LEAD IN TO LITERATURE
Answer in complete sentences in your notebook. Be sure to write more than one sentence
whenever you can. I am looking for at least three for most questions.
1. Have you ever been to Moose Jaw? If you have what did you do there? If you
have not, tell what things you might do if you were to visit that city.
2. Describe a tunnel and what it might be like in a tunnel.
3. Where could a child make a tunnel?
Discussion Items:
A. Time Travel
4. Do you think time travel is possible? Explain why you think it would or wouldn’t be a
good idea to time travel.
B. Prohibition
5. Why did the people from the United States travel to Canada during Prohibition?
C. Head Tax, Citizenship and Immigrants
6. Do you think immigrants today should pay a head tax? Tell why or why not.
Tunnels of Time Novel Study
Chapters 1,2,3
Part 1- PREDICTIONS
Chapter One: Not Moose Jaw!
1. Andrea doesn’t want to visit Moose Jaw this summer with her family. Predict why she
doesn’t want to go to Moose Jaw.
Chapter Two: Where Am I?
2. What do you think has happened to Andrea?
Chapter Three: Little Chicago
3. Chicago is a city in the United States. Why might Moose Jaw be called Little Chicago?
Part 2- Vocabulary:
Define in short form the meaning of the following words.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
exuberant
primitive
petrified
cynically
speculate
pact
overt
intermittent
dough
ancient
dungarees
déjà vu
ambiguous
murky
midriff
assertive
dank
gawking
covertly
reverberating
vacated
discerned
contemptuously
discreetly
murky
tepid
bizarre
civilized
grid
jovial
lecturing
grid
situated
claustrophobia
batty
flamboyant
gaudy
precariously
Part 3- Comprehension:
1. Tell at least three reasons why Andrea was embarrassed at the rehearsal party.
2. Why did Andrea pretend to be a boy?
3. What was it that confirmed for Andrea that she really had travelled back in time?
4. Andrea finds out the tunnels were laid out on a “grid”. What does that mean? Look in
Chapter 3 for help.
5. When Vance speaks, lots of words are spelled wrong. Why do you think the author did that?
Part 4- Word Study:
A SYNONYM is a different word with the same meaning. From the vocab word list, choose a
synonym for each word below.
1. guess _____________
2. left ____________
3. money ____________
4. scared _____________
5. thinking ____________
6. staring _____________
7. showy ____________
8. waist ____________
9. strong ____________
10. crazy ____________
11. warm ____________
12. echoing ___________
Part 5- Writing:
RELATIVES: 2 paragraphs
Andrea really didn’t want to go on this visit to her relatives. In your own words discuss why she
didn’t want to go on this visit and some things that happened with her relatives that confirmed
her opinions about the visit. Then in a second paragraph, tell about a time you had to visit
relatives you don’t especially like to visit or you were forced by your parents to go someplace.
Explain how you felt when you had to go.
Tunnels of Time Novel Study
Chapters 4,5,6
Part 1- PREDICTIONS
Chapter Four: Terror Underground
1. What do you think will happen when Andrea goes back into the tunnel all by herself?
Chapter Five: Decisions, Decisions
2. What do you think happened to Vance while Andrea was leading Old Scarface (Big Al)?
Chapter Six: Worries and Interruptions
3. What will happen when the next train comes in?
Part 2- Vocabulary:
Define in short form the meaning of the following words.
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
petrified
primitive
disembarking
fossil
speculative
stupor
minuscule
intermittent
raspy
recanted
caressing
cocky
immense
prestige
scrawny
fugitives
buoyed
cagey
concealing
extinguished
snitch
illicit
infringe
galvanized
armoire
exuberantly
befuddled
traversed
admonished
surreal
perilous
wrath
extinguished
Part 3- Comprehension:
4. What did Andrea do to help herself not panic as she crawled through the tunnel by herself?
4.a. Why was Andrea so surprised about Scarface’s reaction to finding out she was a girl?
5. What was it that confirmed for Andrea that she really had travelled back in time? What was
the time she found herself in?
6. What was the plan that Joe and the policeman had to catch Old Scarface?
7. What landmark did Vance use when he gave directions? Give an example of how he would
give directions.
Part 4- Word Study:
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words which describe a noun (person, place or thing). They are used to help us
make good word pictures in our minds. The following sentence has the adjectives underlined.
Read it without the adjectives and see if you could get a picture without those words.
“A few minutes later, they again entered into the tiny caretaker’s room at the train station.”
Choose 10 adjectives from the word list for this set. Use them in sentences to tell something
that happened in the story or to describe someone from the novel
Part 5- Writing:
Changes: 3 paragraphs
Andrea has changed since she entered the tunnels. Describe, in a separate paragraph for each,
three ways she has changed.
In each paragraph, describe how you think she would have acted before and how she acts now.
Tunnels of Time Novel Study
Chapters 7,8
Part 1- PREDICTIONS
Chapter Seven: The Catastrophe
1. What do you think might happen on Andrea’s “last trip” in the tunnels?
Chapter Eight: Journey into the Forbidden Tunnel
2. How will Andrea get herself to Vance’s house to spend the night?
Part 2- Vocabulary:
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
nocturnal
niggled
ailments
groggily
skeptical
henchmen
agitation
wick
naivete
sturdiness
omitted
speculate
lanky
addled
rubble
audibly
muted
acquiescence
flimsy
cavernous
diffuse
junction
dishevelled
intrusion
void
claustrophobic
snitched
putrid
collision
intuition
chagrin
interloper
glacial
ghoulish
Part 3- Comprehension:
7. Why did Andrea leave Stilts and Chubbs alone in the tunnel near the cave in? What would
you have done? Would you have wanted to warn Old Scarface? Tell why or why not.
7. a. Compare how Old Scarface looked and acted toward Andrea to how your Dad or another
male relative acts with you.
7. b. Sometimes Old Scarface seemed nice and sometimes he seemed really mean. Why do you
think his character kept changing?
8. How did Vance get hurt so badly?
8. a. Why did Rosie think Andrea was so strange when she was asking for ice, an ambulance and
medical supplies?
8. b. Andrea considered Vance to be a true friend. Tell three things that make friends “true
friends”. How do these three things apply to Andrea and Vance?
Part 4- Word Study:
SAID
This author uses lots of words in place of said which adds interest to the story. Find ten
examples of where she uses other words. Record the page number and copy the sentence
correctly. Underline the word she uses to replace said.
Part 5- Writing:
FEELINGS
Andrea’s feelings about Old Scarface have changed from the beginning of Chapter Seven to
now. Choose three different feelings Andrea had about Scarface and use each to create
individual paragraphs explaining what has happened in the book to change her view of Old
Scarface.
3 paragraphs
Tunnels of Time Novel Study
Chapters 9,10,11
PREDICTIONS:
Chapter Nine: Trapped in the Forbidden Tunnel
1. From the title, predict what you think will happen to Andrea next. Describe how you
think she will solve this problem.
Chapter Ten: Introducing Beanie
2. Who do you think Beanie is and how would this new person be important in this story?
Chapter Eleven: True Confessions
3. What do you think will happen when Vance finds our Andy is a girl?
Part 2- Vocabulary:
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
looming
Clogged
Toll
Wafted
Chided
Admonished
Oppressive
Fiction
Synthetic
Foolhardy
Worldly
Barrette
Permeate
Glib
Enthralled
Foes
Wager
Distraction
Distracting
Sprinted
Chauvinist
Unencumbered
Avenge
Fad
Figment
Disguise
Ploy
Mirage
vengeance
Part 3- Comprehension:
9. How did the men plan to catch whomever was hiding in the forbidden tunnel? What did this
mean for Andrea?
9.a. Describe how Andrea escaped from the tunnel.
10. How did Rosie, Beanie and Andrea plan to have Big Al found by the police? What makes us
think the plan will work?
11. What coincidence happens when Andrea shows Beanie her barrettes?
11a. Why did Andrea go back the second night?
Part 4- Word Study:
SYNONYMS
From the word list, choose a synonym for each word below:
1. fashion____________
2. scolded__________
3. imagination__________
4. uncaring____________
5. drifted ____________
6. plan _____________
7. bet ____________
8. enemies___________
9. free ____________
10. revenge___________
11. risky____________
12. ran ___________
Part 5- Writing:
Changes: 3 paragraphs
Prohibition Disobeyed!
Pretend you are a newspaper reporter who came upon the policeman who discovered the
bottles where Andrea left them. Imagine what happened after Andrea left.
Write a newspaper article reporting what went on at the house where some of the gangsters
were staying.
Be sure that your article tells:
Who ?
What ?
When ?
How ?
Why?
Tunnels of Time Novel Study
Chapters 12,13
Part 1- PREDICTIONS
Chapter Twelve: Tunnels of Time
1. Andrea was knocked out at the end of the last chapter. What do you think will happen
when she comes to?
Chapter Thirteen: Tunnel, What Tunnel?
2. How do you think Andrea will act towards her relatives in the last chapter of this book?
Part 2- Vocabulary:
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
noggin
giddy
vise
hitch
oblivion
chaotically
realm
faze
hysterical
lethargy
quavering
prudent
obstinate
consistent
silhouetted
vivid
concussion
ponder
antics
eccentric
taboo
imprint
lusty
decrepit
hoax
mortgage
renovations
Part 3Comprehension:
CHAPTER 12,13 QUESTIONS
12. Tell who the people were that were in the present and Andrea had known in the past.
12. a. Everybody thought Andrea had a concussion. Tell three things she did differently now
than she would have before this happened.
13. Tell what Andrea and Vanessa discussed as they got ready for bed.
13. a. Why do you think the author would end a book like the beginning of a book... with a
supenseful sentence, “Instead, a black gaping hole beckoned her into the darkness...”
Part 4- Word Study:
ADVERBS
Adverbs are describing words which make things seem more really because they describe how
someone does something. They often end in “ly”, but not always. They describe the verb or
doing word.
On each page listed below, find a sentence which contains at least two adverbs. Copy the
sentence; circle the verb that is being described and underline the two adverbs.
1. Page 239
2. Page 244
3. Page 248
4. Page 258
5. Page 260
Part 5- Writing:
“Instead, a black gaping hole beckoned her into the darkness...”
This is how the book ends. Write the next chapter for the book telling what Vanessa and
Andrea do next.
Major Projects for Tunnels of Time
Major Project One:
Choose two Activities.
1. Sketch a Character
Find a good description of one of the characters in the novel. Copy the description and then use
the description to sketch the head and shoulders of that character.
2. “Most Wanted” Poster
Create a “most Wanted” poster for a character from the book. Include a written description
and key information that would lead to a positive identification.
3. Design a T-Shirt
Often when you visit someplace, you can purchase a T-shirt about the place. Design a T-shirt
for the book, Tunnels of Time.
Major Project Two:
Choose One Activity
1. Gender Roles Then and Now
The novel makes several references to gender issues, such as girls being allowed in the tunnels,
girls’ jobs and appearance. Compare the gender issues of today with those that we read in the
novel.
a) Write one paragraph about how things have changed.
b) Write one paragraph about how things are the same.
c) What do you think is fair for girls to be able to do?
2. Metaphors and Similes
Authors use metaphors and similies to compare things to other things. i.e. Page 52
“Andrea felt hope flow out of her like air escaping from a broken balloon.”
Find 5 examples of this type of descriptive language in the book. Write the page number and
copy the quotation exactly.
Choose one example and draw a picture that depicts the sentence.
3. Growing Up
Everyone commented in the last chapter about how Andrea seemed to be growing up.
Describe, in at least three paragraphs, some of the characteristics showed in the beginning
chapters that had changed in the last chapter. As part of the paragraph tell why others would
think this change meant Andrea was growing up.