The Highlights of HomeschoolingNovel Literature Unit Study

M.C. Higgins The Great

Created by Teresa Ives Lilly Sold by www.hshighlights.com

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Everything in the unit can be used to create a file folder lap book.

Pre-Reading Skills ActivityAuthor Information ActivityTime line ActivityTheater Box Activity

Each Lesson covers one whole book and includes:Create a Newspaper Layout Activities including: Editorial, Travel, Advice Column,Comics, Society News, Sports, Obituary, Weddings, Book Review, Want Ads, Word Search. Creative Writing Activities including: Letter, Fairy Tale, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fable, Dream or Nightmare, Tall Tale, Memoir, Newberry Award, A Different Ending.Writing Skills Activities including: Description, Expository, Dialogue, Process, Point of View, Persuasion, Compare and Contrast, Sequel, Climax and Plot Analysis.Poetry Skills Activities including: Couplet, Triplet, Quinzain, Haiku, Cinquain, Tanka, Diamanté, Lantern and Shape Poem.Literature Skills Activities including: Main Character, Main Setting, Main Problem, Possible Solutions, Character Traits, Character Interaction, Cause and Effect, Description, Pyramid of Importance, Villain vs. Hero.Art Expression Activities including: Main Character, Main Setting, Travel Brochure, Postal Stamp, Book Cover, Menu, Fashion Designer, Puzzle, Mini Book, Ten Commandments.Poster Board Activities including: Collage, Theater Poster, Wanted Poster, Coat of Arms, Story Quilt, Chalk Art, Silhouette, Board Game Construction, Door Sign, Jeopardy.Creative Art Activities including: Sculpture, Shadow Box, Mosaic, Mobile, Acrostic,Tapestry, Paper Dolls, Book Mark, Photography, Parade Float, Sketch.

Encyclopedia Skills ActivityJournal ActivityMain IdeaKey EventPredictionComparisonComprehensionTrue and FalseVocabulary Skills Activities including: Define,Synonym, Antonym, Syllables,Sequence of Events.HandwritingFinal Activities including: Sign Language Vocabulary, Literature Web, Bingo.

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To use this unit either print out all the pages or have the studentrecreate most of them in a notebook or on white or colored paper.

All of the pages can be added to the lapbook project as shown in thephotos, or only use those items you want to use to create yourlapbook and use a spiral notebook for the other pages.

The following are photos of how the work can be presented in thelapbook format. You can make yours look different if you like.To create the lapbook use 3-6 file folders (colored are best), construction paper or index cards, markers, glue and a stapler.

This is followed by a photos of how to do the newspaper layout.

Front Back

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Each unit divides the book into 10 lessons or less. Each lesson covers one to four chapters of the book. Students read the chapters for each lesson, then do the work for that chapter. “M.C. Higgins the Great” By: Virginia HamiltonCo-Author: Carol Diana

Lesson 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2 Chapter 2Lesson 3 Chapter 3 Lesson 4 Chapter 4Lesson 5 Chapter 5 Lesson 6 Chapter 6Lesson 7 Chapter 7,8 Lesson 8 Chapter 9,10Lesson 9 Chapter 11,12 Lesson 10 Chapter 13,14

Vocabulary Words:Lesson 1. humidity lithe currents habit trusted ancient meander stalk suede ingenious

Lesson 2. sensation spectacular premonition amphitheater echoing cirque configuration comprehend parched absorbing

Lesson 3. impelling yodel cadence heathen acids admiration reverie resembled splayed silhouette

Lesson 4. spoil convinced reflected intensity feeling title dislodge conjured gossamer materialized

Lesson 5. registering impression unnatural abruptly premonition friction searing lured boughs sequential

Lesson 6. commotion revelation pestering attempting embassy impenetrable altered amiably effortlessly formality

Lesson 7. eerie gushing related tension simultaneously brazenly offense expressionless melancholy remorseful

Lesson 8. pressure imprint collapse jealously electric background equaled formality defects impartially

Lesson 9. inert suspended ordinary frantically patina dissected sinister unwittingly precariously inflection

Lesson 10. cassette dissolve fleeting doubt stubbornness qualm recognition ragamuffin disembodied unaccustomed

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Newspaper Activity: As the student completes the newspaper activitieshave them lay them out on a big board or on several poster boards. Don’t glue them on until the entire newspaper is laid out.Begin by creating a name for your newspaper. Type out the name of your newspaper, in big bold letters and place it on the board where you think it should go. Use tape or sticky clay to place articles and pictures on your poster board, until you are done with all of them. By using this method of placement, you can move them around as needed.

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Pre-Reading Activity: Have the student look at the book they willbe studying for this unit. Then have the student write the information required for this activity on the book patterns or in their notebook. The patterns may be cut out and placed on the lapbook.

Title Illustrator

PublishingCompany

MainCharacter

Why areyou looking forwardto readingthis book

What do you think the book is about?

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Author Activity: Have the student use the book they are studying and information found on the internet. Then have the student write the information required for this activity on the patterns or in their notebook. The patterns may be cut out and placed on the lapbook.

Write the author’s name on the correct pattern

Write the name of all the books by this author on the book pattern. If there are more than three books, just select the three most famous.

On the house pattern writeinformation about the author suchas where the author was born, lived and how they became anauthor.

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Time Line Activity: Have the student use the book they are studying to fill out the time line indicating when anything new, interesting orimportant happens in the book. This time line pattern can be copied into the student’s notebook or this pattern can be printed smaller and placed on the lapbook.

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Lesson 1 Activities: Have the student use the book they are studying and information found on the internet. Then have the student write the information required for this activity on the patterns or in their notebook. The patterns may be cut out and placed on the lapbook.

Encyclopedia: Choose one subjectfrom this lesson that interested youand look it up on the internet or in an encyclopedia. Write the name of the subject across the top of the monitor pattern. On the monitor screen section, write three or more interesting facts about the subject.

Journal: Imagine that you are one of the characters from the story. After reading each lesson, write a short journal entry telling what happened from your character’s point of view. Draw a picture togo along with your journal entry.At the end of the book, staple allthe journal entries together to form a complete booklet. You can evencreate a special cover for it fromconstruction paper.

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Vocabulary word: ________________________________Definition of the word: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Antonym of the word: _____________________________How many syllables does the word have? ______________

Vocabulary Word: ________________________________Sentence using the word: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Synonym of the word: _____________________________

Vocabulary: Look up thevocabulary words from the listfor this lesson. On two patterns, or on two index cards write one word. On one card writethe definition of the word, theAntonym and how many Syllables the word has.

On the other card, write the sameword. Write a full sentence usingthis word and write theSynonym of the word.

Do this for all the vocabularywords. Place the patternsor cards in an envelopewhich can be glued into the student’s notebook or onto thelapbook.

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Sequencing: At the end of the lesson write two of the main events on these two strips. Save them in an envelope which can be glued onto the lapbook or in the notebook.At the end of the book, thesestrips can be taken out and the student can try to arrange them in the correct order as they occurred in the story.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Handwriting: Have the student pick their favorite sentence they read in this lesson. Have them write the sentence in their best handwriting on this page or in their notebook.

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Lesson 1 Activities: Have the student use the book they are studying for the following lesson activities. Then have the student write the information required for this activity on the page or in their notebook. Lesson 1 Chapter I

Fill in the Blanks: Write the vocabulary word that best completes the sentence. Words: habit suede humidity currents ancient

1. _____ trapped in the hills clung to the mountainside as the night passed on.2. A boat wouldn’t go into water not knowing how the _____ run.3. Ben was like a bad _____ that M.C. couldn’t break and had to keep secret.4. The ravine was an _____ place with trees taller than most others over the hills.5. The dude with the tape recorder wore a _____ hat and jacket.

True / False: Write T if statement is true; write F if it is false.1. _____ M.C. loved the mountains his daddy said would become his someday.2. _____ M.C. was the worst swimmer ever come out of the hills.3. _____ When MC. was a child he and his father would come across flocks of wild turkey.4. _____ M.C. and Ben Killburn have been friends since they were children.

Multiple Choice: Write ABCD in the space for the best answer.1. _____ What is M.C.’s full name?A. Michael Charles HigginsB. Mayo Cornelius HigginsC. Mark Clayton HigginsD. Mervin Clark Higgins

2. _____ M.C. lives _____ inland from the Ohio River.A. three milesB. one mileC. half mileD. ten miles

3._____ Who lives on Kill’s mound?A. nobodyB. the mayorC. the sheriffD. Ben and his family

4. _____ What does a swimmer have to do before he can swim a river?A. study itB. practice C. know when their readyD. all of the above

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Main Idea: In a sentence or two, write what the main idea of this part of the book was.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Event: What was the most important event?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prediction: Predict what you think will happen in the next lesson. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Comparison: Compare two things in this lesson. Tell what makes them alike and what makes them different. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fact or Opinion: Write one sentence that is a fact about the lesson and one sentence that is an opinion about the lesson.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Comprehension: Write full sentences to answer these questions.

Comprehension: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.

1. Who told Ben how to make a bridge so his mother could cross the ra-vine?2. What did all the Killburn children have that was the same? 3. Where do the kids from the mountains go to school? 4. When the dude with the tape recorder comes what is M.C. hoping for?5. Why does M.C. want to get his family off the mountain?6. How are the Killburn men different than other folks?

(Who) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(What)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Where )_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(When)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Why)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(How)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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