October Sky (a memoir)
By Homer Hickam
Originally published as The Rocket Boys
memoir- explores a particular event, time, person, or place that had a significant impact on
your life.
autobiography- Explores the totality of your life and zeroes in on a consistent theme. The
writer takes the readers on a journey through her life, most often chronologically, to examine
her personal growth, a realization, or a life lesson. The writer will examine her entire life and
identify a specific theme.
Themes: Father son relationships, achieving dreams, succeeding against all odds, personal
ambitions vs. loyalty to someone else, it takes a village to raise a child.
Vocabulary: Write down the vocabulary words and definitions that you come across and don’t
know.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Study guide questions:
Read the chapters of the Novel October Sky and answer the study guide questions that
accompany each chapter. Some study guide sections cover multiple chapters. POQ the
answers and write complete sentences .
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.