Tall Tales

Jessica Coulter, Kristy Familar,

Lara Seagle and Louise Urban

My Sister’s Rusty Bike

By: Jim Aylesworth

Second Grade

Discussion Director

Today you will be Discussion Director for your literature group. You should come up with good thinking questions for your group. Make sure your questions are important to the section and involve more than just finding the answer in the book. With your questions you should include the answers and the page numbers and paragraph where the answers can be found. This will make it easier for you and your group members during discussion, if problems should arise.

You should have a MCEOG, True/False, and Fact/Opinion question. Also, ask two other questions about setting, point of view, genre, main idea, or setting.

*MCEOG (Multiple Choice End of Grade Question)-

While riding his sister’s rusty bike across the country, the boy always sees a different type of what?

A.Car

B.Animal(Answer: B)

C.Flower

D.Bike

*True/False-

The boy rode his sister’s rusty bike across the state describing what he saw.

(Answer: False, because he rode across the country and not the state)

*Fact/Opinion-

The boy’s favorite place that he visited on his trip was Pennsylvania where he saw Gilly Gibbs and the colored eggs.

(Answer: Opinion, because he doesn’t tell the reader which place was his favorite, this was is what the reader thought.)

*Genre-

What type of genre does My Sister’s Rusty Bike fit into? Why?

(Answer: This book is a tall tale because the boy tells about his travel across America on his sister’s rusty bike and exaggerates about everything he sees.He takes realistic things and animals and adds outrageous details and descriptions.)

*Setting-

What do learn about the setting from the text and pictures?
(Answer:The setting changes in the text from page to page.The boy visits a new state on each page including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona and California.From the pictures the reader can gain more knowledge about the different settings.For example, when the boy is in Arizona the reader can tell that the area was a desert with sand and cactuses.)

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My Sister’s Rusty Bike

Passage Picker

Your job as Passage Picker will be to mark or identify passages in the book as you read. Give the page number and paragraph that you wish to share with the group. Write down the first and last two words of the passage and then explain the type of passage it is and why. At the end of your role, include some questions. Below is an example of a completed Passage Picker role.

Passage #1:

-page 13, all

-The first and last two words:

“I rode….dancing jigs.”

-Type of passage: funny, imaginative

-Why? This passage is funny because pigs don’t dance in real life. It is silly to

imagine pigs doing jigs while a man plays music.

Passage #2:

-page 1, all

-The first and last two words:

“I once….all true.”

-Type of passage: informative; sets the stage

-Why? This passage is important because it sets the stage for the rest of the story.

From this passage the reader understands what the story is going to be about and

gets a clue that it may be unbelievable when he claims that it is all true.

Passage #3:

-page 27, all

-The first and last two words:

"I rode...Edgar Poe."

-Type of passage: step-by-step and thematic (The passage also makes a reference to another genre and author of literature.)

-Why? This passage is step-by-step and thematic because it follows the pattern of the boy riding his sister's rusty bike across America. The reader knows he is going to discover something interesting in another state they are just informed about which state as they read along. I also picked this passage because it makes a reference to the poet Edgar Poe. The group could even explore some of Edgar Poe's poems to fully understand what Aylesworth is talking about.

Passage #4

-page 30, all

-The first and last two words:

"I want...riding round."

-Type of passage: foreshadowing and Cause/Effect

-Why? This passage includes some foreshadowing about what the boy on the rusty bike plans to do after his bike gets a flat tire. Although the story ends here the reader gets a good sense about what his intentions are from this passage. The reader could extend the story on their own just from this ending. It is also a Cause/Effect passage because the boy can no longer ride his sister's rusty bike because the tire is flat.

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My Sister’s Rusty Bike

Character Sketcher

When reading you will create your own images of what the people and places in the story look like. This job will give you the opportunity to illustrate on paper what you think a character looks like to share with your group. Along with your drawing you should include three traits that the character possesses and the page number and paragraph that supports the trait you pick. Then, include the character’s goal, and if there is one, a problem and solution.

Traits:

1.)trait – Adventurous page 1line 1 and 2

“I once rode around America

On my sister’s bike.”

2.)trait – Dramatic page 5line 7 and 8

“His hens lay colored eggs,

In fact they lay so many,

Gill places them in kegs.”

3.)trait – preserving page 30line 7 and 8

“And when I get a patching kit,

I’ll be back rind round.”

Goal: The boy’s goal was to ride around America on his sister’s rusty bike.

Problem:In the end the boy has to temporarily stop riding his sister’s rusty bike because he gets a flat tire.

Solution:A girl comes along and gives the boy a ride on her bike, but he will be back on the road once he fixes his tire. Once he gets a patch kit his problem can be fixed.

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My Sister’s Rusty Bike

Word Wizard

As Word Wizard you have an important job of finding words in the book that are difficult and that you or your group may not know. You should find at least five words, which you will list and give the page number and paragraph for each. Then, you will write the sentence that has the word in it, what you think the word means and the definition. On an index card write the word in large print and the page and paragraph. Then on the other side draw a picture to represent the word along with the word and definition.

*Dubious

-Write down the word, the page number and paragraph.

dubious- page 1, line 7

-Copy the sentence from the book in which the word appears.

“And though you may be dubious,”

-Write down what you think the part of speech and definition for the word is.

I think dubious means: (adj.) unbelieving

-Look up the word in the dictionary and put it in your own words

What dubious really means: (adj.) doubtful

-Write an explanation telling how the word adds meaning to the story.

Since the story is a tall tale, its humorous hearing him say it is all true, even if you may doubt what he says.

*Pampered

-pampered page 22, line 6

-“His pets are pampered toads.”

-I think pampered means: (verb) spoiled

-What pampered really means: (verb) to give lots of care and attention to

-Pampered gives the reader a better understanding of how Jojo Jones treated his toads.

The fact that they are pampered fits the story as a tall tale.

*a la mode

-a la mode page 22, line 8

-“Then serves them a la mode.”

-I think a la mode means: (adj.) with dessert

-What a la mode really means: (adj.) topped with ice cream

-This word emphasizes how Jojo Jones pampered his toads. It also makes the boy’s

trip to Minnesota more of a tall tale.

*dozen

-dozen page 13, line 6

-“He’s trained two dozen pigs.”

-I think dozen means: (noun) a group of something

-What dozen really means: (noun) a group of 12

-Dozen was used to describe the scenario that the boy saw and make it even more of a

tall tale. Not only does he see pigs that dance, but two dozens, twenty-four, of them!

*saloon

-saloon page 17, line 8

-“And neon-lit saloons.”

-I think saloon means: (noun) a place to dance

-What saloon really means: (noun) A decorated public place; bar

-Not only did the boy exaggerate his story to say that the goats were singing and

playing country songs, but he went on to say that they did it at a saloon. The author

made the situation easier to imagine because of the description.

Examples:

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My Sister's Rusty Bike

Travel Tracer:

Setting and location are a large part of this book. Your job is to take the places that you read about in the story and research them. There are thirteen states mentioned in the story so you should pick at least three states to investigate. Pretend you are a traveler wanting to take a trip from the east coast to the west coast. Give the states you picked in the order that you would visit them and then give information about popular attractions, state history and other interesting facts.

Arizona:

*Phoenix is the capital

*Arizona is home to many Native Americans such as the Apache and Navajo.

*Arizona has the largest Native American population than any other state.

*Geronimo is a famous person from Arizona. He was an Apache chief.

*The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona.

Colorado:

*The capital is Denver.

*The 13^th step of the capital building is one mile above sea level, so the city is

called the “Mile High City.”

*The state is nicknamed the Centennial state because it became a state 100 years

after the Declaration of Independence was signed.