Teacher’s Guide
What the Parrot Told Alice
By Susan Glover
Copyright
2001 Deer Creek Publishing
Smashwords Edition
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What the Parrot Told Alice is a book of environmental fiction that gives students opportunities to learn about parrots, preserving the environment, and the rain forest in an easy-to-read, fantasy story form. Teachers who use this guide will find the following features to supplement their own valuable ideas:
• A summary of the
book
• A biographical sketch and photograph of the author
•
Vocabulary activities
• Comprehension and Discussion questions
with possible answers, by chapter
• Post reading activities
that include the study of literary elements – character study,
conflict, similes, metaphors and setting
• Class, partner, and
individual projects that connect the curriculum through reading,
writing, social studies, science, drama and art activities
•
Research ideas for non-fiction report writing
CONTENTS
Comprehension and Discussion Questions
Possible Answers to Comprehension Questions
“What the Parrot Told Alice is not only delightful–– it is inspired. So much information told in such an imaginative and utterly fascinating way.”
Dr. Jane Goodall
“We highly recommend this book for students in grades 4 to 12 and for adults as well. This book deals with important issues including habitat destruction, extinction and exploitation of wildlife. The underlying goal is to encourage readers to become involved in saving animals and the earth.”
United Federation of Teachers
“What the Parrot Told Alice is not your average children’s story, nor is it your average plea for environmental accountability. As entertaining as it is enlightening and educational, this is an extraordinarily imaginative and magical book.”
Chinaberry Books
“What the Parrot Told Alice proves to be much more than a children’s story. It is a message to anyone of any age about the importance of preserving life–– not just birds, but every living creature on the planet.”
Bird Talk Magazine
Chapter 1
IT WAS THIRTY YEARS
AGO TODAY
In 1966, Manao, a young Solomon Islander, fells the
biggest tree in the rain forest. The tribe magician causes Manao’s
spirit to inhabit the body of a parrot, where it must remain until he
communicates a message of conservation to a “special human being.”
Chapter 2
YOUR VOICE IN MY
HEAD
It’s 1996, and twelve-year-old Alice and her pet Eclectus
parrot, Bo–– in whose body is trapped the Solomon Island boy––
discover they can communicate.
Chapter 3
WHERE WERE YOU,
BEFORE YOU WERE HERE?
Alice learns to appreciate the rain forest
through Bo Parrot’s eyes.
Chapter 4
A THOUSAND MONKEYS
CLEARING THEIR THROATS
Bo Parrot recalls his capture on the day
the forest was razed.
Chapter 5
THE END OF THE WILD
WORLD
Bo Parrot’s smuggling ordeal is discussed over dinner.
Chapter 6
A CARGO OF SHAME
Kai, a Goffin’s cockatoo, tells Alice about his species’
darkest hour.
Chapter 7
PASSING BLUE
Alice
meets, Simon, the last wild Spix’s macaw, who explains the tragedy
of extinction.
Chapter 8
THE DANCE OF LIFE
Jocko, an African grey parrot, tells Alice what happened when his
jungle was converted to agricultural land.
Chapter 9
WHEN A RANCH IS NOT
A RANCH
Carmen, a “ranched” scarlet macaw, teaches Alice the
difference between wildlife conservation and wildlife exploitation.
Chapter 10
BORN IN THE U.S.A.
Captive-bred Joaquin, a blue-fronted Amazon, explains why he is
happy to be someone’s pet.
Chapter 11
THE MYSTERY OF THE
DISTANCE
A wild raven lures Bo Parrot to freedom. As Bo Parrot
leaves, he reminds Alice to listen to her heart.
Chapter 12
I ONCE HAD A
PARROT...
As Alice begins to read her story about Bo Parrot to
her class, a door at the back of the room opens, and a young boy
enters the room.
Postscript
THE MESSAGE AND THE
MESSENGER
The book’s author wonders if he is responsible for
the book’s content.
Glossary
Some not-so-common words and terms used in the story.
1. Make predictions from the title, cover, table of contents and illustrations. Check your predictions as you read.
2. As a class make a KWL chart (what you know, what you want to know, what you learned) or as individuals or pairs do a Five Minute Write. (Write in narrative form everything you know about parrots. After 5 minutes jot down questions or share ideas with a partner.) Look for answers to your questions as you read.
The author has included a glossary in the back of the book of "Not So Common Words". Using these words, complete the following activities:
1. Use your
dictionary or thesaurus to find the following items for each word.
a. phonetic pronunciation
b. a synonym and
antonym for each word
2. Make up sentences for each word, but leave the word out. Trade papers and have your partner fill in the blanks correctly.
3. Have small groups of students write short stories or skits using assigned vocabulary words. Share these stories with the rest of the class.
4. Create a crossword puzzle or word search using specific vocabulary words.
COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why was Manao called to talk with the magician? (Chapter 1)
2. What message must Manao deliver? (Chapter 1)
3. What animal was Manao turned into and how could he change from that animal? (Chapter 1)
4. Why, in the parrot’s mind, was the raven “the indisputable king of the local sky”? (Chapter 2)
5. How did Alice and the parrot communicate? (Chapter 2)
6. Why was Alice so special to Bo Parrot? (Chapter 2)
7. What caused the metallic sound that disrupted Bo’s family? (Chapter 4)
8. What happened to Bo’s family? (Chapter 4)
9. Why were so many parrots put into crates as they were taken from the rain forest? (Chapter 5)
10. Why did men cut down the rain forest in Tanimbar? (Chapter 6)
11. What happened to the Griffin’s cockatoos and why? (Chapter 6)
12. What could have helped in this situation? (Chapter 6)
13. What is special about the Spix’ macaw and what problems does it have? (Chapter 7)
14. How can people use “long-term thinking” to save animals from distinction? (Chapter 7)
15. What special skill does the Grey parrot have? (Chapter 8)
16. Why did people cut down the rain forests in West Africa? (Chapter 8)
17. Why is it up the children of today to change the way humans live on the earth? (Chapter 8)
18. Describe a parrot ranch. (Chapter 9)
19. How is poaching a problem with parrot ranches? (Chapter 9)
20. Name three other types of “ranches”. (Chapter 9)
21. Do you think wildlife ranching is “conservation” or “exploitation”? Why? (Chapter 9)
22. How did the smugglers get the parrots to the pet storeowners in the U.S.? (Chapter 10)
23. What is different about a “domestic parrot”? (Chapter 10)
24. What did Alice learn about the rain forest in school? (Chapter 11)
25. What can YOU do to make a difference for planet earth?
POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. He cut down the biggest tree in the forest
2. Message of balance and harmony that must exist between humans and the wild world
3. Parrot–– by passing the gift of awareness to a human being who will make a difference in the world
4. Intelligent, clever, seemed to know there was a future to prepare for–– buried walnuts to soften shells
5. Through thoughts–– mental communication
6. Alice was the human being he had waited for to deliver his message and be free
7. Tractors cutting down trees
8. Parents flew away–– sister fell from tree and died
9. More money for smugglers
10. Turn trees into chopsticks and souvenirs
11. All were drowned because there were too many in the U.S. and pet shops
12. Long term thinking–– realize that what you do now may have an effect on the distant future
13. Very rare–– becoming extinct–– worth a lot of money – problems are poachers and parrot lovers of rare birds
14. Support national habitat parks
15. Talent for imitating sounds
16. Use land to graze cattle
17. First recent generation to grow up with importance of respect for the earth and environment
18. Enhanced environment with food and artificial nesting sites
19. Native people sell poached parrots to ranches that have a ready market
20. Crocodiles, butterflies, elephants
21. Answers will vary
22. Truck, plane, rubber rafts
23. Hatched and hand-raised in an aviary
24. Animals, plants and how necessary rain forests are to the health of the planet, especially in cures for diseases
25. Answers will vary
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
Class,
partner and individual projects
Writing Connections
1. Describe a conflict between one of the parrots and humans and explain how it was resolved.
2. Write a summary of what you would include as another chapter in this book.
3. Write a persuasive letter to one of the organization listed in the back of the book convincing them to make more careful decisions about the rain forest in the future.
4. Write ten open-ended interview questions for Bo Parrot asking information you would like to know.
5. Write a newspaper article about one of the events of the book. Be sure to include the 5 "W’s and H" (who, what, where, when and how)
6. Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of turning from Manao into Bo Parrot.
7. Choose any person or animal in this book that does anything that ordinary people or animals cannot do. Fully explain your choice.
8. What things or occurrences happen in this book that would not happen in "real life"? Explain them fully.
9. If you were to meet one of the characters in this book what five questions would you ask? Make sure questions are open-ended – no simple yes or no answers.
10. Describe one problem or situation faced by a character in this book. Explain the situation and the outcome.
11. Using good descriptive language, describe the strangest or most unbelievable event in the story.
12. Make two columns on a piece of paper. Label them "Believable Parts", "Hard to Believe" and "Unbelievable Parts." Write details from the story under appropriate headings.
13. Explain the relationship between Alice and Bo Parrot by giving one or more examples from the book. (i.e. love, respect, admiration)
14. Would you have like Bo Parrot as a pet? Why or why not? What changes in your home and responsibilities would you need to make?
Art Connections
1. Find or draw a large outline map of the world. Locate and place the following characters from the book in their habitats. Draw these parrots from the author’s descriptions on the pages indicated.
a. Bo
Parrot–– Eclectus parrot–– Solomon Islands –pg. 24
b.
Kai - Goffin’s cockatoo–– Tanimbar –– pg. 53
c.
Simon–– Spix’ macaw–– Northeast Brazil–– pg. 61
d.
Jocko–– Grey parrot–– West Africa–– pg. 73
e.
Carmen–– Scarlet macaw–– Guatemala–– pg. 83
2. Create a mural of the rain forest. Include plants and animals from the story.
3. Design a Board Game that follows the story line of one or more of the main characters. Play the game with your friends.
4. Make a puppet or stuffed animal of a character from the book. Perform a puppet show from a scene in the book.
5. Design a poster to advertise a movie made from this book. Include pertinent information about the book.
6. Make a sculpture of a character from the book. Use clay, bee’s wax, soap, etc.
7. Design and color a scene of the rain forest with 10 items well hidden in your picture. Make a list of the hidden items on the back.
8. Go on a simile and metaphor hunt through the book. Choose several of them to illustrate.
Science Connections
1. Choose one species of parrot from the book (Eclectus parrot, Griffin’s cockatoo, Spix’ macaw, Grey parrot, Scarlet macaw and Amazon parrot). Research answers to the following topics.
a. Class
and/or species of the animal
b. Part of the world or
climate of habitat
c. Diet
d. Gestation period
for this species
e. Usual number of eggs hatched at one
time
f. Pet possibility? Why or why not?
g. Use
or harm to humans
h. What class and/or species of animals
does Bo Parrot belong? What characteristics does this class or
species have in common?
2. Choose any letter in the alphabet. Research and find the names of plants and animals in the rain forest that begin with that letter. Make as long a list as you can.
3. Research and draw a web of the earth’s ecosystem showing links between man, animals and plants
What the
Orangutan Told Alice
ISBN: 0-96514452-8-X
ISBN (eBook
edition) 978-1-935841-64-7
Book in progress
What the Tortoise Told Alice
CONTACT DALE SMITH OR DEER CREEK PUBLISHING
P.O. Box 2594
Nevada City, CA 95959
• Telephone: 530
913 1758
• Email: dalesmith@dale-smith.com
• Web site: www.deercreekpublishing.com
(coming soon)