5th grade (6th grade level)
Section Seven pgs 125-142

Discussion Director

The job of discussion director is to develop a list of questions that your group will discuss about this part of the book.  These questions should vary in difficulty and type.  You must include 1 Setting, 1 Cause-effect, 1 Character relationship, 1 Problem-solution, and 1 of your choice.  Use the list of words below to help you begin your questions.

Begin questions with words like:
Who What When Where
Why How Tell Describe

Questions can be about:

 Setting
                        Problem/Solution
 Narrator
                        Topic
 Main idea
                        Cause/Effect
 Mood
                        Character Relationships

Compare/Contrast

EX:  Detail
Q:  Why did Annie's mother act like she did not want Annie to be an archaeologist?
A:  Annie's mother grew up in the Pan Handle and always knew her neighbors.  The people she knew grew up together and married each other.  They didn't move away.  No one has ever had a child who wanted to grow up to move away.  Now, she is trying to allow Annie the opportunity but it is taking all she has within her.
 

Passage Picker

Passage Picker selects significant passages from the sections being read.  Determine why it is important and call readers’ attention to the passage.  Then lead a discussion about the passage you chose.

Steps of Passage Picker
1. Pick out the passage you would like to share.
2. Write down the page and paragraph number.
3. Write down the first two words and the last two words of your passage.
4. Write down the reason you chose the passage, and explain why!
5. Ask a question about your passage, and give an answer.
6. Write down the Author’s Purpose: To describe
                                                                To Entertain
                                                                 To Inform
                                                                To Persuade
  EX:  Page 141-142 Last paragraph
"Like I . . . my back."
REASON:  I love this passage because it shows that Violet really wants to be in the Pan Handle.  She misses Annie and she knows that she will return to the Pan Handle one day.  She has been planting a trail of corn out of the kernels from the corncob dolls she and Annie made and played with when they were little.  That shows that she wants to come home.
QUESTION:  Where did Violet plant the last kernel of corn from her corncob dolls?
ANSWER:  She planted it at the edge of Weedpatch Camp under a willow tree.
AUTHOR'S PURPOSE:  To describe, to inform
 

Word Wizard

The Word Wizard searches the section of text for words that are key to understanding what is happening in the story.  He/she notes the page and sentence where the word is found.  Then checks the dictionary meaning of the word.  They lead a discussion about the meaning and intent of the word from context and what the word contributes to the import of the passage.

Steps for Word Wizard
    1. Write down the word.
    2. Copy the sentence form the book in which the word appears.
    3. Look up the word in the dictionary.
    4. Using your 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 down a question and the answer about the word that would help you to teach the word that makes your group refer
back to the text, OR write a sentence using the word wizard word.
    7. Make your word wizard card.  Be sure to include in big print your word and the page and paragraph number.  On the
other side of your card should be a picture, the word, and the definition of the word.

Words to choose from in this section:
forlorn page 126 paragraph 4
exhibit page 127 paragraph 1
excavating page 128 paragraph 2
donated page 130 paragraph 1
tedious page 130 paragraph 2
yearning page 141 paragraph 1
 

Character Sketcher

The job of the character sketcher is to find an interesting character from the section.  You will then find three words that describe the character.  For each word, or character trait, you will give the proof, or example.  Tell why you know this character has this trait.

The next thing you will do is to tell one of your character’s goals, or what the character wants to do in that chapter(s).

Then you will find one of the character’s problems in that chapter(s) and the solution or possible solution to the problem.

Finally, you get to have fun and illustrate your character.  Have fun!

Your job is to sketch a character map of Annie's mama.
 

Connector

Your job is to connect the book your group is reading to the outside world.  This
means asking yourself these questions and writing a paragraph about one or more
of them:
    Does this part of the story remind you of any other story or book your have read or
heard?  Explain.
    Does this part of the story remind you of anything that has happened to you, a
friend, or a family member?  Explain.
    Does this part of the story remind you of a movie or television shwo you have seen?
Explain.

In your paragraph, be sure to include who or what your connection is about, where
and when it happened, what happened, and how it connects or deals with the part
of the story you were reading.