The Lemonade War Part 3 Study Guide - Garden Heights Academy

What Happens in Part 3

The five-day war heats up into real competition. Both teams set out their stands and watch the coin jars slowly fill. Evan is rattled to see how well Jessie and Megan are doing — his little sister is a serious rival. Soon the fight turns to price. Jessie tries underselling: she drops her price below Evan’s, so thirsty customers cross the street to the cheaper stand. It works, and her line grows longer. But Evan can lower his price too, and if both keep cutting, each cup earns less and less. A price war can win customers while quietly shrinking the very profit both sides are fighting for. As the days tick down, the contest grows tense — and neither Treski will back down.

What We Will Learn

Focus	What It Means
Suspense	The tense wondering the author builds — who is winning?
Imagery	Word-pictures of the stands, the lines, the jars of coins
Irony	When the result is the opposite of what was intended

Chapter Summary

Chapter	Key Events
Ch. 5 — Competition	The war becomes a real contest. Evan is unsettled to see how well Jessie and Megan sell; his sister is a true rival, and both sides push hard.
Ch. 6 — Underselling	Jessie drops her price below Evan’s to pull customers away. It works — but it starts a price war in which each cheaper cup earns less for everyone.

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

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

If two stands sold the same lemonade, what might make you pick one over the other?
Dropping the price brings more customers but less money per cup. When might that be a smart move — or a foolish one?
Predict: if Evan and Jessie keep cutting prices, who really loses?

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. The Lemonade War is a work by Jacqueline Davies. This guide is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the author or any associated rights holder.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study 10 key words from Chapters 5–6, then answer each question.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Words of the Price War

Economics · Price & DemandTo follow this part you need one of the most powerful ideas in all of economics: price is a tug-of-war. When two sellers chase the same thirsty customers, a common move is underselling — setting your price a little lower so buyers cross the street to you. It works because of a rule grown-ups call demand: cheaper things pull more customers, so the low price bends the line your way. But the trick hides a trap. If your rival answers by cutting their price, and you cut again, each cup now earns only a few cents, and a afternoon of hard work can end with nothing saved. That downward spiral has a name — a price war — and real companies have wounded themselves in this way. So when Jessie drops her price to a shocking figure, admire the cleverness, but keep your eye fixed on the shrinking profit.

Black-and-white 1938 photograph of a hand-painted gas station sign that splits the price of a gallon into lines: gasoline, state, Uncle Sam, city, railroad, agent, and Me, with a total of twenty and a half cents — Photograph of a gas station sign in Santa Fe, New Mexico, taken by Dorothea Lange in August 1938. The owner painted out where every cent of a gallon’s price went — the fuel itself, state and federal and city taxes, the railroad, the agent — and at the bottom wrote Me: four cents out of twenty and a half. The *Knowledge Bank* explains that in a price war each cut shrinks the profit, until an afternoon of hard work can end with nothing saved. This sign shows why: the seller’s own slice was already small before any cut. It is a gas station, not a lemonade stand, and the prices are from 1938. Notice how thin the Me line is — the slice a price war eats first.
Gas station price sign, Santa Fe, New Mexico, August 1938; photograph by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration, Library of Congress. Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

competitionn.Ch.5–6

A contest to do better than others

“The war became a real competition.”

competev.Ch.5–6

To try to win against others

“The two teams began to compete.”

undersellv.Ch.5–6

To sell cheaper than a rival to win customers

“Jessie chose to undersell Evan.”

discountn.Ch.5–6

An amount taken off the price

“She offered a small discount.”

attractv.Ch.5–6

To draw people toward something

“A low price attracts customers.”

strategyn.Ch.5–6

A careful plan to reach a goal

“Underselling was her strategy.”

demandn.Ch.5–6

How much people want to buy something

“Hot days raise the demand.”

bargainn.Ch.5–6

A good deal; something bought cheaply

“Her cheap cup was a bargain.”

outsellv.Ch.5–6

To sell more than another seller

“She hoped to outsell her brother.”

reducev.Ch.5–6

To make smaller or less

“He had to reduce his price.”

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, underselling works because of ___.Ch.5

2To ‘undersell’ a rival is to —Ch.6

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 5–6

Word choices:discountstrategybargaindemand- some words will not be used

An amount taken off the price is a .

A careful plan to reach a goal is a .

4To ‘attract’ customers is to —Ch.6

5‘Demand’ means how much people want to buy something.Ch.5

6To ‘reduce’ a price is to —Ch.6

7Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 5–6

Word choices:outsellcompetebargainattract- some words will not be used

To try to win against others is to .

To sell more than another seller is to them.

8A ‘bargain’ is —Ch.6

9A ‘strategy’ is —Ch.5

10To ‘undersell’ someone means to charge a much higher price than they do.Ch.6

Part 2

Comprehension

How well do you understand Chapters 5–6?

🧠Knowledge Bank · Cause and Effect in a Price War

Reading Skill · Cause & EffectThis part is built like a row of falling dominoes, and the reading skill it rewards is tracing cause and effect. Watch how tightly one event triggers the next: Jessie slashes her price, so customers drift to her stand, so Evan finds his line shrinking, so he feels forced to cut his price in return — which sets the chain moving again. Each link is a because. Naming those becauses aloud does something important: it shows you why a price war is so hard to stop once it begins. Nobody chose the disaster on purpose; each child answered the last move, and the answers piled into a mess neither wanted. Good readers connect what happens, asking after every event, and what did that cause next? Follow the chain here and you will understand a truth about both money and quarrels: small reactions can snowball into a real war.

Visual AidA row of falling dominoes

Diagram for the Knowledge Bank on cause and effect. The four boxes are the links the Knowledge Bank traces, each joined by the word so, and the dashed red arrow shows the chain setting itself moving again. It does not give the prices. Notice that the loop has no exit drawn on it — that is the Knowledge Bank’s point about why a price war is so hard to stop.

Links as traced in the Knowledge Bank. Drawn for Garden Heights Academy.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1The Knowledge Bank says a price war is hard to stop because ___.Ch.5

2How does Evan feel about how well Jessie is doing?Ch.5

3What price trick does Jessie use?Ch.6

4What happens when Jessie lowers her price?Ch.6

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the order of events in Part 3. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch. 5–6

Evan is rattled by how well Jessie sells.
Buyers drift away from Evan’s stand.
Jessie drops her price below Evan’s.
A price war shrinks the profit for both.
The war becomes a serious competition.

6What is the danger if both keep cutting their prices?Ch.6

7Who is Evan’s main rival in the competition?Ch.5

8Why do customers pick the cheaper stand?Ch.6

9Underselling can win more customers but earn less money on each cup.Ch.6

10Evan and Jessie both agree to stop competing and share everything.Ch.5

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Jacqueline Davies tells the story in Chapters 5–6.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Suspense, Imagery & Irony

Literary Craft · Irony & SuspenseThree literary tools shape these chapters. Suspense is the tense wondering an author stirs up on purpose — who is ahead, and by how much? Davies feeds it by showing the money in jars and running totals, so each coin ticks like a scoreboard. That steady counting is imagery: word-pictures of cups, cash, and crowded stands that let us see the contest instead of merely hearing about it. Sharpest of all is irony, which is when a result turns out to be the opposite of what a character intended. Every price cut feels to the children like a victory, yet each one quietly shrinks the profit that was the entire point — they are winning their way straight toward losing. Spotting that gap between what a character wants and what they actually get is one of the deepest pleasures of reading, and it is where this cheerful story hides its real bite.

📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples

Suspense is the tense feeling of not yet knowing what will happen (who will win the war?). Imagery is language that paints a picture for the senses (crowded stands, jars of cold coins). Irony is when what happens is the opposite of what was meant (cutting prices to win, yet ending up with less money).

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, the irony of the price cuts is that ___.Ch.5

2Imagery is language that paints a picture for the senses.Ch.6

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 5–6

Word choices:suspenseimageryrhymeindex- some words will not be used

The tense wait to see who wins is .

Word-pictures of the stands and coins are .

4Cutting prices to win, yet ending up with less money, is an example of —Ch.6

5Irony is when everything turns out exactly as a character planned.Ch.6

6Fill in the blank with the correct word.Ch. 5–6

Word choices:suspenserhymesetting- some words will not be used

The nervous not-knowing of who will win keeps the reader in .

7Why does counting the money over and over build suspense?Ch.5

8The picture of lines of thirsty customers at the stands is an example of —Ch.6

9Fill in the blank with the correct word.Ch. 5–6

Word choices:ironyrhymeplot- some words will not be used

Winning customers but losing profit is a bitter piece of .

10The deepest irony of the price war is that —Ch.6

Part 4

Think Deeper

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

🧠Knowledge Bank · When Winning Costs Too Much

Social-Emotional · Pride & FairnessCompetition is supposed to make a business sharper — leaner prices, better ideas, harder effort. But this part shows how the drive to win can curdle into something that hurts everyone, including the winner. Ask the honest question underneath the fun: at what point does beating your rival stop being clever and start being foolish? Each child keeps slashing prices not because the math makes sense, but because pride has taken the wheel, and losing to a sibling feels unbearable. Notice that their real goal — earning enough money for something they each want — is quietly slipping away while they are busy proving a point. That is a trap grown-ups fall into too, in business and in life: mistaking the wish to defeat someone for the wish to succeed. The wisest competitors keep asking whether the fight is worth its cost, and know when a victory has grown too expensive.

1Claim: “Evan is shaken to find his little sister is a real rival.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2Shows Evan’s surprise at Jessie’s success, or just a detail? Tap each item to sort it — tap again to switch sides. You can keep tapping to change your answer.Sort into two

◄ Evan’s surpriseJust a detail ►

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

Both teams open their stands→

Jessie and Megan do well→

His sister is succeeding→

The stakes feel real→

🧠Knowledge Bank question

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

The Knowledge Bank says the children keep slashing prices because , which means their real goal .

Part 5

Standardized Test

The Price War — SAT & TOEFL-style practice

Price Wars Between Rival Shops

When two shops sell the same thing nearby, they must compete for the same customers. One quick way to win buyers is to lower your price below your rival's — a move called underselling. At first it works beautifully: the cheaper shop draws a crowd. But the rival can lower its price too, and then the first shop cuts again — a back-and-forth called a price war. Shoppers love a bargain, so a lower price can attract customers away from a rival almost overnight, at least for a little while. The trouble is that every cut shrinks the profit earned on each sale. The shops may stay busy, yet both end up with far less money than before. That is why wise sellers often compete in other ways instead: by offering fresher goods, kinder service, or something the rival does not have. Winning customers by being better, rather than merely cheaper, is a victory that lasts. Cutting prices too far can even push a shop below its own costs, turning every sale into a small loss, so sellers who forget this can win the crowd and still go broke.

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

1What must two nearby shops selling the same thing do?TOEFL · Factual Information

2To “compete” means to —SAT · Words in Context

3What is ‘underselling’?TOEFL · Factual Information

4What does every price cut shrink?TOEFL · Factual Information

5In the passage, a bargain is ___.SAT · Words in Context

6How do the shops end up after a long price war?TOEFL · Factual Information

7What do wise sellers do instead of only cutting prices?TOEFL · Factual Information

8In the passage, a lower price can attract customers, meaning it can ___.SAT · Words in Context

9What is the passage mainly about?TOEFL · Rhetorical Purpose

10This passage connects to Part 3 because Evan and Jessie —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 3 “Win Without a Price War”

Cutting prices can start a war that hurts everyone. Imagine you run a lemonade stand against a rival. Instead of just going cheaper, how would you win customers by being better? Think of fresher lemonade, a fun sign, kind service, or something new. Describe your plan. Write at least 40 words.

You can start with: “Instead of dropping my price, I would win customers by…”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what ‘underselling’ is, and why a price war can leave both sellers poorer. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 3 Complete!

You finished Chapters 5–6 of The Lemonade War.

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 4 →

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.