Caitlin's+Boy+of+the+Painted+Cave+assignments

Monday, October 8, 2007 Prewrite 1. What are you good at? 2. How do you feel when you're doing the thing you're good at? 3. How would you feel if people wouldn't let you do the thing you're good at? Answers: 1. I am good at drawing stuff. 2. I feel relaxed when I am drawing stuff. 3. I would feel devastated if people wouldn't let me draw.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 Chapter 1 Answers: 1. What problems or conflicts are presented in chapter one? Tao needing to find a rabbit is an obvious one; identify at least two more. 2. Predict the resolution of each conflict. 1. One problem presented in chapter 1 is Tao's weak leg. Another problem is that Tao likes drawing and it is taboo in his clan unless you are a "chosen one." 2. I think the resolution for Tao's weak leg is using his spear to walk more or less. I think the resolution for the taboo is to just live alone without belonging to a clan, if possible.

Chapter 2 What two important events happen in this chapter? Answers: Tao befriends a wolf dog and helps it take a bone out of it's jaw, and hears voices he thinks are evil spirits.

Chapter 3 1. What do Tao and Ram learn to do together?

2. What decision does Tao tell Volt?

3. Look at Tao's decisions and actions from Volt's perspective. Pretend you are Volt. Write a first person paragraph explaining how you feel. Answers: 1. Tao and Ram learn how to hunt well. 2. Tao tells Volt he will hunt alone from then on. 3. I think Tao's decision was very strange. Why would he want to hunt alone? He may be hiding something taboo from our clan. I will somehow get to the bottom of this.

Chapter 4 In a good paragraph, describe Tao's mother. Start with an interest grabber. Then write your topic sentence. Give three details or examples to support your thesis. Use a quotation from the chapter. Answers: Tao's mother was kind to many different things. She was giver, not a taker. For example, she would make items such as jewelry and give them away for freely. She "gave" Tao the ability to be creative and see pictures in the sky and meadows. She made such items as necklaces made out of a fishbone, or needles, and headbands from grass. The quote "Everyone loved the things she made, and she gave them away freely" supports my thesis clearly.

Chapter 5 1. Which two animals does Tao try to draw? 2. Which is easier for him and why? Answers: 1. Tao tries to draw a horse and and Ram, his wolf dog. 2. It is easier for Tao to draw Ram because he does not have as many complex features as a horse, plus he did not have a horse right in front of him.

Chapter 6 1. Graybeard realizes that Tao has broken two taboos of his clan. What are they? 2. Which taboo doesn't he know about yet? 3. Graybeard describes Volt differently than we have. What aspects of Volt's character is Graybeard acknowledging? Answers: 1. The two taboos of his clan broken were hunting on forbidden land and hunting side by side with a wolf dog, a believed evil spirt. 2. The taboo Graybeard doesn't know about is the drawings in the cave. 3. He's a good person but many do not see his complete personality.

Chapter 7 Write your reaction to the last paragraph in the chapter. Do you agree or disagree with Graybeard? Is what he says true for those times, but not now? Or, is the reverse true: was it not true then, but true now? Answers: I agree with Graybeard. What he said was true for those times, but not now.

Chapter 8 An important theme in this novel is that people should follow their dreams and do what they believe is right, even if they don't follow their society's expected ways. The author examines this theme in a stone age setting. Imagine a similar situation today. What situation did you imagine?

In the situation you imagined, should the person follow his or her dreams or should they follow society's rules? Give your opinion. Answers: I imagined a widowed mother who's husband died in a shooting and was a police officer. She also wanted to become a police officer, but her mom insisted on her staying at her part time job so her kids wouldn't grow up without a mother. I think she should follow her dreams.

Chapter 9 Why do you think Graybeard changed his mind? What does this tell you about his character? Answers: I think Graybeard changed his mind because he saw that Tao wanted to paint more than anything else. It tells me that at some times he can be stubborn, but kind too.

Chapter 11 Do you think Graybeard is a good teacher? Why? Would you like to have been taught a skill by him? Why? Answers: I think Graybeard is a good teacher because he admitted he was wrong to Tao, which is something that most adults would never do. Yes because he would teach it without lying.

Chapter 12 1. Name some of the ingredients used to make paint. Which surprised you most? 2. Why is Tao afraid at the end of the chapter? Answers: 1. Some of the ingredients were fish oil, animal fat, blood, eggs, and honey. The ingredient that surprised me the most was the fish oil. 2.

Chapter 13 1. Even if Ram had succeeded in hunting the deer, do you think it was a good idea of Tao's to "show off" his dog's ability to hunt? Explain. 2. Predict what will happen next. If you've read ahead, invent an alternate scene. Answers: 1. No because it was disrespectful to Volt, since he was "attacked" as a child. 2. I think Tao and Ram run away.

Chapter 14 1. Why does Tao cross the river? 2. What decision does Graybeard reach? Answers: 1. Tao crosses the river to get Ram. 2. That Tao is the new cave painter.

Chapter 15 What problem does Tao have by the end of the chapter? Answers: He is captured by the mountain clan. Chapter 16 Look at the website of the Laxcaux Caves: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/ Find a picture that resembles the one Tao is painting. Copy it as your answer to this question. Answer: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/img/2g201.jpg

Chapter 17 Wow! What a chapter! What was your reaction? Tense? Surprised? You predicted it? Write a paragraph describing your reaction. Answers:

Chapter 18 Why does Tao feel he needs to go to the Mountain People?

Extra Credit Write a narrative describing what happens next. Make sure your plot has a conflict, a climax, and a resolution. You can introduce new characters if you want.