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Showing posts with label discussion questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discussion questions. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREEBIE Discussion Questions & Activities

STUDY GUIDE/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
After searching (without luck) for The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot study guide, I created my own. And lucky you, I'm sharing!
The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREE Study Guide & Discussion Questions

CROSSWORD PUZZLE
This crossword covers people, places, and things from the story. Answer key included too! 
The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREE Study Guide & Discussion Questions

The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREE Study Guide & Discussion Questions

CHARACTER COMPARE & CONTRAST
Always interesting to see the students perception of the characters! For this activity, you'll need:  the instruction sheet below (2 instruction pages/sheet), a venn diagram per each student, and paper for illustrations. 
The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREE Study Guide & Discussion Questions

Black and white construction paper make striking but simple frames for character illustrations. Staple the picture frames to each side of the venn diagram. Students label the character's name under the illustration. Simply flip back the frame and write the traits behind the appropriate character on the venn diagram.
The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREE Study Guide & Discussion Questions

MAKE A PIRATE MAP
Have students make a 'good' treasure map according to the principles outlined in Treasure Hunting for Beginners: The Official VNHLP Guide (Chapter 6, p.114-115/hardcover edition). Use this template or have them draw a map from scratch.

Hope your students have a wonderful time working through these activities! Enjoy :)

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Book Review/ Spirit Animals Book 1: Wild Born by Brandon Mull {Study Guide, Discussion Question Links}

Spirit Animals Book 1 Wild Born - Book Review Plus Study Guide and Discussion Question Links

Fast paced adventure for even the most reluctant readers! 

Spirit Animals: Wild Born is an adventure packed ride. Even the most reluctant readers will be drawn into the story. My third grader flew through this book!

The author has an amazing knack for incorporating story elements from here and there -- and yet somehow it all works together. 

Recognize any of these story elements? A reluctant, street savvy hero (Han Solo), powerful animals/creatures who can emerge at their companion's directive (Pokemon), the Fallen who sacrificed their lives for another world/species (Transformers), a villain in exile plotting his return (Sauron), the Greencoats whose only allegiance is to protect their world (Jedi)...you get idea. Lots of archetypal characters.

Geography buffs will enjoy the word play between Erdas and Earth: Artica (Artic), Eura (Europe), Amaya (South American Maya), and Nilo (Nile).

Despite the vocabulary not being as challenging as other books in this age range, there were still new words to learn. Expect a quick, popular fiction read. At 202 pages, Spirit Animals: Wild Born is a bit short side. Have the sequels ready!

As the series continues, the authors change. Probably to keep a certain publishing schedule. As a result, we've happily discovered several new authors (Tui T. Sutherland is our favorite so far).

Wild Born is our first book from by Brandon Mull. He has also written two other series, Fablehaven and Five Kingdoms. Both seem really popular!

SYNOPSIS
Long ago, the Spirit Animals and their companions battled to banish evil from Erdas. Four Spirit Animals (wolf, leopard, panda, and falcon) sacrificed their lives to bring peace. Yet now, the animals have fulfilled an ancient prophecy by returning.

Newly bonded to children companions (Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan), the Four Fallen must once again help banish the dark force from Erdas. Greencoats have pledged to help train, guide, and battle side by side with the children.

But before being reunited with the other three Fallen, Abeke and her leopard are intercepted by the enemy! Will Abeke believe the rebels? Which side will she ultimately fight for?

RATING
Spirit Animals: Wild Born is a must read for boys and girls who love fantasy and animal books. As a mom of girls, I appreciate the strong, capable heroines of Abeke and Meilin. Thank you, Mr. Mull and Scholastic, for writing smart, brave, talented heroines with some pretty awesome skills!

M's top adjectives for Spirit Animals: Wild Born -- adventurous, exciting, amazing.

ONLINE FREEBIES
Study Guide via Scholastic
Lesson Plan/Discussion Questions with Common Core correlations via Scholastic

Friday, February 14, 2014

Raiders' Ransom: Activities and Discussion Questions


Having a blast with vocabulary bingo ladders at homeschool book club

After searching but not finding a Scholastic study guide for Raiders' Ransom, I made my own! If you find a link to the official study guide, please leave me a comment so I can link to it :)

[Enjoy my book review too.] 

The kids liked all the activities at homeschool book club, but vocabulary bingo was the favorite! It never hurts to have extra activities, but we ran out of time before the character comparison. So Madeline will work that in at home later as one of our writing assignments.


Discussion Questions

Why is Lilly’s boat spared from the raider attack?

Why doesn't the Prime Minister want to give compensation for Lilly's fishing town to rebuild their boats and pay for the raider damage?

Why does Lilly decide to steal the jewel? How does she disguise herself and Cat?

Is the jewel a gem or something else? Why is it so important?

Why does Zeph have to make friends with Lilly in London?

Why does Mr. Saravanan pretend to disown/cast Lilo out of their family?

What is a fill miner? Why are fill miners needed?

Is trial by knife a scientific way to get facts and truth? Why or why not?

If Roba had thrown the knife {instead Zeph} at the trialing wheel, do you think the outcome would have been the same for Lilly? Why or why not?

What secret is Aileen keeping from Angel Isling?

Why does Zeph show kindness to Lexy when she is summoned to the feast? Who does she remind him of?

How does Cat set free Lilly and Lexy from their shackles?

Does the Prime Minister seem happy to see Lexy during the truce? Does he protect her after they are reunited?

Do you think Zeph finds war as wonderful as he imagined it in the beginning of the story? Why?

When Roba is drowning, Zeph helps him by giving Roba a piece of wreckage to use as a float. Is Roba kind to Zeph in return?

During the fleet battle, Lilly has to make a choice to rescue Lexy or Zeph. How does she choose?

Jasper hired Medwin to get the jewel. Did Jasper get what he wanted? Why or why not?


Sail Design Activity

The raider Families used symbols and colors to differentiate themselves from each other. Zeph’s family used the color red and the symbol of the lion.

Design your own raider sail to represent your raider Family!

- Name your raider family
- Choose one or two colors for your sail design
- Choose a symbol for your sail to represent your family

For inspiration and symbol meanings, print/view Common Archetypes and Symbols in Literature and Animals and Their Symbolic Meanings.

Students can draw freehand or use this sailboat template to make a three dimensional boat.


Compare and Contrast Two Characters

Choose from either:
- Roba and Zeph
- Lilly and Lexy
- Medwin the Untamed and Prime Minister Randall

1. List two ways they are the same/similar.

2. List two ways they are different.

3. Which one of the two would you rather be? Why?


Vocabulary Bingo
Provide definition list and have children take turns reading a word and its definition. Fill in blank bingo cards with your vocabulary words and get gaming! Kids can earn extra points by providing synonyms and antonyms for the words.

fury:  extreme anger

sly:  smart in a dishonest way, hiding your true reasons

ruins:  remaining pieces of something that has been destroyed

projection:  creating an image on a surface from somewhere else, an image that can be seen but isn’t a real object {like a movie on a movie screen}

swift:  very fast or quick

lassie: a young girl

malfunction:  to not work properly/correctly or to fail to work

sterile:  without germs or other microorganisms

scabbard:  protective case for a sword, knife,  or blade

kinship:  being related to other people

loyal: complete support for someone or something

arrogant:  believing or acting more important, smarter, or better than other people

activate:  to turn something on or make it active

antiquarian:  a person who collects, studies, or sells valuable old things

rudimentary:  the most basic or simple

artificial intelligence:   the power of a machine/computer to act and think like a person

delinquent:  a young person who regularly breaks the law or misbehaves

plead:  to ask for something in a serious and emotional way

unfurl:  to cause a folded or rolled up item to open

tattered:  old and torn

vital:  extremely important or necessary

traitor:  a person who is not loyal to their friends, family, or country

duress:  when someone is forced or threatened to do something they don’t want to do

kindling:   lightweight and dry objects that burn easily and are used to start a fire {like twigs or paper}