Stumpy's Secret 6-pack Author: Mandy Hager ISBN: 9780478124217 Copyright Date: 2000 Lesson Plan Blackline Master Grade Level: 6 Reading Level: Y Strategy/Skill: Character study, Figurative language, Making predictions, Writer's craft Genre: Mystery Theme/Topic: Character Education, Personal Change, Problem Solving Classification: Fiction

Book Summary

Joe relates a story about his “stash” that is missing from his uncle’s junkyard.  He blames a local character called Stumpy, but as the story unfolds, the real thief is discovered.

Features of the Book

• First person narrative with direct
• communication to the reader
• The use of flashbacks to inform the reader
• The use of similes – shine out of that guy’s face like a beacon; standing around in their pajamas like a bunch of escaped hospital patients
• The alliteration in the title and chapter headings – Stumpy’s Secret, Gigantic Guilt, Sticks and Stones
• The use of descriptive language – echoed around the yard like Christmas gone mad; It was like those finger bones jumped down my throat and stuck there; my heart tried to burst out through my ribs

Purpose

Stumpy’s Secret can be used to introduce and reinforce the following skills:

• predicting probable actions and outcomes
• understanding the use of chapter headings
• investigating the narrator’s way of communicating with the reader
• interpreting and analyzing characters’ relationships and feelings
• exploring the use of simile

For more information please see our Lesson Plan