Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
5th grade (on grade)
Chapters 1-4
Discussion Director
Your job is to write down questions that your group can discuss from the first four chapters. Make sure to come up with different types of questions. Some types of questions that you can ask are Fact/Opinion, Multiple Choice End of Grade Questions (MCEOG), problem/solution, author's purpose, mood, and compare/contrast. Today you need to write down five questions and the answers. Make sure to include what page and in what paragraph you can find the answer to the question.
(MCEOG)
1. All of the following describe the dugout except
which one?
A. all white
B. smooth
C. hard
D. rough
* Answer is D-rough. pages 10&11
(purpose)
2. What is the author's purpose for writing chapter two?
A. to entertain
B. to describe
C. to convince
D. to inform
* Answer is B-to describe
3. Fact or Opinion? Mr. Hanson is a Norwegian.
* Answer is Fact. page 6 paragraph 3
(MCEOG)
4. The following best describes how the Ingalls felt their first
night at Plum Creek.
A. scared
B.. happy
C. safe
D. restless
* Answer is C-safe. page 17 paragraphs 1&2
(general)
5. What is Pa's nickname for Laura?
A. little girl
B. half-pint
C. baby doll
D. half quart
* Answer is B-half-pint page 7 paragraph 3
Passage Picker
Your job is to pick parts
of the story that you want to read aloud in your group. You will need to
pick four passages to read aloud within your group. Reasons for picking
these passages can be descriptive, informative, figurative language,
entertaining, funny/amusing, foreshadowing, or scary. Make sure to include
what page you can find the passage and what paragraph or lines it may be!
Passage One
1. pages 12 paragraph 7
2. The tall willows........trickling to the creek
3. I picked this passage because it was very descriptive. It made me
feel like I was sitting by the creek, under the willow trees listening
to the water trickle into the creek.
4. How did the water go to the creek? It went trickling into the creek.
5. The author's purpose was to describe
Passage Two
1.page 6 paragraph 5
2.It's only till I harvest......his wheat is so thin and light.
3.I picked this passage because it was informative and it also is foreshadowing
events that may come later in the book. Pa is very informative in this
passage when he tells us how much the wheat will help him and his family.
4. Mr. Hanson's wheat was described as what by Pa? Mr. Hanson's
wheat was thin and light.
5.The author's purpose was to inform.
Passage Three
1.page 19 paragraphs 1&2
2.There along the creek....golden fur on it.
3. I picked this passage because it included figurative language.
In this passage there is a simile comparing something to something else.
(petals to a dress over hoops.)
4. Laura compares the velvet petals to what? She compares them to a
lady's dress over hoops.
5. The author's purpose was to describe.
Passage Four
1.page 26 paragraph 7
2.All that afternoon....ducked many times.
3. I picked this passage because it was funny to see that Laura got
ducked by her Pa many times for not listening.
4. Since Laura said that she was ducked many times, we can infer what
from reading this passage? That she went near the deep water many
times.
5.The author's purpose was to entertain.
Word Wizard
Your job is to look for special words in the story
that you or your group members may not recognize or understand. Words that
you could look for may be compound, hard, strange, describing, funny,
and or important. Make sure to include what page and paragraph you
found the word. Here are 8 words to choose from. You choose any
four that you want to do.
furry (page 1, para. 2)
prickled (page 17, para. 3)
gaily (page 9, para. 1)
alighted (page 19, para. 4)
fluttered (page 12, para. 7)
bouquets (page 21, para. 1)
boughs (page 14, para. 2)
calico (page 23, para. 5)
1. gaily page 9 paragraph 1
2.They went away gaily, not knowing that they were never
coming back.
3. gaily- to be in a happy manner
4.adverb
5. My friends and I were gaily, as we watched Tim McGraw dance on stage.
1.fluttered page 12 paragraph 7
2. The tall willows fluttered slender leaves up against the
sky...
3.flutter- an excited movement, condition or interest- to move quickly
without flying
4.noun
5.The arrival of Tim McGraw put my friends and I in a flutter.
1.bouquets page 21 paragraph 1
2.They brought her bouquets of the blue flags and she put
them on the table to make it pretty.
3.bouquet- flowers picked, arranged and fastened together in a bunch
4.noun
5.When I get married I will have a bouquet of white roses when I walk
down the aisle.
1.calico page 23 paragraph 5
2.Then the calico got wet and stuck to their legs.
3.calico- a type of cloth that is very heavy and it is made from cotton
4.noun
5.I will make sure that my wedding dress is not made from a material
known as calico.
Character Sketcher
Your job is to find an interesting character from the chapters you have read. For this lesson you can either choose from Laura or Pa to do a character sketch of. Make sure to find three words that describe your character and you will need to give proof or an example. Make sure to put what page and in what paragraph you found the proof. You will also need to tell one goal of the character, a problem and the solution for the character. When you are done, illustrate your character!!
My character is Pa.
1. page 6 paragraph 2
loving- when pa cuddle's
Laura and shows affection
2. page 14 paragraph 3
cheerful- when he
has to do his chores and take care of his family
3.page 26 paragraph 1
stern-when he corrects
Laura for disobeying her mother
Character Goal- To grow a successful wheat crop so that his family can move into a house that he will eventually build.
Problem- To find a place for his family to live until he can build them a house.
Solution- Pa traded the wagon and the horses for Mr. Hanson's dugout
so that the family would have shelter until the house was built.
Investigator
Your job is to dig up some background information on any topic related to your book. This might include:
The geography, weather, culture,
or history of the book's setting
Information about the author,
her/his life, and other works
Information about the time
period portrayed in the book
Pictures, objects, or materials
that illustrate the book
Music that reflects the
book of the time
The idea is to find one bit of information that helps your group understand the book better. Investigate something that interests you.
Ways of gathering information:
Library books or
magazines
On-line computer search
or encyclopedia
Westward
Movement resources
Laura Ingalls
Wilder Page
Interviews with people who
know about this topic (excluding your teacher)
Other novels, or textbooks
you have read.
This is information that I found on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Page about the present day place that the dugout is located. I also found a picture to share.
" The Ingalls farm is owned today by the Gordon family,
who has generously made it possible for visitors to see
the site of the dugout, Plum Creek, the tableland,
and other landmarks mentioned in On the Banks of Plum
Creek. In town, a museum has collected much information
on Laura and her family. Recently, the museum
obtained the home of the Nelsons, neighbors of the
Ingalls family mentioned often in On the Banks of Plum
Creek. The home has been moved into town near the
museum and is undergoing restoration.
Other buildings nearby include an 1880s church and
schoolhouse. Laura writes of Pa's donation toward the
In addition, many of the town's citizens come together
each summer to produce "Fragments of a Dream", an
outdoor pageant based on On the Banks of Plum Creek.
For more information about Walnut Grove (and
lots of neat pictures!), see the Walnut Grove
Home Page."
