Comprehension and deep thinking activities for chapter one of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.

The questions below are set up to be a mixture of easy and more difficult questions. I want you to think really carefully about the clues in the text for the trickier questions. The questions below are preparation for a competition, one with chocolate brownie as the prize for the group which makes the most progress.


I have smartshared this document to you, so you can go straight to your English folder in google drive and start writing your answers into the document. You will have a paper copy of chapter one to read and find the answers.

1. What is the title of chapter one?
2. What does this title suggest about the chapter? 
3. Name a song which talks about getting bullied, beaten up or physically abused. 
4. Which text do you think describes the hell of being bullied, beaten up or physically abused better - your chosen song, or Part Time Indian? 
5. Give reasons and examples for your answer in question 4. 
6. Page one talks about ‘lobes.’ What are lobes? Look up this word and find all the ways the word is used and explain the meaning/s in your own words. 
7. How is ‘brain grease’ similar to ‘car grease’? 
8. Where does the narrator compare himself to a chip? (which part of which page?) 
9. Why does the narrator compare himself to a chip? 
10. Copy the section where the narrator uses repetition to emphasise a strange physical effect of his brain damage. 
11. Why does the narrator repeat himself using the same word at the beginning of three sentences in a row? 
12. Find and copy a quote showing that the dentist was racist. 
13. Find and copy the quote where the narrator mentions that his eyes hate each other so much it’s like they want to get divorced. 
14. Why did some kids call the narrator “Orbit”? 
15. What is a seizure? 
16. What effect did seizures have on the narrator? 
17. What happened to the narrator after he was older than eight and still had a lisp? 
18. Find and copy an example of alliteration on page 4. 
19. What does the narrator like about drawing, compared to writing? 
20. How does drawing make the narrator feel? 

If you finish all of this work, to the best standard you can, then you can show the relief teacher and s/he will give you a well done. Then you can either read your own book OR have a go at making a cartoon of yourself.

The Trolley by Patricia Grace #2

Thanks everyone for your creative work in response to the short story "The Trolley."  Today we are going to push a bit deeper into our understanding of this story.

1. In groups, please assemble the cut up pieces of the story in what you think is the correct order.

2. Who is Tania?  What is she most worried about at the beginning of the story?

3. How old do you think Hoani and Miria are?  What clues in the text helped you decide?

4. List the three clues that the story is set in New Zealand.

5. What does the phrase "mumbling and dissatisfied" mean?  Who is "mumbling and dissatisfied" in "The Trolley?"

6. Choose three words which you think describe Tania's approach to parenting.  Explain why you have chosen these three words, with examples from the short story.

7. List all the famous stories, songs and films which relate to Christmas which you can think of (do NOT look it up online at this stage!)

8. Why do you think people have such strong feelings about Christmas?

9. Do you think Christmas is too focused on spending money in New Zealand?  Give examples to support your ideas.

Reading & The trolley

Do Now:
Come up with the craziest phrase for UDL.  I was thinking about Undies for Dogs' on Lifeboats, but you will have something better than that, I am sure!

Today we are launching our reading for success project.  This year is all about increasing our reading skills to prepare us:

• for NCEA, 
• for reading for apprenticeships, 
• for reading for dealing lawyers and the government and other people with very long forms. 
• for reading for pleasure 
• for reading for success in the business world 
• for reading skills for university.

We all have different thoughts and experiences around reading.  Some of you have told me that you hate reading!  I know that in order to help you all increase your reading skills, I will need to get to know your reading skills and interests really well and find reading texts that you are interested in.

Today Mrs Newton and I are going to spend some time with each of you, listening to you tell us about your reading experiences in each of your subjects and how we (Ms Quick, Mrs Newton, your teachers, the whole school) can help you enjoy reading and get better at it.

What else will we do?
We will each read the short story by Patricia Grace called "The Trolley."  Then we can choose from a series of activities below.  Everyone must complete at least one activity.  People who finish more than one activity to a high standard will receive a well done.

Activity one: Make a podcast of yourself reading the story aloud.  This can then be used to help other people who would prefer to listen to a story rather than read it to themselves.  You may want to work in a pair to make a good quality podcast.

Activity two: Create a set of instructions for how to make a trolley.  Use the same tools and materials as Tania did in the short story.  You can write the instructions, to go with your pictures, or you can record yourself explaining how to build the trolley.

Activity three: What was Tania's biggest worry about Christmas?  What evidence is in the story to help you work this out?  Imagine you are Hoani or Miria, and you are writing about your Christmas morning.  Tell the story of the trolley using creative ideas and vocabulary to make the story interesting.

A sample persuasive essay

Is good food more important than good exercise?

Planning:

• food more important than exercise.  
• food keeps us alive.  
• only rich people worry about having a perfect balance of food and exercise.  
• rest of the world is worrying about where their next meal will come from.

On this planet of more than six billion people, only the very richest people get to worry about having the perfect body.  For most people on this earth, hunger is a constant threat, and any food is good food.  In this essay I will persuade you to see that we should value our opportunities to eat at all, and that good exercise is just what is needed because we are so rich that we are sitting around in cars and with computers and phones all day.

When we worry about good food, we worry because we are lucky enough to have food so much food that we can eat too much.  I grew up watching television footage of children in Sub-saharan Africa who were dying of starvation.  They had had so little food that their stomachs were blown up and distended.  When I didn't want to eat my dinner, my Mum would remind me to eat up and remember than there were people starving in Africa.  So if we want everyone in the world to have enough to eat, we need to stop worrying about whether we have the perfect diet, appreciate the food that we do have, and make sure we don't waste food.  How many times have you looked in the fridge to find leftovers now limp and even mouldy, because it wasn't your very favourite food?  Not cool at all when you think of people having to look through rubbish bins or line up in refugee camps to find their meal for the day.

Persuasive writing practice

Is good food more important than good exercise?

Preparing to be persuasive

Learning objective: to create persuasive arguments
Success criteria:
1. I can use a range of persuasive vocabulary and phrases
2. I can share ideas respectfully with my peers on a range of topics
3. I can develop my ideas into powerful, persuasive paragraphs

Do now:
Choose three words in the image below that you have never used before, or not very often.  I will have printed versions on each table/group of desks.  Look up their meaning and then create your own sentences using each word.  Your sentences then need to be added to this blog post in the comments section.

On the sidewalk bleeding & using clues to work out answers

On Thursday we started class with Ms Quick reading the full text of the short story "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" aloud.  We talked about the clues we could use to work out where Andy had been before he was stabbed (not the obvious answer of the alley, but where he had come from).

We worked on writing full answers to the questions on the short story and then finished up by re-enacting the short story.  10QI has some fabulous actors and awesome willingness to participate.

On Friday we put into place our skills at using clues to answer reading comprehension questions when we all sat the PAT Reading Comprehension test.

In Week Three (11-15 February 2019) we will be focusing on our persuasive writing skills, and sitting the asttle writing test on Friday 15 Feb.

Conformity & conflict: On the Sidewalk Bleeding by Evan Hunter

Learning objective: to show understanding of the short story "On the Sidewalk Bleeding", with supporting evidence.
Success criteria:
1. I can write about which school rules I think are most important.
2. I can read the short story "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" independently.
3. I can show understanding of the short story through answering the set questions.

In your English folder on your google drive, you will find a document called "On the Sidewalk Bleeding: reading comprehension".  Open this document and complete Part A.

Welcome to English in 2019!

Kia ora 10QI!

I am excited to teach and learn with you all this year.