The Runaways - Elements
Setting
Have students create a map (flat or 3-dimensional) of:
* - Andersonville
* - the location of the McIntyre mansion
* - the interior of the McIntyre mansion
Use reference books (eg. atlas, encyclopedia, geography text) as well as the clues in the novel, (eg. climate, animals, types of trees) and decide where Andersonville might be located.
Create a shadow box or diorama (cardboard boxes with one of the sides cut away work very well for this) of one of the scenes from the story.
Discuss how the story might have been different if it had taken place somewhere else (eg. Florida where the winters aren't cold).
Visit a soup kitchen or shelter in your town/city, and lend a hand.
Get involved with a local organization providing food hampers or other necessities to the poor. (This is especially appreciated at Christmastime.)
Find out about the things being done to help the poor in your community. (eg. soup kitchens, shelters, breakfast and lunch programs, medical services, winter watch)
Character
Create files for the characters (eg. for police records, Who's Who entries, personnel files) with pictures from magazines; include character traits, mannerisms, history, etc. Make the file appropriate for its purpose (eg. a missing person file on Luther would contain different information than a school record on Nick or a personnel file on Nick's mother).
Write a new conversation between two of the characters (eg. Luther's telephone conversation with Ms Johnson; Nick telling his mother about Luther; Luther meeting Nick's mom for the first time). Remember what the characters are like and try to keep them acting like themselves.
Roll the clock forward and see what the characters are doing a year or 5 years later. Don't forget about Mac, Crystal and Julianna.
Dress up like the different characters and act out improvised situations drawn from hat (eg. Luther finding an expensive watch in a trash can; Nick's mother meeting Julianna in a public washroom).
Plot
Act out an important scene from the story.
Write Nick's report on the homeless or write an imaginary letter to the editor of the Andersonville newspaper responding to the series on Street People in Andersonville.
Make up a game (this can be modelled after a game that already exists so that everyone is familiar with the rules.) The entire class can make up question/penalty/ bonus cards appropriate to the events in the story) and then play! Or make up trivia questions (with answers). Pool all the questions and stick them onto 2"x4" tag rectangles. Divide the class into teams. The teacher can ask the questions/students answer.
Create a HUGE wall collage of items representing events from the story. This can include pictures, drawings, real items (where feasible), lettering, etc.
Make up a series of cards and write a single event from the story on each card. The cards can be used in a number of ways:
1. have a team of students select any 5 cards and arrange them in the order the events occurred in the novel
2. have a student select a single card and tell the cause of the event and the effect of the event.(eg. If the event on the card was Luther called Nick Mathew, the event that caused Luther to do that was Nick insisted on going down the stairs to the boathouse and the event it caused to happen next was the day was ruined, Luther closed up and Nick became more curious than ever).
Theme
Brainstorm for ideas (eg. What did each character learn by the end of the novel that he/she hadn't known at the beginning? What did the reader know at the end that he/she didn't know at the beginning?) Many questions/feelings should arise from this sort of discussion.
As a class, research poverty and homelessness in your area. How does it show itself? What's being done about it?
Why do people run away?
What makes a family?
Computer Activities
Use the Internet to find out what other readers have to say about the novel, The Runaways.
Email the author and tell her how you liked the book.
Make a list of the websites that are concerned with the problems of poverty, runaways, homelessness, etc.