Fifth grade (on grade)
Section 1 (pages 1-24)
Discussion Director
Your job is to write down questions that your group can
talk about.
* 1 MCEOG
* 2 character
* 1 problem-solution
* 1 prediction
EOG Question
1. All of the following describe Beetle except:
a. poor and underfed
b. caring
c. wealthy
d. small and pale
answer: C
It is apparent early in the book that Beetle does not
have any money or material possessions. In the first chapter, Beetle
is described as living in s dung pile. On page 2, line 4 the author
describes having warm bread and mothers who hugged their babies beyond
Beetle's imagining.
2. Describe at least two passages that lead the reader to think Beetle is a caring person.
(p.7 par. 1) "Once she found a nest of baby mice who had frozen in the cold, and she left them by the fence post for the cat. But her heart ached when she thought of the tiny hairless bodies in those strong jaws, so she buried them deep in the dung heap and left the cat to do his own hunting."
(p.9 par. 2,3) "Carefully she untangled his limp body and lifted him out of the bag by his front legs. 'By cock and pie, cat, I would have you live.' Ripping a piece from the rag she called her skirt, she wrapped him tightly and ran her secret hidden route back to the village. She scooped a hole in the dung heap and laid the cat in it."
3. Compare three similarities that the cat and Beetle share.
1. (p.1 par. 1) Beetle-
unwashed
2. (p.1 par.2) Beetle- scrawny, underfed body
(p.6 par. 1) cat- dusty orange fur
(p.9 par.3) cat- scrawny, scruffy orange cat
3. (p.3 par.2) Beetle- "...and so they taunted and tormented her."
(p.7 par. 3) cat- "The boys were already there, holding the cat aloft by
his tail."
4. Since Beetle could not read, how did she learn abut midwifery when she first started working?
(p. 16 par. 2) Beetle learned by watching the midwife. She would peer through the window and watch the midwife at her job, and Beetle learned that midwifery was "as much about hard work and good sense and comfrey tonic as spells and magic."
5. After Beetle had a bad experience in chapter 4 with the Miller's wife, what do you predict will happen to Beetle? Will she continue to work for the midwife, or will she be fired and put back on the streets? Why?
Be open to all possibilities, but here is what actually
happens:
The midwife does not fire Beetle. Beetle stays
and learns from her. By chance, The midwife needs Beetle to do an
important errand for her, and so it seems that the midwife is slowly starting
to trust Beetle and need her.
Passage Picker
Section 1 (pages 1-24)
Your job is to pick passages from this section that you
and your group can talk about. Choose passages that satisfies these
four reasons:
*descriptive
*surprising
*figurative language
*important
1.---
2. p.1 par.1
3. "When animal...unlovely body."
4. This passage has many descriptive words that help
the reader visualize what the text is saying. Many times throughout
this passage, the reader can almost smell, see and feel what is going on.
5. Q: How is the girl described in this passage?
A: as unwashed, unnourished, unloved,
and unlovely
6. The author's purpose in this passage is to help the
reader visualize what she is describing. By doing this, the reader
becomes drawn into the story.
1.---
2. p. 9 par.5
3. "If Beetle...you myself."
4. This was a surprising passage! It was also funny.
In the story, it becomes obvious that Beetle cares for the cat. The
passage was surprising because Beetle wanted to pray for the cat, sing
to him, or even speak gentle words to make him feel better. But,
Beetle did not know how to speak anything of the sort! All she knew was
cursing! Poor Beetle loves and cares for her cat and wants to speak soothingly,
but has never learned the appropriate words to use. Beetle has been sheltered
her whole life, and has never heard kind words spoken.
5. Q: How do you know that Beetle cares for the cat?
A: Because if she would have known
better, she would have sung to him, prayed for him, or spoken gently to
make him feel better. Even though she curses at the cat because that
is all she knows, she still says she wants the cat to breathe, and live.
6. The author's purpose was not only to let the reader
know something about the character, but also to surprise the reader with
what seems like an everyday occurance. It is not often that we think
of people not being able to express pleasant and caring words. But
if you had never herad them before, it would be difficult. The reader
also understands from this passage the extent of Beetle's sheltered life.
1.---
2. p.9 par.3
3. "A sudden...soggy sock."
4. This short passage was chosen for the alliteration.
The emphasis on the letter S is obvious. It contains many words in
such as soggy, sock, sudden, sent, scurrying etc. This is only one
example of figurative language in this book.
5. Q: What are some words that make this passage contain
alliteration?
A: sudden, sent, scurrying, she, scrawny,
scruffy, soggy, sock
6. The author's purpose in this passage is to provide
figurative language within the text.
1.---
2. p.8,9 par.7,1
3. "She kicked...you be."
4. This passage is very importanat to the rest of the
book. It tells of Beetle saving the cat's life. Because she
saved his life, Beetle and the cat become close companions. Throughout
the book, Beetle speks to the cat and through this, the reader learns all
about Beetle including her thoughts and feelings, and her caring nature.
The cat helps develop the main character of the story.
5. Q: Why do you think Beetle kept coming back to the
bag?
A: She knew the cat was in there and
might still be alive. She wanted to save the cat.
6. The author's purpose is to provide some suspense in
the story while introducing a crucial character.
Character Sketcher
section 1 (pages 1-24)
Your job is to find an interesting
character from this section you read today. You will find three words
that describe the character. For each word, or character trait, you
will give the proof or example (including page and paragraph).
The next thing you will do is tell
one of your character goals, or what the character wants to do in this
section.
Then you will find one of the character's
problems in the section and the solution or possible solution to the problem.
Finally, you get to have fun and illustrate
your character!
Beetle
Character traits:
1. p.2 line 14
yearning: because Beetle yearns to
have things that she doesn't have like a bed of hay that doesn't smell
like pigs, or a turnip that doesn't have mud on it.
2. p. 24 par. 2
fearful: because she does not want
to get thrown out of the midwife's cottage and back onto the streets
3. p. 24 par. 2
hard working: Beetle is willing to
work hard for her food and a place to stay. She will do anything
not to go back out on the streets.
Goal:
Beetle wants to stay at the midwife's cottage at all
costs. She is willing to work and to tolerate the midwife's scrutiny
to have food and shelter.
Problem:
Beetle has no place to go and no one to help her.
She must stay at the cottage for survival.
Solution:
Beetle learns to stay out of the midwife's way, and to
do as she is told. In return, Beetle begins to learn midwifery through
observation. She begins to earn some trust from the midwife, and
she receives food and shelter for her work.
Word Wizard
section 1 (pages 1-24)
Your job is to look for special words
in the story. On your recording sheet, write down the following:
1. write down the word
2. Copy the sentence from the book in which the word
appears
3. Look up the word in the dictionary
4. Using context clues from the sentence and the dictionary
definition, write down in your own words the definition of the word.
5. Write down the correct part of speech (noun, verb,
adjective, adverb)
6. Write a sentence of your own with the word in it.
7. Make your word wizard card. Be sure to include
in big pint your word and the page and paragraph number. On the other
side of the card should be a picture, the word, and the definition of the
word.
Choose four from the following:
moiling p.1 par. 1 unnourished p.1 par. 1 dung p.1 par.1
midwife p.11 par. 1 apprentice p.11 par. 1 abundance p.17 par.1
1. midwife (p.11, par.1)
2. "She was known in the village as Jane the Midwife."
3. (look up word)
4. midwife- woman trained to help women in childbirth
5. noun
6. The midwife helped deliver a baby boy.
7. 
1. apprentice (p.11, par.1)
2. "Taking Beetle gave her cheap labor and an apprentice
too stupid and scared to be any competition."
3. (look up word)
4. apprentice- learner of a trade that has agreed to
work in return for being taught
5. noun
6. The apprentice worked at the local newspaper and hoped
to one day be editor.
7. Have kids make this card.
1. abundance (p.17, par.1)
2. "She hit upon the mystrey the sudden abundance of
bread."
3. (look up word)
4. abundance- great plenty
5. noun
6. The president of the company had an abundance of money.
7. 
1. dung (p.1, par.1)
2. "In any event, the dung heap probably smelled little
worse than everything else in her life- the food scraps scavenged from
kitchen yards, the stables and sties she slept in when she could, and her
own unwashed, unnourished, unloved and unlovely body."
3. (look up word)
4. dung- waste matter dropped by animals
5. noun
6. There was a lot of dung in the cow pasture.
7. Have the kids make card.
Summarizer
section 1 (pages 1-24)
Your job is to prepare a brief summary of today's reading. The other members of your group will be counting on you to give a quick (one or two minute) statement that tells the key points or the main highlights of today's reading assignment.
Summary:
The book begins by introducing the
setting. The author uses descriptive language to allow the reader
to visualize what she is describing. There is a heap of dung, straw,
and food scraps that gives off heat, even in the winter. A girl that
is either twelve or thirteen years old sleeps in the pile. She is
poor with no family, no food, and no place to live. One day, a woman
finds her in the pile and tells her the girl reminds her of a dung beetle.
So, the girl is nicknamed Beetle. The women is the village midwife,
and she takes Beetle with her to be her apprentice. Although the
midwife is critical and speaks down to Beetle, she lets Beetle live in
her cottage and she feeds her leftover food. Beetle eventually finds
a cat, and saves his life. The cat and Beetle become close companions.
Beetle begins to get used to her new
life. One day. the miller runs into the yard and grabs Beetle's arm.
His wife was in labor and he needed the midwife. Beetle tried to
explain that the midwife was not there. The miller insisted that
Beetle come in her place. Although reluctant, Beetle does not have
much of a choice. Beetle tried to remember what the midwife had done
in these situations. She remembered when the midwife had told a women
to "push you cow!" Beetle tried this with the miller's wife.
It did not work out very well. The miller's wife began throwing things
at Beetle and yelling at her. Then the midwife stormed in, delivered
the baby, and dragged Beetle home by the arm.