Numbering all the Bones Discussion Guide
- Grades: 6–8
About this book
1 What does Miz Gertrude accuse Zeke of stealing? Why does Eulinda believe Zeke is really sold?
2 What is Eulinda doing the day she first sees the prison? Describe what happens when Captain Wirz finds her.
3 List two things that Eulinda does to help Janie.
4 Why doesn't Neddy come home from the prison? How does seeing Mr. Hampton cry help Eulinda to realize he is no longer in charge?
5 Compare Eulinda's first encounters with Captain Wirz and Mr. Griffin. Why isn't she afraid of Mr. Griffin?
6 Why does Mr. Hampton show Eulinda the clock? Whose life do you think he is afraid "may be broken?"
7 Explain why Eulinda chooses not to go with Janie. Do you think she made the right decision? Why or why not?
8 Compare the way Eulinda feels about Mistis at the beginning and the end of the book. What evidence can you find that her opinion has changed?
9 When Mistis makes Eulinda move out of the house and into the quarters, how does it change Eulinda's view of Mr. Hampton? How does it change her view of where she belongs in Pond Bluff?
10 How does Eulinda know that Neddy is dead? How would the story be different if he came back to Pond Bluff after Lincoln's "Great Measure" came to pass?
11 Why does Eulinda decide to give Clara Barton thte ring? Would you have made the same decision? How do you think she dealt looking at the ring in the pawnshop window?
12 Explain how Janie and Clara Barton changed Eulinda's idea about women's possibilities and roles. How does meeting these two women affect Eulinda's ideas about herself?
13 Throughout the story, Eulinda is trying to figure out how to "make [her]self come true." Select two things that she does to achieve her dream and explain how they are important steps.
14 At the end of the book, Ann Rinaldi explains that many of the people and places in the book were real. Does this change what you think of the story? Why do you think she chose to write a fictional story instead of a non-fiction book or textbook?
Note: The following questions are keyed to Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge: 1-3; Comprehension: 4-5; Application 6-7; Analysis 8-10; Synthesis; 11-12; Evaluation 13,14.
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