Newton and Copernicus: Lesson #17
DIRECTIONS: Part 1: Group Activity
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Get a set of panels for lesson #17 from your teacher
Cut the nine panels out and trim them around the edges.
As a group, read the panels aloud, discuss what is going on, and decide the order
they go in that makes the most sense.
Have your teacher verify that you have the correct order
Tape the strips together
Group Questions, individual responses.
 Discuss the questions with your group, but each member of your group needs to
answer the questions individually.
1: How did your group decide the correct order for the panels? Were there any panels
you felt could have gone in different places?
2: How does Newton come to the realization that he can read?
3: What does the phrase “a tad apprehensive” mean? Use the context of their
conversation to figure it out.
4: Newton was looking for any scrap of paper with marks on it. Now that you’ve read the
strip, were the “marks” he was looking for?
5: Why would it be important to the storyline to have a rat that can read?
A Newton and Copernicus Companion: Copyright August 2007, J.C. Olson.
Newton and Copernicus: Lesson #17
LESSON GUIDE:
Vocabulary: realization, tad, apprehension
Academic Vocabulary:
Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 students
Give groups the following instructions.
 Get a set of panels for lesson #17 from your teacher
 Cut the nine panels out and trim them around the edges.
 As a group, read the panels aloud, discuss what is going on, and sort them into the
order that makes the most sense. (V) (A) (K)
 Have your teacher verify that you have the correct order
 Tape the strips together
 Discuss the questions on your individual worksheets, then write out your answers
individually.
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Answers for 1-5
1: Students will have different reasons for placing the panels in the order they
decide. Encourage them to think about language sequence and reaction sequence.
2: He reads information in the paper, but doesn’t notice that he can read until
Copernicus asks him about it.
3: Tad means a small amount. Apprehensive means hesitant, nervous, or uncertain. A
tad apprehensive in the context of the cartoon means Newton’s a bit nervous about
the fact that he can read, and presumably, about what is happening to him.
4: He was looking for
letters or words.
5: If Newton can read, it
opens him up to a whole
world of information, not
unlike human students
learning to read.
KEY FOR CORRECT
SEQUENCE
A Newton and Copernicus Companion: Copyright August 2007, J.C. Olson.