Angelas Ashes Literature Kit Gr 9 12

Follow the true experiences of Frank McCourt as he struggles to support his family during his youth. Help students enjoy the novel with different activities to help comprehend the difficult vocabulary words. Students are asked to predict what will happen in the novel prior to reading it, by exploring the literary device: foreshadowing. Answer true or false questions about the family's move to Ireland. Describe the valuable lesson Mr. Halloran teaches Frank and the boys. Recall the moment Frank experienced pure joy. Describe Frank's relationship with his father and religion, and explain how this changes throughout the novel. Deconstruct a character by identifying whether Frank is a good or bad person and providing proof from the text to support this claim. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Angela's Ashes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir about the author's own childhood and young adulthood. Frank— the eldest son of Malachy and Angela McCourt—vividly describes the hardships endured by his family. First living in Brooklyn, the family moves back to Ireland after the death of Frank's sister, Margaret. There, the family lives in poverty, as Frank's father spends all the welfare money, leaving little for food and clothes. Frank's father finally gets work in England, but neglects to send money home to his struggling family, leaving Frank to support them. The story continues with Frank searching tirelessly for a job, settling in at the post office. Eventually, Frank is able to earn enough money to return to America, hoping to start a new life.

Travel down the Mississippi on an adventure that deals with themes of freedom, society and social prejudices. Before reading and after reading questions, along with suggested writing activities, help to fully engage students in the book. Students brainstorm the differences and similarities between Huck and Jim before predicting the outcome of their interaction. Explain how Huck tries to help the gang on the shipwreck. Put events from the story in order as they happened when Huck meets King and Duke. Find the synonym of the vocabulary words found in the text. Students reflect on the relationship between Huck and Jim as it progresses through the novel. Compare the friendships between Jim, Huck and Tom in a three-circle Venn Diagram. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is the classic story of a young boy who travels down the Mississippi on a raft with a runaway slave. The story begins with Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, who have each earned themselves $6,000. Feeling restless, Huck yearns for the freedom he once had before finding himself under the care of the Widow Douglas. He is then taken away by his estranged father, who sets his sights on Huck's newfound fortune. Huck soon runs away, setting off down the Mississippi River, where he befriends a runaway slave named Jim. During their journey, they encounter many characters and hardships that threaten their freedom.

Visit a dystopian society to see what an alternate 1984 could have looked like. The variety of engaging activities can easily be broken up for students over several weeks to coordinate with assigned reading. Use what you know about Winston’s memory of his mother to describe what family relationships are like in Oceania. Predict what will happen to Winston based on what you know of the world he lives in and the consequences of his actions. Identify statements about Winston and Julia’s first meeting as true or false. Use what you have already read about room 101 and predict how Winston will react to his experiences there. Describe what the word “betrayal” means to you, and how it relates to the events in the novel. List events from the book that connect to the plot’s major themes. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Nineteen Eighty-Four is the year of an alternate dystopian era in which there are three ruling nations: Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia. The former are partnered together in a war against the latter, and that’s how it’s always been. Or has it? Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth office. His job is to alter the history books so they line up with whatever the Party wants its citizens to believe. Everything is controlled by the Party, including language. Those that dare to have free thought are dealt with severely. Winston begins to question the Party and how things are run. He starts to rebel by purchasing a diary to write his thoughts in, beginning a relationship with a mysterious dark-haired woman, and seek out the Brotherhood who would like to see the Party taken down. But with the unseen eye of the Party leader Big Brother always watching, it’s only a matter of time before Winston is caught.

Students are introduced to the concept of sacrifice and how it's necessary to protect one's livelihood. The activities within this resource engage the reader and provide clarity of the subject matter. Identify statements about Grandfather's farm as true or false. Reflect on events that happen in a chapter, like what time do Searchlight and Willy race down main street. Make predictions on events that will happen in the story. Complete some online research to explain why Stone Fox might react to people in Willy's town a certain way. Explore the concept of selfless acts and find an example of it in the novel. Discuss how the supporting characters in the story impact the major characters. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Stone Fox follows the sacrifices Willy must make in order to save his Grandfather's farm. Willy lives with his Grandfather and dog, Searchlight, on a potato farm. Grandfather likes to play jokes on Willy. One day, Grandfather doesn't get out of bed. Willy calls for the doctor, who examines Grandfather and concludes that nothing is wrong with him, other than losing the will to live. When a tax collector comes to the farm, Willy learns that Grandfather will lose his home if they don't come up with the $500 he owes. Unable to get a bank loan, Willy decides to use his college fund to enter the National Dogsled Race, who's prize is exactly $500. All he needs to do is beat the legendary dog sledder Stone Fox, who's never lost a race. Willy and Searchlight have a hard road ahead of them if they want to compete. One last sacrifice may be what it takes in order to win.

Experience the importance of land and effects of racism on an African-American family living in the South in the 1930s. The questions are challenging enough to push students to think deeply about the text. Imagine what Little Man is beginning to learn after the incident with the school books. Explain what Cassie is suggesting when the kids talk about Mr. Morrison’s arrival. Answer comprehension questions about Uncle Hammer’s visit for Christmas. Put yourself in Cassie’s shoes and explain what the Logan land means to her family. Research how racism and slavery look today, then rewrite the 13th Amendment to reflect these modern times. Create a social media profile for one of the characters in the book. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of an African-American family and their struggles while living in southern Mississippi during the Great Depression. The story follows Cassie, a young girl part of the Logan family. This family is lucky, they own their own farm land. However, they are in danger of losing it. As Cassie struggles to accept “how things are” in their town for African-Americans, she witnesses firsthand the prejudice and racism that her family and others experience on a daily basis. Living in the South is dangerous during this time. Many families just like Cassie’s struggle to make ends meet. They remain in debt and forced to shop at the Wallace Store, who’s owners commit unspeakable violence against them. In an attempt to change how things are, the Logan family puts themselves and their livelihood in danger. As Cassie grows, she begins to experience the injustice that plagues the people in her community.

A dystopian future set underground brings to light the struggles that humanity will endure in order to survive. The variety of engaging activities can be easily broken up over several weeks to coordinate with assigned reading. Describe in detail the city of Ember, from how it looks to how it operates. Analyze the chapter titles and dissect what they could allude to. Explain what we as readers discover about Ember when Doon visits the library. Answer comprehension questions about events in the book surrounding Doon’s investigation in the tunnels. Create your own list of instructions that have been damaged and have a partner decipher what they are for. Plot the important moments or points of action from the story in a Pipeline Timeline graphic organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The City of Ember tells the tale of a society living underground for hundreds of years and the two kids who must bring them into the light. Hundreds of years earlier, a group of people descended underground in hopes to save the human race from extinction. They had enough supplies and power to last them for over 200 years, at which point, instructions on how to return to the surface would be revealed. The only problem is, no one knows these instructions exist, and when they are revealed, they are destroyed. It’s up to Lina and Doon to decipher the few clues they have, locate the way out, and get this news back to their people. But it’s not that easy. In their attempts to find the way out, Lina and Doon stumble on a conspiracy that involves the Mayor and city guards. As such, they are now being hunted as fugitives. Their nearly impossible task just got harder. Now they must race against the clock to escape from Ember with no knowledge of where they are going, and how they can get back to save everyone else.

Several stories come together in a climactic battle between a witch, a bog monster, a dragon, and a powerful girl in order to save the villages from an impending volcanic eruption. The worksheets are easy to use and not too overwhelming for student comprehension. Students imagine having Luna’s magical powers and brainstorm ways they would use it. Become familiar with unfamiliar words by determining their root word. Put yourselves into the mind of the villagers to determine why they would continue to sacrifice a child each year. Identify similes and metaphors used in the chapters. Draw the map that Luna created using detailed descriptions from the chapters. Identify key vocabulary words from the novel using synonyms, antonyms and word associations. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: The Girl Who Drank the Moon follows the tale of Luna who must quickly overcome the obstacles that were hidden from her in order to save the ones she loves. In the Protectorate village, each year the Elders sacrifice a newborn baby to the witch who lives in the forest. This sacrifice ensures the Protectorate’s safety for another year. What the villagers don’t know, is that there is no witch, at least not an evil one living in the forest. Not knowing why these babies are left to die, the witch Xan finds them and takes them to nearby villages to be raised. To sustain them on this journey, Xan feeds the babies starlight. One year, Xan mistakenly feeds the baby moonlight, which fills the child with magic. Xan decides to raise the girl herself in order to keep those around her safe from her magic. She names the child Luna. The story follows Luna as she grows and discovers her magic, while also coming head-to-head with the real evil of the forest.

A family travels south in hopes of straightening out their misbehaving son, only to experience violence and racism that threaten their safety. The worksheets are laid out in a way that “makes sense” for students to follow along with the novel. Put events from the novel in the order they occur at Kenny’s school. Predict whether Kenny will be able to mend his friendship with Rufus. Explain why Kenny and his mother react a certain way to Byron’s hairstyle choice. Put yourselves into the author’s shoes and speculate why Kenny’s near-drowning experience was put into a certain perspective. Design a sign to post at Collier’s Landing to warn people that it is not safe to swim there. Identify elements of literature from the novel with a story elements graphic organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 follows Kenny and his family as they experience firsthand the violence and racism engulfing the South in the 1960s. Kenny is a fourth grader living with his family in Flint, Michigan. The winters are cold and the family must huddle together for warmth. At school, Kenny experiences bullying from his classmates, only saved by his brother—the biggest bully of all—who picks on Kenny at home. The two look after their younger sister as she starts to learn right from wrong in Sunday school. As Kenny’s brother’s behavior starts to get out-of-control, their mom and dad decide to send him down to Birmingham, Alabama to live with his grandmother over the summer. Hoping she’ll straighten him out, the family sets off in their “Brown Bomber” on the long drive down south. When they arrive, they experience fear, violence and racism that culminates in a tragedy that shakes them to their core. From this experience, Kenny must overcome his insecurities and deal with real world issues at a very young age.

Experience the corruption of power and downfall of rebellion with this allegorical story of the Russian Revolution. This resource is great to use as a stand-alone resource, as well as a starting point for bigger activities. Predict whether old Major’s words will inspire any action from the animals. Explain how life for the animals changed immediately following the rebellion. Answer multiple choice questions that reference life on the farm under the leadership of the pigs. Get into the minds of the animals who continue to confess in the face of executions to determine their motivations. Research the concepts of propaganda and historical revisionism and how they connect to Napoleon’s actions in the novel. Discuss some of the instances of foreshadowing that can be found within the novel and how they influenced perceptions going forward. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: Animal Farm is an allegorical satire that recalls the Russian Revolution, in which the unhappy animals of Manor Farm rise up against humanity. In Willingdon, England, Mr Jones runs the neglected Manor Farm. His animals are not happy with their living conditions. One night, old Major calls on the other animals to overthrow the humans. He teaches them a revolutionary song called ‘Beasts of England’. When he dies, conditions on the farm continue to deteriorate, to the point where the animals decide to rise up. They chase the humans off the farm and rename it Animal Farm. Two pigs, named Snowball and Napoleon take control and immediately adopt a set of seven commandments they call Animalism. The farm runs smoothly until bit by bit these commandments are broken by the pigs. Through propaganda, the pigs continue to keep control over the farm, even when the other animals start to question their actions. The story continues down a rabbit hole that inevitably shows the pigs are no different than the humans.