78 pages • 2 hours read
Gary PaulsenA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Although the protagonist only spends one summer with the Larsons, the experiences he has are transformative and lasting. While living on the farm, the protagonist learns of The Importance of Friendship, develops a feeling of Home, Family, and Acceptance, and begins Growing Up as he approaches adolescence. Why do you think that his time on the farm was so impactful? Identify some of the large and small ways the Larsons treated the protagonist as part of the family.
Teaching Suggestion: For this discussion prompt, encourage students to consider the entire breadth of the novel and how the protagonist felt when he first arrived, where he came from, and what exactly about the Larsons’ actions and character made him feel so welcome. Encourage students to connect to all three themes in their responses.
Differentiation Suggestion: Students who would benefit from additional writing support can pair up with a partner and generate ideas using the following sentence frames:
Students can be encouraged to brainstorm together and either write down their ideas or share them orally.
By Gary Paulsen