The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
by
Mark Twain
Literature Guide Developed by Kristen Bowers
for Secondary Solutions®
ISBN 0-9768177-0-5
© 2005 Secondary Solutions. All rights reserved.
A classroom teacher who has purchased this guide may photocopy the materials in this publication for his/her classroom
use only. Use or reproduction by a part of or an entire school or school system, by for-profit tutoring centers and like
institutions, or for commercial sale, is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
translated or stored without the express written permission of the publisher. Created and printed in the United States of
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®
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©2005 Secondary Solutions
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Complete Literature Guide
Table of Contents
About this Literature Guide
Sample Agenda
Pre-Reading Activities and Preparation
Anticipation/ Reaction Guide
Author Biography: Mark Twain
Standards Focus: Exploring Expository Writing
Vocabulary List
Chapters 1-3
Comprehension Check: True or False
Standards Focus: Subgenre— Satire
Vocabulary Building: Word Search
Chapters 4-7
Comprehension Check: Matching and Short Response
Standards Focus: Jargon and Slang
Vocabulary Building: Acrostic
Chapters 8-11
Comprehension Check: Multiple Choice
Standards Focus: Setting
Vocabulary Building: From the Text
Chapters 12-15
Comprehension Check: Sentence Completion
Standards Focus: Narrator and Point of View
Vocabulary Building: Context Clues
Chapters 16-20
Comprehension Check: Order and Sequence
Standards Focus: Tone
Vocabulary Building: Analogies
Chapters 21-25
Comprehension Check: Cause and Effect Relationships
Standards Focus: Recognizing Vivid Details
Vocabulary Building: Crossword
Chapters 26-31
Comprehension Check: Deciding True or False
Standards Focus: Character Types
Vocabulary Building: Matching
Chapters 32-38
Comprehension Check: Short Response
Standards Focus: Mapping
Vocabulary Building: Spelling
Chapters 39-43
Check for Understanding: Matching
Standards Focus: Theme
Vocabulary Building: Sentence Construction
Quizzes
Chapters 1-11
Chapters 12-20
Chapters 21-31
Chapters 32-43
Final Test
Teacher Guide
Pre-Reading/Post Reading and Alternative Assessment
Essay/Writing Ideas
Sample Project Rubric
Sample Response to Literature Rubric
Answer Key
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Name ______________________
Period _____
Comprehension Check: True or False?
Chapters 1-3
Directions: Check your understanding of Chapters 1-3 by answering the following True or False questions.
On the short line to the left of the statement, write “T” if the statement is true, and “F” if the statement is
false. Then, for each false statement, rewrite the statement to make it true.
1.
_______ This story is being told in the first person point of view. __________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______ Tom Sawyer and Huck each got six thousand dollars in gold for turning in a runaway slave.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______ The Widow Douglas, Huck’s caretaker, tries to “sivilize” Huck. _____________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
_______ Huck feels that the Bible is a waste of time because he doesn’t believe in reading about or
talking about dead people. _____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5.
_______ Huck doesn’t believe in superstition or luck. __________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6.
_______ Huck sneaks out at night to meet Jim. ______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7.
_______ The first we hear about Huck’s family is about his rich and successful father.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
8.
_______ Huck offers to have the Widow Douglas killed if he betrays the gang. _________________
________________________________________________________________________
9.
_______ Huck believes his father was drowned in the river. ______________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. _______ The gang ambushes a Sunday School picnic and ends up with a few treasures.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Name ______________________
Period _____
Standards Focus: Subgenres of Literature—Satire
Chapters 1-3
Many students are familiar with the different genres, or categories, of literature—fiction, nonfiction, poetry,
autobiography, biography, plays, newspaper, folk tales—to name a few. However, there are often many
subgenres of literature within these genres. For example, under the broad genre of plays, there are the
subgenres of comedy, tragedy and history. Under the genre of mystery, there are the subgenres of thriller,
detective, historical, romantic, and suspense.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn falls under the genre of fiction, and the subgenre of satire. Satire is a
piece of work that tries to expose, attack and/or ridicule the foolishness, wrongdoings, or strange behavior of
society. Satires are often humorous, using exaggeration, irony, sarcasm and parody to catch the attention of
the reader and promote changes in behavior. Modern satire can be seen on television shows such as Saturday
Night Live, The Simpsons, or in political cartoons in newspapers and magazines.
Huck Finn is a satire of the American South in the 19th Century. While slavery had been abolished by the time
Twain wrote Huck Finn, racism and prejudice were still a major issue. While Twain’s main target is slavery,
he also explores and criticizes civility, conformity, religion, hypocrisy, and the idea of superstition.
Directions: For numbers 1 and 2, find a quotation from Chapters 1-3 that best illustrates the issue that is
indicated. For numbers 3 and 4, decide what issue Twain is commenting on or ridiculing.
1. Find a quote from the text in which Twain satirizes religion.
Quote, page #: ______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Find a quote from the text in which Twain satirizes the idea of being “sivilized.”
Quote, page #: ______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. “Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn’t. She said it was a mean
practice and it wasn’t clean and I must try not to do it anymore. That is just the way with some people.
They get down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it… And she took snuff, too; of course that
was all right because she done it herself.”
Twain is satirizing: ___________________________________________________________
4. “Pretty soon a spider went crawling up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; and before I
could budge it was all shriveled up. I didn’t need anybody to tell me that that was an awful bad sign and
would fetch me some bad luck, so I was scared and most shook the clothes off of me. I got up and turned
around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast every time; and then I tied up a little lock of hair
with a thread to keep the witches away. But I hadn’t no confidence. You do that when you’ve lost a horseshoe that you’ve found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadn’t ever heard anybody say it was
any way to keep off bad luck when you’d killed a spider.”
Twain is satirizing: ___________________________________________________________
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn