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1) IMPORTANT SCENE SUMMARY

An important scene in a novel includes actions, thought, and dialogue. In writing/telling a summary it is important to include information from all three sources.

Choose a scene from your novel which you feel was very important in the development of the novel. Write a brief summary of this scene.  What caused the conflict to begin? What events or conflicts followed? How did it conclude?

2) OVERALL IMPRESSION OF YOUR NOVEL & INQUIRY CIRCLES

Write a paragraph with your thougts and feelings about your novel. Did you enjoy reading it? Would you recommend this book to others? Why?  Go APE+! In another paragraph, write about your experience with Inquiry Circles. Did you enjoy the experience? Did you feel the discussion helped you to better understand the book?

1) IMPORTANT SCENE SUMMARY

I think the most important scene in this book is when the girls meet Massa Ross(the man disguised as a bird researcher).  Here is a brief summary of what happens in this scene.  Julilly and Liza are picking cotton in the fields at the Riley Plantation and a man comes out from the big house who both girls have never seen before.  He goes over to talk to Mr Sims and says he is here to research birds and needs two helpers.  Mr sims looks annoyed but says yes.  Meanwhile Julilly and Liza have slowed down there picking hoping this man will pick the two of them to help but he does not instead he picks the two men Julilly had come to the Riley Plantation with; Lester and Adam. 

This is an important part in the book because they find out that Massa Ross isn’t a bird researcher but he is an Abolitionist who is trying to get slaves to Canada.  The events that followed all had to do with the girls getting to Canada.  At the end of the book the girls and Lester make it to Canada.

2) OVERALL IMPRESSION OF YOUR NOVEL & INQUIRY CIRCLES

I think this book was really good and I enjoyed it a lot.  I would definitely recommend this book to other people because it really makes you stop and think about how good we have it.  For example when I read ‘That man thinks a slave is just like a work horse.  If you act like a work horse you get along just fine.  If you don’t you get the cat-o-nine tails to your back.’  I thought how lucky I am to have my freedom.  I think what they did then was very creul and I hope I would be as brave as Liza and Julilly were to stand up for my freedom.  Yes I do think this is a very good book and I do recommend other people to read it. 

Reading this book in groups using inquiry circles did help me understand the book better because when we discussed what was happening in the book we didn’t forget what happened earlier on the book.  For example when I read that Lester and Adam had been at Jeb Brown’s house I could have forgot that they were captured and then the entire book would be confusing.  Discussing what is happening in the book is very helpful to remember what is going on in the book.  I think the inquiry circles helped me better understand the book.

category: Inquriy Circles    

1) UPDATE SUMMARY

Provide an update on your blog of the events that have taken place in your novel since your last post. 

2) POINT OF VIEW

Who is telling the story in your novel?  From which point of view is the story being told?  Give an example from the text to prove this.

How would your novel be different if it was told from a different point of view? For example, if another round character told the story, how would it be different? What if one of the flat characters in your novel was telling the story from his/her point of view? Provide a few examples to prove this.

3) MAIN CHARACTER

While you’ve been reading your novel, you have been forming various opinions about the events / characters / message of your novel.  What is your opinion of the main character in your novel? Do you feel you have anything in common with him/her?  How has the author helped you to get to know the main character better?

4) COMMENT

Please comment on at least 2 other students’ postings from today. You may also go back and comment on last week’s posts. Don’t forget to reply to any comments that were left on your post.

5) LINK

Create a link to your latest Inquiry Circle post on the PAGE you created.

1) UPDATE SUMMARY

Julilly, Liza, Lester and Adam decided to eescape to Canada when they meet a man named Massa Ross who is a Quaker Abolitionist who disguises himself as a bird researcher but actually helps the two girls and boys escape.  After a few days of walking to Tennesee Lester and Adam get captured by slave catchers.  Julilly and Liza must find their way to Canada by themselves with the help of the Underground railroad.  The girls come to a man named Jeb Brown who tells them they have met Lester and Adam and they are possibly already in Canada.

 2) POINT OF VIEW

I think the story is told in third person and the point of view is of Julilly.  The reason for this is because whenever one of the flat OR round characters speak, (For example,“The Ohio River Liza,” Julilly whispherd) the words are in quotation marks and it says Julilly whispherd.  The story would be different if Lester told the story because it would have a completely different story line because Lester and Adam get captured earlier in the book.  For example instead of There was no crackle of branches to tell where Lester and Adam had gone it would be there was no crackle of branches to tell where we had gone and they are already in Canada so the story would be much shorter.  I think it was a good idea to write this book in third person so you get to know what is going on with the other characters. 

3) MAIN CHARACTER

The main character in Underground to Canada it Julilly.  She is a very tall 13 year old girl who has lived at the Henson plantation until she was traded to a slave trader and sent off to the Riley plantation until she decided to escape.  My opinion of Julilly is that she is a very brave girl who sticks up for what she believes in.  If I was put in a situation like Julilly’s I hope I would be brave enough to take the chance to move to Canada.  Barbra Smucker helped me get to know Julilly better because the book is told in Julilly’s point of view so it helped me understand her better.  This is my opinion of Julilly and how I could tell she was the main character.

category: Inquriy Circles