Scratch Beginnings By Adam Shepard
Writing Assignment for chapters 1 through 6
This assignment serves two purposes: the following questions are good discussion
starters for our literature circles that will follow each reading assignment you do for
Scratch Beginnings. Secondly, these are open – ended style questions that will help you
develop skills for the HSPA. We will only be doing these types of questions for chapters
1 through 6; then, the assignment will change.
Skills we’ll we work on:
1. Developing a topic sentence using the stem of question
2. Provide context for quotations
3. Integrating quotations smoothly—use a signal phrase. The author states
“Quote”
4. Analyzing quotations in context of the question
________________________________________________________________________
Your Task: You must address each bullet point and use a quotation from the book to
support your points. We have provided quotations for you to help you develop your
answers.
Chapter 1: “Welcome to Crisis Ministries”
1. What is the importance of discipline and sacrifice in achieving success?

“He didn’t appear happy with my refusal, and I imagine word was starting
to spread that I was a financial miser (someone who is cheap or selfish
with money)” (5).

“The bathroom had been neglected for quite some time, and as disgusted
as I was by the shelter as a whole, I had already come to terms with the
fact that it would be my home until I could bank enough money to move
out” (14).
2. What type of place is Crisis Ministries? Describe it. Would you want to stay
there for a night?

“This was my home and I was ready for it” (14).

“Yep, the inside appearance of the shelter didn’t match the immaculate
exterior that had greeted me two hours prior” (14).
Chapter 2: “Easy Labor”


What is the importance of a good work ethic (the motivation and amount of
hard work that someone puts into a job) in achieving success?

“Even with unfavorable wages, “work today, pay today” sounded very
appealing” (16).

“’ The harder I work, the more praise I receive back at EasyLabor.
And if they like you, you get put on better jobs and maybe even a
permanent ticket’” (Said by Cicely) (21).
Compare the work ethic between Big Bob, Cicely and Shepard? Who seems
to have the strongest work ethic and why? Do you have a strong work ethic?

Likewise, a day off would keep me a day away from attaining my
goal.” (18).

“[…] Big Bob had (by his own admission) earned the right to be lazy
after years of his own hard work” (20).

“Cicely was in superwoman mode, never stopping for a single break,
and I surely wasn’t going to be the one to interrupt that trend” (20-21).
Scratch Beginnings By Adam Shepard
Writing Assignment for chapters 3 and 4
This assignment serves two purposes: the following questions are good discussion starters for our literature
circles that will follow each reading assignment you do for Scratch Beginnings. Secondly, these are open –
ended style questions that will help you develop skills for the HSPA. We will only be doing these types of
questions for chapters 1 through 6; then, the assignment will change.
Skills we’ll we work on:
1. Developing a topic sentence using the stem of question
2. Provide context for quotations
3. Integrating quotations smoothly—use a signal phrase. The author states “Quote”
4. Analyzing quotations in context of the question
Your Task: CHOOSE ONE QUESTION per chapter. We have provided quotations for you to help
you develop your answers.
Chapter 3: “Another Day, Another Dollar”
1. What are some obstacles that people in homeless shelters might face? How can these obstacles keep
them from achieving their goals?

“I couldn’t help thinking that this is where it happened—this is where people disappeared, fell off
the map. Younger runaways still full of potential were lost in the fray […].” (32)
2. What role does a person’s attitude play in his or her success? How does Shepard’s attitude help him
achieve getting a job? Do you have this attitude when you want something badly?

“I was overcome with the anxiety of remaining unemployed, sure, but I refused to let those
feelings get in the way of the task at hand” (46).
Chapter 4: “Big Babies”
1. What is the role of authority in business or a job situation?

“While we were able to dodge fussy ladies for parts of the day, it seemed that the owner had
delegated power to her cohorts to pick on the day labor crew at their leisure. And they took full
advantage of that power” (49).

“We were upset, the temp crew and I, but we also knew that we were defenseless, forced to
succumb to the owner’s beck and call” (48).
2.
How are people at minimum wage jobs treated? What effect might this have on an individual’s
self-esteem and motivation?

“I was infuriated, pissed, steam venting from my ears, but I didn’t show it” (52).

“Sure, the pay sucked terribly, but every day was a different experience” (47).