Communications 11/12
Mr. Duce
To Set Our House in Order
By Margaret Laurence
Young Vanessa MacLeod gains insights to her family’s past wounds nad disappointments as her
grandmother rules the household with an iron-fisted hand.
Assignment:


Read the story
Complete the exercises below
1. Questions:
a. During the events of the story, what does the narrator, Vanessa, learn
about her father and her grandmother? How does Vanessa feel about what
she has learned?
b. Is Vanessa changed by the events surrounding the birth of her brother?
Explain.
c. The main point of the story is brought out clearly in the final two
paragraphs of the story. What does “To Set Our House in Order” have to
say about the many events that shape our lives?
d. The story describes one child’s growth toward maturity and awareness.
What conflicting emotions does Vanessa feel during the events of the
story? How does she respond to her emotional upset?
2. Sometimes our views of people change as we learn new information about them.
Describe an incident in which your view of someone was changed by new
information you gained about him/her.
3. Using details from the story, write a description of the social and economic
climate that existed in the early 1930’s. Then research information on the internet,
adjust and add to your description as necessary.
4. Using the internet, research the new farming techniques that were developed, after
1935, to stop soil erosion. Include a title page, pictures and a description of the
technique or implement and how it worked. This is a short report between 200
and 400 words. No cut and paste except for the pictures. (2 hours of class time
given for this assignment)
Evaluation:
Each answer will be evaluated using the following rubric.
1
2
Spelling & Grammar
Too many
Many
spelling
spelling
mistakes.
mistakes.
Hard to read Poor
grammar.
Depth of Response
Little thought Emerging
given.
thought
stream
evident.
Look of the assignment
Hand
Hand
written, hard written,
to read.
easy to
read.
3
Few spelling
mistakes.
Run-on
sentences.
4
No spelling
mistakes.
Excellent
grammar.
Considered
response that
is not
complete.
Typewritten,
but not
formatted
appropriately.
Insightful
response and
reflection.
Typewritten,
formatted,
graphics
included.