Discussion Director:
*Your job is to come up with questions from the section that your group can talk about.  Include:
-1 Prediction
-1 MCEOG
-1 Point of View
-1 Fact/Opinion (on your own)
-1 Main Idea (on your own)

Prediction
1. What do you think will happen next?  What will happen to Jessie?
    - I think that Jessie will eventually get to take Ring home, to take care of as a pet.  Also,
      I think that Jessie and possibly the family will end up moving out to California to find
      jobs and happiness.

MCEOG
2. Why did Aunt Maybell and Delbert decide to go to California?
    a. To be closer to their friends.
    b. To find work.
    c.  To purchase a new horse for their farm.
    d.  To escape from the police.

Point of View
3. From whose point of view is this book written?
    Answer: Jessie. (The story is told in first person narrative)

Passage Picker:
*Your job is to pick passages from the section that you feel are important or interesting.  You will discuss these passages with your group.  Choose four passages that satisfy these categories:
-Dialect
-Descriptive
-Figurative Language (on your own)
-Cause/Effect (on your own)

1.Dialect
a. Page 22, Paragraph 5, Line 1
b. "We stood...old truck."
c. I chose this passage because it shows the way that people talked in this area of the
    country and possibly during this time period.
d. Re-write the passage from the book using proper grammar.  Possible answer: We stood
    there waving as we watched the old truck drive out of sight.
e. Author's purpose: To Inform

2. Descriptive
a. Page 8, Paragraph 2, Line 4
b. "The cry...my arms.
c. I chose this passage because it was so descriptive that I was able to picture the scene
    vividly.
d. List the descriptive words/adjectives from this passage.  Answer: shadowy, lonesome,
    dark.
e. Author's purpose: To Describe

Word Wizard:
*Your job is to choose four words from the section that are unfamiliar or special.  Choose from this list:
    -chiffonier (page 2, par. 1)
    -chambray (page 2, par. 2)
    -electuary (page 4, par. 3)
    -bushel (page 6, par. 2)
    -gnawing (page 7, par. 1)
    -sprawled (page 11, par. 2)
    -gunnysacks (page 23, par. 1)

1. sprawled (page 11, paragraph 2)
a. "Sprawled beside her, I stuck my hand down in the earth Uncle Delbert had turned up with the plow.
b. sprawl - (verb) to lie or sit with arms and legs spread out
c. My cat sprawled out beside me while I slept.

2. chiffonier (page 2, paragraph 1)
a. "I found it on the top of the chiffonier that belonged to Grandma years ago."
b. chiffonier - (noun) a high narrow chest of drawers
c. I keep my sweaters in the bottom drawer of the chiffonier.

Character Sketcher:
*Your job is to select a character from the story and describe this character in detail.  You will:
-find 3 words/traits that describe the character
-name 1 goal of the character
-find 1 problem that the character has
-determine a solution or possible solution to the problem
-illustrate the character

Jessie

Character Traits:
1. p. 1-2
    mournful- when she talks about the death of her sister.
2. p. 11-12, par. 1
    tough- when she talks about the dirt making people strong when times are hard.
3. p. 21-22
    curious- when she finds out that her aunt will leave Ring, the dog, behind and she learns that someone will have to take care
    of him.

Goal:
Jessie wants to take care of Ring and earn his love and trust.

Problem:
Ring is very stand-offish and does not want to warm up to Jessie.

Possible Solution:
She could slowly start to get closer to Ring and form a relationship with him.  She may do this by feeding him and talking to him.

Activity Activator:
*Your job is to create a graphic organizer to go with the section.  In this case, use a K-W-L chart.  Fill in the "K"(what you know) and "W"(what you WANT to know) before reading the section.  After reading, fill in the "L"(what you learned) part of the chart.  When presenting to your group, you may want to ask your group members what they learned from reading the section before showing your chart.