Survival Anticipation Guide
Directions: For each statement, write A on the line if you agree with it or D if you disagree.
1. Skill and experience make you more able to survive danger. _____
2. To survive, you sometimes have to give up something precious to you. _____
3. Having a positive attitude can help you survive an extreme situation. _____
4. Survival skills are for emergencies and are not useful in everyday life. _____
5. Your fear of a situation can help you survive it. _____
6. Thinking about loved ones can help you survive a dangerous situation. _____
7. Bullies can be handled only with physical force. _____
8. It is better to stay put and wait to be rescued than to look for help. _____
9. I could survive on my own for a year in the wilderness. _____
10. I couldn’t survive a weekend without my cell phone or Ipod. _____
11. Physical strength is more important than mental strength to survive a difficult situation.
_____
12. If stranded away from civilization, I would rather be with a close friend than alone. _____
13. I believe that struggles in life just make us stronger people. _____
14. Bad situations can be avoided in life. ______
Survival Discussion Questions
 What is a survivor? What does the word survival mean to you?
 Make a list of words that describe survivors.
 What types of challenges do people face that require survival skills?
 Is there a lasting effect of being a survivor?
 Talk about different ways of surviving (life threatening, things that get in the
way of life success, physical survival versus emotional survival, personal
survival versus survival of species, cultures, etc.)
 Is it ever okay to give up? When is it acceptable to quit trying at something? Do
you think it takes courage to give up?
SURVIVAL, DECISIONS, AND CONSEQUENCES
VOCABULARY LIST
Fiction – genre of literature, writing that tells an imaginary story
Nonfiction – genre of literature, writing that tells about real people, places, and events
Summary –in fiction, a description of the story that includes information about the main characters and main events. It is
not a review and should not contain the opinions of the author. In nonfiction, an organized explanation of the main idea
and details to support it.
Theme - a central message or lesson in a story
Conflict – struggle between opposing characters
Character - a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a story
Narrator – tells the story
Adversity-- unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
Perseverance - persistent determination
Determination - the act of making up your mind about something
Tenacity – persistent; stubborn
Willpower – the trait of firmly controlling your own behavior
Motivation - the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
Intuition – instinctively knowing something without proof of it
Consequence—the result of an action
Survival Word Sort Activity
Name: ____________________________________Section _________ Date: ___________
Read and separate each activity card.
Identify and label categories.
Sort the terms into your categories.
summary
theme
adversity
narrator
character
consequence
perseverance
determination
tenacity
willpower
nonfiction
conflict
consequence
motivation
intuition
Close Reading of “Hating Hansen”
TEACHER DIRECTIONS:
1. Introduce the short story and students read independently.
Other than giving the brief definitions offered to words students would likely not be able to
define from context (underlined in the text), avoid giving any background context or instructional
guidance at the outset of the lesson while students are reading the text silently. This close reading
approach forces students to rely exclusively on the text instead of privileging background
knowledge and levels the playing field for all students as they seek to comprehend Taylor’s
prose. It is critical to cultivating independence and creating a culture of close reading that
students initially grapple with rich texts without the aid of prefatory material, extensive notes, or
even teacher explanations.
2. Read the story aloud to the class as students follow along in the text.
Asking students to listen to the story “Hating Hansen” exposes them a second time to the rhythms
and meaning of Taylor’s language before they begin their own close reading of the passage.
Speaking clearly and carefully will allow students to follow Bates’s narrative, and reading out
loud with students following along improves fluency while offering all students access to this
complex text. Accurate and skillful modeling of the reading provides students who may be
dysfluent with accurate pronunciations and syntactic patterns of English.
3. Ask the class to answer a small set of text-dependent guided questions and perform
targeted tasks about the excerpt, with answers in the form of notes, annotations to the text,
or more formal responses as appropriate.
As students move through these questions and reread “Hating Hansen”, be sure to check for and
reinforce their understanding of academic vocabulary in the corresponding text. At times, the
questions themselves may focus on academic vocabulary.
Most of the meanings of words in the exemplar text can be discovered by students from careful
reading of the context in which they appear. Teachers can use discussions to model and reinforce
how to learn vocabulary from contextual clues, and students must be held accountable for
engaging in this practice. Where it is judged this is not possible, underlined words are defined
briefly for students to the right of the text in a separate column whenever the original text is
reproduced. At times, this is all the support these defined words need.
Name: ____________________________
Date: ------------
CLOSE READ
of “Hating Hansen” by Theodore Taylor
Text Under Discussion
The last he saw was Hansen’s
face, blue eyes staring. Then he felt
his body arc into the air, and the
space beneath him opened. It was
that quick.
Then the water and the cruel
barnacles; the rolling, buffeting
waves; the cutting spray.
Floating, he again thought that
no one should have to die this way.
But for the Hansens of the world, no
one would have to die this way. Die,
hell! This was murder! His own
deep hatred of Hansen boiled up in
his mouth and he vomited. Maybe the
hatred of Hansen could keep him
alive.
The wind began to lower at
first light and he floated wearily, his
body chilling steadily. He made no
effort to go anywhere. Why try?
He’d just go to sleep and never wake
up.
He wondered if the Mackinaw
had stopped again and broached.
Maybe they were all in the lifeboats.
In a way that was comforting,
because he liked most of the men on
the Mack.
Before long he slipped off,
submitting to weakness and a deep
desire to sleep. Time passed, and he
bobbed on the waves as the sunless
gray light widened.
A sound awakened him, a
splat-splat-splat like the blade of a
prop on a ship riding high without
cargo. He kicked his feet to bring his
head higher and saw a black shape,
downward, with the familiar red
running light; lights from portholes
shone from beneath the bridge.
Frantically, he sought the
button on the life jacket’s small light.
The white eye turned on. He
Vocabulary
Guiding Questions
Q1: Where is Bates?
Pounding or hitting
repeatedly
Q2: Describe Bates’s state of mind
at this moment.
Q3: How has Bates’s state of mind
changed at this point, and why?
Rose through the
water and broke the
surface
Q4: “Time passed, and he bobbed
on the waves as the sunless gray
light widened.” What does this
sentence mean?
Q5: “He kicked his feet to bring
his head higher and saw a black
shape, downward, with the
familiar red running light; lights
from portholes shone beneath the
bridge.” What did Bates see?
Q6: Why does Bates describe the
button as a “white eye?”
remembered Hansen telling the
apprentices how to do that and blow
the overboard whistle. He yelled
feebly, his breath coming in heaves
as he tried to scull toward the shape.
Soon a stream of light struck his face
and stayed there, blinding him. He
lay back in the long swell, exhausted.
Finally he felt strong hands
pull him into a boat. Then blows
were striking his face, slaps; but he
felt no pain. His body was a rag doll
and he felt it being lifted up. He
passed out.
Sometime later, he awakened
with a form hovering over him.
Something liquid burned down his
throat and he coughed it up.
“You’re a lucky boy,” a voice
said.
Bates made no effort to answer.
“What ship you off of?” the voice
persisted.
“Mackinaw, American.”
“You’re aboard the Dillery.
We’re British. You can only thank
God …”
Was this a dream? He
slipped off into unconsciousness
again and did not awaken for almost
seven hours. Under several blankets,
he was in crew’s quarters. A pair of
pants and a shirt were on the end of
his bunk. He dressed and painfully
made his way topside, where he
asked the Dillery’s chief mate, “Do
you know what happened to the
Mackinaw? Did she sink?”
“Rest easy, son. She’s all
right. Into Portsmouth several hours
ago. We radioed her, told her we’d
pick you up.”
“Thank you,” Bates
murmured. “Where is this ship
going?”
“Into Portsmouth, too.”
Every muscle and joint ached,
but he wanted to see the expression
on Hansen’s face when he reboarded
the Mackinaw. He wanted to hear
A person(s) learning
a trade
Propel a boat using
oars (in this case
propel self using
hands as oars)
Q7: What does “feebly” mean?
A slow, regular
movement of the sea
in rolling waves that
do not break
Q8: Why did the author use the
words, “His body was a rag doll?”
Q9: Give evidence to support the
statement, “You’re a lucky boy.”
what the rotten, murdering boatswain
would say. He wanted to grind his
fist into Hansen’s pockmarked face.
The Dillery finally snugged
alongside dock hours later, and
Bates, refreshed from another long
sleep, walked off her in a borrowed
oversized wool sweater and a new
pair of khaki pants.
Through the forest of cargo
booms and kingposts, he could see
the squatty gray-white stack of the
Mackinaw. He made his way to the
ship and slowly, almost
mechanically, climbed the gangway,
sweeping the deck for the sight of
Hansen. Instead, he saw Second
Mate McCall over by Number 4
hatch, where cargo was being lifted
out of the hold.
He walked over to McCall,
who extended his hand and said,
“Thought we’d lost you …”
Bates nodded. “That’s what I
thought, too. Where’s Hansen?” He
was usually on deck when cargo was
being worked.
McCall hesitated a moment,
examining Bates’s face. “He
drowned. He dived after you and
tried to rescue you.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was. Good man,
Hansen.”
Bates felt his knees buckling
and sat down on a bitt.
A ship’s officer in
charge of equipment
and the crew
Q10: What is Bates’s motivation
to find Hansen?
Q11: What is likely going through
Bates’s mind after hearing the
news about Hansen?
Q12: What is ironic about the
statement “Good man, Hansen?”
posts fixed in pairs
on the deck of a ship,
for fastening cables
Q13: Why do you think the
author selected “Hating Hansen”
as the title for this short story?
Writing Task: Pretend that
Hansen did not die. Write a
dialogue of a conversation that
Bates and Hansen could have had
when Bates was returned to the
boat.
Character Inference Chart
Character Name: ______________________________________
Methods of
Revealing Character
Evidence/Quotations
from the Story
Character Traits
Revealed
Direct Comment
Character’s Thoughts
and Feelings
Character’s Speech
and Actions
How Others React
to Character
Based upon your responses reported in the inference chart, write 1-2 sentences telling what type
of person you think this character is.
Name: ______________________
“Snapshot” of Literature Circle Roles
Summarizer
Questioner
Character Captain
Connector
Passage Master
Literature Circle Group Rules
Rule/Term
Respect
Definition
Show courtesy,
consideration, and
respect at all times
Participation
Everyone shares;
everyone “actively”
listens
Time
Use the time wisely;
re-focus when needed
Preparation
Accomplish your goal
and task; hold each
other accountable for
completed work
Problem Solving
Behavior
Ask your group for
guidance before you
ask the teacher
Stay in your assigned
group; stay on task;
don’t distract other
students
Looks/ Sounds Like
Literature Circles Planning Sheet
Name: ____________________________
Novel: ______________________________
Directions: For each lit. circle, fill in the names of members assigned to each role.
Circle #1
Date:
Circle #2
Date:
Summarizer __________________
Character Captain______________
Questioner
_________________
Passage Master_________________
Connector _____________________
Summarizer ______________________
Character Captain ________________
Questioner ________________________
Passage Master ____________________
Connector ________________________
Circle #3
Circle #4
Date:
Summarizer ___________________
Character Captain ______________
Questioner
__________________
Passage Master__________________
Connector ______________________
Circle #5
Date:
Summarizer ____________________
Character Captain________________
Questioner
___________________
Passage Master ___________________
Connector _______________________
Date:
Summarizer _________________________
Character Captain ____________________
Questioner __________________________
Passage Master ______________________
Connector ____________________________
Questioner-Literature Circles
Name:_________________________________
Book: _____________________________
Date: _________________________________
Assignment:________________________
Questioner/Discussion Director: Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group might
want to discuss about this part of the book. Don’t worry about the small details; your task is to help
people talk over the big ideas in the reading and share their reactions. Usually the best discussion
questions come from your own thoughts, feelings, and concerns as you read. You can list them below
during or after your reading. You may also use some of the general question prompts below to
develop questions for your group.
Possible discussion questions or topics for today:
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What if…?
How did….?
Why did…?
What would happen if…?
What caused…?
What might…?
How would you feel if…?
What character traits describe…?
Why do you think…?
Why is…
Summarizer-Literature Circles
Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________
Date: __________________
Pages: ______________________________
Your job is to prepare a summary of the reading. Start with a headline. Don’t tell the whole
story, just focus on the important parts and significant details. The other members of your
group will be
counting on you to remind them about this part of the story.
Headline: _________________________________________________________________
Summary:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Connector—Literature Circles
Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________
Date: __________________
Assignment: _______________________________
Connector: Your job is to find connections between the book you are reading and
the outside world. This means connecting what you read with your own life, to
what happens at school or in the community, to similar events at other times and
places, or to other people or problems.
Describe the part in the book, and then explain your connection.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
PASSAGE MASTER
NAME: ___________________________
Pages____________
As you read, think about parts of the text that are important, make you laugh, give you a good mental
picture, or would trigger a good discussion. Fill out the chart below and bring this sheet with you to
your next meeting. You may use the back for additional space if needed.
HOW I PLAN TO
CHAPTER AND/OR
PARAGRAPH
REASON I CHOSE THIS
SHARE THIS
PAGE NUMBERS
BEGINNING
PASSAGE
PASSAGE WITH
WITH…
MY GROUP
 Read aloud
 Important to the story
Chapter: ______
“When you
because…
 Read with
change to a
partner
 Good descriptive
Pages: ______ new…”
writing when…
 Read to self
 To discuss…
 Made me laugh when…
Literature Circles – Character Captain
Name:______________________________________Date:_________________
Book: ___________________________________________________
Character Captain: Your task is to identify specific personality traits of the main character(s)
within the novel. Find examples in the assigned reading of behaviors/actions that help group
members know this character(s). Select three adjectives that describe the main character, and support
your selection with evidence taken from your reading assignment. * Evidence could be: quotes from
the book, a short passage, or a one- or two-sentence summary of a passage.
Bonus: Identify a specific personality trait of a secondary character. Select an adjective that
describes this secondary character and support your selection with evidence taken from your reading
assignment.
Character
Trait
(same as above)
(same as above)
*Bonus
Analyzing Point of View
*Evidence
1. Divide the class into two groups. Explain that they are going to be reading a
short piece of text and their task is to remember as many details as possible from
the text. Tell one half of the class that they are burglars and the other half of the
class that they are real estate agents, without divulging the roles to the
opposite groups.
2. Put the story, The House by Laurie Henry, on the overhead and read it aloud to
your students. While you are reading, students should not be taking notes. Once
the reading is complete, turn off the overhead and ask students to list as many
details as they can remember about the house from the text (e.g., descriptions of
rooms, items located in the house, layout of house). This part of the activity
should be limited to 2-3 minutes.
3. Students then share their lists within their group. (For larger classes, students
can be broken into 4 groups, 2 for each prescribed role.) Distribute chart paper
to each group so that students can record their lists.
4. Hang both sheets of chart paper on the front wall of the classroom. Discuss the
similarities and differences between the two lists, and allow students to guess
the viewpoint of the other group.
5. Discuss whether the lists would be different from another perspective (e.g.,
child, interior decorator, pet dog).
The House
By Laurie Henry
As I entered the front door, the marble floor glistened before me. The entryway
opened to a grand staircase, which wound its way to the second level. My heels
clicked across the cold, white floor as I proceeded to the living room on my left. A
giant fireplace stretched across one end of the room. The impressive mantelpiece
showcased a golden egg and porcelain figurines. A painting of sunflowers hung on the
center of the wall. The white carpeting looked as if it had never been stepped on, and
the entertainment center sprawled across the back wall.
I turned around to face the dining room. A golden chandelier hung above a great
mahogany table. A bank of French doors opened to a wrap-around deck at the back of
the house. A lighted hutch contained crystal goblets and gold-edged dinnerware.
Proceeding down the hallway, I discovered a custom kitchen on my left, opposite the
far end of the dining room. The sleek counters were free of clutter. Cabinets hung on
every inch of wall space. A breakfast nook looked out over the back garden.
I soon retraced my steps to the entryway and ascended the stairs. A short
hallway welcomed me to the second level of the house. To my left and at the front of
the house was a small bedroom set up as a home office. The remainder of the upstairs
consisted of a master bedroom suite. Two walk-in closets flanked the entrance to the
master bedroom.
No doubt, one closet was for him and the other one was for her. The matching
bedroom furniture consisted of two dressers and night stands on either side of a fourposter bed. A wooden chest sat atop each dresser. A large bathroom sat off to the right
side with double sinks inside. A whirlpool tub and shower stall lined the far wall.
I slowly retreated and returned to the lower level and out the front door. I shall
return to this exquisite abode.
Copyright 2002 IRA/NCTE. All rights reserved. ReadWriteThink
materials may be reproduced for educational purposes.
Name: _______________________________
Identifying Point of View
Directions: Read the following passages and determine the point of view. Then explain how you
were able to identify the perspective.
Point of View (perspective): first-person, second-person, third-person
1. The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
The Scarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy’s basket with them, so that she would not
be hungry for a long time. She thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she
laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded hands
were so clumsy that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket. But the Scarecrow did not
mind how long it took him to fill the basket, for it enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he
feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up (49).
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
2. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
We crossed the road to a white house inside a walled garden, and found some food—two loaves of
bread, and uncooked steak, and half of a ham. We also found several bottles of beer, a sack of beans,
and a dozen or so cans of soup, salmon and vegetables. We sat in the kitchen in the dark—not daring
to strike a light—and ate bread and ham and drank beer out of the same bottle. The priest wanted to
keep going instead of resting and eating. I was urging him to eat and keep up his strength when, all of
a sudden, disaster struck! (134)
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
3. The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell
Dear Diary, Tonight I just finished one of the books for our read-a-thon, called The Wave. This story
is about a school experiment that shows how peer pressure can get out of hand. One of the main
characters was a guy by the name of Robert Billing. He pressured and bullied other teenagers into
acting like modern-day Nazis. The teenagers were like sheep blindly following a leader. After
reading this book, I realized how teens are very gullible; getting tricked into doing things to fit in or
be popular (68-69).
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
4. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
At dawn, Mae Tuck set out on her horse for the wood at the edge of the village of Treegap. She was
going there, as she did once every ten years, to meet her two sons, Miles and Jesse, and she was
feeling at ease. At noon time, Winnie Foster, whose family owned the Treegap wood, lost her
patience at last and decided to think about running away.
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
5. Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes
And we scrounged. Next to survival, scrounge was probably the most important word in our new
vocabulary. We found a store that was throwing out water-damaged mattresses. Getting them home
was a problem, since we had to make two trips, leaving Brad and Katie, armed with sticks to guard
over the remained. I truly expected them to be challenged by some gang boss, but they said that the
only person who came by was a scrawny little rat of a girl living alone. We let her have one of the
mattresses.
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
6. Alice's adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, John Tenniel
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do:
once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or
conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or
conversations?” So she was considering, in her own mind whether the pleasure of making a daisychain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White
Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
7. White Fang by Jack London
They spoke no more until camp was made. Henry was bending over and adding ice to the bubbling
pot of beans when he was startled by the sound of a sharp snarling cry of pain from among the dogs.
Henry grunted with a tone that was not sympathy, and for a quarter of an hour they sat on in silence,
Henry staring at the fire, and Bill at the circle of eyes that burned in the darkness just beyond the
firelight.
Point of View:
_______________________________________________________________________
How do you know?
___________________________________________________________________
Identifying Point of View ANSWERS
Directions: Read the following passages and determine the point of view. Then explain how you
were able to identify the perspective.
Point of View (perspective): first-person, second-person, third-person
1. The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
The Scarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy’s basket with them, so that she would not
be hungry for a long time. She thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she
laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded
hands were so clumsy that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket. But the Scarecrow did
not mind how long it took him to fill the basket, for it enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he
feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up (49).
Point of View: Third-Person
How do you know? The story is told by the narrator who is not a character in the story and
Scarecrow and Dorothy’s thoughts are revealed.
2. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
We crossed the road to a white house inside a walled garden, and found some food—two loaves of
bread, and uncooked steak, and half of a ham. We also found several bottles of beer, a sack of beans,
and a dozen or so cans of soup, salmon and vegetables. We sat in the kitchen in the dark—not daring
to strike a light—and ate bread and ham and drank beer out of the same bottle. The priest wanted to
keep going instead of resting and eating. I was urging him to eat and keep up his strength when, all
of a sudden, disaster struck! (134)
Point of View: First-Person
How do you know? The story is told by "We" and "I."
3. The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell
Dear Diary, Tonight I just finished one of the books for our read-a-thon, called The Wave. This story
is about a school experiment that shows how peer pressure can get out of hand. One of the main
characters was a guy by the name of Robert Billing. He pressured and bullied other teenagers into
acting like modern-day Nazis. The teenagers were like sheep blindly following a leader. After
reading this book, I realized how teens are very gullible; getting tricked into doing things to fit in or
be popular (68-69).
Point of View: First-Person
How do you know? The narrator tells the story from the perspective of "I."
4. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
At dawn, Mae Tuck set out on her horse for the wood at the edge of the village of Treegap. She was
going there, as she did once every ten years, to meet her two sons, Miles and Jesse, and she was
feeling at ease. At noon time, Winnie Foster, whose family owned the Treegap wood, lost her
patience at last and decided to think about running away.
Point of View: Third-Person
How do you know? The story is told by the narrator who is not a character in the story and Mae's and
Winnie's thoughts are revealed.
5. Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes
And we scrounged. Next to survival, scrounge was probably the most important word in our new
vocabulary. We found a store that was throwing out water-damaged mattresses. Getting them home
was a problem, since we had to make two trips, leaving Brad and Katie, armed with sticks to guard
over the remained. I truly expected them to be challenged by some gang boss, but they said that the
only person who came by was a scrawny little rat of a girl living alone. We let her have one of the
mattresses.
Point of View: First-Person
How do you know? The story is told by "We" and "I."
6. Alice's adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, John Tenniel
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do:
once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or
conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or
conversations?” So she was considering, in her own mind whether the pleasure of making a daisychain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White
Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
Point of View: Third-person
How do you know? The story is told by the narrator who is not a character in the story and Alice's
thoughts are revealed.
7. White Fang by Jack London
They spoke no more until camp was made. Henry was bending over and adding ice to the bubbling
pot of beans when he was startled by the sound of a sharp snarling cry of pain from among the dogs.
Henry grunted with a tone that was not sympathy, and for a quarter of an hour they sat on in silence,
Henry staring at the fire, and Bill at the circle of eyes that burned in the darkness just beyond the
firelight.
Point of View: Third-Person
How do you know? The story is told by the narrator who is not a character in the story.
A Step-by-Step Approach to Writing Summaries
The following is a step by step approach to teaching students how to write a summary of a text.
Please have them record all information in the graphic organizer (see attached).
STEP ONE: Find the Main Idea of the Passage- The main idea can be explicitly or
implicitly stated.
Refer to One Hand Gone, but Not His Spirit from Course I, Volume II in the Expert 21 book.
How do we find the main idea of this passage?
1) Identify the topic- Aron Ralston’s survival
2) Underline and highlight key words and words that are repeated- options, calm, focused,
chose/choice, family, support
3) Putting that together, what does the author convey about the topic:
Main idea: When Aron Ralston was put in a life and death situation, he considered his options,
remained calm and focused, and made a difficult decision to save his life.
STEP TWO: Find other relevant details to support the main idea
Irrelevant detail- “Ralston fell in love with the outdoors upon moving from Indiana to Colorado at
age 12”
Relevant detail- “But Aron is the kind of person who actually becomes calmer and more focused
when all the options are bad, the clock is ticking, and life hangs in the balance.”
STEP THREE: Paraphrase the relevant details:
“A mechanical engineer with years of backcountry experience, Ralston was a prisoner of geology for
five nights.”
Paraphrase: Despite his background in mechanical engineering and familiarity with outdoor
adventure, Ralston was unable to free himself from a boulder for five nights.
STEP FOUR- Collapse lists/ Make generalizations
Quotation: “Keeping up that pace since the accident, he has completed the Leadville 100, a daunting
100- mile high mountain foot race; climbed the highest peak in five neighboring states within 24
hours; and traipsed to Vermont to see the final performances of Phish, his favorite band.”
Generalization: Since his accident, Aron has had many extreme adventures.
STEP FIVE: Identify the text structure
(examples: chronological, cause and effect, compare/contrast, problem-solution)
This particular passage is a problem-solution, so the summary should be written in that manner:
When Aron Ralston’s arm was pinned inside a narrow canyon, he made the decision on the 6th day to
cut off his right forearm in order to survive.
STEP SIX- Put main ideas and details together using proper transitions according to the text
structure:
Problem/Solution: So, then, due to, nevertheless, in spite of, after
STEP SEVEN- Use the graphic organizer to write your summary:
When Aron Ralston was put in a life and death situation, he considered his options, remained calm
and focused, and made a difficult decision to save his life. In 2003, Aron Ralston was hiking in
Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, when he accidentally dislodged an 800 pound boulder. He
became trapped in a narrow canyon with his right arm pinned by the boulder. Over the course of the
next six days, Ralston tried several ways to free his arm, including chipping away at the stone. With
supplies running out, and the knowledge that he had told no one where he was, Aron made a drastic
decision to cut off his right forearm with a dull pocket knife. After applying a tourniquet, he climbed
down a 65-foot cliff and hiked seven miles before being rescued by a search helicopter. He credits
his survival to his calm and focused manner and his determination to see his family again. Since his
accident, Aron has had many extreme adventures and has written a book about his experience.
.
Summary Graphic Organizer
Find the topic:____________________________________________________________
List key words and words that are repeated:
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Write the main idea:
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Paraphrase first relevant detail:
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Paraphrase second relevant detail:
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Paraphrase third relevant detail:
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Paraphrase fourth relevant detail:
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Paraphrase fifth relevant detail:
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Text structure (cause and effect, problem/solution, compare/contrast, chronological,
description):
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Literature Circle Reflection
Name:___________________________________ Date:_____________________
Title:_____________________________
Circle:_____________
Reflection Statements
Yes
No
Somewhat
I completed my assigned reading before the meeting.
I wrote thoughtful and complete responses on my role sheet.
I asked questions to clarify my understanding of the book and/or to help
me better understand other group members’ ideas.
I brought all required materials to the Literature Circle meeting (book,
role sheet, my brain, etc.)
I shared parts of the book that were important to me and explained why
they were important.
I was a careful and caring listener by giving my complete attention to
other group members when they were speaking.
I responded to other group members’ ideas.
What was an important contribution you made to the discussion today?
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What was an important idea or explanation expressed by someone else during the discussion?
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Teacher Comments:
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Point of View Assessment
Rewrite the following excerpt from the Other June’s point of view. Your goal is
to put yourself in the Other June’s shoes.
After that, everyone called me Fish Eyes. And every Other Tuesday, wherever I
was, there was also the Other June--at the edge of the pool, in the pool, in the locker
room. In the water, she swam alongside me, blowing and huffing, knocking into me.
In the locker room, she stepped on my feet, pinched my arm, hid my blouse, and
knotted my braids together. She had large square teeth; she was shorter than I was, but
heavier, with bigger bones and square hands. If I met her outside on the street,
carrying her bathing suit and towel, she’d walk toward me, smiling a square, friendly
smile. “Oh well, if it isn’t Fish Eyes.” Then she’d punch me, blam! Her whole solid
weight hitting me.
I didn’t know what to do about her. She was training me like a dog. After a few
weeks of this, she only had to look at me, only to growl, “I’m going to get you, Fish
Eyes,” for my heart to slink like a whipped dog down into my stomach. My arms were
covered with bruises. When my mother noticed, I made up a story about tripping on
the sidewalk.
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How does changing the point of view affect how you feel about the characters and
events in the story?
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Point of View Assessment Rubric
CRITERIA
Content/Ideas
Organization
3
The narrative is
rewritten with a
consistent and
accurate point of
view.
Writing is
cohesive,
creative, and
clear.
2
The narrative is
rewritten with a
mostly consistent
and accurate
point of view.
Writing is mostly
cohesive,
creative, and
clear.
1
The narrative is
rewritten with an
inconsistent
and/or inaccurate
point of view.
Writing is not
cohesive,
creative, and
clear.
SCORE
SCORE:
Close Reading of “Tuesday of the Other June”
DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHERS
1. Introduce the passage and students read independently.
Other than giving the brief definitions offered to words students would likely not be able to
define from context (underlined in the text), avoid giving any background context or instructional
guidance at the outset of the lesson while students are reading the text silently. This close reading
approach forces students to rely exclusively on the text instead of privileging background
knowledge and levels the playing field for all students as they seek to comprehend Mazer’s prose.
It is critical to cultivating independence and creating a culture of close reading that students
initially grapple with rich texts without the aid of prefatory material, extensive notes, or even
teacher explanations.
2. Read the passage out loud to the class as students follow along in the text.
Asking students to listen to the excerpt from “Tuesday of the Other June” exposes them a second
time to the rhythms and meaning of Mazer’s language before they begin their own close reading
of the passage. Speaking clearly and carefully will allow students to follow June’s narrative, and
reading out loud with students following along improves fluency while offering all students
access to this complex text. Accurate and skillful modeling of the reading provides students who
may be dysfluent with accurate pronunciations and syntactic patterns of English.
3. Ask the class to answer a small set of text-dependent guided questions and perform
targeted tasks about the passage, with answers in the form of notes, annotations to the text,
or more formal responses as appropriate.
As students move through these questions and reread “Tuesday of the Other June”, be sure to
check for and reinforce their understanding of academic vocabulary in the corresponding text. At
times, the questions themselves may focus on academic vocabulary.
Most of the meanings of words in the exemplar text can be discovered by students from careful
reading of the context in which they appear. Teachers can use discussions to model and reinforce
how to learn vocabulary from contextual clues, and students must be held accountable for
engaging in this practice. Where it is judged this is not possible, underlined words are defined
briefly for students to the right of the text in a separate column whenever the original text is
reproduced. At times, this is all the support these defined words need.
Name: ____________________________
Date: ------------
CLOSE READ
of “Tuesday of the Other June,” by Norma Fox Mazer
Text Under Discussion
Vocabulary
Monday, when the principal of
Blue Hill Street School left me in Mr.
Morrisey’s classroom, I knew what I’d
been waiting for. In that room full of
strange kids, there was one person I
knew. She smiled her square smile,
raised her hand, and said, “She can sit
next to me, Mr. Morrisey.”
“Very nice of you, June M. OK,
June T., take your seat. I’ll try not to
get you two Junes mixed up.”
I sat down next to her. She
pinched my arm. “Good riddance to
bad trash,” she mocked.
I was back in the Tuesday
swimming class, only now it was
worse, because every day would soon
be Awfulday. The pinching had
already started. Soon, I knew, on the
playground and in the halls, kids
would pass me, grinning. “Hiya, Fish
Eyes.”
The Other June followed me
around during recess that day, droning Talking in a dull,
in my ear, “You are my slave, you
monotonous voice
must do everything I say, I am your
master, say it, say, “Yes, master, you
are my master.”
I pressed my lips together,
clapped my hands over my ears, but
without hope. Wasn’t it only a matter
of time before I said the hateful
words?
“How was school?” my mother
said that night.
“OK.”
A chest of drawers
She put a pile of towels in a
bureau drawer. “Try not to be sad
about missing your old friends,
sweetie; there’ll be new ones.”
The next morning, the Other
June was waiting for me when I left
the house. “Did your mother get you
that blouse in the garbage dump?” She
butted me, shoving me against a tree.
Guiding Questions
Q1: What is ironic about Mr.
Morrisey’s statement?
Q2: What connotative and
denotative meaning does the word
“trash” have?
Q3: What does the Other June’s
repetition of the word “trash” (first
used by June T.) tell you about
her?
Q4: Why does June fear that it
will only be “a matter of time”
before she repeats what the Other
June tells her to?
“Don’t you speak anymore, Fish
Eyes?” Grabbing my chin in her
hands, she pried open my mouth. “Oh,
ha ha, I thought you lost your tongue.”
We went on to school. I sank
down into my seat, my head on my
arms. “June T, are you all right?” Mr.
Morrisey asked. I nodded. My head
was almost too heavy to lift.
The Other June went to the
pencil sharpener. Round and round
she whirled the handle. Walking back,
looking at me, she held the three sharp
pencils like three little knives.
Someone knocked on the door.
Mr. Morrisey went out into the hall.
Paper planes burst into the air, flying
from desk to desk. Someone turned on
a transistor radio. And the Other June,
coming closer, smiled and licked her
lips like a cat sleepily preparing to
gulp down a mouse.
I remembered my dream of
kicking her, punching, biting her like a
dog.
Then my mother spoke quickly
in my ear: Turn the other cheek, my
Junie; smile at the world, and the
world’ll surely smile back.
But I had turned the other cheek
and it was slapped. I had smiled and
the world hadn’t smiled back. I
couldn’t run home as fast as my feet
would take me. I had to stay in
school—and in school there was the
Other June. Every morning, there
would be the Other June, and every
afternoon, and every day, all day, there
would be the Other June.
She frisked down the aisle,
stabbing the pencils in the air toward
me. A boy stood up on his desk and
bowed. “My fans,” he said, “I greet
you.” My arm twitched and throbbed,
as if the Other June’s pencils had
already poked through the skin. She
came closer, smiling her Tuesday
smile.
“No,” I whispered, “no.” The
word took wings and flew me to my
Q5: What do the similes in these
two paragraphs tell us about June
T’s state of mind?
Q6: Explain why June decides to
deliberately go against her
mother’s advice.
Q7: What does the word “frisked”
mean in this sentence?
Q8: Explain the effect of the
personification in this paragraph.
feet, in front of the Other June.
“Noooooo.” It flew out of my mouth
into her surprised face.
The boy on the desk turned
toward us. “You said something, my
devoted fans?”
“No,” I said to the Other June.
“Oh, no! No. No. No. No more.” I
pushed away the hand that held the
pencils.
The Other June’s eyes opened,
popped wide like the eyes of
somebody in a cartoon. It made me
laugh. The boy on the desk laughed,
and then the other kids were laughing,
too.
“No,” I said again, because it felt
so good to say it. “No, no, no, no.” I
leaned toward the Other June, put my
finger against her chest. Her cheeks
turned red, she squawked something—
it sounded like “Eeeraaghyou!”—and
she stepped back. She stepped away
from me.
The door banged, the airplanes
disappeared, and Mr. Morrisey walked
to his desk. “OK. OK. Let’s get back
to work. Kevin Clark, how about it?”
Kevin jumped off the desk, and Mr.
Morrisey picked up a piece of chalk.
“All right, class—“He stopped and
looked at me and the Other June.
“You two Junes, what’s going on
there?”
I tried it again. My finger
against her chest. Then the words.
“No—more.” And she stepped back
another step. I sat down at my desk.
“June M.,” Mr. Morrisey said.
She turned around, staring at him
with that big-eyed cartoon look. After
a moment she sat down at her desk
with a loud slapping sound.
Even Mr. Morrisey laughed.
And sitting at my desk, twirling
my braids, I knew this was the last
Tuesday of the Other June.
Q9: How does the class’s reaction
help June T.?
Q10: Is June T. a static or
dynamic character? How about
the Other June? Explain.
Q11: How do you think that June
T’s mom will react when she hears
about what happened? Explain.
Conflict Letter Writing Activity
1. Identify a conflict facing the main character in your novel,______________________, and
put yourself in the character’s place.
2. As that character, write a letter to someone you know explaining your problem with detail
and ask that person for advice.
3. Write an answer in letter form from the person you wrote to, offering a solution to your (the
main character’s) problem.
Dear__________________________________,
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_________________________________,
_________________________________
(character’s name)
***Write your return letter on the back of this page.
From Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
It was the sea that Mafatu feared. He
had been surrounded by it ever since he
was born. The thunder of it filled his ears;
the crash of it upon the reef, the mutter of it
at sunset, the threat and fury of its storms-on every hand, wherever he turned--the sea.
He could not remember when the fear
of it first had taken hold of him. Perhaps it
was during the great hurricane which swept
Hikueru when he was a child of three. Even
now, twelve years later, Mafatu could
remember that terrible morning. His mother
had taken him out to the barrier-reef to
search for sea urchins in the reef pools.
There were other canoes scattered at wide intervals along the reef. With late
afternoon the other fishermen began to turn back. They shouted warnings to
Mafatu's mother. It was the season of hurricane and the people of Hikueru
were nervous and ill at ease, charged, it seemed, with an almost animal
awareness of impending storm.
But when at last Mafatu's mother turned back toward shore, a swift
current had set in around the shoulder of the reef-passage: a meeting of
tides that swept like a millrace out into the open sea. It seized the frail craft
in its swift race. Despite all the woman's skill, the canoe was carried on the
crest of the churning tide, through the reef-passage, into the outer ocean.
Mafatu would never forget the sound of his mother's despairing cry.
He didn't know then what it meant; but he felt that something was terribly
wrong, and he set up a loud wailing. Night closed down upon them, swift as
a frigate's wing, darkening the known world. The wind of the open ocean
rushed in at them, screaming. Waves lifted and struck at one another, their
crests hissing with spray. The poles of the outrigger were torn from their
thwarts. The woman sprang forward to seize her child as the canoe
capsized. The little boy gasped when the cold water struck him. He clung to
his mother's neck. Moana, the Sea God, was reaching up for them, seeking
to draw them down to his dark heart....
Off the tip of Hikueru, the uninhabited islet of Tekoto lay shrouded in
darkness. It was scarcely more than a ledge of coral, almost awash. The
swift current bore directly down upon the islet.
Dawn found the woman still clinging to the purau pole and the little
boy with his arms locked about his mother's neck. The grim light revealed
sharks circling, circling.... Little Mafatu buried his head against his mother's
cold neck. He was filled with terror. He even forgot the thirst that burned
his throat. But the palms of Tekoto beckoned with their promise of life, and
the woman fought on.
When at last they were cast up on the pinnacle of coral, Mafatu's
mother crawled ashore with scarcely enough strength left to pull her child
beyond reach of the sea's hungry fingers. The little boy was too weak even
to cry. At hand lay a cracked coconut; the woman managed to press the
cool, sustaining meat to her child's lips before she died.
Setting and Its Roles
SETTING AND ITS ROLES
Analyze Setting
Is it real or imaginary?
Is it indoors or outdoors?
Is it in a country, city, or
some other place?
Where
What do you see, hear,
taste, or feel as an
observer of this setting?
How do people act in this
place? Is it hard or easy
to be there?
Is it past, present, or
future?
What time of day is it?
When
What time of year or
season is it?
What special event or time
period is happening?
What are people’s homes,
clothes, and technology
like?
1. The setting (time & place) of the story is…
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2. What clues in the story helped you to determine the setting? Refer to the chart.
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3.How would this story be different if it took place in another setting? Explain.
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3.How would this story have been different if the setting were changed? Explain.
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\
Clues to Theme
In some folktales and stories, the theme is directly stated by a character or narrator. In most works of
literature, though, the theme is not usually revealed in the form of a direct statement. As a reader, you need
to infer, or guess, the theme. To make a reasonable guess, you have to consider certain clues. The elements
in the chart below can all serve as clues.
THE CLUES
TITLE:
The title may hint at a theme by highlighting
an important idea, setting, or character. Ask:


PLOT & CONFLICT:
A story’s plot often focuses on a conflict that
is important to the theme. Ask:


CHARACTERS:
What conflicts do the characters face?
How are the conflicts resolved?
Characters can reflect a theme by how they
act and what they learn. Ask:




SETTING:
To what in the story does the title refer?
What ideas does the title emphasize?
What are the main characters like? (Notice what
they do and say.)
How do the characters deal with the conflicts?
How do the characters change?
What lessons do the characters learn?
A setting can suggest a theme because of
the conflicts it creates for the characters. Ask:
 What conflicts does the setting create?
 How do the characters feel about their
surroundings?
Vocabulary Assessment
Name:____________________________________ Date: _______________ Block: ________




Below are vocabulary words pertaining to survival.
Use each word in a sentence that relates to characters and their experiences in your survival
readings.
Be sure to cite specific examples.
Underline the vocabulary word used in each sentence.
Example:
Courage - the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc.,
without fear
In “Tuesday of the Other June”, June demonstrated courage at the end of the story when she finally
stood up to the Other June and said “No more!”
Adversity
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Consequence
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Perseverance
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Determination
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Tenacity
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Willpower________________________________________________________________________
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Motivation
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Intuition
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Theme Assessment
Found Poetry:
A found poem uses language from non-poetic contexts and turns it into
poetry. Think of a collage -- visual artists take scraps of newspaper, cloth, feathers, bottle caps,
and create magic. You can do the same with language and poems.
Writing this type of poetry is a kind of treasure hunt. You can search for interesting scraps of
language, then put them together in different ways and see what comes out. This can lead to
surprising results.
YOUR TASK:
1. Search through your novel for words, phrases, and sentences that highlight the story’s
theme. Look for details that you find particularly powerful, moving, or interesting, but all
should relate to the theme. Copy everything down in the order in which you find it. As
you collect, don’t worry about the poetic form right away. You should have roughly 75125 words. Double-space between lines so that the lines are easy to work with.
2. Look back over your list and cut out everything that is dull, or unnecessary, or that just
doesn’t seem right for a poem about this theme. Try to cut your original list in half.
3. As you look over the shortened list, think about the tone that the details and language
convey. Make sure that you have words that communicate your message clearly.
4. Make any minor changes necessary to create your poem. You can change punctuation
and make little changes to the words to make them fit together (such as change the
tenses, possessives, plurals, and capitalizations).
5. When you’re close to an edited down version, if you absolutely need to add a word or
two to make the poem flow more smoothly, to make sense, to make a point, you may
add up to two words of your own. That’s two (2) and only two!
6. Read back over your edited draft one more time and make any deletions or minor
changes.
7. Check the words and choose a title that reflects the theme of your novel.
8. Type your words. Space or arrange the words so that they’re poem-like. Pay attention to
line breaks, layout, and other elements that will emphasize important words or ideas in
the poem.
• Read aloud as you arrange the words! Test the possible line breaks by pausing slightly.
If it sounds good, it’s probably right.
• Arrange the words so that they make a rhythm you like. You can space words out so
that they are all alone or allruntogether.
• You can also put key words on lines by themselves.
• Emphasize words by playing with boldface and italics, different sizes of letters, and so
forth.
9. At the bottom of the poem, type your name, and underneath it, tell where the words in
the poem came from, for example, From Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George.
Final Assessment Directions
You are the host of a well-known news or talk show. You have been selected to interview any survivor,
real or fictional, from this unit.
You will ask your guest questions about his/her survival experience, including ones that address the
essential questions for this unit: In the face of adversity, why do some people survive while others don’t?
and, what does it take to be a survivor?
You need to produce a script of the entire interview, questions as well as answers. Your answers should
include information, facts, and/or quotes from the text related to your guest. Your script should be at
least two pages.
After your script has been approved by your teacher, you will choose one person to perform your script
with during a scheduled class time. Decide who will play which role (host and survivor) and practice
before your presentation. Decide which props your character might need to create an entertaining
performance.
You will be graded on both your script and your presentation in class.
HOTSEAT
Hotseat is an excellent activity as students will remember a great deal more of
the story when they have been involved in a role play.
Directions
During literature circles, each student is asked a contentious question that
could be asked of the main character in the novel. The student assumes the
role of the character and answers the question according to how he/she
believes the character would answer them.
Do you ever feel
overwhelmed? What
could you have done
differently?
Do you blame others for
the situation you are in, or
was this a choice you
made?
Were you prepared for
this experience?
Why/why not?
How are you able to stay
positive?
Which have you relied upon
more, mental strength or
physical strength? Explain.
How is your health
(emotional and physical)?
Explain.