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Literature-based Skill Building

Freak the Mighty, Chapter 11

The following are comprehension activities related to the novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, chapter 11. NOTE: Keep reading fun! Don't do all of t hese for every chapter! It may be appropriate to simply have a student complete the "learning log" for each chapter, or to discuss questions and answers instead of requiring the reader to write responses.

Chapter Eleven: Damsel of Distress

1. Learning Log

A. Give this chapter a new title. Consider what happened and the feelings of the chapter.
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B. Setting: Identify the setting of the important events of this chapter.
time ________________________________________
place _______________________________________________

C. In one or two sentences, summarize what happens in this chapter.

D. Questions:

Ask a question about something that happened in this chapter, or what might happen. _________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Vocabulary Review

Complete these sentences with the arch word from the list:
archetype archenemy archbishop archangel monarch oligarchy anarchy anarchist

1. Many Christmas songs include angels and ___________________________.
2. Queen Elizabeth is a ______________________________.
3. We went to church and saw the ______________________________ there!
4. Dan would not vote because he was an ________________________ and didn't want to participate in anything that had to do with government.
5. Those four girls think they are an ________________________ and want to rule the class!
6. There were no rules, no laws. It was pure __________________________ .
7. Superman's ______________________________ is always trying to destroy him.
8. Cinderella is an ________________________ of a fairy tale.

3. Picture it! The New Testaments

Little words can really change the meaning of a phrase. Changing a few letters in a word can change its meaning too. Draw two pictures: One of "The New Testament" and the other of "The New Tenements."

The New Testament:




The New Tenements:

4. Irony

"Irony" is what English teachers call something in a story that's exactly what you wouldn't expect. Why is "New Testaments" an ironic name that Gram calls a joke for the "New tenements?"
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5. Character Description: SADDR

Chapter 11 introduces two new characters; Loretta Lee and Iggy. Choose one of them and complete a "SADDR" analysis of the character.

Speech: What is a good example of what this character says? What does this tell you about the character?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Action: What does the character do? What does this tell you about the character? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description: What does the author say about the character? What does that description tell you about the character? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Drawing:Draw the character in an important scene. Include at least three details (either about the character, or the rest of the picture) that tell you what is happening.

Reactions of Others: How do other characters in the story react to this character? If you're describing Iggy, how does Loretta Lee react to him? If you're describing Loretta, how does Iggy react to her?
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