My Novel Study doc

      NOVEL STUDY (From Chapter 7)

Q1 = Describe Mr Daniels

Mr Daniels is always trying to be encouraging, he is forever setting new tasks and activities for Ally and her class.

Q2 = What does Ally think of Mr Daniel’s so far?

It is hard to say. I don’t think she likes his approach to encourage a lot of reading and writing, but she prefers him to her first teacher.

Q3 = In this section, Ally makes a decision on how she treats another character that seems to weigh on her mind. Why do you think Ally participated in this hurtful discussion with Albert?

I think Ally really wanted to join in on something with other girls in her class. I think she is also sick of being the odd one out.

We have got quite a bit of evidence that Ally just doesn’t quite fit in with her classmates. What are some of the examples the author has given us about this fact?

Ally is dyslexic, she has a lot of trouble with reading and writing and Shay holds a very big grudge with her.

There are many key events in this section. Pick what you think are three of the most important things that have happened. For each, explain why you feel that they are so important to the story.

*** I was away

There are many words that can be used to describe Ally. Pick one character that you think fits her well.

*** I was away

Ally and her friends are called “misfits” by Shay and her friends. Do you agree with this? Explain your thinking.

Just because Ally and her friends aren’t wrapped around Shay’s little finger, it doesn’t mean that they are ‘misfits’ exactly. Sure, Ally, Albert and Keisha aren’t similar at all to their  classmates, but wouldn’t it be so boring if every character was the same?

Ally continues to try to find ways to get off reading and writing. What do you think Mr Daniel’s should do with her?

I am sure Mr Daniel’s has noticed Ally’s unenthusiastic approach to literacy, I think he should maybe give her some separate reading and writing work to do and maybe help her enhance her calculus skills.

Ally, Keisha and Albert are having a discussion about the bullies that are beating him up. Explain how different characters are feeling about this.

Kiesha, being Keisha, was annoyed and wasn’t hiding it. Albert, being, Albert, was taking it from a technical point of view. Ally wasn’t happy but she seemed  little glad that she wasn’t the

victim. (for once!)

Do you think Ally is a changing character? Explain your thinking and give examples from the text.

Yes, Ally is changing for the better. She is enjoying having friends to hang out with at lunch, but she is still struggling with her literacy. She is trying to show Mr Daniel’s that she CAN’T do the school work but he doesn’t really seem to notice.

Writing a summary is a way to take a larger piece of writing and reduce it to a few sentences.

Ally is struggling at school but in a way is enjoying it more too. She has a few friends and Mr Daniel’s is setting the class tasks that don’t involve reading or writing.

At the end of this section Ally says that she will never accept an award that she doesn’t deserve. Does she deserve the poetry award? Explain.

Ally’s poem was quite good but am not sure it was the best in the class. Mr Daniel’s is trying to do everything that might help encourage her to improve her literacy skills.

At the end of chapter 26, Keisha states that ‘one things for sure, we are not gonna fit in but we ar3e gonna stand out.’ What do you think she means by this? Explain your thinking.

Keisha is comforting Ally by saying that ‘she is on her side.’ That Ally isn’t alone and that she isn’t without friends. Shay is, as always, being pretty horrible to Ally, and Keisha is letting Ally know that she thinks that isn’t OK.

Give one example of a ’turning point’ in the book so far. Why do you think it is important to that the book turns in this direction?

Mr Daniel’s has really noticed Ally’s dyslexia. He has decided to teach her chess after school. Ally wasn’t keen at first but when Mr Daniel’s offers to let Ally off homework for a week, she just has to say yes.

Make prediction about what will happen if Ally starts meeting Mr Daniels after school to play chess. Defend your ideas.

I think Ally might really enjoy chess playing, and Mr Daniel’s is trying to help her learn to read and write as well as bring out the best in her through chess.

Mr Daniel’s is trying to help Ally see that she may struggle with reading and writing but she is actually very smart. Give examples to prove that Ally actually is a very intelligent girl.

When Mr Daniel’s gave Ally’s class an assignment called ‘What’s in the Box?’ Ally was the first to solve it. Mr Daniel’s was really amazed.

This section ends with Ally having many different feelings about school. Pick two of her emotions and explain why they are important to the story.

Ally is enjoying the puzzles and dyslexia-friendly activities that Mr Daniels is giving her. She still holds her grudge with Shay and Shay still holds her grudge with Ally.

Ally has mixed opinions of school, she likes Mr Daniels and Albert and Keisha but she still feels like she doesn’t quite fit in, which is a really really horrible emotion and feeling.

Explain why you think the author included the where Mr Daniels took the word impossible and ripped off the ‘im’.

Sometimes Ally feels that she just cannot cope with the world, Mr Daniels is trying his level best to show her that she really can to read and write just like other kids. He doesn’t believe that it’s impossible, he believes that it is totally possible.

What more have we learned about Albert and how he handles his not-so-perfect life?

Albert likes to keep the fact that his family struggles with money to himself. When Albert brings Keisha and Ally back to his house one day after school all is revealed.

Good readers are constantly using what they know to predict what is going to happen next in the story. What predictions do you think you might make about what is going to happen with Ally and her friends. What evidence from the text is here to support those thoughts.

I don’t want to be negative but… everything seems to be going maybe a little too well for Ally. E.g. Ally’s father has come home. Mr Daniels is being extremely nice to Ally and she has her two friends, Albert and Keisha that she she likes to hang out with.

Ally is defiantly a changing character. Think of one character you believe is changing too. Use examples from the text to prove your thinking.

I think that Albert is also changing. I wonder why he was OK with inviting Keisha and Ally over to his house. Maybe he trusts them more than he used to.

This book is told through the eyes of Ally, the main character, take a moment to look through the eyes of Shay, what do you think SHE really thinks of Ally? Why might she act like she does?

Ally had a big falling out with Shay earlier in the year. I don’t think that Shay has quite forgiven her because she felt embarrassed and humiliated in front of everyone. Shay is just trying to get her own back on Ally.

Ally is definitely a changing character. Think of another character who you think is also changing, use evidence from the text to say who you think it is.

I think that Albert is also a changing character. He took quite a big step inviting Ally and Keisha over to his threadbare home.

In recent chapters Shay’s attempts to be mean to Ally seem to be backfiring. What do you think the rest of the class think about Ally and Shay. Use evidence from the text to explain your thinking.

No one use’t to mind Shay bullying Ally, but it seems as if they don’t think it’s so cool anymore. Ally’s classmates are beginning to realise that Ally is a really clever person, and maybe more people will want to be her friend.

Do you think that Ally will be a good class president? Why?

Ally is really clever, in her own cool way. She is sensitive to everything around her which will help her sort out any problems her class has. Ally also has a great sense of humour, which will make her class really enjoy being around. I.e. she’s not too serious.

Ally is becoming a more assertive character. Give a few examples of how Ally is becoming more confident in herself.

Ally is the class president for her class and she doing an AWESOME job! I think that realising that she can do some stuff really well will give her more self-confidence.

I was away for a few chapters.

Why does Mr Daniel’s want to teach the class about a whole lot of famous people who have dyslexia, do you think that this is a good idea? Explain.

As well as showing his class that you don’t have to be good at school work to have a great brain. The reason why those famous people were/are so famous, is because they see the world differently, have new ideas that other people wouldn’t have thought of. I also think that what Mr Daniel’s did for his class was GREAT! So yes, I think what he did was a very good idea.

Give an example in from the book where a character shows ‘grit’. Explain why you selected that example.

I think that both Keisha and Albert have shown grit at times because I don’t think that being friends with Ally is always that easy. Sometimes being friends with the really unpopular girl in the class is tricky, but both Albert and Keisha showed grit because their loyalty never wavered.

Chapter 48 ends with a whole lot of friendship bracelets left on Shay’s desk. What do you think this means? Why might it be important?

I think that the girls who have been enemies throughout the whole book are now trying to become friends, or at least on speaking terms.

Ally tries to talk to Shay and though her activities aren’t rewarded, how have Ally’s feelings changed about Shay?

Ally has learnt a lot in the past 6 months or so. I think she has learnt more about the value of friendship and maybe she doesn’t want have an enemy anymore.

Do you find the end of this book satisfying?

Yes, definitely, I loved the ending of Fish in a Tree, it was perfectly complete but it could lead on to many other stories.

MUST DO

• Task One

Dyslexia is a condition that makes reading, writing and spelling hard for some people. Dyslexia affects approx one in ten New Zealanders, which is 10% of Nz’s population.

Dyslexia make people think differently to the rest of the world. For example, maybe dyslexia makes it hard to read and write, but other things, like mechanics, creativity and other things that involve using your hands and mind to create something as opposed to just your brain.

A lot of truly amazing individuals who have done amazing things in the world, like Steve Jobs, Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso had dyslexia. Even if you struggle at school, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be someone amazing when you grow up.

• Task Two

Kiesha

Kiesha is my favourite character because she became friends with Ally despite the fact that she could have been friends with Shay and her gang. Shay is cool and cruel and most normal girls would want to be friends with her because they think she is popular and cool. What Kiesha did separates her from the average 11 year old girl and puts her under the Incredible category.

• Task Three

Travers, Ally’s big brother made a huge and very brave decision at the end of Fish in a Tree when he agreed to take lessons from Mr Daniel’s to help him with his dyslexia. It would be hard saying yes to something like that, but Travers did say yes, he confronted his dyslexia and hopefully he will learn to read as soon as possible with the help of his little sister and the legendary Mr Daniels.

CAN DO

• Task 1-Compare and Contrast

The characters that I am going to compare are Albert and Travers

Albert=Albert is incredibly intelligent, his way of thinking makes stand out from all the other boys in his class, which causes him to not have many friends at school. While Ally suffers terribly with school work because of her dyslexia.

Albert and Ally are both alone at lunch lunch time and recess, this unfortunate loneliness brings Ally and Albert together.
That part of the story focuses mostly on Ally and what’s happening in her life, and leaves you to think about Albert and his problems.

Albert and Ally have completely different temperaments, Ally’s is fierce and strong while Albert’s is quiet and geeky. I don’t mean geeky as in the mean way, I mean that Albert is just really very smart.

Ally and Albert become great friends, not forgetting the fiery, excitable Keisha ofcourse.
The trio set off on quest to succeed, and in the end they are successful with the help of Mr Daniel’s, Ally learns to read and write and Albert learns how to make friends.

• Task 2, You Remind Me of Someone

Ally reminds me of a lot of my little sister, who is not dyslexic but doesn’t exactly sit around reading and writing all day. My sister, Elsa, is nine years old and she absolutely loves doing anything creative. She either spends her weekend bugging me to go and play with her, or she shuts herself in her bedroom with her pencils and pastels spread across her floor drawing or making up songs. She also adores making contraptions out of her beloved meccano sets. My Grandparents bought her a set with batteries last Christmas, and since then she has been making miniature cars with batteries that actually work and driving them up and down the hallway.

Elsa dreams of being the next leonardo Da Vinci, she is always telling me of her plans to be the first human to fly, I hope one day she is successful!

Like Ally, she is also a star chess player, beating everyone in my family.

Ally is creative and clever just like my little sister. I think that if they knew each other, they would be great friends.