Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Guiding Questions and Imitations

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1 Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Guiding Questions and Imitations Directions: Use this packet to complete the work for Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. Please make sure you are staying on schedule with your reading. This packet is to help you prepare for class discussion as well as help you develop cognitive skills. Collaborative Note Take Chart Questions Explained Each chapter has "Collaborative Not Taking Chart Questions" for you to answer as you read or after you read each chapter in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. You will notice that there are more questions than you can answer on your own. Encourage members of your group to answer different questions so that you will be able to have a well rounded discussion. This packet also gives directions on other assignment you will have as you read. Inner Voice or Question Papers Each week you will be required to complete a number of Inner Voice or Question papers. The purpose for your inner voice papers will be listed at the beginning of each week. Paragraph Imitations Robert Graves, a famous writer, said, "There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting" (Fassler). Good writing is not an accident. It is the result of messy, wonderful trail and error. To help you increase your writing skills, you are going to do some rewriting of Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. Now, before you cry "plagiarism!," know that you are not to copy Taylor's writing. No, you are going to imitate Taylor's writing style. You will be given a selection from Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. You will change most of the words in the selection to fit a new situation while at the same time keeping the same punctuation and grammar as the original sentence. For example: It was big. It was bad. It was bedhead. The Author Me He was mean. He was green. He was the GEICO Gecko. Bedhead - Margie Palatini Mr. Gillis Fassler, Joe. "There's No Such Thing As Good Writing: Craig Nova's Radical Revising Process." The Atlantic. September 6, Web. Palatini, Margie. Bedhead. New York: Simon and Schuster Books Print. Chapter 1 Inner Voice Purpose: Visualization What does Cassie's father tell her that she owns? Why does he feel this is important? What is Little Man's attitude toward life? What does this tell you about his upbringing?

2 How would you describe the friendship that TJ has with Cassie and her brothers? What evidence is there to support your thoughts? Chapter 2 Review: In at least two sentences, describe school as Little Man sees it. Comment on the relationships among the different classes of people. Write this comment on the back of one of your "Inner Voice" papers. Why did Mr. Morrison come to stay with the Logan family. Name at least two reasons? (The Logan family is Cassie's family.) Why does Papa say, "In this family, we don't shop at the Wallace store."? How has your perception of the world changed as you have grown older? (How did you see the world as a child? How do you see the world differently now?) Paragraph imitation: pg. 34 The man was a human tree in height, towering high above Papa's six feet two inches. The long trunk of his massive body bulged with muscles, and his skin, of the deepest ebony, was partially scarred upon his face and neck, as if by fire. Deep lifelines were cut into his face and his hair was splotched with gray, but his eyes were clear and penetrating. Chapter 3 Inner Voice Purpose: Prediction How do the Logan children get revenge on the bus? And why did they do it? What do Cassie and her brother's learn as they secretly listen to their mother's conversation with Mr. Avery? What is the name of the forest near Cassie's home? Paragraph imitation: pg. 49 When we reached the crossroads, he looked hopefully at us as if we might relent and say good-bye. But we did not relent and as I glanced back at him standing alone in the middle of the crossing, he looked as if the world itself was slung around his neck. It was only then that I realized that Jeremy never rode the bus, no matter how bad the weather. Chapter 4

3 How do the white men at the Wallace store react when Mr. Morrison comes for Stacy? How does their reaction help us understand why papa does not want the children going there? Read the whole chapter before answering one or more of the following. Describe Stacy. What kind of person is he? How does he behave? Describe TJ. What kind of person is he? How does he behave? Paragraph imitation: pg. 77 It was a sorry mess, that house. Its door hung sadly from a broken hinge; its porch floorboards were rotted; and its one- room interior was densely occupied by rats, spiders, and other field creatures. Chapter 5 Inner Voice Purpose: Quote Analysis Why does Cassie have so much trouble in Strawberry? Why do you think that Big Ma does not take the younger children to Strawberry? How does Lillian Jean see the situation with Cassie? Does her upbringing make her a bad person? Why or Why not? Paragraph imitation: pg. 111, paragraph six I was hot. I had been as nice as I could be to him and here he was talking like this. "We been waiting on you for near an hour," I hissed, "while you 'round here waiting on everybody else. And it ain't fair. You got no right--" Chapter 6 Inner Voice Purpose: What does the information mean to you? Why did Big Ma have to make Cassie apologize to Lillian Jean? Compare Uncle Hammer s reaction to the incident between Cassie and Lillian Jean to Big Ma s. What do you think accounts for the differences between their responses? Mama tells Cassie that Mr. Simmons needs to believe that black people are less than white people to make himself feel "big." Are there people like that in Jr. High? How do they make themselves feel big? How should we react to them? Paragraph imitation: pg. 129, paragraph two

4 Mama relaxed her grip. I knew that she was waiting for me to speak. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach and I felt as if the world had turned itself upside down with me in it. Then I thought of Lillian Jean and a surging anger gurgled upward and I retaliated, Well, they ain't!' But I leaned closer to Mama, anxiously hoping that she would agree with me. Chapter 7 Inner Voice Purpose: Pick a quote for each box and rewrite it in the voice of a different character. In this chapter, Uncle Hammer gives Stacey some advice to live by. What is Uncle Hammer trying to tell Stacey? What is Uncle Hammer trying to warn him about? Why does Jeremy come to visit the Logans? What do we learn about the Logan family by their reactions to his appearance? What does papa tell Stacy about being friends with "white people?" What does this tell us about the nature of prejudice? Why does Harlan Granger visit the Logan farm? Why is he a danger to the Logan family? What do you think they can do to protect themselves from him? Paragraph imitation: pg. 150, paragraph 2 He grew silent again and no one spoke. Big Ma poked absently at the red-eyed logs with the poker, but no one else stirred. Finally Mr. Morrison stood, wished us a good night, and left. Chapter 8 Consider Cassie s brief friendship with Lillian Jean. How and why does Cassie get Lillian Jean to trust her? Do you think the two girls could ever actually be friends? Explain. Describe how you viewed T.J. at the beginning of the story. How has your opinion of him changed, or has it stayed the same? Explain whether you would want T.J. as a friend. When Harlan Granger visits Mary Logan s classroom, he brings members of the white school board Kaleb Wallace, Mr. Wellever, and a man Cassie doesn t recognize. Why does Granger bring these people with him? What is he trying to do, and why? Paragraph imitation: pg. 171 fifth line from the beginning of the chapter Stacey's words faded into the gray stillness of the January morning as I turned deaf ears to him and hurried after Lillian Jean. "Thanks for waiting up," I said when I caught up with her about a theme that is important to you. (Three quotes, two events, and one open-ended question)

5 Chapter 9 Inner Voice Purpose: Text to text connection. What really happened to Mr. Logan, Mr. Morrison, and Stacey on their return trip from Vicksburg? Describe how Jeremy Simms feels about his sister Lillian Jean and his brothers R.W. and Melvin. How do you think Jeremy s siblings would feel about his relationship with the Logan children? How do relationships between friends differ from relationships between siblings? What do you predict will happen to TJ for hanging around with the Simmons boys? Paragraph imitation: pg. 195, first paragraph of chapter nine Spring. It seeped unseen into the waiting red earth in early March, softening the hard ground for the coming plow and awakening life that had lain gently sleeping through the cold winter. But by the end of March it was evident every-where: in the barn where three new calves bellowed and chicks the color of soft pale sunlight chirped; in the yard where the wisteria and English dogwood bushes readied themselves for their annual Easter bloom, and the fig tree budded producing the forerunners of juicy, brown fruit for which the boys and I would have to do battle with fig-loving Jack; and in the smell of the earth itself. Rain-drenched, fresh, vital, full of life, spring enveloped all of us. Chapter 10 Many people in Cassie s community barely have enough money to survive. What do the members of the Logan family do to survive? Provide evidence from the novel for support. What happened between Mr. Morrison and Kaleb Wallace? What does this tell use about Mr. Morrison? About Kaleb Wallace? What kind of person is Jeremy Simms? Provide evidence from the text to support you answer. Paragraph imitation: pg. 224, 1st full paragraph We stayed less than an hour at the Wiggins farm, then headed home again. We had just passed Great Faith and were approaching the Jefferson Davis School Road when a ragged pickup came into view. Very quietly Mr. Morrison said. "Cassie, get in back." After you finish chapter 10, please write ONE paragraph about ONE of the following themes. You may work together as a group for this assignment. 1. Heroes can come from all sorts of places: Choose two characters to analyze from the story.

6 2. Children are influenced by their parents: Chose a set of parents from the story to analyze. Tell how each one influences their children. 3. Life experiences help determine the person you become: Choose two characters in the story to analyze whose personality has been affected by life experiences. 4. One person can make a difference in the world around him or her. Choose two characters in the story to analyze. Tell how their actions have led other people to change for better or for worse. 5. Every human being deserves to be treated with respect. Pick two situations in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry to analyze that prove this theme. Chapter 11 Inner Voice Purpose: Inferences Reread the words to the song that begins Chapter 11. What do you think the song is about? Why do you suppose Mildred Taylor included it here? Why do you think she used the words in the book s title? Did Stacey make the right choice in helping T.J. return home? What might have happened if Stacey hadn t helped him? What would you have done if T.J. had come to you for help? How did R.W. and Melvin betray T.J.? How do you deal with betrayal of that kind? Did T.J. deal with the betrayal in the right way? Why or why not? Chapter 12 How does Mildred Taylor use the approaching storm to make her story even more suspenseful? How does the storm connect to the story as a real event and as a symbol? What stopped the mob from lynching T.J., Mr. Morrison, and David Logan? What did the mob do instead? Who did they work with? What does this unexpected working relationship teach use about community? Why does Cassie cry for T.J. and the land? How are T.J. and the land connected? Read at your own pace and be prepared for a Socratic Discussion and a Mentor Text Writing on the remainder of the novel.