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Character sketches, chapter questions and summaries help you to better understand the story.   

Begin with chapter summaries.   These are short versions of what happens in each chapter.  Next, you'll find questions that will help you understand the chapter and the characters.  Don't miss the section on Setting and Time Period.  Keep going down the page and you'll come to the Vocabulary.  This is an especially helpful section.  After you have found the meanings of the new words, you can use these new words every day.  This is great fun for our brains!

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Quick summary links » Chapters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14    15/16    17  18    19    20    21

CHAPTER  21

A.    SUMMARY

Alex traps the Cooper's singing garden ghost while Gia finds more cryptic writing on the bathroom walls.  Gia can't help but wonder, 'Is this ghost mystery really solved?'

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

CHAPTER  20

A.    SUMMARY

It's pizza time at the Cooper residence.  It's been a long day and this family needs some chill time.  While munching on great food, they discuss the many possible ghosts that have surfaced.  Just when the pieces begin to come together, the singing in the garden begins again.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTER 19

A.    SUMMARY

Constable Lemaigre gives Gia a book title that she believes will lead the young sleuth to more clues about the Cooper's garden ghost.  In the meantime, the thieves that stole Milikin's horses, were captured in Manitoba.  They finally decide to cooperate with the R.C.M.P., providing necessary information that will help the police find the person or people responsible for all the trouble in the community.  Back at the Cooper residence, Alex sets his homemade ghost trap in the garden.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTER 18

A.    SUMMARY

Ethan and Alex's lives are threatened by wild animals as they try to save a neighbour's farm from devastation.  Gia comes to the rescue, impressing Ethan with her courage and quick thinking.  Gia is rewarded with news from one of the R.C.M.P. officers that there really may be a haunted house in Weldon, Saskatchewan.  This same officer takes a personal interest in the Cooper garden ghost, giving Alex and Gia another lead to follow.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

CHAPTER 17

A.    SUMMARY

The Coopers execute their survival plan which includes Gia being shipped out of town in an egg crate.  Gia's escape to Kinistino, Saskatchewan, is stopped when Ethan responds to a distress call from Alex.  The trio follows the clues that Alex gathered and danger erupts around them as wild boars attack!

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTERS 15 and 16

A.    SUMMARY

Danger strikes the Cooper home, leaving them in a state of shock.   Their home is violated by an unknown predator.  Mr. Cooper sends Gia away so she is not kidnapped.  Mrs.  Cooper must remain in Alberta until this mystery is solved.   Shattered glass covers the living room floor.  Fear grips Gia as the phone rings.  The caller lets the Cooper family know that they are being watched which leaves Gia with a cold chill running down her spine.  Then, the phone rings again ...

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTER 14

A.    SUMMARY

Gia's excitement about the ghost writing on the walls in her home dwindles as she discovers her father washed all the symbols away.  Alex is certain the ghost has written ancient Viking symbols.  The mystery sizzles when the unmistakable sound of shattering glass leaves the Cooper family in a panic.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTERS 12 & 13

A.    SUMMARY

Gia tells us more about her mother and her work as a naturopath.   Jenny is in better spirits because her sister is no longer in critical condition after her accident.  Mysterious writing appears on the walls at the Cooper residence.  Is it the ghost trying to further communicate with this family?  Chapter 13 is a letter from Gia that contains the clue to take you to the next chapter.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTERS 10 & 11

A.    SUMMARY

Our sleuths arrive at Gia's house only to find an unusual visitor who brings dreadful news.  Gia phones Jenny and finds out there's been a terrible car accident.  Meanwhile, a neighbor, Paul Lutz, finds his dog dead on his farmhouse doorstep.  Are there a few ghosts in the Cooper's lives?

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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A.    SUMMARY

Gia is excited about finding a nightgown in the attic of the old ghost house near Hampton.  She believes it belongs to the young girl that has been said to haunt the house for the past sixty years.  Gia and Ethan complete their investigation of the Hampton ghost house and discuss their findings over Chinese food in Canora, Saskatchewan, where Ethan also tells Gia all he knows about the many bad things that have been happening to farmers in the province.   In this chapter, we also learn more about Gia's family and friends.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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HAPTER 8

A.    SUMMARY

Gia and Ethan go into the old ghost house near Hampton, Saskatchewan.  They are looking around when they are surprised by a visitor, who turns out NOT to be the ghost, but rather the store owner.  He has more information about the ghost that Gia may be interested in knowing.  Indeed, Gia discovers that a sauna was built over the grave of the girl that haunted this home for years.  Gia and Ethan climb the broken staircase that leads to more mysteries in the haunted house.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTER 7 

A.    SUMMARY

Snakes, ghost stories and unusual people capture Gia's attention as she explores a real haunted house located in Hampton, SK.   Ethan and Gia explore the century old abandoned home,  searching for evidence that ghosts really do exist.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

ONUS QUESTION:  What strange thing happened to Mr. Zarnisky's horses?

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CHAPTER 6

A.    SUMMARY

Alex captures the singing of the ghost on Gia's tape recorder, which he borrowed without her consent.   Alex and Gia continue to argue over the use of the tape recorder until Mr. Cooper demands that they reach some amicable agreement.  Convinced that they have a real ghost singing in their garden, the three Coopers look for  footprints that may have been left by the ghost, but any further evidence has been washed away by rain. 

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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HAPTERS 4 - 5

A.    SUMMARY

Gia is worried that her father is very angry with her because she did not return his car to him in time for his meeting.  Alex hears the ghost singing and hopes he can capture it on the video and cassette machines he had set up.  Tension between Gia and Alex grows as sibling rivalry now includes competition to capture the mysterious garden guest.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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CHAPTER 3

A.    SUMMARY

Gia and Ethan set out to find where Mr. Cooper's important meeting was held.  Gia is nervous about facing her dad, especially when she discovers that he rode his bike to the meeting.  Will her dad be very angry?  What will he do when he hears that Gia had forgotten about his meeting because she was with her boyfriend?

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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HAPTER 2

A.    SUMMARY

Gia's puppy, Shakespeare, meets a porcupine and ends up with quills in his nose.  Gia is worried about her puppy but Mr. Cooper comes to the rescue.  To get her mind off Shakespeare, Gia decides to go to the Library to pick up the ghost books that she had put a hold on.  She runs into Ethan, her new boyfriend, and after getting her books,  Ethan and Gia decide to get something to eat.  Gia forgets that she was supposed to be home by 7:00 pm., so her dad could get to an important meeting.

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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HAPTER 1

A.    SUMMARY

Gia is excited about her friend, Jenny, coming to visit during the holidays, but their ghost hunting plans may go sideways because Alex's friend, Harley Davidson, is also planning to visit the Coopers at the same time.  Alex annoys Gia with his brotherly antics while Mr. Cooper tries to maintain household  peace - Mrs. Cooper is away for a few weeks.  Gia decides to cool off and take Shakespeare for a walk.  Shakespeare disappears!

B.    QUESTIONS to help you  understand this chapter

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ETTING/TIME PERIOD

The setting of a story is WHERE THE STORY TAKES PLACE. 

1. In which province and country do the Coopers live?

2. Do the Coopers live in the city or on a farm?

3. What time of year does our story take place?  Which sentences in chapter 1 help you to know this?

4. Do the Coopers live in an apartment or house?  What else do you know about their home?

5. When do you think the story happens?  Now?  Before you were born?  

6. What clues do we have in the story that help us to know when the story is taking place?

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CHARACTER SKETCHES

ia - is the star of our story.  She's sweet sixteen, very intelligent, and tries to act sophisticated, but often finds herself in embarrassing situations because she didn't think carefully  before acting.  She's full of fun and quirky in her approach to life.

Gia loves adventure, so sets out to track down the singing ghost.  Her adventure gets complicated as her brother Alex, interferes by using his own methods and strategies to capture the ghost.  Gia teams up with a college student named Ethan, which only adds to the complication as she thinks he's the hottest guy in the world and falling in love with him would be the only option.

Alex - is Gia's 15-year old brother.  He's a computer nut who also likes to invent things.  Easy going and curious, Alex invites his friend Harley, to the farm for the summer.  Harley and Alex invent ways and devices to try to trap the singing ghost. 

Mr. Cooper - is Gia and Alex's father and a science teacher.  In our story, Mr. Cooper finds himself caught up in prairie politics as he discovers there are people who are trying to take over local farming operations.

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QUESTIONS to help you with your Character Sketches

ALEX: 

MR. COOPER: 

What do you learn about The Singing Ghost ?   ?  ?   ?

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Quick Vocab. links - Chapters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11   12   14    15/16    17    18    19    20    21

To learn what these words mean, look them up in your dictionary.  Once you know what the words means, try using them for a few weeks at school!

       quirky        complicated    adventure

        approach      strategies      

       sophisticated          embarrassing   devices   curious   invent        politics       operations

VOCABULARY - CHAPTER 21

VOCABULARY - CHAPTER 20

VOCABULARY - CHAPTER 19

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VOCABULARY - CHAPTER 18

VOCABULARY - CHAPTER 17