• What feelings may have made Genny’s mother talk “a mile a minute”? (p. 13)
• Why do you think Kim stays in her bedroom drawing so much of the time?
• What is Mr. Parker’s hobby? What can you infer or conclude about what this hobby means to him?
• How do you think Larry feels when he first sat down in the living room? What evidence supports your response? (p. 23)

• Why do you think Genny said the falling leaf had to mean ‘good luck’?
• Who are Mac’s ‘boys’? (p.21) What can you tell about them from the way Mac talks about them?
• What do you think Kim’s signs mean? (p. 35) Why do you think she chose this way of expressing her feelings?
• Why does Genny get so angry at Larry? Do you think her anger is fair? Why or why not?
• What does Genny learn from Mr. Parker?

• How do Genny’s emotions change throughout the story? Give specific examples to support your response.
• How does Kim express her feelings in the story?
• Describe Genny’s relationship with Mr. Parker. How is it important to each of them?
• How does Mrs. James show her feelings about each of her children?
• Evaluate Mr. and Mrs. James’s solution to their differences. What are some changes that will happen because of the decision? Which of those changes are positive, and which are negative, and why?

• Mr. Parker suggests to Genny that you can’t see a question, only feel it “hanging in the air.” (p 14) Explain what you think this comment means.
• Genny remembers an earlier family party that happened when she turned eight. How were Genny’s feelings about her family different at the two parties?
• What did Genny expect her brother to be able to do when he returned? Why do you think she felt this way? Did things turn out the way she expected? Explain your answer.
• Explain what Mr. Parker meant by the comment, “I don’t think we’re really talking about this lamp. Are we?” (p. 54)

• Why is everyone’s laughter “close to tears” when Larry comes home? (p. 22) Describe a time when you felt like laughing and crying at the same time.
• Have you ever experienced a family member being away from home for an extended period of time? Explain the situation, and describe how you felt when the person was away and when the person came home.
• Genny speaks about the “shape” of families that she knows. Describe some of the “shapes” of families you know. How are they similar to or different from your family “shape”?
• Which member of the James family did you feel was most like you? Explain how you are similar to the character you chose.

1. Complete a Literature Web about the book. Fill in your responses to each of the bubbles using the questions as a guide. Link to the Literature Web.

2. Write a book review on the novel. In your review, state and explain your point of view about the quality of the novel and provide specific details about why you would or would not recommend this book to other students your age. Use the Hamburger Model as a guide, and follow the steps of the writing process to review and revise. Link to the Hamburger Model.

3. Create a concept map about one of how one of these ideas is expressed in the novel: anticipation, excitement, homecoming, loss, breakup, mending, change. Use the characters and events from the novel to demonstrate how the concept is developed. Then write at least two generalizations you can make about the concept. A sample concept map is started for you below.

4. Choose one of the following quotes from the story and use it as the first line or the last line of a story of your own. Make sure that your story includes characters and events that help to show what the quote means.
“Something’s hanging in the air”
“A little bending never hurt nothing”

5. This story focuses on many different feelings in the characters. Choose one of the words below about feelings from the story and use a Vocabulary Web and a dictionary to help you find out more about the word. Then make a list of feeling words that are similar to the word you chose, and create a poster to show how the feelings you listed are similar and different. For example, you might choose to make a collage of magazine pictures and quotes that demonstrate excitement, happiness, and anticipation.

WORDS ABOUT FEELINGS
- Excitement
- Anger
- Loneliness
- Broken
- Comfort
- Hurt
- Understanding

6. Conduct a survey in your classroom to determine the different types of family “shapes” of your classmates. Design a chart, graph, or other format to report your findings. As an extension, visit the U.S. Census Bureau web site at www.census.gov to find out more about types and number of families across your state and across the country. Make notes of five interesting pieces of information you find, and write a paragraph explaining how they relate to your class survey.

7. Read another book that explores family matters as a major theme. Some suggested books are listed in the resources section. Make a chart or Venn diagram to compare the book to Talk about a Family. Some of the categories you might include on your chart or diagram are listed below:

Names and descriptions of major characters in family
Names and descriptions of other major characters
“Shape” of family
Major themes or ideas explored in the book
Role of the main character in the story
Problems faced by the family in the story
Resolution to problem/conclusion to story

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