Author and Book
us your ideas!
- A Long
Way From Chicago
- Biplanes, Chicago, the Great
- Joey and his sister, Mary
Alice visit their Grandma Dowdel
every year during their summer
vacation. They live in the big
city of Chicago, while Grandma
lives in a small Illinois town.
We learn about small-town life
during the Depression. There are
seven short stories for the years
1929 through 1942. Grandma's life
is different to say the least!
Her town has many interesting
characters. The story is told by
Joe as an adult as he reminisces
about those summer trips.
Grandma's life makes for fun
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book? We'll add your email or web
page link here.
- Richard Peck has written over twenty books including:
Strays Like Us, The Great Interactive Dream Machine,
Lost in Cyberspace, Father Figure, The Ghost Belonged to
Me , Ghost I Have Been, Blossom Culp and the Sleep of
Death, The Last Safe Place on Earth, and Voices
- Cool Classroom
- Summer Vacation. See how people used to spend
their vacations at "Wayback". Explore the "Road Trips"
page to see how other people have spent their summer
vacations. Write about something funny that happened on
your summer vacation. Compare your experience with
- Biplanes. Joey got the chance to ride in a
biplane. Choose a picture of a plane from the Internet.
Write about the things you might see if you were flying
over your town in this plane.
- Cities vs. Small Towns. Compare and contrast
life in the city and country. Where do you live? Would
you rather live in Chicago or a small town in Illinois.
- Grandma. The children spend summers with their
grandmother. Read about Grandmothers. Write your own
parent or grandparent poem. Read about Grandma Annie
O'Neill. Write a story about an older person who is doing
- Depression. The first few stories took place
during the Depression. How did the Depression affect the
- WebQuest &
Lesson Plan Connections
- Webquest--Parental Decisions (Grade 6) by M.
- This activity is based on the book: A Long Way
From Chicago by R. Peck.
- Book Discussion Guide: A Long Way From
Chicago by R. Peck
- from Talk It Up! at Multnomah County
- Boom or Bust: Summers with Grandma (Grades
6-10) by D. Freeman & T. Hansen
- This study of the Great Depression uses the book:
A Long Way From Chicago.
- What Was So Great About the Great Depression?
(Grades 6-10) by D. Freeman & T. Hansen
- This is a lesson plan for learning about the Great
- Developing Historical Perspective by L.L.
- Here is a unit plan on A Long Way From
- TeacherVeiw: A Long Way From Chicago by K.
Smith from Houghton Mifflin Company
- This teacher review provides a summary and
suggestions for analysis and writing activities.
- Created by Annette
Lamb, 10/99. Updated by
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