Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust
By: Karen Hesse
Study Guide and Literature Group Guide
Name:_____________________________
Ms. Stickle
Period_____
Out of the Dust by: Karen Hesse
During the unit of OOTD, you will have a literature group consisting of 5 or 6 people from your class. In these groups, you will have a different role for each section of the novel. You will have to take on each role AT LEAST ONCE and others probably more than once. The roles are:
A.
Character Captain – this person will develop an understanding of character and character traits. They are responsible for characterizing new characters, which includes personality traits, physical traits, motivation, etc.)
B.
Word Wizard – this person will define the vocabulary words for the section.
They must identify the page number, part of speech, and correct definition for the way that the word was used. Think about drawing a picture or coming up with your own sentence to help the group understand the word.
C.
Questioner – this person will monitor the group’s reading comprehension and question the text in order to find themes. When taking on this role, you must mark a page number down in which you were confused or had questions. If you are not confused, that does not mean you have no questions. Questions will promote discussion amongst your group, so think of some that can lead to our understanding of the deeper meaning of the novel.
D.
Scene Setter and Researcher
– this person will visualize and understand the setting of the novel and analyze the literary devices that help give readers an image of the scene. Look for similes, metaphors, imagery, alliteration, etc that helps us understand the setting (the time and place). Scenes and setting change frequently; be aware. You are also responsible for researching the topics that pertain to the section at hand. Use the internet and write down what the general idea is to share with your group.
E.
Connector – this person will identify themes in the novel and connect them to our world today. Remember themes are more than just one word; they are life lessons that can transfer from our book to our life.
Winter 1934 – pgs. 3-33
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
1.
Bawling-
2.
Scowl-
3.
Riled-
4.
Testy-
5.
Pestering-
6.
Dazzled-
7.
Spindled-
8.
Ratcheted-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
1.
Why did Daddy name his daughter Billie Jo? How might Billie Jo’s life be different if she were a boy?
2.
How does Billie Jo feel about Livie Killian’s moving away?
3.
Do you think Billie Jo should be mad at Ma for not allowing her to miss school to play piano? Why or why not?
4.
How does Ma respond to Billie Jo’s scored on the state test?
5.
Your own:
6.
Your own:
7.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher
– What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research –
Warm Springs Foundation –
Bounty of 1931 –
Loans from Franklin D. Roosevelt –
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
Spring 1934 – pgs. 37-51
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
9.
Dazed-
10.
Bittering-
11.
Quaking-
12.
Simmering-
13.
Grumble-
14.
Gripe-
15.
Wisp-
16.
Withered-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
8.
What doe Billie Jo do for comfort?
9.
Why does Ma allow Billie Jo to play with Arley Wanderdale on the road?
10.
If you were Daddy, would you “give up on wheat?” Why does he decide to keep growing it?
11.
What are Ma’s ideas for their farm? What does Daddy think of them?
12.
In Apples
, Billie Jo uses the repetition of the word “and.” What effect does this have on the poem and what kind of picture does it paint in your mind?
13.
Your own:
14.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher – What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research –
Madame Butterfly –
Banks following the stock market crash –
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
Summer 1934 – pgs. 55-84
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
17.
Kerosene-
18.
Chafed-
19.
Carcasses-
20.
Cereus Plant-
21.
Scorched-
22.
Squirrelled-
23.
Quench-
24.
Writhed-
25.
Stupor-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
15.
Whose fault is the accident?
16.
Should Billie Jo forgive her father for leaving Ma to go drinking in Guymon?
17.
How does Billie Jo spend her birthday?
18.
Why does Billie Jo hide her injured hands from her father?
19.
Why does Daddy want to dig a pond now?
20.
Your own:
21.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher
– What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research –
Dionne Quintuplets –
Eruption of Kilauea –
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
Autmn 1934 to Winter 1935 – pgs. 87-116
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
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Character:
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Character:
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___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
26.
Grime-
27.
Muck-
28.
Revue-
29.
Thistle-
30.
Wager-
31.
Infantile Paralysis-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
22.
Why can’t Billie Jo sand to be in the same room with a piano anymore?
23.
How does Mad Dog treat Billie Jo? What would you say to Billie Jo if she were your friend?
24.
What kinds of paintings are shown at the art exhibit? Why do they mean so much to Billie Jo?
25.
In what ways is Billie Jo like her father?
26.
Is it right for Miss Freeland to let Buddy Williams and his family stay at school?
27.
Billie begins to mention in her entries that her ma is “haunting her.” What does she mean by that? What do you think she can do about it?
28.
Your own:
29.
Your own:
30.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher
– What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research –
Lindbergh Baby –
Government food –
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
Winter 1935 – pgs. 117-149
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
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Character:
Info:
Character:
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___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
32.
Migrants-
33.
Forsaken-
34.
Parched-
35.
Brittle-
36.
Bleary-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
31.
The birth of the baby affects Billie Jo deeply. What are the feelings that she needs to just “walk off?”
32.
How does Billie Jo feel about getting 3 rd place in the Palace Theatre competition?
How did her hands feel afterwards?
33.
Why was Billie Jo desperate to get home in Dust Storm ?
34.
Describe how Billie Jo feels about her mother from what she says in Motherless .
How doe this compare to her feelings when her mother was alive?
35.
Your own:
36.
Your own:
37.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher – What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research –
Dust pneumonia –
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
Spring 1935 – pgs. 153-189
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
37.
Warped-
38.
Rickety-
39.
Sulking-
40.
Desperation-
41.
Hospitality-
42.
Charred-
43.
Staggered-
44.
Procession-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
38.
How does Billie Jo feel about Mad Dog Craddock? How do you know?
39.
Why is Billie Jo upset with her father about the letter from Aunt Ellis?
40.
Do you think Daddy is being a good father to Billie Jo? Why or why not?
41.
What are the spots that Billie’s father has on his skin?
42.
Billie Jo feels like she let someone down? Who does she feel she let down?
43.
Billie Joe says that, “I ought to get our before my own bones turn to stone.” What does this mean?
44.
Your own:
45.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher
– What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research –
Black Sunday –
Uncle Sam –
CCC –
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
Summer 1935 to Autumn 1935 – pgs. 193-227
___________________________Character Captain – Whom do we meet in this section? Give us details (physical, emotional, personality traits, etc.)
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
Character:
Info:
___________________________Word Wizard - Define the following words from this section. Make sure you write down the page number, part of speech, and the correct definition of the word.
45.
Bitterness-
46.
Tumbleweed-
47.
Mottle-
48.
Warp-
49.
Diversification-
50.
Betrothal-
___________________________Questioner – Use these questions to lead a discussion on this section. You are not limited to these questions. You should come up with at least three on your own to facilitate good discussion amongst your group. You do not need to know the answers to your three questions.
46.
If you were Billie Jo, would you have run away?
47.
How does Billie Jo’s father compare with the man she meets in the boxcar of the train?
48.
Why do you think Billie was able to call her father Daddy for the first time since her mother died?
49.
How is Billie’s decision to come a turning point in the story? Why do you think she came home?
50.
How do you know that Billie Jo has accepted Louise?
51.
Does anything on Billie’s Thanksgiving list surprise you?
52.
Describe Billie and her father’s new relationship.
53.
What do you think will happen to Billie Jo, Daddy, and Louise?
54.
Your own:
___________________________Scene Setter and Researcher
– What time and place does this section take place in? Describe everything you can for us. What is the weather like? How are the conditions? Also, research the terms that are given below. What do they have to do with OOTD?
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Research – None
___________________________Connector – Your job is to come up with ways that this novel can connect to our own lives. Take 3 events that happen and connect it to the world or teenage lives today.
What happens in the section? How does this relate to our lives today?
