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The Boxcar Children: Caboose Mystery (#11)
By Gertrude Chandler Warner
Pages 7-29

Discussion Director:
Your job is to guide the discussion by asking questions about this section of the book. Be sure to encourage your peers and give positive feedback to their responses. Ask questions that address the important parts of the passage and cover all of the main parts of the story. Include one of each of the following types of questions.

• 1 Cause/Effect
• 1 Thinking Question
• 1 Compare and Contrast
• 1 Prediction
• 1 Fact/Opinion

Some examples of these types of questions are:

1. (Cause/Effect) What happened when
2. (Thinking) What do you think will occur on the caboose ride?
3. (Compare and Contrast) How is Benny’s curiosity different from Violet’s? Provide examples from the book.
4. (Prediction) Why do you think the mailman is curious about the walls of the caboose?
5. (Fact/Opinion) Why do you think Grandpa decides to take the children for a ride on the caboose?

Passage Picker:
Your job is to choose 4 passages that you think are important to the story. These passages can be portions of the story that stand out in your mind, or provide relevant information. Be sure to include why you chose these passages. Include:
• 2 Descriptive
• 1 Informative
• 1 Foreshadowing
• 1 Your Choice

Some examples of these types of passages are:
1. Descriptive:
• P.17, Paragraph 2: “The postman…boys closely.”
• P. 21, Paragraph 4: “Along went…the caboose.”
2. Informative:
• P. 22, Paragraph 2: “’No,’ said the man…is Al.”
3. Foreshadowing:
• P. 18, Paragraph 5 & 6: “’Benny went on…the caboose.”
4. Idiom:
• P. 19, Paragraph 9: “Isn’t this great, flying along!”

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to describe one character from the story by writing down 3 implied traits. You must include the page, paragraph number and an explanation about why the character fits these traits.

An example of a Character Sketcher of Grandpa:
• Enjoys children; P. 8, paragraph 3 describes Grandpa’s plan to take the children on a trip riding the caboose. He must enjoy spending time with the children because he rents the caboose for them because he knows they will also enjoy it.
• Wise; P. 14, paragraph 5 describes Grandpa’s discussion about the aspects of the big caboose that made it better than the small caboose.
• Follows his Dreams; P. 19, paragraph 2 describes Grandpa’s longtime admiration of trains and how he has always wanted to ride on one. He finally gets to ride in a train even in the later years of his life.

Word Wizard:
Your job is to pick out 3 words that may be unfamiliar to you and find the definitions by using dictionaries. You will make a Word Wizard card that includes the definition, a picture that identifies the definition, its part of speech, and the page and paragraph number where this word is found in the book.

Three Word Wizard examples are:
• Caboose: P. 8, paragraph 9; The last car on a freight train, having kitchen and sleeping facilities for the train crew (n.)
• Freight: P. 16, paragraph 5; A railway train carrying goods only. (n.)
• Platform: P. 19, paragraph 6; A vestibule at the end of a railway car. (n.)
•
Connector:
Your job is to find relevant information from outside sources such as the Internet, magazines, newspapers, or books that include information about something found in the book. Be sure to look for historical facts and interesting information about the subject.

An example of the Connector’s role is to find information about famous cabooses in North Carolina. Visit the web site, http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/caboose/caboo01.shtml to find out the history of the caboose. Provide names of early cabooses.
Caboose comes from the Dutch word, “kabuis," which referred to a ship's galley. A few examples of early cabooses include, “The Cupola,” which included a lookout post on top of the car. Picture shown below.

Another use of the caboose was to provide an office for the conductor where he could also keep his paperwork. The brakeman and flagman would also reside in the caboose. They would keep watch on the tracks and keep an eye out for trouble. If they saw any trouble and needed to stop, the flagman would get off board, and walk along the track with a lantern and other devices to warn any oncoming trains of danger ahead.

The Boxcar Children: Caboose Mystery
Section 1: p. 7-29

Discussion Director:
Your job is to ask 5 questions about this section. Be sure to ask one of each of the following types of questions:
• 1 Cause/Effect
• 2 Characterization
• 1 Fact Question
• 1 Main Idea Question

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch Violet

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• Two Descriptive Passage
• One Figurative Language

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Icebox (p. 9, paragraph 10)
• Siding (p. 12, paragraph 5)
• Bunk (p. 13, paragraph 3)
• Lever (p. 22, paragraph 9)

Investigator:
Your job is to visit http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5109/ and participate in creating a story where you will choose the events that take place in your story. You will be given a story starter and will be able to choose how the story turns out. Each story involves a mystery where you play the detective and solve the case!
• Briefly summarize your story using a word processing program. Include major events and how you solved the case.
• What did you enjoy most about this activity?

The Boxcar Children: Caboose Mystery
Section 2: p. 28-62

Discussion Director:
Your job is to ask 5 questions about this section. Be sure to ask one of each of the following kinds of questions:
• One Cause/Effect
• Two Characterization
• Two Fact Questions

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch Old Beaver

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• Two Descriptive Passage
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Gnaw (p.32, paragraph 1)
• Potash (p. 49, paragraph 2)
• Shed (p. 54, paragraph 5)
• Dozen (p. 61, paragraph 4)

Investigator:
Your job is to find out more about Glass Blowing. Present this information to the class including famous glass blowers, how to make glass, and what is made from blowing glass. Visit http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/agesubject/lessons/newton/glassblow.html and perform the experiment with honey and a straw. Dip the straw in honey and blow in the straw. This will represent glass blowing.
• How does the honey resemble glass blowing?
• List the differences between the honey and the liquid glass.
• Compare different types of glass, keeping in mind color, texture and transparency.

The Boxcar Children: Caboose Mystery
Section 3: p. 63-89

Discussion Director:
Your job is to ask 5 questions about this section. Be sure to ask one of each of the following kinds of questions:
• One Cause/Effect
• Two Characterization
• One Fact Question
• One MCEOG

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch Benny

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• Two Descriptive Passage
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Air Brakes (p. 64, paragraph 4)
• Bandage (p. 69, paragraph 6)
• Stuffing (p. 76, paragraph 4)
• Hurricane (p.79, paragraph 8)

Connector:
The job of the connector is to think of ways that personal experiences connect to events and themes appearing in the book.

A personal example of this job would be when my friend, Joey was left at a Hess Gas Station one time while traveling with his family. This resembles the instance where Benny goes off in search of the Talking Horse and the Alden’s leave him behind. When Joey’s family went on vacation, they took two cars and when they stopped at a Gas Station, Joey went inside. When the family left, both cars thought that Joey was in the other vehicle, but instead he was still inside the gas station. Similarly, the Alden’s thought that Benny was asleep inside the caboose.

The Boxcar Children: Caboose Mystery
Section 4: p. 90-128 (end)

Discussion Director:
Your job is to ask 5 questions about this section. Be sure to ask one of each of the following kinds of questions:
• Two Cause/Effect
• One MCEOG
• Two Fact Questions

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch The Thin Man

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• One Descriptive Passage
• One Entertaining
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Untie (p. 92, paragraph 11)
• Peaceful (p. 97, paragraph 6)
• Clacking (p. 98, patagraph 1)
• Certainly (p. 108, paragraph 3)
• Rattled (p. 114, paragraph 6)

Summarizer:
Your job is to summarize (tell in your own words) the main events that occurred in this section of the text.
An example:

During this section, Violet began to sew Jessie’s mattress and while she was sewing it, she found a package. Inside the package was the diamond necklace that Cho Cho had lost many years ago. They took it to a store to see how much the necklace was worth. Then they bought Charley a knife so he could cut the vines in the woods. Then the Alden’s brought back Cho-Cho’s talking horse. Cho-Cho was very excited that Mr. Alden was going to see the necklace and send the money back to Cho-Cho. The Alden’s returned home and discussed their trip on the caboose.

The Boxcar Children: Schoolhouse Mystery (#10)
By Gertrude Chandler Warner
Section 5: p. 7-36

Discussion Director:
Your job is to ask 5 questions about this section. Be sure to ask one of each of the following kinds of questions:
• Two Cause/Effect
• One MCEOG
• Two Fact Questions

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch Max

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• Two Descriptive Passage
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Village (p. 8, paragraph 11)
• Wharves (p. 14, paragraph 9)
• Mansion (p. 15, paragraph 2)
• Sardine (p. 20, paragraph 4)

Investigator:
Your job is to go to http://www.bellamymansion.org/Online_Tour/Tour_Main/body_tour_main.html and take the online tour of the Bellamy Mansion. Visit at least 5 rooms of the online tour and answer the following questions about the mansion:
1) What was your favorite aspect of the Bellamy Mansion?
2) Do you think the mansion in the story was like the Bellamy Mansion? Why/Why Not?
3) Visit the Slave Quarters of the Bellamy Mansion. What do you notice?

The Boxcar Children: Schoolhouse Mystery
Section 6: p. 37-65

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch Miss Gray

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• Two Descriptive Passage
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Bell Rope (p.44, paragraph 6)
• Paintbox (p. 46, paragraph 5)
• Whaling (p. 52, paragraph 6)
• Buckles (p. 60, paragraph 2)

Investigator:
Your job is to visit http://www.johnstown.k12.oh.us/cornell/states.html and choose one of the one-room schoolhouses. Write a brief description about the location of the schoolhouse as well as some important facts about the schoolhouse.

The Boxcar Children: Schoolhouse Mystery
Section 7: p. 65-93

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch Freddy

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• One Descriptive Passage
• One Entertaining
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Modern (p. 68, paragraph 1)
• Island (p. 69, paragraph 2)
• Delighted (p. 74, paragraph 3)
• Bedclothes (p. 81, paragraph 1)

Connector:
The job of the connector is to think of ways that personal experiences connect to events and themes appearing in the book.

The Boxcar Children: Schoolhouse Mystery
Section 8: p. 94-128 (end)

Character Sketcher:
Your job is to sketch the Englishman

Passage Picker:
Your job is to pick 4 passages from the text. Be sure to include
• One Step by Step Passage
• Two Descriptive Passage
• One Foreshadowing Passage

Word Wizard:
Your job is to define these words. Make sure to include the part of speech. Then use it in a sentence of your own.
• Post (p. 99, paragraph 5)
• Pewter (p. 111, paragraph 3)
• Paperweight (p.111, paragraph 5)
• Antique (p. 125, paragraph 6)

Investigator:
Your job is to visit http://www.artbyelephants.com/ and read about elephants that can actually paint, as the children in The Boxcar Children, Schoolhouse Mystery did. Read about and observe Ele-Art and answer the following questions:
1) What do all of the elephant paintings have in common?
2) Do you think the elephants know what they are painting?
3) How do the elephants paint? How do they hold the brush? What do they paint on?