Discussion Director Examples

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

Section 1 (Pg. 1-41)

How to do this job:

1. Write questions for each type of question you are assigned.

2. Write the answers or possible answers to each of these questions.

3. Write the page and paragraph number where you could find answers to these questions.

Fact/Opinion Example

Question: Sarny is told by “Mammy” that her birthing mammy was sold when she was just four years old. Her birthing mammy is described as being a good breeder. Why do you think a slave owner has a “birthing mammy?” Why would he separate her from her babies?

Answer: Clel Waller doesn’t regard the slaves as human beings who are capable of feelings and emotions. He chooses women slaves to be breeders in order to have many babies, which in turn eventually increases the number of future slaves available to work his fields (pg. 15, par. 2).

Setting Example

Question: Explain the setting of this story.

Answer: The story setting is located on a large, southern plantation owned by Clel Waller. The story takes place during the pre-civil war days of the 1800’s (entire section).

Problem/Solution Example

Question: Nightjohn comes in from the fields on the first day of being a slave at Clel Waller’s plantation. What was Nightjohn’s problem on p. 32? How did he solve this problem? Do you think he really needed the tobacco?

Answer: Nightjohn uses the tobacco as a way to entice one of the fellow slaves to trade with him. In this way, he can begin to teach them to read.

Prediction Example

Question: What do you think Sarny will do once she begins to understand how to read? Do you think she will be in any type of danger?

Answer: Sarny is a very bright, inquisitive child. As a result, she has a great desire to learn how to read the print she she’s in her life. (Students would hopefully understand the danger Sarny will be in once she learns the letters. They should predict that some harm will come to her or someone she knows) (pg. 34, par. 3).

Your Thinking Question

Examples of questions you might want to ask the others in your circle are:

· Who is telling this story to the reader? (Point of View)

· Where in the first section can you find a simile? (Figurative language)

· Do you think this story really could have happened?

· You can ask a characterization question.

Passage Picker Examples

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

Section 1 (pg. 1-41)

How to do this job:

1. Choose the passage you would like to share with your group.

2. Write down the page and paragraph number.

3. Tell the members in your group to turn to this page and find the passage.

4. Tell the members the first and last two words of you passage.

5. Choose someone in your group to read the passage aloud. Make sure the others in the circle are following along.

6. Call on members of your circle to identify what type of passage this is. Have them explain why they think so.

7. Think of a good meaty thinking question about this passage. Write it down along with the answer.

8. Answer one of these following questions in a complete sentence(s): “Why did the author include this passage in the story? What does this passage add to the story?”

Passage 1

1. Pg. 14 – Par. 2

2. “God and . . . on us.”

3. This passage is an example of a descriptive passage.

4. The passage is descriptive because it illustrates for the reader how the slaves despise their owner and master, Clel Waller.

5. Question: Do you think Clel Waller will be the hero or the villain in this story?

6. Answer: I think Clel Waller will definitely be the villain. So many slave owner were very mean and cruel to their slaves, and this passage show this to be true in Sarny’s case.

7. Question: Why do you think the author included this passage in the story?

8. Answer: I think this passage is included to illustrate to the reader how wicked and mean-spirited Clel Waller is to his slaves.

Passage 2

1. Pg. 14 – Par. 3

2. “I’m Sarny. . . twixt-and-twinst.”

3. This passage includes examples of dialect.

4. This passage is thick with the type of dialect Sarny utilizes when speaking. The author has chosen to write the story in such a way as to reflect the sound of the slaves’ speech.

5. Question: Why do you think the author chose to write the text of this story using this particular type of dialect?

6. Answer: He wants the reader to gain an understanding of the manner in which Sarny’s dialect sounds. Possibly, he desires to achieve a high level of realism in the story by using the type of dialect the slaves used at this time in history.

7. Why would the author have included this passage?

8. Answer: Using her dialect, Sarny describes for the reader why the other slaves believe she is not intelligent. Also, the author includes the word, witchin’, to illustrate the fact that slaves in this time period believed in magic and spells.

Passage 3

1. Pg. 39 – Par. 5-6

2. “Why they be. . .what they got.”

3. This passage is an example of writing with dialect.

4. This passage is written so as to help the reader “hear” the way that Sarny and Nightjohn would sound if they were speaking.

5. Question: Do you think that the author made a good choice writing the text using the type of grammar and dialect that the slaves used? Why or why not?

6. Answer: I think I agree with the author’s choice to write the dialogue and narrative using the type of speech that the slaves actually used.

7. Question: Explain why author may have decided to include this particular passage.

8. Answer: This passage informs the reader about the dangers the slaves will face if they are caught trying to learn how to read.

Passage 4

1. Pg. 16 – Par. 2

2. “Waller puts. . . chicken pens.”

3. This passage gives an example of an informative/simile type of passage.

4. This passage is informative because it tells the reader how important it is for Clel Waller to know when a young slave girl is possible ready to become one of his breeders. The simile is Waller puts great store in the sticks and watches them like a old hawk watching the chicken pens. It is a simile because the author compares Waller’s keen observation of his female slaves to a hawk observing the chicken pens.

5. Question: Why did the author include this passage in the story?

6. Answer: The author wanted to allow the readers to gain an understanding of a slave owner’s need to have a continuous supply of slave labor for future use.

Word Wizard Example

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

Section 1 (pg. 1-41)

How to do this job:

1. Write the page and paragraph number where your word occurs.

2. Write the sentence that includes the word.

3. Write the part of speech and what you believe is the meaning of the word.

4. Look the word up in a reference source, and write the definition that makes sense to you.

5. Write an explanation of how you think this word contributes to the story.

6. Create the word wizard cards for your word.

· Front of card: write word and page and paragraph number.

· Back of card: write the word and your definition. Use some type of artistic form to create a picture that illustrates the meaning of your word.

Shackle

1. Pg. 26, par. 3.

2. “Waller riding the big brown horse in back. Had a rope down and over to a shackle on Nightjohn’s neck.

3. Part of speech: noun

4. What I think it means: a type of metal device used to secure someone, especially a prisoner.

5. My definition: 1. metal bracelet for holding prisoners: a round metal band that can be opened or locked in order to hold the wrist or ankle of a captive, usually attached by chains in pairs or fours.

6. This word adds to the story because it demonstrates the manner in which many slave owners treated their slaves. This word in this story illustrates Clel Waller’s mean-spirited character, and his total disregard of his slaves as human beings.

Sassafras

1. Pg. 28 – Par. 1

2. “I’m brown . . . tea.”

3. Part of speech: noun

4. What I think it means: sassafras is a name given to describe a type of beverage. It usually denotes a medium, brown color.

5. My definition: flavored bark: the dried root bark of the sassafras tree, used for flavoring and in perfumes and medicines.

6. This word gives the reader a visual image of a physical attribute, the skin color, of the African-American.

Overseer

1. p. 30 par. 1.

2. “Old Waller . . . calls drivers.”

3. Part of speech: noun (usually plural)

4. What I think it means: an overseer is someone who supervises others.

5. My definition: a supervisor: somebody who supervises workers, especially those engaged in manual labor.

6. This word gives the reader another glimpse into the terrible conditions of everyday life for slaves. The slaves are under a high level of supervision and control.

Breeders

1. p. 16 par. 1

2. “All I know . . . not working.”

3. Part of speech: noun.

4. What I think it means: I think that a breeder is a woman who is forced to give birth to many children, but she is not given the human right of raising the children.

5. My definition: an animal or plant used for breeding: an animal or plant kept to produce offspring.

6. This word is necessary for the story, as it again proves how Weller treats the slave women as animals, rather than human beings.

Click on the shackles to see the word wizard card page.

Connector Example

Nightjohn buy Gary Paulsen

Section 1 (pg. 1-41)

How to do this job:

1. Connect this section of the book to the outside world.

2. Ask yourself the following questions and then write a paragraph about one of the questions.

· Does this part of the story remind you of any other story or book you have read or heard? Explain.

· Does this part of the story remind you of a movie or television show you have seen? Explain.

3. Include in your paragraph who or what your connection is about, where and when it happened, what happened, and how it connects or deals with the part of the story you were reading.

4. Share your paragraph with your circle members.

Click HERE to see an example paragraph.

Travel Tracer Example

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

Section 2 (pg. 42-92)

Where today’s action begins:

This section begins with Sarny acting as a narrator to describe living situations on Waller’s plantation. Sarny paints a morbid, grotesque picture of the punishments doled out to the slaves when he feels the need.

Page where it is described: pg. 42 – 51

Key events in this section:

Nightjohn is again giving Sarny another letter to learn, when Sarny’s mammy came upon the sight. She was extremely upset at both of them, and she lashed out at Nightjohn, striking him hard on the forehead. Nightjohn quickly recovers, then goes on to explain to Mammy why he teaches slaves the letters.

A second key event occurs when Waller discovers Sarny, excitedly writing a letter in the dirt. When he gets no response about who is teaching the reading, he places Mammy in the shackles, leaving her to hang there all day. Once the slaves come on from the fields, he gathers them around to show punishment for reading (slaves aren’t supposed to read; it is against the law, Waller explains). Before he can whip her, Nightjohn confesses to the teaching. As a result, a brutal act follows. Nightjohn is chained, and Waller uses a hammer and chisel to chop off the middle toe of Nightjohn’s feet.

Page where it is described: 51 - 74

Where today’s events end:

 The section ends with Nightjohn recovering bravely from his punishment. He then continues to teach the letters to Sarny. One night, he comes for Sarny. Sarny has never been off the plantation, but this night that would change. Nightjohn takes Sarny to a hideaway in a wooded area nearby the plantation fields. Here, Nightjohn holds his “school” in a protected thicket. There are others there learning from him as well.

Page where it is described: pg. 78 - 90