November: Historical
The House of Dies Drear
Activity #1: (ART) Design an architectural plan of the Dies Drear House
complete with secret passageways and tunnels. Label the entire plan and
be sure to identify the points of highest action from the novel.
Activity #2: (RESEARCH) Research in groups of three to four the Underground
Railroad and how effective it proved to be. What were some of the problems
related to this brave endeavor? How does the Underground Railroad relate
to other historical instances of people joining together to flea oppression?
Activity #3: (COMPARE/CONTRAST) The character known as Pluto appeared
extremely evil to Thomas throughout most of the story. At the close of the
book, Thomas saw that Pluto had a definite good side to his nature. Think
of other antagonists you have read about who grew and changed throughout
a piece of literature and turned out less evil than you thought. Compare
these characters to Pluto - physically and emotionally. Rank the antagonists
on a ladder graphic with illustrations. Debate your rankings with your classmates.
The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton was published in
1968 by Simon and Schuster, Inc., NY NY.
For information on the author VIRGINIA
HAMILTON. | 
