House of Dies Drear

REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Read Novel: Due: January 8 -Friday
  2. Questions Packet. Due: Friday January 8. (100 pts)
  3. Reading Log: At the end of each “Chunk”, write a page summarizing what you read. (250 pts. total)
  4. Character and setting charts. (100 total)
  5. Spring Board Pages as directed each class period

Reading “Chunks’ and 1 page summaries Homework

Chunk 1: Chapters 1-5 & SUMMARY: due Friday Dec. 4

Chunk 2: Chapters 6-10 & SUMMARY: due Friday Dec. 11

Chunk 3: Chapters 11-15 & SUMMARY: due Friday Dec. 18

Chunk 4: Chapters 16-19 & SUMMARY: Due Friday Jan. 8

NAME: ______DATE: ______

Character Chart for ; Thomas

CHAPTERS / APPEARANCE / ACTIONS / WHAT CHARACTER SAYS / WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT CHARACTER
CHAPTERS / APPEARANCE / ACTIONS / WHAT CHARACTER SAYS / WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT CHARACTER

Name:______Mod:

Date: ______

HOUSE OF DIES DREAR

By: Virginia Hamilton

  1. Why are Thomas and his family moving? ______

______

  1. How does he feel about it? Why? ______

______

  1. What information does Thomas gather about his new home before he arrives? (20)______How might this information have influenced his feelings about the house? ______
  2. What was the “Underground Railroad”? ______

______

  1. Who is Mr. Pluto? Why is Thomas angry that Mr. Pluto arranged the family’sfurniture? ______

______

  1. Describe Thomas’s experience in the hidden passageway. How does his experienceadd to the mystery of the story? ______

______

  1. How do you think Hamilton wants readers to view Pluto? Why? ______

______

  1. Based on what you know about the old house, would you want to live in it? Explain. ______

______

  1. How does Mr. Small explain Pluto’s odd behavior and appearance? ______

______

  1. In youropinion, are Mr. Small’s explanations believable? Explain. ______

______

  1. How does Thomas feel about his new community after attending a church

service? Why does he feel this way? ______

______

  1. Why do Mr. Small and Thomas go through the tunnel in search of Pluto at theend of this section? How do they feel about Pluto at this point? ______

______

  1. What is your opinion of the triangles the Smalls find? Do you agree with theirideas about them? ______

______

  1. Do you believe the house is truly haunted, or do you think someone is playingpranks? Explain why. ______

______

  1. What do Mr. Small and Thomas find in the cavern? How does Pluto respond totheir being there? ______

______

  1. Who is Mayhew, and what has he been doing to trick people? What is his reasonfor fooling people? ______

______

  1. What frightens Pluto most about the Darrows? Why was the “performance” involving Mr. Small, Thomas, Mayhew, and Pluto an effective way to deal with them? ______

______

  1. Why might Hamilton have decided to end the book with a scene that includesThomas and Pesty? ______

______

  1. What does the author mean when she says, “And they didn’tmind the waiting, not this day nor the days to come”? ______

______

  1. What is your view of Pluto at the end of the book? Is it different from the viewyou had of him at the beginning of the book? Explain. ______

______

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Blackslaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause.[2] The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the fugitives.[3] Other various routes led to Mexico or overseas.[4] Created in the early nineteenth century, the Underground Railroad was at its height between 1850 and 1860.[5] One estimate[5] suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the "Railroad". Canada was a popular destination with over 30,000 people arriving there to escape enslavement via the network at its peak,[6] though US Census figures only account for 6,000.[7]

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