43 Selection Review #1 Chapters 1-8 1. What kind of person is Coogan? Give reasons to support your answer. is active. He got his nickname as a little boy by crashing into his cousin while wearing his first new football helmet. He can be selfish. He calls the sidewalk his and decides not to let Penn pass. Sometimes is mean. He won't tell Penn his real name, and when Penn is friendly to him, is not friendly to Penn. He won't shake hands with Penn, and he pulls off the button Penn is wearing and buries it in a hole. The next day he actually hopes to see Penn again so he can do something to him. That something turns out to be squirting Penn in the face with a water pistol. makes fun of Penn at every chance he gets. After Penn tells him that he comes from the Flickertail State, tells Penn that he is from the Poop State. does not like other people to think they are better than him. When Penn describes the kind of work his father does, tells him that his father is starting a new business and that he works long hours. He does bad things like bury his mother s pansies. He is sometimes disobedient. At the age of six, he crosses the street by himself when he is not supposed to. seems to be an angry person. He is angry with Penn from the minute he first sees him just because Penn is different. He becomes angry when Penn refuses play with squirt guns. is angry because his father can t take him to a Phillies game. He is also angry when Penn and his parents leave for Amish country, probably because his own parents don t spend much time with him. 2. What kind of person is Penn Webb? Give reasons to support your answer. Penn is proud and intelligent. He talks proudly about his family and how he got his name. He knows facts about the state where he lived before moving to Pennsylvania. Penn is friendly. He introduces himself to and tries to be friendly even when is mean to him. Penn is non-violent. He doesn t squirt with the squirt gun because he is a Quaker, and Quakers don t believe in violence, even pretend violence. Penn probably likes to read since mentions a bookcase filled with books that he saw in Penn s bedroom. Penn is a vegetarian. He and his family believe that animals are God s creatures and it s not for [human beings] to consume them. 3. What kind of relationship do and Penn have? Are they friends? At this point, and Penn are not friends, although Penn sincerely wants to be s friend.
44 Selection Review #2 Chapters 9-17 1. What is a flashback? A flashback is an account of something that happened to the characters in a story before the story that is being told actually begins. 2. How does Jerry Spinelli, the author of this novel, tell readers that he is using a flashback? Spinelli uses the word THEN to begin the flashback. Also, he has, who is telling the story, say, I can still remember the first time I saw him. The summer before first grade, seven years ago. 3. How does Spinelli let readers know that the flashback is ending? Spinelli uses the word NOW to indicate that the action has returned to the present. 4. What have we learned about s family? We have learned that the Coogans don t spend much time together. Mr. and Mrs. Coogan work very hard and come home very tired. The family rarely sits down to enjoy a meal together. Despite this problem, Mr. and Mrs. Coogan do love their children. 5. Do the other kids at school like? Other kids at school seem to like. They enjoy his ability to make them laugh. However, we don t know too much yet about how interacts with other students, except for the football players.
45 Selection Review #3 Chapters 18-32 1. What is a subplot? Why do writers add subplots to novels? A subplot is a chain of events that are not as important as the plot. Often a subplot concerns other characters in a novel who are not as important as the main characters. Writers use subplots to add interest to their stories. 2. What does do that shows he doesn t know how to get girls to like him? tries to grab Jane Forbes and drag her onto the dance floor with him, as if he were trying to make his way down the football field. does not understand that he cannot deal with girls he likes as if they were football players to be tackled. 3. Who is Scooter, and why does love him so much? Scooter is s grandfather (Mrs. Coogan s father). loves Scooter because he gives him the time and attention that s parents do not or cannot give him. says that Scooter s bed, where he and Abby listen to Scooter s stories, is the safest place in the world. also appreciates Scooter s coming to watch him play football. Scooter demonstrates his love for in ways that s parents do not. 4. Why does Scooter go to the hospital? How does react to this? Scooter goes to the hospital because he has a stroke while trying to build an observation post in the back yard for Abby. is very upset about Scooter s illness. He is afraid Scooter may not survive. When he realizes he did not buy Scooter a Christmas present, he thinks this is a sign that he does not expect Scooter to live. He hurries out and buys the first present he can find, a pair of bright red high-heeled shoes.
46 Selection Review #4 Chapters 33-49 1. What kind of person is at the beginning of the novel? At the beginning of the novel, is mean and angry. He is also very competitive. He is violent and selfish. He does not understand why Penn Webb is gentle, kind, and always friendly. 2. What kind of person is at the end of the novel? At the end of the novel, is kinder, unselfish, and more mature. He is able to overcome peer pressure (especially from his friend Mike). He defends Penn, and even helps Penn win a very important race. 3. Who else has changed at the end of the novel? Explain. Mrs. Coogan has changed by the end of the novel. At first, she worked long hours. She had little time for her family, but she had money to buy lots of gifts for and Abby. Toward the end of the novel, Mrs. Coogan decides to work part-time. She has less money to spend on her children, but she has more time to spend with them. Scooter has also changed. Before his stroke, he was an active, funloving grandfather. He loved to spend time with and Abby, cooking meals for them and telling them stories. After the stroke, Scooter can t move about as he did before. He cannot tell stories and he tires easily. and Abby have to tell him stories when they spend time with him. 4. Who has not changed at the end of the novel? Explain. As far as we know, s father has not changed at the end of the novel. ( and Abby are waiting to see whether he will take time to go to the baseball game with them.) Also, s friend Mike has not changed. He still plays cruel tricks on Penn, and he does not understand why does not join him.
Name: 47 Literature Test #1 Chapters 1-8 (Essay Test) In at least two paragraphs, compare Coogan and Penn Webb (tell how they are alike and how they are different).
48 Name: Literature Test #2 Chapters 9-17 1. Is s family life happy, sad, or a little of both? Explain your answer. 2. What does do at school that makes him so popular? continued...
3. What is a flashback? What do we learn from the flashbacks in this story? 49
50 Name: Literature Test #3 Chapters 18-32 1. What does need to learn about winning football games and winning the attention of girls? 2. Why is Scooter so important to? continued...
51 3. What subplot does Jerry Spinelli add to the novel? 4. What happens to Scooter? Why does buy him red high-heeled shoes?
52 Name: Literature Test #4 Chapters 33-49 1. How has changed from the beginning of the novel to the end? What caused him to change? 2. How has the relationship between and Penn changed? continued...
53 3. A. What two unlike things are being compared in the following simile? Lisa s face crumpled like a brown paper bag. B. In using this simile, what is the writer telling readers about Lisa and her feelings?
54 Name: Vocabulary Test #1 Chapters 1-8 WRITE SENTENCES FOR THE FOLLOWING WORDS: curious personally pestering legend prairies
Name: 55 Vocabulary Test #2 Chapters 9-17 WRITE SENTENCES FOR THE FOLLOWING WORDS: prehistoric immature colliding hazardous proceeds devour
56 Name: Vocabulary Test #3 Chapters 18-32 WRITE SENTENCES FOR THE FOLLOWING WORDS: scrumptious infested spectators complicated habitat obviously obnoxious
Name: 57 Vocabulary Test #4 Chapters 33-49 WRITE SENTENCES FOR THE FOLLOWING WORDS: alien frantically automatically practically intercepted eroding