The Orange Slipknot Curriculum UnitThe questions and activities in this Curriculum Unit for teaching from the middle-grade novel, "The Orange Slipknot," have been designed to help the teacher guide students in learning and incorporating these important reading strategies: making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determining importance, and synthesizing. Instead of reading for content only, students will learn how to look beyond the words for meaning. They will learn to see that there are many layers of meaning in books. They will learn how to think about reading, and hopefully, to develop a love for reading. For each chapter, there are comprehension questions, writing prompts, discussions prompts, journaling prompts, and vocabulary activities. Various question/answer formats are used, with an emphasis on writing. Following the chapter activities, there are strong cross-curricular connections: literature links, reading, math, science, art, social studies, and geography. Questions and activities range from fourth to ninth grade levels. Extensive use is made of internet research. A teacher may wish to pick and choose from the large selection of questions and activities. Answer keys are in the back. The in-depth section on Nevada, stressing agriculture, makes The Orange Slipknot an excellent social studies tool. Since this Curriculum Unit is written by the author herself, the teacher and the students benefit by gaining insight into the writer?s mind. The elements which the author feels are important about the story and the writing process are emphasized. |
Contents
BEFORE YOU BEGIN | 6 |
CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES | 7 |
Chapter 1 | 17 |
Chapter 3 | 22 |
Chapter 4 | 24 |
Chapter 5 | 30 |
Chapter 6 | 34 |
Chapter 7 | 37 |
Chapter 17 | 66 |
Chapter 18 | 69 |
Summarize and Analyze | 72 |
Literary Elements | 75 |
Cause and Effect | 76 |
Suggestions for writing about the book | 77 |
THE ARTS OF WRITING AND ILLUSTRATION | 79 |
Characterization | 80 |
Chapter 8 | 40 |
Chapter 9 | 43 |
Chapter 10 | 46 |
Chapter 11 | 49 |
Chapter 12 | 52 |
Chapter 13 | 54 |
Chapter 14 | 57 |
Chapter 15 | 60 |
Chapter 16 | 63 |
Simile | 81 |
Colorful language | 82 |
Show Dont Tell | 83 |
Art Connection | 84 |
Poetry | 85 |
Word Search Puzzle | 86 |
SOCIAL STUDIES AND GEOGRAPHY | 87 |
RESEARCH AND CREATIVE PROJECTS | 111 |
Common terms and phrases
acres activities alfalfa animals answers bales Based Ben's border braiding brand buckaroo California called cattle CHAPTER character Circle Color cowboy cows decide DISCUSSION OR WRITE DISCUSSION/WRITE ABOUT READING divided drive earn expenses Explain feel feet Fred front give gophers grandpa grow Gypsy happened hard hated head horses important events journal kind Label land later leave List live look lots means miles mountain Nevada Page person Pete Pete's plants Possible previous predictions happened problems proud QUESTIONS ranch READING responsibility riata ride rope says Seth Skeeter solve square squirrel story Susie talk teach tell things think might happen three most important trapping turn United vaqueros vary VOCABULARY wants warm weather WRITE ABOUT READING