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Title |
Author |
Grade
level |
"Pictures of Hollis Woods" |
Patricia
Reilly Giff |
4th to 5th grade |
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Summary of the story : |
Plot
Summary:
Hollis
is an independent, artistic young girl who struggles with
her life as a foster child. Placed with Josie, an older
woman who is also artistically-minded, Hollis flourishes,
but Josie’s forgetfulness is becoming increasingly apparent
and Hollis knows that once Social Services realizes she’ll
be sent away and Josie placed in a nursing home. As
Christmas approaches, Hollis and Josie seek refuge in the
summer home of Hollis’ estranged former foster family, the
Regans, where the brutal winter weather of upstate New York
threatens their survival. Fortunately, help arrives in the
form of a snowmobile-borne Santa who is able to reunite
Hollis with the Regans and allow Josie to move in with her
close friend Beatrice. Hollis is finally able to stop
running and settle down with a family that loves and accepts
her for who she is.
Major
Characters:
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Hollis Woods, spunky 12-year-old, artist and foster
child
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Josie Cahill, former art teacher and Hollis’ current
foster parent,
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Henry, Josie’s cat
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Beatrice Gilcrest, Josie’s cousin and best friend
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Old
Man Regan, Hollis’ last foster father
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Izzy
Regan, Hollis’ last foster mother
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Steven Regan, Hollis’ last foster brother
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Possible Design Challenges: |
Page
Number |
Engineering Concept |
Activity Ideas |
4 |
Hollis
wants a home to live in – sturdy structure
(Goes
along with winterizing a house
p.116-117) |
Using
craft materials or LEGOS, build a home for Hollis so
that she will have a safe place to live and make her
own.
How can
a sturdy home or building stabilize someone’s life?
Is the structure of a home enough? What other things
in a home besides the structure can make someone
happy and feel “at home”? Do the features of a
sturdy building relate at all to the features of a
stable life for someone? (Strong foundation,
support beams, protection from the elements,
sustainable and strong materials, location/
placement of a building, circumstances while
building a structure)
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23-25,
many parts throughout the book |
Water
in all its forms plays an important role in the
novel – Josie’s Ocean, Hollis’ river, snow in the
winter
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Study
of water and its different forms. Water cycle; ocean
– ecosystems within ocean, tide pools; rivers – fish
habitats – Steven’s interest in animals and fish he
finds in the river
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27
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The
engineering of a fishing rod. A big moment for
Hollis as she becomes a part of the Regan family is
when she catches the fish they have for dinner |
How is
a fishing rod designed? What are the different
aspects of a fishing rod? What is the purpose of all
the different aspects?
Design
challenge 1: Build a fishing rod – use a magnet
bottom. Then market and advertise fishing rod
Design
challenge 2: Make a movie about the history of
fishing and why it is so important. How was the
fishing rod developed over time? |
31 |
“Josie
forgot things, forgot words, forgot what she was
doing. Not all the time, but still too often.” |
Alzheimer’s disease – How can engineering help the
medical world? What tools and medicine have
engineers discovered to help develop medical
diagnosis and treatment?
How
could you make a tool that could help Josie remember
things better? What would the tool do and how would
it help her?
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44-46
148 |
Hollis’
gift to draw. To make things look exactly as they
appear in real life. “the language [she] speaks on
paper”
“Drawing is a language. You have to learn to speak
it.” |
Discussion of 2D objects vs. 3D objects – something
engineers deal with often – engineering design
process - planning/building a prototype.
Civil
engineers and architects use drawings to represent
3D structures accurately in 2D to plan and design
buildings.
Design
Challenge: How can you draw something to look more
realistic? Shading, perspective, etc. Draw something
in room accurately to make it look 3D. |
116-117 |
The
cabin is winterized so that Hollis and Josie can
live there during the winter.
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CEEO
Materials Curriculum – what materials are needed to
build houses for people in different climates
(especially cold climates)? Build and design a cabin
for Josie and Hollis to escape to that will protect
them from the harsh, wet snow, cold, and wind.
(Furnace, insulation, fireplace, window coverings,
etc.)
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119-125 |
Hollis
climbs the mountain – symbolic of her life and
goals.
Steven
comes to rescue her and the truck crashes off the
road
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How
could this situation have run better or be designed
better? What could you build on the hill so that it
either would have been easier to climb so that
Hollis wouldn’t have fallen while she was climbing
up the hill or that the car wouldn’t have fallen off
the road? Safety construction – engineers must test
safety features and build things to be safe. What
are examples of safety features on products or
buildings?
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150 |
Snowmobile Santa Claus |
How
does a snowmobile work? What are different methods
of transportation that have been invented for winter
weather and cold, snowy climates? How do these
methods of transportation differ from transportation
methods/ machines in warmer climates? How does
having transportation for all types of weather
affect us and how we operate as a society.
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154 |
4 hours
to the nearest phone when Josie and Hollis are in
the cabin |
Evolution of technology over time. How have we, as a
society, become so dependent on instant technology –
cell phones, blackberries, Internet access, skype?
Is this dependence on technology good or bad?
Discuss some advantages and disadvantages in Josie
and Hollis’ situation.
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