy and fill it out together before you dictate with your student filling it in on his or her own. For kids who find handwriting a challenge, you can also print the words, cut them up, and ask your child to glue the right ones in the right places. This is also another way to create a graduated step from handwriting the passage to filling in the blanks.



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Name:_________________________ Date:________________

Week Two: French-style Dictation(Chapter 6, page 68)

__ ____ growing ____ _said Ralph._ ____

getting ___ old __ hang around a _____ nest all

the time. I want __ go out and see the _____.

I want __ go ____ __ the ______ floor and see

the _______ and the ______ room and the

storeroom and the _______ cans out ______ _ _

Week Three The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Week Three

“Isn’t he darling?” said Betty.

“Just look at his cunning little paws.” Mary Lou leaned closer for a better look.

“And his little ears. Aren’t they sweet?” Betty was delighted.




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Week ThreeChallenging dialogue

“Isn’t he darling?” said Betty.“Just look at his cunning little paws.” Mary Lou leaned closer for a better

look.“And his little ears. Aren’t they sweet?” Betty was delighted.


Why this passage

This passage gives you a chance to build on last week’s simple dialogue punctuation.

What to note

Notice that each time the speaker switches, there is a new indentation for the dialogue. In some books, once the speakers are established, the dialogue can carry on without even indicating who is saying what simply by indenting each time the speaker switches to the other person/character. In this case, Betty and Mary Lou trade lines and each time they do, the dialogue is indented.

Cleary chooses to identify each speaker each time, and adds additional information to help the reader imagine the tone and quality of the conversation.

The first comment is a question. The question mark, consequently, goes inside the quotation marks.

The second line is a comment that ends with the quotation marks. As a result, the period goes inside the quotes. It is followed by the speaker, but the reader is meant to infer that it was Mary Lou who was speaking. We are only told that she “leaned closer for a better look.”

The final comment is two sentences. The first is a sentence, ending in a period, and the second is a question, ending in a question mark. We are told that Betty is



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delighted and can assume (because it shares a line with the comment) that it was Betty who was speaking.


Notice that when a sentence in dialogue ends in a question mark, the question mark goes inside the quotation mark. Also, in Mary Lou’s comment, you see that it ends with a period. That is because what follows her comment is a description of what Mary does. It is not an attributive tag describing how Mary Lou commented.

It’s also helpful to point out to kids that there are two instances of contractions. Ask them if they can tell you what the missing letter is in “Isn’t” and “Aren’t”? Ask them what two words these contractions represent.

Is + not = isn’t

Are + not = aren’t

Friday: French-style dictationThis week’s passage includes punctuation in addition to spelling words. Quotation marks, a question mark, and periods are featured. Be sure to go over these orally before the dictation.

“Isn’t said paws.” better “And little they sweet?” delighted.



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Name:_________________________ Date:________________

Week Three: French-style dictation(Chapter 11, page 126)

_ ______ he darling?” ____ Betty.

“Just look at his cunning little ______ _ _Mary

Lou leaned closer for a ______ look.

_ ____ his ______ ears. Aren’t ____

________ _ _ Betty was _________ _

Week Four The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Week Four

Ralph dragged his heels to brake the motorcycle. Quietly he parked it beside the bed and quietly he removed his crash helmet and hid it behind the curtain. He did not want to disturb the sleeping boy.

Ralph could wait to ride the motorcycle. It was his to keep.




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Week FourClosing lines

Ralph dragged his heels to brake the motorcycle. Quietly he parked it beside the bed and quietly he removed his crash helmet and hid it behind the curtain. He did not want to disturb the sleeping boy.

Ralph could wait to ride the motorcycle. It was his to keep. (Chapter 13, page 158)

Why this passage

In addition to these final paragraphs, reread the lengthy paragraph before this one, where Ralph remembers to keep both paws on the handgrips. Enjoy the thrill of the ride, the sense of sheer joy that Ralph feels. Then use these last two paragraphs for copywork and dictation. The final sentence is both practical (the motorcycle is Ralph’s to keep), but it is also metaphorical (the experience the motorcycle gave Ralph is also his to keep).



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What to note

The word “brake” sounds just like “break.” One is a device that slows a vehicle, and the other is a time out from an activity. Practice them in sentences that make the context clear.

“Quietly” is a great word and worth memorizing for this piece. Notice the way the phonetics of the word lead you to the right spelling. If you help your child to say “quietly” slowly, he or she will notice that the “i” is pronounced before the “e.” “Qu” words are most often followed by another vowel, so always consider what sound follows the “Qu” in the word to determine what letters come next.

Cleary uses “quietly” twice in a sentence to emphasize just how quiet Ralph is being (each action requires deliberate care not to wake Keith). “Repetition of key terms” is one of the top ten literary elements.

“Motorcycle” is what is known as a “compound word.” Compound words are two individual words put together to create a new word.

Motor—the engine that causes the vehicle to move forward (and backward!). Cycle—a vehicle on wheels (usually two or three wheels).

The passage has two indentations (both beginning with Ralph). The final paragraph is only two lines. The first paragraph details the careful attention Ralph pays to dismounting from the motorcycle so that he doesn’t disturb Keith.


For a change of pace, this month’s passage will be a reverse dictation, rather than a French-style dictation. What that means is that all the punctuation is missing, including indentations. The child will have to supply the proper punctuation (indentations, capitals, and end marks), and then underline any misspelled words (supplying the proper spellings by rewriting the words correctly at the bottom of the page.

To indicate an indentation, use the paragraphing symbol: ¶ (in handwriting it looks like the letter “c” placed over two parallel vertical lines).



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Reverse Dictation:Here are the missing capitals, periods, and misspelled words in this week’s Reverse Dictation.

Ralph heels brake motorcycle. Quietly quietly curtain.

He boy.

Ralph motorcycle. It keep.

The two indentations are noted above. The misspellings focus on homonyms, difficult-to-spell words, and “motorcycle” –a compound word.

Ask your child to edit the piece so that there are capitals, periods, indentations, and corrected spellings. Put the punctuation in place, put the capital letter above the incorrect lowercase letter, use the paragraphing symbol to show where the indentations should be (¶), and underline any misspelled word. At the bottom of the page, write the word with the correct spelling.

Reward your kids for any correction they make that is correct by paying them a penny for the correction. If they underline a misspelled word, they get a penny. If then they rewrite it with the correct spelling, they get another penny. They can score their own pages by comparing them to the original, or you can do it for them and then look at the passage compared to the original if they are interested to see what they missed.



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Name:_________________________ Date:________________

Week Four: Reverse Dictation(Chapter 13, page 158)

ralph dragged his heals to break the motircycel

queitly he parked it beside the bed and queitly he

removed his crash helmet and hid it behind the

curten he did not want to disturb the sleeping boy

ralph could wait to ride the motercicle it was his

to keep


Literary Element The Mouse and the Motorcycle

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Literary Element

Viewpoint

Novels are written from a point of view. Think about the words “point of view” or “viewpoint.” The word “view” conjures the image of eyes, looking in a direction. The word “point” conjures a location—a specific place.

Viewpoint, then, could be understood as getting behind the eyes of a specific person and seeing the world the way that person does.

Most often, novels tell a story according to one point of view: the main character’s. The reader gets to experience the story through the point of view of the protagonist (main character). There are two ways that the main character tells the story. One way to tell the story is that the author will write the story as though the main character is speaking directly to us. The narrator of the story tells it in “first person” (meaning the main character relates the tale using the “I” form).

Another way the story can be told through the viewpoint of the main character is through what is called: “third person.” Third person storytelling means that the author is telling the story about the main character, but chooses to limit the reader only to what that character sees, knows, and experiences. Third person can be immediate (like first person), but the relating of the story is not as intimate. The author uses the “he/she” form.

To complicate things, not all autobiographical novels are in first person. For instance, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is about Laura’s life. Yet Laura writes it in third person (as though she is telling the story about Laura, rather than telling it from her own memories and experiences).

“Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.” (Little House in the Big Woods)

First Person ViewpointLike the name indicates, first person viewpoint uses the “I” form. The narrator of the tale is the main character and the story is limited to the experiences, observations, thoughts, and ideas of the main character. The nice thing about first person point of view (POV) is that the reader feels like the confidant or best friend of the main character. Readers are close to the action, close to the internal processes and



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thought life of the primary character. It’s almost like reading a diary or living inside the protagonist’s head.

First person has limitations though. In first person POV, the author can’t tell you what another character is thinking, seeing, or feeling. The author can only report what “I” see (what the narrator sees). That means, of course, if the main character is off on a camping trip, the reader can’t know what is happening back home with her best friend.

Ella Enchanted is an example of first person viewpoint. The novelist writes from the beginning: “That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me…”

We know right away that the story will be told from Ella’s point of view.

Third Person ViewpointThird person POV means that someone outside of the story is narrating the main character’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Like first person, third person still faces limitations. Most third person narratives stick to telling the story of one person’s experiences. There are occasions where the author will choose to follow the story line of several characters (while in third person). To achieve that effectively, most authors will either alternate chapters or will create a visual break in the text (with a decorative symbol separating sections) so that the reader is prepared for a change in primary character.

In some writing, the author opts for what is called “Third Person Omniscient.” The word “omniscient” means “all knowing.” It is a word often attributed to God. In a novel, the author is the architect of the story and can be the all-knowing “seer” of the characters in the novel. In this way, some authors will move in and out of the minds of all the characters, without any attempt to separate them into sections. This kind of writing is the most difficult to do successfully, yet the most frequently used by amateurs. The main problem with a godlike posture in telling a story is that it is too easy to confuse characterizations (keeping the characters distinct from each other).



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Investigate

Go to your bookshelves and grab a stack of five or six novels. Open them up. Identify what viewpoint the narrator uses to tell the story. Ask yourself if the novel is at all autobiographical (tells the author’s personal story) or exclusively fictional (tells a story that didn’t happen). It’s interesting to identify whether or not biography is told in first or third person, especially.

See if you can find examples of:1. First person (autobiographical)2. First person (fictional character)3. Third person (autobiographical)4. Third person (fictional character)5. Third person omniscient (fictional, all characters)


Writing Activity The Mouse and the Motorcycle

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Writing Activity

Viewpoint writing

To get a feel for how viewpoint works, write stories in first and third person viewpoints.

First person (me, myself, and I)It is easy to write in first person because you are narrating your own life. Think about an event that you enjoyed in the last few days (doesn’t have to be spectacular; in fact, it can be as mundane as describing your bedtime routine). Write about it as if you are sending it in a letter to a friend. Use the “I” form. Tell someone about that experience.

First person (someone else)Next, switch it up. Write another story, but pretend to be someone else (your little brother, your best friend, your grandma). Write it in first person. If you’re a girl, pretend to be a boy or a mouse or an animated toy. If you’re a boy, pretend to be a girl or a dolphin who can talk or a schoolteacher. This kind of writing feels like acting. You have to take on the characteristics of someone else, yet write about an experience as though you are that other person or animal. You will represent your experience using the “I” form, only this is a fictional account—one where you are pretending to be that person or animal. If it still sounds confusing to you, think about it like this. Remember when you dressed up in dress up clothes to play Robin Hood, or to be a child orphan in World War 2, or to be Cinderella? You acted as though you were those people. This is what you will do in writing. Pretend to “put on” the character you want to write about and write as though you are play-acting.

Third person (me again)On another day, write a paragraph about an experience (a real experience) you’ve had recently. Perhaps you will choose a trip to the zoo, or indoor rock climbing, or the breakfast in bed you had while sick, or the time you broke your wrist skiing. Instead of writing about it like you are keeping a diary, write it in third person. Call yourself by name.


Writing Activity The Mouse and the Motorcycle

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Julie clicked into her skis and pushed off with her poles. She glided across the new snow until her tips caught the back of Caitrin’s bindings and splat! She fell right into the drifts next to the lodge. Crunch! It wasn’t the sound of icy snow. It wasn’t the sound of skis sliding up on each other. The crunchy noise originated in her wrist, and now the pain shot up her arm and she found her voice, “Ooowwwwwwccchhhhhh!”

Third person (not me)Lastly, write about someone else. Create a character and tell an experience through his or her eyes. This time the person is made-up and the story is about the person.

Millie couldn’t reach the top shelf. She climbed onto a nearby folding chain leaning forward as far as she could when, bam! The chain snapped shut on her legs and Millie collapsed with it.

Pay attention to viewpoint and feel free to explore it in other writing and narrating you do. Listen to a first person recounting of an experience. Then retell it in third person to see if you captured it and remembered it accurately. All narration based on stories you read will be in third person naturally! The ability to hear, retain, and retell also comes in handy in relationships, too.

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