ROCKY ROAD CURRICULUM GUIDE
ROCKY ROAD
by Rose Kent
Alfred A. Knopf Publishers
ISBN-13: 9781432756901
Ages 8-12/Contemporary Fiction
Summary
“Ice cream warms the heart, no matter what the weather” -- That's the Dobson family
motto. Whenever things get tough, they break out the special heart-shaped bowls and
make sundaes. The road has been especially rocky lately for Tess and her deaf little
brother, Jordan. Their plucky Texan mother talks big, but her get-rich-quick business
schemes have only landed them in serious financial hot water.
Ma's newest idea is drastic. She abruptly moves the family to snowy Schenectady, New
York, where she will use the last of their savings to open her dream business: an ice
cream shop. (Too bad the only place she could find an apartment is in a senior citizens'
complex.) Tess wants to be excited about this plan, but life in Schenectady is full of new
worries. Who will buy ice cream in their shop's run-down neighborhood? What will
happen when their money runs out? Worst of all is Ma herself-she's famous for her
boundless energy and grandiose ideas, but only Tess and Jordan know about the dark
days when she crashes and can't get out of bed. And Tess can't seem to find the right
words to talk to Ma about it.
This moving story of family, community, and ice cream proves that with a little help
from the people around us, life really can be sweet-and a little nutty-just like Rocky
Road.
Activities
(Note: Those with asterisks have accompanying worksheets.)
1. ASL SENTENCES (Interpersonal and Bodily/Kinesthetic)
Jordan needs to use ASL to communicate with everyone around him. Go to this link
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm and ask students to learn how
to sign a simple sentence of their choosing. Then, have each student sign their sentence
and have the rest of the class guess what they’re signing.
*BIOMIMICRY PRODUCT BUSINESS PLAN (Naturalist, Logical/Mathematical, and
Interpersonal)
Delilah Dobson uses a business plan to launch her successful ice cream business, A
Cherry On Top. Ask students to develop a business plan based on a biomimicry product.
Have students pair up and brainstorm three to five topics that they have in common such
as sports, music, food. Then, have them brainstorm three to five animals or plants. Do
these plants or animals have a characteristic that would help students improve their
ability to catch a ball, jump higher, or play an instrument? Have them sketch out their
product and make a list of necessary materials. Then, have them research the cost of each
material. How much would they have to charge for a single product to make a profit?
Biomimicry is the process of learning from and imitating nature’s plants, animals, and
processes to create effective human technologies and designs. Here are some examples of
biomimicry:
1) The inventor of Velcro developed the two-part fastener system after studying
burrs. Underneath a microscope he saw the burrs spires hooked onto any
substance that had loops such as fabric, hair or fur. So he created one tape with
hooks and another with loops.
2) Engineers studied the different shapes of birds’ wings and the different speeds at
which birds fly. They realized that the speed and the duration of each bird’s flight
correlated with wing shape. Now airplane wings morph to affect the speed and
duration of the aircraft’s flight.
3) Architects studied termite mounds to figure out how the insects maintained a
constant temperature inside their homes. Turns out the little buggers constantly
open and close vents to manage the convection currents of air. These vents draw
cooler air from the bottom of the mound while chimneys let the hot air escape.
High-rise buildings that use a similar design use 10% less energy than similarsized conventional buildings.
Check out these sites for more information:
http://brainz.org/15-coolest-cases-biomimicry/
http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/
2. *BUDGET BLUES (Logical/Mathematical)
Tess’s mom has financial woes. Give students a hypothetical life and monthly salary, and
ask them to develop a feasible budget that provides for food, expenses, and shelter.
3. CLASS QUILT (Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Logical/Mathematical and Visual/Spatial)
Create a quilt like Tess did for Winnie. Have each student design a quilt square on a piece
of paper. Then have students measure the cloth and cut out their squares. Each square
could reflect the hobbies of each student like Tess’s quilt reflected Winnie’s hobby, or
have each square reflect a piece of your town’s history. Ask a crafty student or parent to
piece the quilt together.
4. *GETTING TO KNOW SENIORS INTERVIEWS (Interpersonal and
Verbal/Linguistic)
At first Tess is upset about living in a senior citizen complex, but then she gets to know
the seniors as individuals, and they become her friends. Ask students to interview a senior
citizen. Have them turn in their interview questions ahead of time, and record their
interviews.
5. *HOMETOWN HEROES (Verbal/Linguistic)
Schenectady’s history is sprinkled throughout the novel Rocky Road. Research the
history of your hometown. Write a newspaper article or a journal entry about someone
who was an important historical figure in your town.
6. *ICE CREAM IN A BAG (Logical/Mathematical and Kinesthetic)
In order to turn cream into ice-cream, heat has to transfer from the cream to the ice. The
transfer of heat occurs in one of three ways:
1) Conduction occurs when heat flows between objects that are touching.
2) Convection is when warm liquids or gases move to cooler areas.
3) Radiation is energy moving as electromagnetic waves.
Ask students which method of heat transfer is used to make ice cream. Students will
explain that conduction transfers heat from the cream to the ice until both objects are the
same temperature. Ask students to record the individual temperatures of the materials in
the large and small bags before placing the small bag inside the large bag. Then, have
them make a hypothesis as to what will happen to the temperatures in each bag after the
ice cream is made. Will each temperature rise or fall? Immediately after students make
the ice-cream, ask them to take and record the temperatures inside each bag. It is helpful
to have two thermometers for each group, that way you get an accurate reading for each
bag. Have students make a conclusion about heat conduction.
Ice cream materials for one student:
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1 tablespoon sugar (3 cups of sugar for a class of 25 students)
1/2 cup milk or half & half (13 cups of milk for a class of 25 students)
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1/4 teaspoon vanilla or other extract of your choice such as peppermint (two
bottles should do it for the whole class)
1 tablespoon of goodies such as crushed cookies or chocolate chips (3 cups for the
whole class)
6 tablespoons rock salt ( cups of rock salt for the whole class
1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc) (1 package for the whole class)
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag (1 Package for the whole class)
Ice cubes (2 large bags of ice from grocery store or gas station)
PROCEDURES
1.
2.
3.
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5.
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put milk, sugar, extract and goodies into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
Wipe off the top of the small bag, and then open it carefully. Enjoy!
Recipe makes one scoop of ice-cream.
If you want to explore other recipes check out http://crafts.kaboose.com/ice-cream-in-abag.html
7. *ICE CREAM METAPHOR POEMS (Verbal/Linguistic and Intrapersonal)
If Tess were to write an ice cream metaphor poem, the first line might be:
“My life is a scoop of rocky road ice cream.”
Brainstorm the rest of the metaphor poem with the class. Then ask students to write a
metaphor poem comparing themselves to their favorite ice cream flavor or another food
of their choice.
8. MENTAL ILLNESS POSTERS (Verbal/Linguistic, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal)
Tess’s mom suffers from bipolar disorder. According to the National Alliance on Mental
Illness, one out of every four adults experience a mental health disorder in a given year,
one out of ten children live with a serious mental or emotional disorder, and over 50% of
students with a mental disorder age 14 or older drop out of high school. Divide the
children into five groups. Ask each group to make an informational poster about one of
the following mental illnesses: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, severe anxiety disorder. Make sure their posters include
at least one successful treatment or activity that helps people cope with mental disorders.
Have the groups present their posters to the class and ask the class to give constructive
feedback regarding the organization and information on the poster.
MOTOWN MUSIC (Musical, Interpersonal, and Verbal/Linguistic)
Winnie, Tess’s friend, has a band called The Salty Old Dogs. They specialize in Motown
Music which plays an important part in the civil rights history of the United States. The
Motown company, which was founded by a former Ford assembly line worker,
desegregated “the music industry when its records began to audiences across racial
boundaries.” Not only did Motown appeal to people of many races, it appealed to many
people across socio-economic, political and religious boundaries. Pick a Motown song
and perform it in front of the class, or write a report on a Motown musician/band. Ask
students to explain how the lyrics of their song related to the social/political movements
during the civil rights era.
COMPARABLE CONTEMPORARY FICTION FOR GUIDED READING GROUPS
-A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
-Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
-The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
-Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
-Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick
Curriculum Guide created by
Kate Narita,
Curriculum Guide Consultant
http://katenarita.blogspot.com