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Friday, May 21, 2021

Discussion Questions for U.P. Reader Volume #5 Free PDF Download

Title: U.P. Reader -- Volume #5: Bringing Upper Michigan Literature to the World

Authors: Mikel Classen and Deborah K Frontiera

Publisher: Modern History Press

Publisher Website Address: www.ModernHistoryPress.com

Publisher Email Address: info@ModernHistoryPress.com

ISBN-10: 1615995714

ISBN-13: 978-1615995714

ASIN: B09253976L

Price: $17.95 paperback, $28.95 hardcover, $5.95 Kindle

Page Count: 308 pages

Formats (P.B., H.C., Kindle)

Discussion Questions for U.P. Reader Volume #5 Free PDF Download

Click on this link for your free instant download with the discussion questions.

This anthology is one of the very best collections I have ever read. It is a satisfying long read including poems, stories, interviews, and writing pieces by young authors. It helps to understand the Yooper culture (Upper Peninsula area of Michigan). Some of the stories are laugh-out-loud funny. Some stories are so sad you might need a kleenex. It is all highly captivating reading.

You'll want to grab a pasty and eat some smelt soon after reading. Pasties were the lunch women would make for the miner's on lunch hour as they require only one hand to eat, being like a turnover but with meat and vegetables. Have you ever been smelting? The picture in the book shows a fishing boat, but when the smelt are running a bucket is all that is needed. Run it through the water, easily catch a bunch at once, put the smelt in a container, and get some more. It happens once a year. For some people, it is one of the highlights of the year.

Lake Superior features prominently in the book which is easily understood as the UP is surrounded by the lake. The UPers refer to the lower Penninsula people as "trolls" as they live under the Mackinac Bridge. This book was written by yoopers, not trolls. Maybe you are one of the fudgies who visit the area for fudge (tourist) -- hey, not a bad idea.

Discussion Questions

*Note: Only ten stories were selected as I try to keep discussion limited to ten questions. However, book groups will probably have no problem finding much to discuss in all the stories. people will probably want to discuss the interview about a book being made as a movie.

1. “Your Orbit” by Barbara Bartel – the author is working through writing an obituary and manages to make it humorous. Did you like this writing piece? Could you apprentice yourself to write a similar story? What would you say?

2. “How to Hunt Fox Squirrels” by Don Bodey -- is another humorous story. What struck you as funny? How do mother squirrels put their children to sleep at night? How does the author suggest a person should go about getting a good squirrel recipe?

3. “A.S.S. for State Slug” by Larry Buege – is really about what topic? How does Officer Koski end the last protest?

4. “Matter of Time” by Tricia Carr – seems to be about a senile old woman. Who is scheming against her? How does she get back at the schemers?

5. “The Lunch Kit” by Deborah K. Frontiera – instead of being snowbirds with their friends in Arizona, a couple begins to care for a child they knew nothing about. How did this happen? How does counseling help? What do they decide to do about schooling?

6. Pictures throughout the book – which pictures remind you of living in, visiting, or understanding the Upper Peninsula? Have you ever gone smelting? Eaten a pasty? Seen a mine? Watched deer in the woods? What other observations regarding the images would you like to share?

7. “The Rescue of the L. C. Waldo” by Robert Grede – this story is almost an odyssey as there are so many problems faced by the seaman and those on shore. How did people help? Would telephones have been helpful? Why did some people try to help and not others?

8. “A Night to Remember” by Charles Hand – have you ever had car trouble on a remote stretch of road? What did the students think was going to happen to them? Gitche Gumee and Big-Sea Waters refer to what? What did you think of the plowing? The resolution? The jailer’s office night policeman forgot to do what?

9. “Right Judgment” by Tamara Lauder – what did the flowers represent?

1 “Requiem for Ernie” by Hilton Moore – did you realize people thought polio was catchy? Do you remember anything about the time before polio vaccines? Even now people are being told they maybe had it when they were young. Compare and contrast polio and the coronavirus.

Carolyn Wilhelm

Wise Owl Factory

More About #TheNewBookReview Blog The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Sunday, May 5, 2019

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Discussion Questions

I am so proud to announce this first in a series of Discussion Questions about books (and movies inspired by books!) by veteran teacher Carolyn Wilhelm who offers other aids for teachers, parents, and anyone who fosters literacy--many of them absolutely free. Find them on Pinterest and follow her @wiseowlfactory on Twitter. Book club groups and library events directors will find her Discussion Guide Series useful, too! And what about teachers who must prepare quizzes for reading assignments! Watch for new ones on the 5th of every month, right here on #TheNewBookReview!

Questions About THE HOBBIT:

An Unexpected Journey

Discussion Questions

Movie on DVD

Paperback

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the 1st third of the Hobbit book. It's the prequel to Lord of the Rings.

Before vacation, sometimes teachers have been known to show a movie, and some classes might watch The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey (movie). Movies work with comprehension questions as test preparation practice. The PDF could be used as a discussion guide for the teacher or students might work in small groups to see if they can remember what they saw. Answers are provided in the PDF at the next link.

Unexpected Journey comprehension questions free instant download by clicking on this link

1. Who was telling (writing) the story in the movie?

2. What happened to ruin the peaceful, prosperous Lonely Mountain and the Mines of Moria?

3. Why do the Dwarves want their ancestral home back?

4. Why does Thorin especially want to fight the pale Orc?

5. How does Bilbo Baggins become involved in the quest to enter Lonely Mountain?

6. Why does the company need Bilbo’s help?

7. Which groups in the story especially love food?

8. Do the Dwarves have good table manners? Explain.

9. Did you notice the map in the beginning of the story? Is it important later? Why?

10. How does the company escape the three trolls?

11. What swords does the company take from the trolls after they turn to stone?

12. Who is in the Lonely Mountain and has control of the gold? Explain.

13. What does the wizard Radagast tell the company?

14. Does Radagast’s hedgehog live? Do all the animals live?

15. Who chases the company after they see Radagast?

16. Why do the Orcs on Wargs leave?

17. What are Orcs? What are Wargs?

18. What does Gandalf tell the Elves of Rivendell?

19. What happens after they leave Rivendell?

20. How do things go when the company is taken by the Great Goblin?

22. Where is Bilbo when the company is fighting the Goblins?

22. What happens that causes the company to climb trees?

23. Why do some believe Smaug is dead? Is he really dead? Explain.

24. Name a character in the movie not in this part of the book.

25. If you have also read the book, tell which you like more, the movie part 1 or the book (so far)? Why?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Discussion Questions

Students might also discuss how the book and movie are the same and different. Some students will have only read the books or only have seen the movie and can explain the missing information to each other. Really, it is "test prep" in that it is comprehension and so it if fits a class, then it would be nice to have on hand.

Note: The first movie, An Unexpected Journey, covers chapters 1 to 6, a total of just over 81 pages which comprise:

The Unexpected Party and formation of the company.
The Trolls.
Rivendell.
Crossing the Misty Mountains and the Goblins.
Gollum.
The Eagles.

Thank you for reading, Carolyn Wilhelm, Wise Owl Factory

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AND ANOTHER FREEBIE

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

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Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Green Book Movie and Original 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups

This is a second in #TheNewBookReview's new series of discussion questions on books and book-related movies from a great supporter of this blog, Carolyn Wilhelm. (She's the one who makes our fun badges for authors who participate by submitting their fave reviews!). It seems a great service for #teachers, #parents, #bookclubs, and more. Carolyn is a great resource for similar aids on Pinterest where some of her products are absolutely free! As is this one!

Green Book Movie and 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups

Kindle eBook B07MR9SPZB 1940 Edition

Paperback 1959, 91 Pages

ISBN-10: 1949996034

ISBN-13: 978-1949996036

Movie

The movie, The Green Book, took place in 1962. Have you seen it? It is similar to but so different from Driving Miss Daisy, as a white man chauffeurs a gifted black pianist to concerts in the south. As it was Jim Crow times and they cross the Mason-Dixon line, their many encounters and experiences change the white driver’s thinking about the difficulty of being black (even if well to do) at that time. Sometimes the characters could not stay in the same hotel or eat in the same restaurant. This movie shows a change of heart as it teaches about those times. Did you know the movie is from the real-life experiences of African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga. I didn’t realize one the screenwriter was one of Tony’s children. The script was based on letters written at the time, and also interviews. Of course, artistic license was taken in a few cases, and there is a little controversy about a few points.

During the same year the movie represents, my family drove from Minnesota to Arkansas to attend a grandmother’s funeral. Closer to the south, my sisters and I were hungry, and there were few places to eat along the way. We spotted a restaurant, and my father got out of the car. He didn’t park up close to the door, which I still remember as being somewhat odd. He walked over, turned around, got back in the car and drove away. “Why,” we asked, almost in tears. He told us they only served white people and we were not eating there.

My whole family was white. Maybe we needed a Green Book for our trip. I’m sure my father used the AAA Travel service, but they probably didn’t think to advise him the same what they advised black people at the time. The books sounds nice until it becomes apparent they are very short.

That was the summer I learned about Jim Crow as it was in the south up close and personal, which left a lasting influence on my life. Of course, Jim Crow was everywhere in different forms. At the time, I did not know The Negro Motorist Green-Book. I’m glad to learn of it later in my life so people could avoid awkward or humiliating experiences. It was written each year with the hope it would become unnecessary. Victor H. Green (1892 – 1960) was a postal carrier living in Harlem when he created the first of his annual Green Books in 1936. The last edition was in 1967, two years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law.

Did you know you can download copies to read for yourself, as well as purchase a 1940 Facsimile Edition on Amazon? Fifty-three whole pages for traveling the entire nation. Hmmm. I did buy that one on Amazon as well as review several free downloads. Here is what I found.

The Smithsonian Digital Volunteers Transcription Center has one year of the book published in the National Museum of African American History and Culture as a free download. Links to other placed it may be viewed and downloaded are also listed on the page.

The University of South Carolina also has a free download for the 1956 Green Book at this link. Both sites have viewers, and I’m aware of other sites that offer viewing or downloads as well.

The book as a primary source document is in many lessons for secondary schools. It is not a book to sit and read, though, it is a book to ponder and realize what was going on in plain sight that many people didn’t understand.

The Negro Motorist Green-Book

Discussion Questions to Consider

Instant Download PDF Questions Handout

1.  Is every state included in the lists? What are your thoughts on why or why not?
2. What are the fewest services for a state listed? Discuss the ramifications of traveling through such a state.  Is every state included in the lists? What are your thoughts on why or why not?
3. Is every state included in the lists? What are your thoughts on why or why not?
4.     What is the most popular category in the book: restaurants, gas stations, recreation parks, taverns, liquor stores, garages (service stations), barber shops, hotels, nightclubs, road houses, country clubs, taxis, drugstores, and beauty shops? Why is that the most popular category?
5.     What kind of advertising does the Green Book have?
6. There is information on how to send a story about using the Green Book for possible publication and five dollars. Describe the story requirements.
7.     What do you notice about the text travel guide pages? What kinds of things are described that might not be in other travel guides?
8.     How do you think this would compare to other travel guides?
9.     What cities have the most services? And even includes things like dance halls, tailors, millinery, and maybe a haberdasher?
10.     Why is a key to Manhattan street numbers included?
11.     Why do you think there are no maps?
12.     Ferry and Tunnel rates for passenger cards are listed. Why would this information be needed ahead of time?
13. Points of interest in New York City are listed. What is the possible implication of including this list?
14. How do the different editions for the different years compare?
15. What did you learn or realize from looking through this book?

The Green Book Movie Discussion Questions

Instant questions download -- click here

1. What is the year of the movie setting?

2. How do the two main characters differ?

3. Although Don Shirley did not personally know Tony Vallelonga, he hired him anyway. Why?

4. What did you think of Shirley asking Tony’s wife for permission to take him on tour?

5. Do you feel the events in the story are true to life, and why?

6. Who is holding the Green Book copy of the paperback in the film? Why?

7. Do you think perhaps other groups had similar travel guides then and perhaps now? Do you know of any such guides?

8. Did you previously know about sundown towns?

9. How do they deal with different rules when they both cannot eat or sleep in the same location?

10. Do you think Jim Crow was worse in the south than elsewhere? Do you think Jim Crow was actually everywhere and still is in many ways, or do you think society has improved?

11. The Green Book is based on interviews as well as letters written during the tour. Did you realize the movie was based on real-life before or after viewing? How does knowing it is a true story affect your feelings about the film?

12. There is some controversy surrounding the film. Many films based on true life have to be adjusted for the story to be conveyed through sight and sound. Did you feel it represented the actual truth? Do you think it deserved the many awards it won?

13. Why do you think Don Shirley wanted it released after his death?

14. How does Tony help Don in some specific situations? Do you think the tour would have been successful without Tony? Do you think without calling Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy the story would have turned out the same way?

15. Tony gets home for Christmas but not because he can finish the drive through the snow. How does the film end?

16. Don Shirley’s degrees in real life were honorary. Do you think in another era they would have been earned?

17. The film is said to show a white savior. Do you feel that is true or do you believe the two men became friends? The family says they had a professional relationship only, but there are videos revealing friendship. Either way, is it important to the film?

18. Would you recommend the film to others? Why or why not?

Green Book Movie and 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups

Green Book Movie and Original 1940 Book Discussion Questions for Book Groups

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS AND ANOTHER FREEBIE

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) It has 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shoutout praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines in the left column of this page or in the tab at the top of the home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Monday, April 5, 2021

Hidden Figures Book and Movie Discussion Guide

Free PDF Instant Download with the questions

Note: The movie may be rented on Amazon Prime. It is not on Netflix or Hulu. I do not see a way to watch it free or included in subscription plans other than Disney Plus. I watched it on Disney Plus.

The movie is a fictionalized version of the nonfiction book and is about 74% accurate.

Movie Questions

1. The opening scene looks like there may be trouble for the three women when their car broke down in the middle of nowhere. How did the situation resolve? What did you learn about Dorothy Johnson Vaughn to help foreshadow her promotion at work?

2. NASA was divided into the West and East work areas. In what ways were they segregated?

3. A library book became the catalyst for worker empowerment. How did this one book contribute to the computer revolution? How was the book obtained? How far did it reach?

4. Explain the attitudes of the men who were engineers towards other workers. How did these attitudes evolve during the story?

5. Math was empowering to the main characters. Why? How? Do you think it is still so important?

6. The home lives of the main characters were also shown. How did this help humanize the story against a backdrop of technology and precision?

7. The movie was set in 1961-62 when civil rights activists were working and demonstrating. How did the film reflect the reasons why changes were needed in society at large?

8. The movie was about 74% factual. A court order was not needed for one person to attend high school (after receiving a Bachelor's Degree). What were other elements of the movie exaggerated for dramatic effect?

9. The IBM computer was necessary at that time. Explain how it helped with integration.

10. Discuss some of your favorite scenes or people in the movie. Tell why you especially liked those.

Title: Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race
Author: Margot Lee Shetterly
Publisher: William Collins
Publisher Website Address: https://corporate.harpercollins.co.uk/
Publisher Email Address: 4thestate.publicity@harpercollins.co.uk

ISBN-10: 0062363603

ISBN-13: 978-0062363602

ASIN: B01MYUTJR7
Price: $9.98 Paperback, $Hardcover $21.99, $12.99 Audio Book, $6.99 Kindle
Page Count: 368 pages
Formats: (PB, Hardcover, Audio Book, Kindle)

The book Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race is nothing like the movie. It is more like a textbook with scientific information about aviation and civil rights. The author demonstrates how segregation at NACA (now NASA) compared and contrasted to civil rights issues of the larger society. The book would be a fantastic resource for civil rights studies as it is all nonfiction. People interested in aviation would also find reasons to consult this book in studies of flight.

The book does include discussion questions at the end. A book club or discussion group could consult the questions to foster discussion. Here are my questions regarding the book, which are different from the authors. I suggest using the author's questions.

Book Discussion Questions