Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group will discuss about the part of the book, pp. 3-31. You will decide important ideas and issues raised and present questions that talk about them. Today your job is to ask questions about the following that your group can talk about:
1. All of the following describe Spoon except which one?
a. caring
Fact and Opinion
2. State two facts from this section about Joanie. State two opinions from this section about Joanie.
Facts:
Opinions:
Cause and Effect
3. Name three events that happened in this section (effect), and discuss why each one happened (cause).
a. Effect: Spoon wanted a remembrance of Gram. p. 4 par. 1
b.
Effect: Spoon's parents both had a small tattoo between their thumb and index fingers. p. 18 par. 2
c.
Effect: Joanie screamed and dropped her suitcase. pp. 26-27 par. 3
Main Idea
4. Tell what the most important idea is in this section of the book.
Spoon is determined, in spite of Joanie's pestiness, to get a remembrance of Gram.
Character Goal
5.
Q - What is Joanie's goal in this section of the book?
Your job is to pick passages from this section that you and your group can talk about. Today we will find passages on pp. 3-31 that are:
a. p. 4 par. 1 (direct children to passage)
b. "Spoon had been...of forgetting her." (read passage to them)
c. Intriguing: I picked this passage because I think it is intriguing. It describes how Gram moved and sat in his dreams and how as the dreams were becoming less frequent that Spoon was afraid he would lose his memories of her. (tell why you picked the passage)
d. Why didn't Spoon want to lose his memories of Gram? (ask question)
e. The author's purpose was to intrigue the reader. Dreams have a mysterious, filmy way about them. (talk about why author writes certain passages)
2. Informative
a. p. 6 par. 1
b. "This particular summer...had grown up in."
c. Informative: I picked this passage because it was informative. It tells you about Spoon's grandparents and where they live.
d. Which grandparents do you think Spoon knew better? Why?
e. The author's purpose is to inform so that we can better understand the relationship of Spoon and his grandparents.
3. Funny/Amusing
a. p. 10-11 par. 8
b. "Spoon spun around...he said, 'Hollow.'"
c. Funny/Amusing: I picked this passage because it was amusing and illustrates a brother/sister relationship.
d. What effect did this gesture and comment have on Joanie?
e. The author's purpose in this passage was to entertain the reader with sibling humor.
4. Descriptive
a. p. 23-24 par. 2
b. "The light seemed...seemed bleached out."
c. Descriptive: I picked this passage because it was descriptive. It talks about what Spoon's surroundings looked like to him that day which was also connected to how he was feeling.
d. How was Spoon feeling that day?
e. The author's purpose in this passage was to describe Spoon's view of his surroundings that day.
Word Wizard
Your job is to pick 5 words from today's reading and teach them to your fellow students.
Choose from the following:
a. insult p. 11 par. 1
b. As usual, Joanie just smiled at Spoon's insult, which always put him in a low mood.
c. Dictionary: An action or remark meant to offend.
d. noun
e. Q - What insult did Spoon say to Joanie?
f. Word Wizard Card (below)
MCEOG Question:
b. terrified
c. saddened
d. thoughtful
a. Joanie was six years old. p. 7 par. 1
b. Joanie had a suitcase full of twigs. p. 10 par. 4
a. Scott thought that Joanie was frisky. p. 16 par. 1
b. Spoon thought that Joanie was weird and bizarre. p. 16 par. 1
Cause: Spoon was afraid of losing his memories of Gram.
Cause: They had decided to get the tattoos to commemorate turning forty.
Cause: Spoon hid behind a tree and suddenly sprang out at her.
A - Joanie wants to accompany Spoon to Pa's. p. 13 par. 1
Passage Picker
1. Intriguing (talk about what it means)
A - Spoon loved and missed Gram.
A - Spoon probably knew his paternal grandparents better because they lived only five blocks away. Evie lived in another state.
A - Joanie just smiled and acted like nothing happened.
A - Spoon was focused on what he set out to do that day (get something of Gram's) and was somewhat oblivious to his surroundings.
1.
A - Spoon tapped on Joanie's head and said "Hollow".
2.
a. tactic p. 13 par. 2
b. He was trying another tactic.
c. Dictionary: A plan for achieving a goal. My own: A way to do or get something you want.
d. noun
e. Q - What tactic did Spoon use to keep Joanie from following him?
A - He ran as fast as he could.
3.
a. immune pp. 17-18 par. 2
b. But Joanie seemed immune to the heat; she had pulled her hood on again and appeared perfectly comfortable prancing back and forth along the thick row of yellow marigolds.
c. Dictionary: Not susceptible; resistant. My own: Not being able to be effected by something.
d. adjective
e. Q - How can you tell Joanie is immune to the heat?
A - She was wearing her sweatshirt with the hood up.
4.
a. crouched p. 19 par. 1
b. After wiping his face and sliding his glasses back up his nose, Scott crouched behind Spoon and placed his hands on Spoon's shoulders, the ladybug brighter and bigger than a real one.
c. Dictionary: To lower the body by bending or squatting. My own: To bend over or sit in a low position.
d. verb
e. Q - Why do you think Scott crouched behind Spoon?
A - He probably wanted to be at Spoon's level acting more like a friend rather than an authority figure.
5.
a. dingy
b. The house was painted a rich, glossy yellow color, but in this particular light it looked dingy.
c. Dictionary: Drab, squalid. My own: Not bright, dull.
d. adjective
e. Q - Why were Spoon's surroundings dingy looking that day on the way to Gram's?
A - The dingy looking surroundings reflected Spoon's dull lifeless feeling inside.
f. Word Wizard Card (below)
Character Sketcher
Your job is to find an interesting character from pp. 3-31. You will find three words that describe the character. For each word or character trait, you will give proof or an example, including page number and paragraph.
The next thing you will do is to tell one of your character's goals or what the character wants to do in this section.
Next you will find one of the character's problems in the sections and the solution or possible solution to the problem.
Finally, you get to have fun and illustrate your character.
Character: Spoon Gilmore
Character Traits:
a. Preoccupied - Spoon was preoccupied with getting something of Gram's to remember her.
b. Thoughtful - Spoon was thoughtful because he spent a lot of time thinking about the things that happen to others and himself.
c. Playful - Spoon was very playful with his teasing of Joanie.
Character's Goal:
a. Spoon's goal in this section of the book was to get something of Gram's to remember her by.
Character's Problem:
a. Spoon's problem in getting a remembrance of Gram's was that Joanie was being a pest and following him when he wanted to go to Gram's alone.
Character's Solution:
Spoon finally lets Joanie go with him to Pa's, thinking that he will "ditch" her when they get there.
Character Sketcher Illustration
p. 3 par. 2
p. 16 par. 4
p. 10 par. 8
Artful Artist
Your job is to draw a picture that illustrates what you liked best about the story on pp. 3-31.
After finishing your picture, write about your drawing. Include in your response:
Plan for sharing:
Response:
I drew this picture because I liked the story behind it. Kay was pregnant with Spoon when she decided to plant some peonies that had been divided from a plant of Gram's. As she dug she discovered a baby spoon with the name Frederick engraved into the back. While cleaning the spoon she felt the baby kick for the first time. She determined then that she would name him Frederick if it was a boy. After Frederick's birth, Kay and Scott nicknamed him "Spoon Baby" then shortened it to "Spoon".