May 12, 2008
Students continued to read from Stand Tall, and we continued Book Talks. We will finish up the Book Talks next time.
Text: The novel Stand Tall by Joan Bauer -- This genre of this novel is realistic fiction.
Reading strategies: QAR’s, summarizing, noticing metaphor/symbolism, adding to background knowledge.
Chapters 15 through 18
Read these questions, and then read Chapter 15
41. Who is Eli? You’ve seen his name on pages 51, 52, 53, 65, and 67. ____________________________________
42. Who is Fred? _______________________________________________________________
43. What did Fred usually say? _____________________________________________________
44. Just a reminder: Who is Bradley? ________________________________________________
Note: This quote is from page 96: “That’s the thing about winter – it’s so easy to forget the other seasons – it never seems like it will end.” It is referring to more than the season winter. It is also metaphorical and refers to hard times in life.
45. (After page 100) Draw a simple picture that Tree might use to teach Bradley (or another dog) something.
Read these questions, and then read Chapter 16
46. Write one sentence summarizing the basketball game. _______________________________________________________
47. What is Grandpa trying to teach Fred to say? ________________________________________
48. To what places did Grandpa’s prosthetic leg go? _____________________________________________
#48 was a “Think and Search” question since you had to read several sentences to find the answer.
Read these questions and notes, and then read Chapter 17
49. When we’re told that “Tree and his father were there to meet the new member of the family,” who or what is being referred to as “the new member of the family”? ________________________________
Note: This quote is from page 107: “Every step counts. Every step teaches something.” This quote refers to Grandpa learning to use his prosthesis, but it is also metaphorical, referring to life in general.
50. On page 107, Grandpa says of the Vietnam War, “There we were on the battlefield, getting shot at, dying, but it wasn’t our war. That was so confusing.” Then he asks Tree, “You ever feel like that?” What makes Tree feel like that? _______________________________________________________________
51. How far is Ripley (Tree’s town) from the Mall in Washington, D.C.? (setting) _______________________
Note: “The Mall” in Washington, D.C. refers to a long, narrow parklike area that stretches westward from Capitol Hill and is called the National Mall, or simply the Mall. It is the location of the Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which includes two black granite walls that meet at an angle. The names of all Americans who died in the war, or who remained classified as missing in action when the walls were built, are inscribed on the walls. The memorial also includes a large bronze sculpture of three servicemen. (Grier, Eunice S. and Atlee E. Shidler, “Washington, D.C.” World Book Encyclopedia. 1988.)
52. Grandpa says, “. . . war is as much about _____________________________ as anything else. Is what you’re seeing real, or is it made up?”
Read these questions and notes, and then read Chapter 18
53. What is Sully wearing at the bus stop and why? _________________________________________________
54. How does Sarah Kravetz (one of the “popular” eighth grade girls) look at Sophie? __________________________
54. At the end of chapter 18, what are Tree and Sophie going to celebrate? ________________________________
55. For the following sentence, (1) circle the prepositions, (2) put parentheses around the prepositional phrases, (3) underline the subject of the sentence, (4) double underline the verb phrase.
Example: Grandpa stood (in front of the full-length mirror) (in the hall).
Your turn: Outside the middle school orchestra room, Sophie was unwrapping ten layers of plastic bags from around her flute. [Notice that this sentence uses a verb phrase that includes a “helper verb.”)
