Just before Recess (By James Van Pelt)

About the passage

A.  Read to understand

1.   Answer the following questions.

     1.   Why would Mr Earl glance up once in a while? What did his glare mean?

Ans. Mr. Earl was glancing up at the third graders to make sure none of them were talking or passing notes, or looking out of the window. His glare means that child’s name would soon go up on the board with the other kids who had lost their lunch privileges for the day.

     2.   What did Parker see when he opened his desk to put in his lunch box?

Ans. When he opened his desk to put in his lunch box, he saw a cloud swirled in the space and at its centre was a dull, pulsing red glow.

     3.   Why did he make the desk lean away from himself?

Ans. He leaned the desk away from him so that the pebble he dropped in his desk roll towards the sun.

     4.   Why did Parker snatch his hand back out of the desk?

Ans. He cautiously moved his hand towards the sun. At first he felt only the heat, but when he got within a few inches, the skin on his palm began to sting, like the flesh was pulling away. This made him to snatch his hand back out of the desk.

     5.   Why did Parker not have the book?

Ans. Parker did not have the book because it disappeared into the sun along with everything.

     6.   What happened when Mr Earl threw the desktop open?

Ans. Mr Earl went down quickly into the desk and disappeared when he threw the desktop open.

B.  Read to infer

1.   What made Parker’s desktop warm the bottom of the desk toasty?

Ans. Sun kept in the desk made Parker’s desktop warm and the bottom of the desk toasty.

2.   How did the sun inside Parker’s desk get him into trouble?

Ans. His book had disappeared into the sun along with everything else. Parker could not explain what had happened to Mr Earl. So, Mr Earl went to his desk to see where exactly his book had gone. But when Earl threw the desktop open, he went down quickly into the desk.

3.   From where do you think the sun in the desk was getting its energy?

Ans. Sun was getting energy from the gravel, pebbles, twigs and gums Parker was feeding and from the school supplies kept in his desk.

4.   ‘Careful, Mr Earl,’ said Parker. What did Parker want to warn Mr Earl about?

Ans. Parker wanted to warn Mr Earl about the sun that was in his desk.

C.  Discuss

1.   Why do you think Parker would not speak about what was going on inside his desk?

Ans. Parker would not speak about what was going on inside his desk because nobody would trust him.

2.   Why did a long silence fill the room? What do you think were the children’s feeling at that moment in time?  

Ans. A long silence filled the room because Mr Earl had disappeared into the desk. The other student had not moved because they all were shocked.

3. Why do you think the sun in Parker’s desk chose to swallow Mr Earl and not Parker?

Ans. Parker was feeding the sun and treating him like his friend so, the sun in Parker’s desk chose Mr Earl to swallow. (Answer will vary)