Elmer and the Dragon · Garden Heights Academy

Part 7

for Elmer and the Dragon · Part 7 · Chapters 8

a novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett

30 min5 Parts

This workbook is built on a solid pedagogical foundation, effectively integrating content and language learning based on the CLIL framework (Content and Language Integrated Learning), elevated by our unique 5th C — Connection — and an integrated Standardized Test section that weaves every SAT & TOEFL question type right into the novel, so learners build real test skills easily, naturally, and with fun.

What Happens in Part 7

With everyone helping, the chest is finally unearthed! Inside lies a real treasure — shining gold coins, a watch, and other wonderful things left behind long ago. The instant the mystery is solved, the canaries’ deadly curiosity melts away and the whole island bursts into joyful song once more. A grateful King Can XI rewards Elmer, telling him to take a handful of the gold coins as thanks for his help.

What We Will Learn

Focus	What It Means
Plot	The treasure is found and the mystery solved
Cause & Effect	How solving the secret cures the canaries
Character	King Can’s gratitude and generosity

Chapter Summary

Chapter	Key Events
Ch.8	The chest is dug up to reveal gold coins and a watch; the canaries are cured and sing again, and the grateful king rewards Elmer with gold

💭 Before You Read · Warm-Up (not scored)

There are no wrong answers here — just think, guess, and talk:

The moment the chest is opened, the canaries’ worry vanishes and they sing again. Why does simply knowing an answer make a heavy feeling lift so fast?
King Can rewards Elmer with gold, but Elmer helped because a friend was in trouble. Does a reward matter more, or less, when you weren’t doing it for one?
Predict: real buried chests get found in the real world too. Who do you think digs them up, and what happens to the treasure?

Copyright Notice

This is an independent study guide created by Garden Heights Academy to support reading comprehension and literary analysis. It contains original analysis questions and does not reproduce any text from the novel. Elmer and the Dragon is a work by Ruth Stiles Gannett. This guide is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the author or any associated rights holders. Students should read the original book, available from libraries and booksellers.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study 10 key words from Chapters 8, then answer each question.

🧠Knowledge Bank · How Islands Are Made

Geography · IslandsElmer’s whole adventure happens on islands, so how does an island form? An island is simply land with water all around it. Some islands are the tops of undersea volcanoes that grew tall enough to break the surface. Others are made of sand and mud piled up by the waves, or of hard coral built by tiny sea creatures over ages. Because islands sit apart in the ocean, unusual plants and animals often live there and nowhere else. Ringed by blue water and full of its own creatures and secrets, each one is a small and special island.

Rows of small round gold coins from a medieval hoard, laid out flat on a dark surface with their worn faces turned upward — Photograph of gold coins from the Fishpool Hoard, found buried in England and now in the British Museum. The *Knowledge Bank* explains that Elmer’s whole adventure happens on islands, and that an island is simply land with water all around it, some being the tops of undersea volcanoes. What this picture supplies is the other half of the chapter: real buried treasure exists, was hidden by somebody in a time of danger, and can lie under ordinary ground for centuries. These coins are a museum collection and are not the canaries’ treasure.
Gold coins from the Fishpool Hoard, British Museum; photograph released under CC0. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

treasuren.Ch.8

A store of valuable things like gold

“The chest was full of treasure.”

unearthv.Ch.8

To dig something up out of the ground

“At last they unearthed the chest.”

goldn.Ch.8

A precious shiny yellow metal

“The coins were made of pure gold.”

glitterv.Ch.8

To shine with sparkling light

“The coins glittered in the sun.”

rewardn.Ch.8

Something given as thanks

“Elmer received a reward of gold.”

gratefuladj.Ch.8

Feeling thankful

“The grateful king thanked Elmer warmly.”

celebratev.Ch.8

To do something joyful for a happy event

“The canaries began to celebrate.”

fortunen.Ch.8

A great amount of riches

“The chest held a small fortune.”

chestn.Ch.8

A strong box for storing things

“They lifted the heavy chest from the hole.”

reliefn.Ch.8

A glad feeling when worry ends

“The birds sang with relief.”

ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, some islands are ___.Ch.8

2True or False: To “unearth” something means to dig it up out of the ground.Ch.8

3To “glitter” means to ___.Ch.8

4True or False: A “grateful” person feels thankful.Ch.8

5Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8

Word choices:unearthtreasurereliefreward- some words will not be used

They worked hard to the chest, and inside they found a real .

6True or False: To “celebrate” means to do something joyful for a happy event.Ch.8

7A “fortune” is ___.Ch.8

8True or False: A “chest” is a strong box for storing things.Ch.8

9Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.8

Word choices:goldrewardreliefglitter- some words will not be used

The coins were made of , and the king gave Elmer a for his help.

10A glad feeling when worry ends is ___.Ch.8

Part 2

Comprehension

How well do you understand Chapters 8?

🧠Knowledge Bank · Every Story Has a Knot to Untie

Narrative Logic · Every Story Has a Knot to UntieLook for the problem and its solution in this part. A long-buried mystery has waited for an answer, and now the pieces come together and the trouble is undone. Skilled readers hold two questions in mind: what exactly was the problem, and how, step by step, was it solved? Trace the path from trouble to answer, and see whether the solution feels fair and earned. A good solution ties up the loose threads so nothing important is left dangling. When you can name both the knot and the way it was untied, you truly understand how the writer shaped the solution.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1The Knowledge Bank says skilled readers hold two questions in mind: what is the problem, and ___.Ch.8

2What is inside the chest?Ch.8

3What happens to the canaries once the mystery is solved?Ch.8

4True or False: King Can XI rewards Elmer with some of the gold.Ch.8

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Part 7.Ch.8

The chest is lifted up out of the ground.
The canaries’ curiosity is cured and they sing again.
Inside they find gold coins, a watch, and treasures.
Everyone helps dig beneath the royal tree.
The grateful king rewards Elmer with gold coins.

6True or False: After the treasure is found, the canaries can finally sing.Ch.8

7How does King Can feel toward Elmer at the end of this part?Ch.8

8What cured the canaries’ ‘deadly curiosity’?Ch.8

9True or False: The chest turned out to be completely empty.Ch.8

10Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence.Ch.8

Word choices:treasuresingcrysleep- some words will not be used

When the was found, the cured canaries began to with joy.

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Ruth Stiles Gannett creates certain feelings across Chapters 8.

🧠Knowledge Bank · One Thing Leads to Another

Literary Craft · Cause & EffectWriters link scenes with cause and effect, and here you can watch it work. Because Elmer helped the canaries, an effect follows: he is offered a reward. One kind action sets off another, like a chain. Nothing in a well-built story happens for no reason; each event grows out of the one before it. As you read, connect the links: this happened, and so that happened. Ruth Stiles Gannett is careful to make Elmer’s good luck the result of his own choices, not empty chance. Following that chain shows you how tightly a strong story is stitched, cause to effect.

Visual AidOne kind action sets off another

Diagram for the Knowledge Bank on cause and effect. The three numbered cards run in the Knowledge Bank’s own order: Elmer helps, the canaries are grateful, and a reward follows. It shows the links rather than the events of the chapter. Notice that the middle card is both an effect and a cause — which is what makes this a chain and not just two facts.

The chain of cause and effect described in the Knowledge Bank. Drawn for Garden Heights Academy.

📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples

One event leads to another: solving the mystery causes the canaries’ joy.

The resolution is where the story’s main problem is finally solved.

A reward for the hero, like Elmer’s gold, is a satisfying part of many tales.

The questions below are mixed — not grouped by device. Decide which device each one is about.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, Elmer being offered a reward is ___.Ch.8

2The resolution is how a story’s problems are settled.Ch.8

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8

Word choices:resolutionproblemcause and effectsetting- some words will not be used

Solving the mystery and rewarding Elmer is the story’s

Digging up the chest causing the cure shows .

4Elmer solving the mystery (cause) curing the canaries (effect) shows —Ch.8

5Cause and effect links an action to the result it brings.Ch.8

6Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8

Word choices:cause and effectresolutionproblemmood- some words will not be used

One event leading to the next is

The settling of the canaries’ trouble is the .

7The canaries’ cured curiosity is the effect of Elmer’s dig — showing —Ch.8

8The buried-treasure mystery that troubled the canaries was their —Ch.8

9Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8

Word choices:resolutioncause and effectproblemplot- some words will not be used

The tying-up of the canaries’ trouble is the

The dig causing the cure shows .

10The happy resolution mainly makes readers feel —Ch.8

Part 4

Think Deeper

Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it through.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Earning What You Get

Social-Emotional · FairnessElmer earns his reward, and that makes it feel right. He did not steal or beg; he helped, and the grateful canaries choose to thank him. This part quietly teaches fairness: rewards mean the most when they are earned by real effort and kindness. It also shows generous giving on the canaries’ side — they share gladly with the friend who helped them. Think about the difference between getting something for nothing and earning it through honest work. The second feels good deep down. When you help others and accept their thanks with grace, both sides are richer, and the reward is truly fair.

1Claim: “Solving the mystery cures the canaries at once.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2Shows the mystery solved and its effect, or just a detail of the scene? Tap each item to sort it — tap again to switch sides. You can keep tapping to change your answer.Sort into two

◄ Solved and its effectJust a detail ►

3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect

Everyone digs together→

The chest is opened→

The mystery is solved→

The canaries are cured→

🧠Knowledge Bank question

4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument

The Knowledge Bank says Elmer’s reward feels right because , which teaches that a reward means most when it is .

Part 5

Standardized Test

Cohesion & TOEFL Insert Text — SAT & TOEFL-style practice

The Staffordshire Gold Hoard

In 2009, a man walked across an ordinary farm field in England, swinging a metal detector. Suddenly the machine began to beep without stopping. When he and archaeologists carefully began to unearth the spot, they could hardly believe their eyes: buried just beneath the soil lay thousands of pieces of gold and silver, more than 1,500 years old. It became known as the Staffordshire Hoard, one of the greatest treasure discoveries ever made in Britain. Experts think a warrior or king may have buried it long ago to hide it in a time of danger, then never returned for it. Because the find was so important to history, it was not simply kept by the man who found it; instead, the law decided its value should be shared, and the pieces were placed in museums for everyone to see. Today, visitors can gaze at the same metal that lay silent under a farmer’s field for fifteen centuries.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1What was the man doing when he found the treasure?TOEFL · Factual Information

2In the passage, to unearth something is to ___.SAT · Words in Context

3The passage suggests most buried hoards are found —SAT · Inference

4In the passage, gold is ___.SAT · Words in Context

5Why do experts think the gold was buried long ago?TOEFL · Factual Information

6The passage mainly presents a found hoard as something to be —SAT · Rhetorical Purpose

7What did the law decide about the treasure’s “value”?TOEFL · Factual Information

8In the passage, a treasure is ___.SAT · Words in Context

9Which sentence best states the main idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas

10The author ends “real buried treasure is not only found in stories” mainly to —TOEFL · Rhetorical Purpose

Part 6 · Optional

Creative Writing

A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.

About This Section

This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!

Writing Task — Part 7 “The Treasure”

The chest is full of gold coins, a watch, and other treasures. If you found a treasure chest, what would you most hope to find inside, and what would you do with it? Would you keep it, share it, or give it away? Write at least 40 words.

You can start with: “The moment the lid creaked open, I saw…”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 7 Complete!

You finished Chapters 8 of Elmer and the Dragon.

Here are your auto-graded results:

-

points out of 100

Teach it to someone

The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.

Move on to Part 8 →

Independent study guide by Garden Heights Academy. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or any rights holders. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced.