The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs

seven wonders ak

Section 1: How It Started-Day One

Vocabulary
  1. astonish: to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise
  2. extraordinary: so unusual as to be remarkable
  3. hollow: an unfilled space
  4. peculiar: different from the usual or normal
  5. seminary: a school for the training of priests, ministers, or rabbis
  6. whittle: a large knife; to shape by cutting or shaving off chips from wood; to wear oneself or another out with fretting
  7. wonder: something extraordinary; to feel surprise or amazement; a feeling caused by something extraordinary
Vocabulary Sentences
  1. Emily will astonish her mother by cleaning the entire house before she returns home from doing errands.
  2. Hudson will never forget the extraordinary moment when everyone applauded him for reciting the Gettysburg Address from memory.
  3. The boys begged their dad to teach them how to whittle a bar of soap into the shape of a fish.
  4. Inside the hollow log slept a bunny with all her babies.
  5. Emerson is thrilled to have completed all his seminary courses so that he can now become a Jewish rabbi.
Comprehension Questions
  1. Aunt Pretty tells Eben to wake up and see the world. (pg. 2)
  2. Eben is reading about the Seven Wonders of the World. (pg. 4)
  3. Aunt Pretty says that they have the wash hanging on the line every Monday and they could call it the Hanging Laundry of Sassafrass Springs. (pg. 5)
  4. Eben says he spends so much time thinking about foreign places because someday he is going to see them. (pg. 7)
  5. Eben’s book says that a Wonder is “a marvel; that which arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration.” (pg. 9)
  6. Pa offers to buy Eben a ticket to Colorado if he finds Seven Wonders in Sassafras Springs. (pg. 10)
  7. Eben plans to look for Wonders by going up one country lane and down the next until he covers all of Sassafrass Springs. (pg. 14)
  8. Pa gave Eben a break from chores, which he counts as a Wonder. (pg. 14)
  9. Jeb can’t accompany Eben on his search for Wonders because he is taking care of his siblings. (pg. 18)
  10. Eben recalls a verse that says, “He that seeketh findeth” and another part that says, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” (pg. 18-19)
  11. When she was a little girl, Mrs. Pritchard sometimes received an orange, a peppermint stick, a new pair of socks, or an embroidered handkerchief for Christmas. (pg. 27)
  12. When she wakes up on Christmas morning, the first thing Mrs. Pritchard sees is her stocking with her very own baby doll, Miss Zeldy. (pg. 29)
  13. Eben’s first Wonder is Mrs. Pritchard’s doll because it helped saved her life when she was a sick little girl. (pg. 32)

Section 2: Day Two-Day Three Continued

Vocabulary
  1. abrupt: to happen without warning
  2. bedraggled: limp, wet, or dirty from rain or mud
  3. gingerly: very cautious or careful
  4. hardscrabble: having poor soil; getting a meager living from poor soil; having harsh and difficult conditions because of poverty
  5. marvel: one that causes wonder or astonishment; to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity
  6. perturb: to cause to be worried or upset
  7. skedaddle: run away, scram; to flee in a panic
Vocabulary Sentences
  1. The class came to an abrupt end when someone accidentally set off the fire alarm.
  2. Camille walked gingerly down the street, making sure there were no stray dogs nearby.
  3. Garrett knows he will marvel at the lunar eclipse tonight.
  4. Their dog Rover entered the house bedraggled after getting caught in the downpour.
  5. The hardscrabble farmer couldn’t figure out how to improve the soil to make his harvest more bountiful.
Comprehension Questions
  1. Eben thinks about the faraway mountain in Silver Peak, Colorado, while he is weeding corn. (pg. 36)
  2. The Saylor house has curlicues and fancy trim, a fine porch that curved all around the house, and a big sleeping porch upstairs. (pg. 38)
  3. No one wants to hire Cully as a handyman because his own house is about to cave in. (pg. 45)
  4. Eben’s second Wonder is Cully’s bookcase because it held the secrets of the universe, saved a man’s life, and is still holding up Cully’s house. (pg. 60)
  5. Holt Nickerson rode his horse while he was asleep with his eyes open, and no one ever saw him again. (pg. 67)
  6. Jeb doesn’t want to travel the world with Eben because his parents want him to take care of their farm some day. (pg. 71)
  7. On his way to the general store, Eben sees Albert Bowie, his brother Vern, and Rae Ellen. (pg. 76)
  8. Eben feels in a spot because he isn’t sure what Rae Ellen told her and because he didn’t want to be seen walking with a girl. (pg. 80)
  9. Hiram Yount tells Eben that his pa just sent a letter to Colorado yesterday. (pg. 81)
  10. Eben hears Calvin Smiley playing music a handsaw and a fiddler’s bow. (pg. 84-85)
  11. Calvin Smiley had gotten rid of the grasshoppers by playing music on his saw. (pg. 90)
  12. Eben’s third Wonder is Calvin Smiley’s saw. (pg. 92)

Section 3: Day Four-Days Six and Seven

Vocabulary
  1. beckon: to summon or signal typically with a wave or nod; to appear inviting
  2. congregate: to come together into a group, crowd, or assembly
  3. culprit: one guilty of a crime or a fault
  4. nuisance: one that is annoying, unpleasant, or obnoxious
  5. quench: to put out the light or fire of; to cause to lose heat or warmth
  6. rambunctious: uncontrolled in a way that is playful or full of energy
  7. tally: to list or check off by items; to make a count on
Vocabulary Sentences
  1. The rambunctious child hung upside down in her seat while waiting to be called in to see the dentist.
  2. The kids like to congregate near the ice cream store, hoping for a free sample.
  3. The elderly woman shouted at the culprit who was running away with her purse.
  4. The plate of warm chocolate chip cookies will beckon each family member into the kitchen.
  5. The fly became a nuisance when it landed on my food!
Comprehension Questions
  1. Junior Watkins shows Eben his egg. (pg. 98)
  2. Aunt Pretty has Eben take chicken and peaches to the Rowans’. (pg. 102)
  3. Rose-Ivy thought she survived the illness because she doesn’t give up easily. (pg. 107)
  4. Rose-Ivy discovered a man sitting at a table next to a tombstone, crying for his wife who had died. (pg. 110)
  5. Jacob Coogan has the respect of the other kids because he knows about things none of the other kids would ever know about. (pg. 124)
  6. The Pitt family’s favorite trick was knocking over outhouses. (pg. 131)
  7. Rae Ellen brings a ship in a bottle to show Eben. (pg. 143)
  8. Uncle Dutch had found seasickness, bad food, and nasty sailors. (pg. 144)
  9. Eben agrees to give Rae Ellen pie for the first week of school. (pg. 151)
  10. Eben finds Coogie Jackson in the kitchen eating biscuits and ham gravy. (pg. 157)
  11. While Eben and his friends are taking the watermelon, Mayor Peevey talks to them. (pg. 162)
  12. Eben’s sixth Wonder is Mayor Peevey’s cloth. (pg. 175)

Section 4: Day 8-The Beginning

Vocabulary
  1. abrupt: to happen without warning
  2. bustle: to move or go in a busy or hurried way; to have a lot of busy activity
  3. coax: to influence by gentle urging, special attention, or flattering
  4. kinfolk: relatives
  5. murmur: speech or a way of speaking that is quiet and soft; to make a low, continuous sound
  6. pester: to annoy or bother someone in a repeated way
  7. scruffy: dirty or shabby in appearance
Vocabulary Sentences
  1. Dad’s scruffy beard tickles Julie’s face when he kisses her goodnight.
  2. It is stressful to bustle from store to store during the holiday season.
  3. Edwin looks forward to Thanksgiving dinner, when all the kinfolk gather around to share all that they are thankful for.
  4. Mom had to coax baby Jude back into the car by placing his bottle inside his car seat.
  5. Marlow liked to pester her little brother by hiding his toothbrush every morning.
Comprehension Questions
  1. Pa receives a letter saying that Eben can’t visit this year because of people getting sick and even dying of influenza. (pg. 181)
  2. Aunt Pretty shows Pa and Eben her clothespin people. (pg. 183)
  3. Pa and Eben agree that Aunt Pretty is a Wonder. (pg. 185)
  4. Eben goes to Alf Dee’s mule farm to find his seventh Wonder. (pg. 185)
  5. Eben finds a miniature carving of Sassafrass Springs on the table. (pg. 187)
  6. LaFlame showed Uncle Alf how to carve wood. (pg. 192)
  7. Even discovers that the past, present, and future are all mixed up in your brain. (pg. 194)
  8. The loom sat in the shed until a big wind came and smashed the shed and the loom into a pile of sticks. (pg. 196-197)
  9. Aunt Pretty arranges for Eben to visit Cousin Lottie in St. Louis, Missouri since he can’t go to Colorado. (pg. 201)
  10. Eben does not want to miss the red-hot snowflakes. (pg. 206)