Dahl Dreamers Choice Board Amplify ELA 6A - Boy Excerpts Early Finisher Options
Dahl Dreamers Choice Board
Let your imagination run wild once your primary work is polished!
Name:
Date:
Stop! Read Before You Choose
Before selecting a task below, confirm that ALL core classroom assignments are complete. Re-read project guidelines, check your rubrics, proofread your grammar, and ensure your absolute best effort was put forward!
Autobiography Compare
Memory to Magic
Compare real themes from the Boy excerpts (sweets, scary adults) to the magical events in a chosen novel from our library.
Uses Boy Worksheet
Vocabulary
Gobbledegook Slang
Analyze Dahl's crazy invented language and construct your own magical dictionary of colorful words.
Uses Word Play Worksheet
Text Evidence
R.A.C.E. Analysis
Practice structuring ELA claims. Write a text-evidence based analysis response about Mrs. Pratchett, homesickness, or the Matron.
Uses RACE Worksheet
Creative Writing
Childhood Memoirs
Write an autobiographical narrative about one of your own childhood memories, adopting Dahl's descriptive, exaggerated style.
Uses Narrative Worksheet
Creative
Map & Sketch
The Great Mouse Plot
On blank paper, sketch a detailed schematic layout of Mrs. Pratchett's sweet shop, labeling the jars (Pear Drops, Gobstoppers) and the loose floorboard.
Use Drawing Paper
Historical ELA
Weekly Letter Home
Write a mock letter home to a parent from St. Peter's, trying to sound happy while secretly feeling homesick, just like Dahl wrote to his mother.
Use Notebook Paper
Vocabulary Art
Sweets Catalogue
Create a colorful poster advertising three real, old-fashioned candies from Mrs. Pratchett's shop (e.g. Pear Drops, Gobstoppers, Licorice laces).
Use Drawing Paper
Visual Art
Dahl Caricatures
Sketch a funny, caricature-style portrait of Mrs. Pratchett, Mr. Coombes, or the Matron, based on Dahl's descriptive exaggerations.
Use Drawing Paper
Humorous Writing
Dodge the Matron
Write a humorous 5-step "Survival Guide" for St. Peter's boarding school, focusing on how to avoid the strict Matron roaming the halls.
Use Notebook Paper
Classroom Quest Guidelines: Keep your chosen worksheets and writing pieces in your ELA folder.
"I am only eight years old, but I am already beginning to think..." — Boy
Dahl Dreamers RACE Response Worksheet R.A.C.E. Evidence Strategy Amplify ELA 6A - Boy Excerpts
R.A.C.E. Reading Response
Cite clear evidence from your "Boy" excerpts and defend your claims with powerful reasoning!
Name:
Date:
Step 1: Select Your Prompt
A. Mrs. Pratchett: How does Dahl use sensory language to paint Mrs. Pratchett as a villain?
B. Homesickness: How does young Dahl try to manage homesickness on his first day at St. Peter's?
C. The Matron: Why is the Matron so deeply terrifying to the dormitory boys?
R & A — Restate & Answer the Question Turn the prompt into a statement and state your main answer/claim
C — Cite Text Evidence Include: "In the excerpt '___', the author states..."
E — Explain Your Evidence This shows that... / This is important because...
R Check
A Check
C Check
E Check
"I am only eight years old, but I am already beginning to think..." — Boy
Dahl Dreamers Narrative Worksheet Personal Narrative Memoir Amplify ELA 6A - Boy Excerpts
Tales of Childhood
Adopt Roald Dahl's signature style! Choose a prompt and write a colorful memoir about your own life.
Name:
Date:
Step 1: Choose Your Creative Spark
1. Sweet Obsession
Write about a favorite sweet shop or treats from your childhood. Use hyper-vivid, exaggerated adjectives to make the reader's mouth water!
2. The Master Prank
Write about a harmless, funny prank or secret plan you and your friends (or siblings) once schemed. Make it feel as suspenseful as the Mouse Plot!
3. The Big Caricature
Describe a memorable or intimidating adult you've encountered. Exaggerate their physical features and habits just like Dahl describes his teachers or the Matron.
4. First Day Feelings
Write about a memorable first day of school, or a time you entered a brand-new, nerve-wracking environment. Focus on sensory feelings of nervousness.
Step 2: Draft Your Memoir
Include: Character actions, sensory details, and strong dialogue!
Finished drafting? Highlight your best adjective in green!
"An autobiography is a story a person writes about his own life..." — Boy
Dahl Dreamers Word Play Worksheet Vocabulary Word Play Amplify ELA 6A Connection
Gobbledegook Dictionary
Roald Dahl invented over 500 silly words! Let's decode them and invent our own.
Name:
Date:
Part 1: The Giant's Secret Vocabulary
Read each famous Dahl word below and write your own guess for what it means based on how it sounds, then match it to the real definition!
Dahl's Word My Prediction (Based on Sound) Real Definition Match 1. Frobscottle A. A disgusting, striped green vegetable 2. Snozzcumber
| B. A fizzy, delicious, sweet green soda |
| 3. Phizz-whizzing |
| C. Terrifying or spooky nightmares |
| 4. Trogglehumper |
| D. Excellent, wonderful, or brilliant |
Part 2: Expand the Dictionary
Invent two original Gobbledegook words. Combine real root words with funny sounds (e.g., mixing "crunchy" and "glamorous" into Crumorous).
My New Word:
What does it mean?
Example Sentence using this word:
My New Word:
What does it mean?
Example Sentence using this word:
Can you slip one of your new words into class conversations today?
"Don't gobblefunk around with words!" — The BFG
Dahl Dreamers Boy Connection Worksheet Autobiographical Connection Amplify ELA 6A - Boy Excerpts
Memory to Magic
Explore how Roald Dahl transformed real childhood moments from the excerpts into classic fiction.
Name:
Date:
In your read excerpts of Boy: Tales of Childhood, Roald Dahl shares vivid childhood memories. Years later, he recycled these memories as raw fuel for his fictional stories. Let's trace how real-life memories became literature!
Connection 1: Sweet Shop Wonders
In "The Bicycle and Sweet-shop", Dahl describes his obsession with Gobstoppers and Pear Drops at Mrs. Pratchett's shop. How does this real-life passion mirror Mr. Wonka's eccentric candy creations in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
Connection 2: Stern Authority Figures
Think about the cruel adults Dahl faced in the school excerpts, like Mr. Coombes or the Matron at St. Peter's. How do these real figures parallel fictional antagonists like Miss Trunchbull or Aunt Spiker?
Use specific names or examples from both texts to elevate your analysis!
"I am only eight years old, but I am already beginning to think..." — Boy
