The Lemonade War Part 6 Study Guide - Garden Heights Academy

What Happens in Part 6

The war reaches its lowest point. Stung by the sabotage, Evan makes his own terrible choice: he slips into Jessie’s room and takes her hidden money, telling himself he will give it back later. He tucks the cash into his shorts pocket. But at the pool he folds his shorts, sets his shoes on top, and dives in — and while he swims, his friend Scott Spencer quietly steals the money away. When Evan dresses to go home, the cash is gone. Jessie’s earnings, days of hard work, are now a total loss — and it is Evan’s fault twice over: he took the money, and then he lost it. What follows is a tense waiting period, thick with dread. Jessie discovers her money is missing, suspicion hangs heavy in the air, and Evan is sick with a guilt he cannot yet bring himself to confess. The lemonade war has cost the Treskis far, far more than a handful of coins.

What We Will Learn

Focus	What It Means
Climax	The moment of highest tension, where everything hangs in the balance
Symbolism	When one thing stands for a bigger idea — the lost money
Internal Conflict	A struggle inside one character — Evan’s guilt versus his fear

Chapter Summary

Chapter	Key Events
Ch. 11 — A Total Loss	Evan takes Jessie’s money, meaning to return it, and hides it in his shorts. While he swims, Scott Spencer steals it. Jessie’s earnings are a total loss.
Ch. 12 — Waiting Period	A tense, dread-filled wait follows. Jessie finds her money gone, suspicion grows, and Evan is sick with a guilt he cannot yet confess.

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

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

Evan took the money meaning to give it back. Does a good intention make a wrong choice okay? Why or why not?
Have you ever kept a heavy secret? How did the waiting and worrying feel?
Predict: how do you think the truth will finally come out — and what will it cost Evan to tell it?

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 11–12, then answer each question.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Words of Loss and Dread

Economics · Profit, Loss & RiskEvery business dreams of profit — the money kept after all the costs are paid — but no business escapes the shadow twin of profit, which is loss. The worst kind is a total loss: something valuable gone, with nothing left to show for it, what befalls Jessie’s hard-earned summer cash. Behind both profit and loss stands one unavoidable idea, risk — the chance that a plan will go wrong no matter how careful you were. Carrying a fat roll of coins and bills to the pool is a risk, and Evan learns it in the harshest way. Grown-up businesspeople do not pretend risk away; they plan for it, keeping money safe and insuring what they cannot afford to lose. Watch how a single careless afternoon can undo weeks of patient earning, and you will understand why the oldest rule of money is to guard, and not merely gather, what you have saved.

A colorful old postcard of a large outdoor municipal swimming pool with a red-roofed pavilion, lawns, trees, and a few swimmers, under a blue sky with white clouds — Postcard of the municipal swimming pool in Gadsden, Alabama, printed sometime between 1930 and 1945 and now in the Boston Public Library. The *Knowledge Bank* explains that behind profit and loss stands one unavoidable idea, risk — the chance that a plan goes wrong no matter how careful you were — and that carrying a fat roll of coins and bills to the pool is exactly such a risk. Look at the picture the way a business owner would: water, crowds, wet pockets, and nowhere safe to keep money. This is a real pool of the last century, not the one in the story, and no money was lost here that we know of. Notice how large and open the place is — the opposite of a locked drawer.
Municipal swimming pool, Gadsden, Alabama, postcard, about 1930–1945; Boston Public Library, Tichnor Brothers collection. Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

lossn.Ch.11–12

Money or things that are gone

“The stolen cash was a total loss.”

dreadn.Ch.11–12

Great fear of something ahead

“Evan felt a cold dread.”

confessv.Ch.11–12

To admit that you did wrong

“He could not yet confess.”

suspicionn.Ch.11–12

A feeling that someone has done wrong

“Suspicion hung in the air.”

tenseadj.Ch.11–12

Nervous and strained

“The house felt tense and quiet.”

blamev.Ch.11–12

To say someone is at fault

“Jessie began to blame Evan.”

consequencen.Ch.11–12

A result of an action

“Every choice has a consequence.”

honestadj.Ch.11–12

Truthful

“An honest word could fix much.”

anxiousadj.Ch.11–12

Worried and uneasy

“Evan was anxious all day.”

riskn.Ch.11–12

The chance that something bad may happen

“Carrying cash is a risk.”

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, a total loss is ___.Ch.11

2‘Dread’ is —Ch.12

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 11–12

Word choices:confesssuspicionriskblame- some words will not be used

To admit that you did wrong is to .

A feeling that someone has done wrong is .

4A ‘consequence’ is —Ch.11

5To be ‘tense’ is to feel calm, loose, and totally at ease.Ch.12

6To ‘blame’ someone is to —Ch.12

7Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 11–12

Word choices:riskanxioushonestdread- some words will not be used

The chance that something bad may happen is a .

Feeling worried and uneasy means feeling .

8To ‘confess’ is to —Ch.12

9‘Risk’ is —Ch.11

10An ‘honest’ person tells lies to stay out of trouble.Ch.12

Part 2

Comprehension

How well do you understand Chapters 11–12?

🧠Knowledge Bank · Following a Chain of Choices

Decision Science · Consequence ChainsThis low point in the story is one long chain, and the reader’s task is to trace it link by link. Follow how a single wrong choice drags the next behind it: Evan takes the money that is not his, then hides it, then leaves it while he swims, and then — horribly — loses it. No single step looks like a catastrophe on its own; each one leads into the next and traps him. That chain explains Evan’s misery: he did not plan something terrible, but he never turned back. That is how many real mistakes work, in money and in life: not one giant evil act, but a string of small choices, each making the last harder to undo. Read these chapters asking, at every step, where could he have stopped? — and feel how each quiet choice tightened around Evan like a slowly closing trap.

Visual AidOne wrong choice drags the next

Diagram for the Knowledge Bank on consequence chains. The four boxes are the links the Knowledge Bank traces, from taking the money to losing it, and the red question marks sit at the places where the Knowledge Bank says Evan could have stopped. It does not describe the pool. Notice that only the last box is red — no single step looked like a catastrophe until the end.

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

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1The Knowledge Bank says Evan's misery comes from ___.Ch.11

2What does Evan tell himself as he takes it?Ch.11

3Where does Evan put the money?Ch.11

4What happens to the money while Evan swims?Ch.11

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the order of events in Part 6. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch. 11–12

A tense waiting period fills the house.
He hides the cash in his shorts pocket.
Scott steals the money while Evan swims.
Evan takes Jessie’s hidden money to return later.
At the pool, he folds his shorts and swims.

6Why is the lost money called a ‘total loss’?Ch.11

7How does Evan feel during the waiting period?Ch.12

8What does Jessie discover in Chapter 12?Ch.12

9Evan took the money planning to keep it forever.Ch.11

10By the end of Part 6, Evan carries a heavy secret he has not confessed.Ch.12

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Jacqueline Davies tells the story in Chapters 11–12.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Climax, Symbolism & Internal Conflict

Literary Craft · Climax & SymbolismThree literary tools carry the book’s darkest stretch. The climax is the moment of highest tension, the peak the plot has been climbing toward — and here the war stops being about lemonade at all. Symbolism is when one thing quietly stands for something far larger: the stolen, lost money is not the biggest thing gone; it stands for the trust and closeness between a brother and sister, now scattered like coins in dark water. Davies lets a pile of cash carry the weight of a broken bond, which is symbolism working at its finest. And internal conflict is a struggle that happens inside a single character — Evan wrestling his guilt, longing to confess and terrified to. When a writer can make lost money ache like a lost relationship, and a boy’s silent dread fill a chapter, you are watching craft turn simple events into something that truly hurts.

📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples

Climax is the moment of greatest tension, where everything hangs in the balance (the money is lost). Symbolism is when a thing stands for a larger idea (the lost money stands for the broken bond). Internal conflict is a struggle within one character (Evan’s guilt battling his fear of confessing).

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, the lost money stands for ___.Ch.11

2Symbolism is when one thing stands for a larger idea.Ch.11

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch. 11–12

Word choices:climaxsymbolismrhymeindex- some words will not be used

The peak of tension, where the money is lost, is the .

The lost money standing for a broken bond is .

4Evan’s struggle between guilt and his fear of confessing is an example of —Ch.12

5Internal conflict is a struggle between two different people.Ch.12

6Fill in the blank with the correct word.Ch. 11–12

Word choices:climaxrhymesetting- some words will not be used

The highest, most tense turning point of the story is its .

7What bigger idea does the lost money stand for?Ch.11

8Evan wanting to confess yet fearing to is best called —Ch.12

9Fill in the blank with the correct word.Ch. 11–12

Word choices:symbolismrhymeplot- some words will not be used

When a small object carries a much larger meaning, that is .

10Why does the long, quiet waiting period feel so tense?Ch.12

Part 4

Think Deeper

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

🧠Knowledge Bank · Good Intentions, Bad Results

Social-Emotional · Guilt & IntentionHere is a knot worth untangling slowly: Evan actually meant to give the money back — and yet everything went wrong. That gap between a decent intention and a terrible result is one of the truest things in the book. Ask yourself the uncomfortable question: does meaning well excuse a wrong choice, or does the result matter more than the wish behind it? Notice, too, how the secret becomes its punishment. The hidden money sits inside Evan like a swallowed stone, and the fear of confessing grows heavier than the deed itself was, so that keeping quiet slowly hurts more than the truth could. Real people rarely do harm out of pure meanness; far more often they stumble, one small bad choice leading to a worse one, then hide the mess out of shame. Understanding that is the beginning of understanding everyone, including yourself — and it starts with honest guilt.

1Claim: “The war pushes Evan into a choice he knows is wrong.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2Shows Evan’s wrong choice, 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 wrong choiceJust a detail ►

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

Evan is stung by sabotage→

He slips into Jessie’s room→

He knows it is wrong→

He crosses a line→

🧠Knowledge Bank question

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

The Knowledge Bank says the secret becomes its own punishment because , which shows that .

Part 5

Standardized Test

Profit, Loss, and Risk — SAT & TOEFL-style practice

Profit Loss and Business Risk

Every business hopes for profit, but it must also face loss. Profit is the money you keep after paying your costs. Loss is the opposite: when your costs are greater than what you earn, or when money or goods simply disappear. A total loss is the worst kind — when something valuable is gone completely, with nothing at all to show for it. Keeping an honest record of every coin that comes in and goes out is the surest way to know which one you are facing, because numbers on paper never lie, even when hopes do. Behind both profit and loss stands one idea: risk, the chance that a plan will go wrong. A seller who carries loose cash risks losing it; a seller who buys many lemons risks a rainy day when no one comes. Wise business people do not pretend risk away. They plan for it, keep their money safe, and never gamble more than they can afford to lose. Insurance and savings are two common tools for softening a bad surprise, since the goal is not to erase every danger but to survive the ones that do arrive.

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

1What is “profit”?TOEFL · Factual Information

2In the passage, an honest record is one that ___.SAT · Words in Context

3What is a ‘total loss’?TOEFL · Factual Information

4What one idea stands behind both profit and loss?TOEFL · Factual Information

5“Risk” is the chance that a plan will —SAT · Words in Context

6What does a seller who carries loose cash risk?TOEFL · Factual Information

7What do wise business people do about risk?TOEFL · Factual Information

8What should a seller never gamble, according to the passage?TOEFL · Factual Information

9This TOEFL task lists six sentences; choose the THREE that best capture the passage’s main ideas. The other three do not belong — they state minor details or ideas the passage does not present.TOEFL · Prose Summary

10This passage connects to Part 6 because Jessie’s money becomes —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 6 “The Heavy Secret”

Evan is sick with a secret he cannot confess. Imagine you are Evan during the waiting period. Write what is going through your mind. What are you afraid of? What do you know you should do? How does carrying the secret feel? Write at least 40 words.

You can start with: “I keep thinking about the money, and my stomach…”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what a ‘total loss’ is, and how Evan lost Jessie’s money. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 6 Complete!

You finished Chapters 11–12 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 7 →

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.