 |
| Discussion Questions |
| 1. Why doesn’t Sam Beaver want his father to know about the Swan’s that he saw on his hike? 2. Why does Louis feel the need to learn to read? 3. What happens when Louis returns to his family, able to read? Was it what he expected? 4. Did learning to read become something useless to Louis because he couldn’t use it as he planned ( to communicate with his family)? Can learning something new ever become a disadvantage? 5. Why did Louis’ father steal the trumpet? 6. Did Louis’ father know it was wrong? We call this “struggle” (the process of making a decision which challenges your morals or values) with yourself CONFLICT. In the case of the cob, the conflict was with himself… his own values. 7. How did the cob resolve his conflict? He was willing to sacrifice his own belief system to help his son. 8. How did Louis feel when his father gave him the trumpet? Did he know the trumpet was stolen? How did the knowledge that it was stolen make Louis feel? 9. What choice did Louis make when he discovered what his father had done? Did he continue to plan for himself and his life? Did he begin to find ways to repay the debt his father owed? Why did Louis think HE needed to repay the debt? 10. Why didn’t Applegate Skinner like birds? 11. How did Mr. Brickle handle Applegate Skinner’s dislike? Did he tell him that it was okay? 12. Do people sometimes decide that they don’t like something/someone before they get to know them? 14. Does Applegate change his mind after Louis saves him? 15. What are Louis’s goals? Pay debt, be with Serena 16. What does he do to achieve these goals? Are they related in Sam’s mind? Does he need to do one before he needs to do the other? 17. When does Louis really begin to feel free and finally start to live his life? What was the best part of the story? Would you suggest this story to someone else? |
| First, the kids had a discussion about the book. They learned about setting, how to tell a main character from a supporting character, conflict and more. Here are the discussion questions we used to get them started. |
| After the discussion, the kids made a wall chart to show their favorite character. Can you guess who won? That's right! Louis was #1, with Serena a distant second. |
| Once the kids voted for their favorite character, they got to make a book about Trumpeter Swans. Here are some of the things they added to their book. |
| Finally, we all made Origami Swans. |
|
| The kids were able to write a letter to the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Red Rock Lakes NWR Monida Star Route, Box 15 Lima, MT 59739 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |