A Helping Hand
Monday:
Looking at the title of the story and image on the first page, what do you think the story might be about? A ball going far over the fence and over the fence was a big giant bull.
Share experiences about being really scared. How did you feel? How did your body react to being
really frightened? I felt really nervous running past a big dog and it was my neighbor's dog and this happened last year.
A HELPING HAND - what clues are there in this title?
Brainstorm possible characters and story problems.
A softball ball, A enormous bull,Paddock,Michelle,Karl,Sarah,Mum,Kevin.
What were Karl and Sarah looking at? Why do you think they were looking at this so closely?
Karl and Sarah was standing by the fence looking at the biggest bull.
What does the writer mean when it says “when she connected with the ball”?
It means that the person that was connecting with the ball it means that she is really good at playing softball.
What language feature is “CRACK? See if you can find any more in the story?
The language CRACK! is when Sarah hitted the ball and it made a sound of CRACK!!
What did Michelle have to get? How do you think she was feeling about having to get this? How would you feel?
Michelle had to go and get the ball that is in the Paddock with the ball. Michelle was feeling so terrified ,nervous and also scared.
There is plenty of conversation in the story - how do we know this?
Because there was a lot of speech marks in the story and that means there was a lot of speaking.
What does the word ‘uncertain’ mean? Find the definition and put the word into a sentence of your own.
Example Certain means you are 100% sure but uncertain means you are not sure of anything.
Predict what you think will happen next in the story, what is your reasoning for this?
When Michelle gets the ball in the paddock she grabs the ball and the bull chases her and she dies.
Summarise what has happened in the story so far.
Who are the characters we have been introduced to? State one fact/ or piece of information about each character. Mum,Karl,Sarah,Kevin,Mitchell, the Turners.Mum,Karl,Sarah,Kevin,Mitchell, the Turners.
Why was Michelle’s heart banging so hard against her ribs, can you tell me an example/ time in your life when you have felt the same? Where, were you? Why did you feel this way? how did you deal with it?
Michelle’s heart was banging so hard against her ribs because she thought it would burst right through.
The time of my life I was scared was when this strange was chasing after me while I was going for a walk. Up the Mountain.
I was afraid I might get bitten by that strange dog.
What does Michelle mean when she says “snail pace would be safest”?
So the snail pace can make her safe so the bull will not eat her.
The terms - “fear began to ooze out of my skin” What does the writer mean by this? The writer means the smell of the hung in the air.
What language feature is “It felt like an earthquake shaking the ground”? Write your own sentence of a comparison such as this.
As I ran across the road a big tank was riding and It felt like it was going a earthquake.
Michelle, merely escaped the altercation with the bull, how do you think she felt after she had made it out? Use examples from the text to back up your quote.
She felt afraid and freaked out like her heart was pumping
What do you suggest Michelle do now to get over the gate from the other side?
Climb over the fence or someone can help her over
What has the author done to try and make this a good story?”
Linda Dawley tryed and make the story good so when other people read the book they can be interesting.
What do YOU think of this story ? Give it a rating out of 10 and say why?
10/10 because I think the story was interesting because I was so afraid when Mitchell was going to die by the bull.
KNOWLEDGE - What are the facts
Make a list (or draw pictures with labels) of the characters in the story.
Write down words from the story that tell you something about them.
Mitchelle because people tease her with her short legs.
COMPREHENSION - Show that you understand the story
What did Karl mean when he said “That’s your question answered” ?
He Meant that who was going to help her over the gate from the other side.
Choose 3 words from the story that are new, difficult, or interesting to you.
Write a sentence for each one showing that you understand what it means.
Rustled,Pawed,Chomped,Foothold.
Make a sign to go on the gate to the bull paddock, warning people about
the behavior of this bull?
Your sign should have words and pictures to get attention.
Write a poem or a rap song about Michelle’s time in the bull paddock.
I walking down the farm I saw a bull it was chasing after and I died but then I came back alive.
ANALYSIS - Windows into the story 
Give a reason why you think this is the most important event.
SYNTHESIS - Coming up with new ideas
Design something that you could wear into the bull paddock to protect
you from the bull OR some sort of invention that could get the ball back
without having to go in the paddock at all.
Label your drawings or write descriptions to explain your interesting ideas
EVALUATION - Sorting out the good from the bad
Make a list of the good things (Yellow Hat thinking) and the bad things
(Black Hat thinking) about being brave and taking dangerous risks.
