educyberstor.com | The Weirdo Teacher Guide Sample, Page 1

Novel Units | Sample Pages | The Weirdo Teacher Guide Sample, Page 1

Summary

Set in the "Powhatan Swamp" region of North Carolina (modeled after the actual Great Dismal Swamp), this is the suspenseful story of two teenagers who stand up for what they believe in—even though it means risking personal danger and defying an entire town. Samantha Sanders is nine when she discovers the body of Alvin Howell at the edge of the swamp—and sixteen when she witnesses the dumping of another body from her hiding place in a tree stump. Sam befriends Chip—a young man disfigured in a fiery plane crash that claimed the lives of his mother and sister. Chip, the reclusive son of the spillwayman, has been tracking and tagging bears in the National Wildlife Refuge and hopes that his efforts will help extend a moratorium on bear hunting. Sam's father, like most men in town, is a hunter who resents government restrictions on his sport. Sam soon finds herself caught between her desire to help Chip with the study—and her reluctance to anger her father.

About the Author

Theodore Taylor has said that he doesn't have a tremendous imagination—he is just a reporter describing real life. He certainly has had some true life adventures. His own first swamp experience came when his father took him to the Great Dismal Swamp's Feeder Ditch at age 11. At age 13, he was already a newspaper reporter. He has also worked as a sailor, a movie producer, and a documentary photographer, and has traveled all over the world.

Taylor gives talks to schoolchildren, many of whom are most familiar with his 1987 Newbery Award winner, The Cay. Other writings by Taylor include: Timothy of the Cay, The Bomb, The Odyssey of Ben O'Neal, The Trouble with Tuck, Marian, Shoebag, Sniper, and Walking Up a Rainbow. He is currently on the faculty at Cal State, Sacramento.

Initiating Activities

Prediction: Have students examine the cover illustration and title, then flip through the maps on the first few pages of the book. Why might someone be called a "weirdo"? Where is this story going to be set? What kind of story will it be? What mood is struck by the cover picture? What do you imagine about the person shown? Based on other stories you may have read by Theodore Taylor, what do you expect from a tale by him?

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