Name _____________________________________________
Guests by Michael Dorris
Squanto and the first Thanksgiving by Joyce K. Kessel and
Lisa Donze
The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin and David Shannon
The Turkey Girl by Penny Pollock
...... everything on the earth has a purpose, every
disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission.
This is the Indian theory of existence. By Mourning
Dove Salish
Before You Read: Look carefully at the front cover of Guests by Michael Dorris.
Write down your predictions about the following:
Title: Make a prediction about who the guests are. _______________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Setting (Time and Place) When and Where do you think this book takes
place?__________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Characters (The people, animals, or objects around which the action of the story is
centered) Who do you believe the main characters in the book will
be?____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Problem(s) & Solution(s) (What goes wrong in the story and how it is solved) What do
you predict will be the most significant problems in this book? How do believe the
problems may be solved? ___________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Write down any other questions or predictions.__________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Your job as character sketcher is to pick a character in Guests and identify traits
about this person’s personality. You will find a trait and choose a paragraph that
proves this trait to be true. The trait you choose about your character will be an
implied trait, meaning that it is not directly stated. List the paragraph you found
the trait in and the page number in the book. Once you have listed and
described three traits about your character, you will describe the character’s goal
and problem with a solution. Although you may not know the solution to the
character’s problem yet, you may make a prediction about a possible solution.
1. (trait)_________ p. __ par. ___
(explanation or proof of trait)
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. (trait)__________p. __par.____
(explanation or proof of trait)
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. (trait)_________p. ___par._____
(explanation or proof of trait)
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Character Goal:
_________________________’s goal is to
________________________________________________________________.
Problem :
_____________________’s problem is ________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Solution or Possible Solution
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
How to discuss “Character Sketcher”
Read what you have written about your character, but do not give away
the name. Let your group guess who you are talking about.
Tell the group the page and paragraph numbers where they will find the
character trait.
Ask the group to try and figure out what your character trait is by using the
clues in the passage that they just read. *Note: Remember to tell the
students to look in the passage for clues to your trait. These are implied
character traits that you have chosen. In other words, they are not directly
stated in the passage. The students have to figure these traits out! ......
Encourage your group to use the "Character Traits" paper to help them
figure out the trait you picked. If someone in the group guesses a word
that is not exactly what you chose as a trait but is very close, it is o.k. to go
ahead and tell them your trait. Also, if everyone has had a chance to
guess and no one guessed correctly, MOVE ON! Go ahead and share
with the group the trait you wrote down.
After the student has guessed the trait, or even if you have to tell them the
trait, the next step is to have the student prove the trait by telling you how
or why the character exhibits that certain trait.
Move on to trait 2 and 3 and do the exact same thing for those traits.
Move on to character goal next. Ask the group to tell you what the
character goal is. Never tell them! Always ask first! Then if they don’t
know, then you may tell them. Always remember to consider what your
group members say. They may think of something you didn’t. Just
because you didn’t put that down on your paper doesn’t mean what they
said is wrong. Always have them prove or justify what they tell you!
Complete the same procedure for problem. However, you may want to ask
the group how they would have solved the problem, or ask them to come
up with their own possible solution to the problem.
Vocabulary for Guests
Complete the following chart with your definition of the word. Look at context clues on
the page the word is located on.
Word
Canopy
Pg. 8
Irritation
Pg. 11
Compromise
Pg. 18
Clasped
Pg. 21
Tapered
Pg. 39
Forbidden
Pg. 57
Distraction
Pg. 65
Fortunate
Pg. 89
Annoyance
Pg. 93
Crest
Pg. 119
Definition
Vocabulary Activity: Word Networks
What comes to mind when you think of the word compromise? What people, things,
ideas, situations, or other words do you associate with compromise?
Compromise
 As you read Guests, you should be developing questions that
you can discuss with your group at the end of the book. Your
questions should help the group to make personal connections to
the book and require students to think critically about the text
they have read.
 You should come up with 4 thinking questions. Be sure to
write down the page number and paragraph that your question
comes from. This is so the other students in your group can go
back and look up answers to your questions if they need to.
 When you are developing your questions, think about why Moss
doesn’t want outsiders to share the harvest meal, Moss’s away
time, what he learned about himself why he was away, and how
he has changed from the beginning of the story.
After reading Squanto and the first Thanksgiving, create an “I Poem” about
Squanto. Use the following template to complete an “I Poem” for Squanto.
Template for "I am" Poem
Name of Character
I am (two special characteristics you have)
I wonder ( something you are curious about)
I hear ( an imaginary sound)
I see ( an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire)
I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)
I pretend (something you pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (an imaginary touch)
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)
I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe)
I dream (something you dream about)
I try (something you make an effort about)
I hope (something you hope for)
I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)
Source: Jacqueline Glasgow, Using Young Adult Literature
As you read Squanto and the first Thanksgiving, complete a double-entry diary. Write
down the quotation or passage and the page number in the left column and your response
to it in the right column. Please remember that your response can include a personal
connection you have made with the text, a reaction to something that happened, or a
question you might have for one of the characters.
Quotation/Passage and page number
Your response, reaction, connection, and
questions to the quotation or passage.
DRTA for The Rough-Face Girl
A. Before Reading (Day 1)
 Read title or have student read title-What does the title suggest?
 Look at the front cover of the book. What do you see on the cover?
o A girl covering her face
o A girl in rags
o She is in a dark forest
o Her skin is rough looking
 Look at the title page spread.
o Feathers
o Something to do with Indians
 What do you think this story is about?
B. Stop # 1: Pages 1-13 (Day 1)
 Where does this story take place?
 What characters are involved in this story?
 How does the illustrator use the pictures to describe the story?
 Is this story like any other you have ever heard?
C. Stop # 2: Pages 14-21(Day 2)
 How is the Rough-Face girl treated compared to her sisters?
o By her father and by the people in the village?
 Can you predict what is going to happen next?
Learning Log/Journal Response
Complete the heart of the Rough-Face Girl. How does she feel when her
sisters treat her badly? How is her heart compared to her sisters? Make a
prediction about how her kind heart will help her.
D. Stop # 3: Pages 22-end (Day 2)
 What could the Invisible Being’s sister see in people?
 Why could the Rough-Face Girl see the Invisible Being when her sisters couldn’t?
 What is the moral of the story?
Learning Log/Journal Response
Compare and contrast this Algonquin Cinderella story to the American
(Disney) version we know. Make a Venn-diagram to organize your
thoughts.
Anticipation Guide for The Turkey Girl
Before reading:
 Read each statement below and place a positive or negative in the blank beside
“M.” A positive (+) means that you agree with the statement and a negative (-)
means you disagree with it.
During the reading of the story, think about how the author feels about each of the
statements.
After reading:
 After you have read the story, fill in the “Author” column with her point of
view on the statements.
M=my opinion
A=Author’s point of view
M_____A_____ 1. Beauty is only skin deep.
M_____A_____ 2. Not everyone is able to see beauty in things around them.
M_____A_____ 3. A person’s heart can make them be a beautiful person.
M_____A_____ 4. You will not always get your heart’s desires.
M_____A_____ 5. It is important to treat others the way you want to be treated.
M_____A_____ 6. What goes around comes around.
M_____A_____ 7. It is important to always keep a promise.
M_____A_____ 8. When others recognize your kindness, they are more likely to return
it.
After reading The Turkey Girl, how did your feelings about the statements compare with
the author’s point of view? Talk to a friend about whether your ideas agreed with the
author or not. Jot down some notes and be ready to talk about whether your ideas
changed after reading The Turkey Girl.
Vocab-o-gram
Predict-o-gram
The Turkey Girl by Sarah Stewart
Vocabulary: pueblo village, herded, orphaned, tattered, mesa, faithfully, gossiped,
commotion, ancient, maiden, doeskin, reflection, rhythm
Use the vocabulary words above to make predictions on the following elements of
the story:
Characters
Setting
Problem
Solution
Character’s Goal
Prediction/Question
Learning Log/Response Journal for The Turkey Girl
After reading pages 1-20, can you predict what will happen to the
Turkey Girl? Why do you believe this? Does this book remind
you of anything?
Story Map Illustration
Directions: A story map is a way to describe a book by using pictures to show the
setting, characters and their traits, conflict, important events, resolution, and theme.
Create a story map for The Turkey Girl using any way of illustrating it you wish. Be sure
to use words from the story to explain your drawing and include the page number from
the book that these words are found on.
Organizer for Story Map Illustration for The Turkey Girl
Setting
Characters
Problem
Events
Resolution
Theme