Characters/Preston
1. Who are the main characters?
1. Spike & Bubba
1. On Plate One, how many icons can we see?
2. How can you describe the area around the tower?
1. 2
2. desolate, old, neglected, broken fence
1. What is strange about the WT based on the text on Plate One? *2 possible answers
1. That no one in Preston knows anything about the WT/that a tiny town has such a huge water tower
1. How many symbols are in the WT? What is one example?
1. 4 (glowing eyes, the claw, the satellite, the icon)
1. What month was your teacher born in? *you have 5 guesses
1. August
1. There are many children in Preston--True or False?
2. Spike and Bubba are high school kids--True or False?
1. False
2. False
1. On Plate Two, we can see the WT in the _______
2. What color is the WT?
3. What is something strange we see in the tank on Plate Four?
1. Arc
2. Sepia
3. The eddying water that is a green color when the water should be still and clear
1. “Spike led the way, as usual.” What do we know about Spike based on this?
2. What do we know about the fence? “…but now the metal posts were twisted and flattened and barbed wire lay coiled on the ground.”
1. Spike is the leader and is a confident boy
2. That someone or something destroyed the fence and no one in Preston has bothered to fix it. The fence was built to keep people out of the WT
1. In what decade (10yrs) does the WT take place?
2. Which part of Australia is Preston in?
1. 1930's/Great Depression
2. The Outback (desert part)
1. What is a topic sentence?
2. What is a contention?
1. It's the main idea of a body paragraph--often an argument
2. It's your answer to the task question--your central argument you will be making in your essay
1. Spike is the follower and Bubba is the leader--true or false?
2. Bubba's mother is concerned about him going to the WT--True or False?
3. How many times does Bubba go into the tank?
1. False
2. False
3. 3x
1. On Plate Five, what does the red color mean?
2. What is the picture with the WT called?
3. What is something we noticed as Bubba is climbing the ladder? *2 possible answers
4. On Plate Six, what is something that has changed that is very strange when Bubba comes out?
1. Danger is coming
2. Thumbnail
3. The plants growing underwater and how high the water tower is
4. The sky has gone from saturated (bright) blue to a bleached out white color
1. “So Bubba whistled for a while, then splashed a bit—but only up to his knees.” What is Bubba’s feelings about the water in the tank?
2. “And from time to time, he glanced up at the shaft of sunlight angling in from the open hatch, imagining.” What is Bubba imagining—something he wants?
3. What is it like when Bubba comes out of the tank the 1st time on Plate Six? *Look at the text?
1. He doesn't like/trust the water and doesnt want to swim in it
2. To be out of the tank and back outside
3. It's painfully hot and so bright that his eyes hurt...maybe this is to get Bubba to go back into the tank
1. Where is the WT?
2. What do satellites do?
3. What is an icon?
4. What can the sepia color symbolize? *more than one possible answer
1. Shooter's Hill
2. Send/receive information
3. A symbol of something larger like a country, a business, an organization
4. The past/death
1. What are 2 examples of minor supporting sentences?
2. What country's food is your teacher's favorite? *6 guesses
3. What is the major supporting sentence?
1. definitions, examples, explanations, rhetorical questions, quotes, statistical facts
2. Mexican
3. It is one point of an argument you will examine
1. What sport does Spike do?
2. Whose idea is it to go to the WT?
3. Where is Preston in Australia?
4. Most of the people in Preston look like they work in A. stores B. farming C. a major company D. teachers
1. running
2. Spike
3. In the rural Outback in a desert
4. B
1. On Plate Seven, what is different about the arc?
2. What could be 2 reasons Spike is wet?
3. On Plate Eight, what is coming towards the WT?
4. What is a difference between Plate Eight and Plate Six?
5. On Plate Nine, what is something different about the tank compared to the 1st time Bubba goes in?
1. It's moving counter or anticlockwise
2. Either he was secretly swimming in the tank, or he was outside the whole time sweating in the heat
3. The claw
4. The sky has gone back to saturated blue
5. It seems much bigger now inside
1. What will happen if Bubba goes home without his pants on Plate Seven?
2. How does the tank seem different now on Plate Nine? “But when he looked, the bottom rung was a long way from the light. “
3. “The water eddied and swirled. That’s the wind shifting the tower. It’s old and rickety.” Why is Bubba telling himself this?
4. What is Bubba feeling when he comes out of the tank the 2nd time? “…he lifted himself out and squatted a moment, catching his breath, calming his heart”
1. His mother will beat him...she'll go "Edwin" on him
2. It seems that the inside of the tank has gotten much bigger and taller
3. He's growing increasingly scared of being in the tank and is trying to calm himself down by saying there are natural causes to the sounds
4. He's starting to panic and is trying to calm himself down
1. When do Bubba's eyes change?
2. What are 3 words to describe Preston?
3. What does "setting" mean in a story?
4. What is one reason it is strange for Preston to have satellites? *2 possible answers
5. What can the green color inside the tank symbolize?
1. Plate 15--3rd time he goes into tank
2. Old, poor, rural, isolated, farmtown, etc.
3. The place/time where/when a story happens
4. Satellites were not invented in the 1930's. Why would such a small town need so many satellites?
5. Life
1. What is one thing you should do in your conclusion?
*2 possible answers
2. Your teacher's favorite sport is A. football B. basketball C. hiking D. swimming?
3. Your teacher's LEAST favorite color--*10 guesses
4. Your teacher's favorite season--*2 guesses
5. Which part of the essay should the contention be in?
1. Summarize arguments in body paragraphs/remind reader of what your contention is
2. C
3. Gold
4. Fall/Autumn
5. Introduction
1. Around Preston, what is something strange that we see behind houses, Preston, and townspeople?
2. How is Bubba different at the end of the story?
3. Spike seems A. happy B. excited C. suspicious D. scared E. angry when Bubba comes out of the tank at the end.
4. When Bubba comes out of the tank the 1st time, he seems A. disorientated B. terrified C. excited D. sad
5. What is strange about Spike when Bubba comes out of the tank the 1st time?
1. satellites
2. He seems excited, confident, and seems to know something that Spike doesn't
3. C
4. A
5. Spike is wet but it doesn't seem like he was ever in the tank swimming
1. On Plate Eleven, what is happening in the thumbnail?
2. On Plate Twelve, what is something that looks much bigger than it should?
3. On Plate 13, what is a word that describes the townspeople’s expressions? A. nervous B. anticipation C. depressed D. rage?
4. On Plate Fourteen, why is there a close-up on half of Bubba’s face?
5. On Plate 16, what is something different about the way Bubba looks?
6. On Plate Ten, why is Spike in the arc? What might the movement of the arc suggest?
1. Bubba has climbed down off the WT is sitting under a bush as the claw approaches him unseen
2. The cat on top of the ar
3. B
4. To see that the claw is almost upon him, and to focus on the terror in Bubba's eye and mouth
5. He looks confident and that he knows something that Spike doesn't
6. Perhaps time is changing for Spike...the movement could suggest time is slowing doing for Spike perhaps to give the claw more time
1. On the last plate, what is strange about "My mother will be worried. You know what a worrier she is."
2. What is a hatch?
3. Did vandals break the fence? What is a vandal?
4. When the story uses italics for Bubba, what does that mean?
5. What is strange the 2nd time Bubba goes into the tank with what he hears, smells, and sees?
6. What is algae? What is eddy?
1. Because at the beginning, we know Bubba's mother doesn't care where he goes
2. The opening or door to go in/out of the tank
3. A person that deliberately breaks or damages property
4. What Bubba is thinking
5. He hears, smells, and sees things that should not be happening. The tank should be quiet with no smell and the water shouldn't be moving
6. A green plant that grows on top of water/circular movement of water
1. What is a symbol?
2. The eagle is a symbol of which country?
3. What is something strange about the claw? *2 possible answers
4. A leaf is a symbol of which country?
5. If we look at the townspeople's eyes, what does "possessed" mean?
6. A piece of chalk can symbolize what?
1. A person, place, thing, object, or action that represents a bigger idea
2. America
3. How is it moving by itself? Why does it want Bubba alone without Spike?
4. Canada
5. To be controlled by an evil force
6. Teaching/Education/Learning
1. Which job industry does your teacher's sister work in? A. teaching B. food/tourism C. nursing D. childcare *2 guesses
2. What is a province that your teacher worked in before Jiangsu? *2 possible answers (not including Shanghai)--*8 guesses
3. What is the main part of your essay called?
4. "____" --what is this?
5. What year did your teacher first come to China to teach? *10 guesses
6. Your teacher has also taught university students, adults, refugees, and children--True or False?
1. B
2. Zhenjiang/Liaoning
3. Body
4. Quote/Quotation marks
5. 2012
6. True