Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapters One and Two (pp. 1-12)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
Describe Kaye Gibbons’ writing style. Does it include a lot of dialogue, descriptions, similes, metaphors, etc.? Support your description with a quote . Why does she choose to write in this style? Is it effective?
2.
Why does Ellen feel … “it is best to do something right up until you fall asleep” (10)?
What does this tell us about her?
3.
When she is laying in bed with her dead mother Ellen worries that …”when the spinning starts people will come and they will want to know why and I cannot tell them why” (10). This is the second time in the novel Ellen has mentioned spinning
(the other is on pg. 2). What do you think it represents? Support this with evidence
(a specific example or quote of what is happening when the spinning starts).
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapters Three and Four (pp. 13-22)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
Describe the saddest part of the chapters. Explain why you feel this way.
2.
Within these very sad events, you get a taste of Ellen’s sense of humor.
Write down two quotes that you found particularly funny and explain why. What do they reveal about Ellen?
3.
Write down Ellen’s feeling towards the following characters and support each with a quote from the book :
Dora, Aunt Nadine (Dora’s mama), and new mama
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapters Five and Six (pp. 23-38)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
What does Ellen’s catalog game reveal about her and what she wants?
2.
List at least three racist stereotypes ( quotes from the book ) that Ellen believes as fact? Where do you think these beliefs came from?
3.
When Ellen looks in the mirror at her new mama’s house why does she say, “when I look I still seem like a stranger to my own self” (36)? Be sure to support your answer with specific details or quotes.
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapters Seven and Eight (pp. 39-52)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts - include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
Ellen spends time in four different houses in these chapters. List and briefly describe each and then rate them according to which would be best for Ellen. Explain your ratings.
2.
What does Ellen take with her when she moves to Aunt Betsy’s house (40)? If you had an hour to gather things from your home (knowing you’ll never return), what would you take? All of the items you chose must fit in a small box (small enough to carry a short distance).
Explain both Ellen’s and your own choices.
3.
When Ellen stays at Roy and Julia’s she says, “I had no idea people could live like that” (47). What is Ellen referring to? What are some things about Roy and Julia’s that are new to Ellen? How do you know? Support with quotes from the reading.
Use information from the chapters to support your response.
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapter Nine (pp. 53-59)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
On page 54 Ellen wonders what her classmates will remember about the day her daddy came to school when they are older. Finish this thought for her. Imagine that you were a classmate of Ellen’s and you’re relating this story to a friend today. In your retelling be sure to describe your (as Ellen’s classmate) feelings, your impression of Ellen, her father, and the teacher . Incorporate at least one quote from the reading into your story.
2.
Why does Ellen choose her new mama out “of all the ladies in the church” (57)?
What are some of the things that attracted her to Ellen?
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapter Ten (pp. 60-73)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
Why does Ellen spy on Mavis and her family? What does she decide she wants in a family? Support your assertion with a quote from the reading.
2.
Why does mama’s mama constantly remind Ellen that she looks and acts like her father? How does this affect her ( use a quote as support )?
3.
The magician is mentioned twice (70,73) in this chapter. Describe the two magic tricks that are being referred to. What is actually happening when the magician is brought up? Try to relate these illusions to Ellen’s life. What might they symbolize or represent?
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapters Eleven and Twelve (pp. 74 – 89)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
In chapter 11 Ellen begins to feel guilty about her mother’s death.
Find and copy three quotes from the chapter that indicate Ellen’s feelings of guilt.
Respond to each of these quotes as if Ellen was a friend saying these things to you.
2.
Ellen has come to realize that the racist stereotypes she believed in were wrong. How do you think she came to this realization? How has her attitude towards Starletta changed?
3.
Ellen believes that rather than talk about her problems it’s better to “just let the motion in your head wear you out. Never think about it. You just make a bigger mess that way” (89). What does this reveal about Ellen in the present? What might she still have to overcome?
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapter Thirteen (pp. 90 – 101)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
Throughout this chapter, Ellen seems to be trying to even the score or make up for mistakes she thinks she’s made. After dressing up her dead grandmother, she prays to Jesus to “take this one I got prettied up and mark it down by my name to balance against the one I held back from you before” (92). What does she mean by this? What is the deal she is trying to make? Support your beliefs with evidence (quotes and examples) from the chapter.
2.
What was it that Ellen found on the “colored path” that made her “take that trip every night” (93)? How does she plan to use it?
3.
Why is it so important to Ellen that Starletta visit for the weekend? What does
Ellen feel she owes her?
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapter Fourteen (pp. 102 – 115)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
How was Christmas at Nadine and Dora’s house like Ellen’s visit to Aunt
Betsy’s? How does she set herself up for disappointment? What does it reveal about her?
2.
Why does Ellen want to tell Dora that “there is no Santa Claus” (107) and yet still wants “to hear some something landing on the roof” (109)? What does this reveal about Ellen? List two ways in which Ellen is different from her cousin?
3.
Explain the significance of Ellen’s two paintings (cats and the ocean). Why are the cats appropriate for Nadine and Dora and the ocean for Ellen?
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

Ellen Foster Writing Prompts
Critical Issues in Literature
Zane/DiLeonardo
Chapter Fifteen (pp. 116 – 126)
The following is to be completed and handed in daily for a grade. Be sure to put your name, the title of the book, and chapters covered on your paper. Once it is returned, put it in the third section of your notebook.
Comprehension: Because the narrator switches often from the past to the present, it is necessary to try and keep the events of the plot straight. Therefore, start each entry with a brief (1/2 page max.) chapter summary labeled either past and/or present. Most chapters will include information from both, so be sure to break down your summaries this way. Both summaries and responses will be graded each day!
Analysis: In addition to your summary, please respond to the following prompts – include specific examples or quotes as support for your answers:
1.
What deal does Ellen try to make with her new mama so that they “can keep this on the up in up” (119)? How is this consistent with the way Ellen has operated in the past? Provide as many examples as you can.
2.
What are some things Ellen is “still working on” (121)? How is her new mama helping her? Support your answers with evidence from the book.
3.
Why does Ellen say, “I came a long way to get here but when you think about it real hard you will see that old Starletta came even farther” (126)? Do you agree with her? Explain.
Inquiry: Create one original higher-level question (see Bloom’s Taxonomy sheet) for discussion. You do not have to answer this question. Asking your question or participating in the discussion improves your grade on this assignment.
Grading: 2 points summary, 6 points analysis, 1 point inquiry.

One educational tool for developing questions is
Bloom’s Taxonomy
. This is a method of developing questions according to a pyramid of critical or higher level thinking skills.
Knowledge based questions are at the lowest level and include questions that deal with the who, what, where, when, and how (factual information) of the text. Questions at this level explore what happened in the reading. Examples: Who died in last night’s reading? How was she killed?
Understanding based questions involve basic interpretation or translation of the text.
Paraphrasing, summarizing, and interpreting belong to this level. Examples: Explain why the character might have acted as she did. What did the main character mean when she said…?
Application based questions involve applying what you know to new situations. Predicting and identifying causes and results are part of this level. Examples: Predict what will happen due to the character’s actions. Identify one change you might make in last night’s reading and predict how it would affect the outcome of the novel. Apply what is happening in the novel to an aspect of our society.
Analysis based questions involve breaking down complex situations and texts into smaller parts.
It involves revealing the underlying structure. In literature this often deals with examining how the author is developing characters, setting, and plot around central themes. Examples: How has the character changed from the beginning of the novel? What idea is the author trying to get across about parental relationships through this story? How does he or she accomplish this?
Compare the two most opposite characters in the novel.
Synthesis based questions require a combination of ideas into the creation of something new. In literature this might involve using what you know about a character or situation and basing the writing on it. Examples: Compose a song, poem, or diary entry from a character’s point of view.
Evaluation based questions involve making decisions based on differing criteria or values and defending these decisions. In literature this involves examining the values or motivations of characters or groups and defending them. Examples: Evaluate the decisions made by a major or minor character. Explain. Who is the most moral character in the novel? Support your belief.