Pretty Pennies Picket
Comprehension Questions #11. What is the story "Pretty Pennies" about? (Write a short summary of the main idea)2. Who started the Pretty Pennies Club, and why did she start the club?.......3. What was the club's usual activity?..........4. How did Beth stop the girls from dropping her as president?.......5. Where does the story take place?.......6. Who were the Tiger Hunters, and what message did they leave the Pretty Pennies?.....7. What did the girls buy from the store that got ruined?.......8. Name the person that convinced Beth to picket.......9. Did the town support the Penny Hunters cause? Explain your answer.....10. What did the club persuade Mr. Putterham to do?Comprehension Questions #2
1. Why does Elizabeth start the Pretty Pennies Club, and what do clubs accomplish according to Beth?2. Describe Elizabeth's personality; support your answer with examples from the story.3. What is Beth's goal in life?4. What clues does the author give the reader to show that Mr. Putterham is a difficult person to deal with? (give two or three)5. Name some ways Beth makes money for her future education.6. Why did Beth believe Mr. Putterham would give the money back to them?7. How did Phillip respond to Beth being upset? What is their relationship like?8. Give two clues that help the reader figure out the story's setting.9. Why is it important to learn how to take a stand?Class Discussion
Vocabulary
1. accompany2. anonymously3. continuity4. incorporate5. ally6. rally7. proposedComprehension Questions #11. What type of teacher is Mr. Flores (describe his personality)?2. Who is Ms. Armstrong, and what role did she play in the school's past?3. Name the students picked to be on the save the school committee.4. Why did the school need to be cleaned?5. Write a short summary of the story "Class Discussion."6. Which ideas do you think will work to save the school? Explain your answer.7. Which student does Julio feel he needs help from to save the school? Why?8. Which ideas to save the school won't work? Explain your answer.9. If someone wanted to close your school, would you fight for it? Why or why not?10. If this story had occurred in real life, do you think the students could save the school?Comprehension Questions #21. What did Mr. Flores' class normally do on a Friday?2. How was the Friday in the story different from the usual Fridays?3. What did Mr. Flores hand out to the class, what did some of the students do with it, and what was Mr. Flores' reaction?4. Why did the school board want to close Julio's school?5. Name some of the ideas the students came up with to stop the closing of their school.6. Why did the students feel the school should not be closed?7. How does Julio behave in the story, and what is his official job in the class?8. According to the newspaper, what did the school look like?9. Do you think the students will be able to stop their school from closing?10. Name a few things you think are unique or special about Azevada Elementary School.
The Grimke Sisters
Vocabulary
1. riveted2. reformers3. aristocrats4. epistle5. motleyComprehension Questions #1
1. Where did the Grimke sisters grow up? How does this affect the story?
2. What illegal act did the sisters commit?
3. Name some of the leading women at that time.
4. How did slavery affect the lives of rich southern people?
5. What religious group did the Grimke sisters join?
6. Why did they leave the religion?
7. Name William Lloyd Garrison’s newspaper and describe what it discussed.
8. Who was Theodore Dwight Weld?
9. How did the Grimke sisters treat their half-brothers?
10. How are the Grimke sisters courageous?Comprehension Questions #2
1. At the beginning of the story, was can you infer about the feeling of the audience toward the speaker?2. What did wealthy southerners gain from having slaves?
3. Why did the trip to Philadelphia change Sara’s life?
4. How did the make-up of the audience change once the sisters joined the American Anti-slavery Society?5. What specific rights did the Grimke sisters want for women?
6. Why would the Grimke sisters put an advertisement for the return of the runaway slave in the document American Slavery as it is?
7. After the burning of the Pennsylvania Hall, why did Angelina and Theodore Weld decrease their public speaking?
8. What responsibility did the sisters take on after the Civil War?
9. Other than speeches, what ways did the Grimke sisters use to get their message across to the public?10. What did the Grimke sisters endure as the result of taking a stand?I Have a Dream
1. creed2. hew3. discords4. prodigious5. curvaceous6. hamlet7. transform
Comprehension Questions #1
1. Based on Dr. King’s speech, where is prejudice strongest in America?2. Does Dr. King think prejudice will be wiped out easily?3. How can you tell Dr. King was a minister?4. How do you think African Americans felt about life in America?5. Based on this speech, how can you tell prejudice exists?6. How does Dr. King feel about white Americans?7. How many people heard Dr. King’s speech?8. Why did Dr. King choose to give the speech in Washington, D.C.?9. Do you think Dr. King’s speech was powerful? Explain.10. In his speech, why does Dr. King quote the Declaration of Independence?Comprehension Questions #2
1. What does Dr. King mean when he says he dreams that his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character?”2. In what person is this speech written (first, second, third)?3. On page 306, what does Dr. King mean when he uses the symbolism of having mountains be made lower than valleys are made higher?4. Dr. King quotes an old Negro spiritual at the end of his speech. What is it? Why do you think he put it at the end of his speech?5. Do you think Dr. King knew the dream of equality would be difficult to achieve? Why?6. What do you think is the most important idea in this speech?7. For all people to be free, what the things Dr. King wants people to do?8. On page 307, Dr King says, “that all God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning ‘ My Country ‘tis of the Thee; sweet land of liberty; of thee I sing; land where my father’s died; land of the pilgrim’s pride; from every mountainside; let freedom ring.” What new meaning does Dr. King hope to give this song?9. How does Dr. King’s speech connect to the theme of taking a stand?10. How can you tell that “I Have a Dream,” is a speech?
Gandhi
1. profound----2. rural----3. quell---4. fast----5. oppressor----6. civil disobedience-----7. fanaticsComprehension Questions #1
1. Why was Gandhi called the mahatma?-----2. Which nation controlled India, and how did it treat the Indian people?------3. How were the Indians treated in South Africa? What were some of the forms of racism they faced?------4. How did Gandhi protest injustice?--5. Name the newsmagazine Gandhi formed, and how did it effect the cause?--------6. Name the famous Russian writer imprisoned at the same time as Gandhi? What was their relationship?7. Explain the Hindu caste system?-----8. Do you think this is a form of prejudice? Why do you think Gandhi fought against it?------9. How did Gandhi respond to World War I?--------10. How did Gandhi influence Martin Luther King Jr.?Comprehension Questions #2
1. What important lesson did Kasturbai teach Gandhi?2. Gandhi was influenced by two important religious books. Name them.3. Write down two examples of civil disobedience from the story.4. Why would Gandhi go on long fasts?5. What terrible event befell the Indian people on April 13, 1919?6. How is the Salt March an example of nonviolent protest?7. Why do you think nonviolent protest is so effective?8. Why did the Muslims and Hindus of Indian begin to fight?9. How did Gandhi die?10. Why is Gandhi considered a champion of peace?
Sweeping Pittsburg Clean
Vocabulary
1. chignon - roll of hair worn at the back of the head-330 2. chaperone - person who accompanies a young or unmarried woman-337 3. circulation--the number of copies of copies a newspaper sells -331 4. dulcet--sweet (to describe a sound) 5. spheres - social positions--the type of people you acquaint yourself with--329Comprehension Questions #1
1. What was the author’s purpose for describing in such detail about women writers in New York, if Elizabeth wasn’t from there?2. What got the attention of the managing editor, George Madden?3. Why were the newspaper offices considered inappropriate places for women in the 19th century?4. What were Mr. Madden’s views about women and their roles in society?5. What was Elizabeth Cochrane’s (Nelly Bly) first topic of writing after she was hired?6. What were some of the effects of her article?7. What was the cause for Nellie Bly changing the topics of her writing to more tame articles about upper class society?8. How did Nellie go about getting the story on women and factory working conditions?9. What do the topics of Elizabeth’s articles tell you about her as a person and her interests?10. Why do you think this excerpt of the biography of Nellie Bly is included in this unit of Taking a Stand?11. Why do you think the author titled this excerpt “Sweeping Pittsburgh Clean”?Comprehension Questions #2
1. Who did George Madden think wrote the article on women working in industry?2. After Madden realized a woman wrote the article, what did he think she would look like?3. Why did Elizabeth Cochrane change her name to Nelly Bly?4. Why was divorce such an important topic to Nelly Bly?5. What were the working conditions like in the bottle factory Nelly investigated?6. Why did the air in Pittsburgh look like? Why did it look so awful?7. Describe Pittsburgh’s tenements.8. Why do you think Nelly Bly hated writing about high society?
Passage to Freedom
Vocabulary
1. clung2. diplomat3. issue4. superior5. insisted6. internment7. appreciationComprehension Questions #1
1. Why is the story titled, "Passage to Freedom?"2. What was Mr. Sugihara's position, and why could he grant visas?3. Why is it important that Mr. Sugihara speak so many languages?4. Why did Mr. Sugihara have to disobey his government?5. Why does Mr. Sugihara insist on writing the visas himself?6. Which countries are the Polish people afraid of and why?7. How did Mr. Sugihara's stand make a difference in people's lives?8. Who are the Sugihara survivors, and what is their ethnic background?9. Why does Hiroki think that his father's story is inspirational?10. Why did Mr. Sugihara win so many humanitarian awards? Why was he honored in Japan even though the government fired him after the war?Comprehension Question #2
1. Why was the crowd outside the Sugihara house? What did they want?2. What did the Jewish refugees plan on doing with the help from the boy's father?3. Why was the decision of helping the people so hard for the father?4. What type of person was the father? What are some of his qualities?5. What were some of the consequences the Sugihara family had to face for helping the refugees?6. Why did Hiroki's father go to the Israeli Embassy?7. How was he honored for helping the refugees?8. Why do you think officials from the Japanese government attended the monument ceremony, if they were against was Sugihara did?9. What was the purpose of Hiroki's letter on page 349?