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Title - "The Well" by Mildred Taylor
By - Kelly
Primary Subject - Language Arts
Secondary Subjects - Social Studies
Grade Level - 4
The Well -- Discussion Questions
Name: __________________
pp. 9-21
1. Who is telling the story? _________________________________________________
2. What do you think the setting of the story is (place and time)? __________________
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3. What evidence is there of the setting? ______________________________________
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3. Who is Hammer? _______________________________________________________
4. How does Hammer feel about Ed-Rose and Charlie getting water from the well?
________________________________________________________________________
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5. What is evidence of this? ________________________________________________
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6. Why is Ma is so insistent that Hammer get back inside the house?
________________________________________________________________________
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6. Why do you think Ma Rachel has so much anger toward white people? ___________
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7. What trouble do you think there will be if the Simmses come back onto the Logan's
land to get water from the well? _____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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8. Who are Halton, Mitchell, and Kevin? ______________________________________
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9. Describe what you imagine the Natchez Trace to be like. ______________________
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10. Why does Charlie Simms think the Logans are "uppity"? _____________________
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11. What threat does Charlie make to the Simms' well? ________________________
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12. Why was John Henry Berry worried about staying friends with Hammer? _________
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pp. 28-39
13. How would you describe David Logan's character? ___________________________
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14. Site an example from the text that shows evidence of that. ___________________
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15. Describe Mama's character. _____________________________________________
16. Site an example from the text that shows evidence of that. ____________________
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17. What do you think Mama was doing when she "closed her eyes and her lips
moved,
but no sound came out"? ____________________________________________
18. Why were Tom Bee, Joe McCalister and David all puzzled by Mama's behavior
before the sheriff came? __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
The Well -- Discussion Questions pp. 39-47
Name: __________________
19. How are the stories between the Simms boys and the Logan boys different?
________________________________________________________________________
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20. Why does the sheriff feel he needs to take the Simms' word over the Logan's?
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21. Make a prediction about what you think will happen now that the Simms boys and
their father, Old Man McCalister Simms, have arrived on the Logan's land.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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pp. 47-56
22. Why does Mama ask where Ma Rachel is when the sheriff calls Mama over to talk
to Old Man McCalister Simms? _____________________________________________
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23. Why do you think Charlie lied about both David and Hammer hitting him?
________________________________________________________________________
24. Why is it so important to Old Man McCalister Simms that the Logan boys get
whipped? _______________________________________________________________
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25. How would you describe Hammer's character? ______________________________
26. What is evidence of this character trait in Hammer? __________________________
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pp. 57-66
27. What does Hammer do that shows he really does care about his family? ________
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28. Why do you think the importance of the molasses bread is? ___________________
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29. What do we learn about Ma Rachel in this part of the story? ___________________
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30. Why do you think Ma Rachel's Mama refused to call Ma Rachel "Pansy" and
continued to take the whipping? _____________________________________________
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31. Why doesn't George Melbourne laugh along with Ed-Rose, Charlie, and
Dewberry when Hammer is being taunted? ___________________________________
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32. Why do you think Hammer pulled the skunk out of the sack? What do you think he
will do with it? __________________________________________________________
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pp. 66-74
33. Why did Joe McCalister spend so much time at the Simms' place? _____________
________________________________________________________________________
34. What does David and Hammer's father mean when he says they need to learn to
use their heads and not their fists?___________________________________________
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The Well -- Discussion Questions pp. 74 - 82
Name: __________________
35. What character traits does Paul-Edward Logan possess? _____________________
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36. What evidence is there of this? ___________________________________________
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37. Why do you think Charlie Simms never told his father that Hammer knocked him
down again after Paul-Edward left for the Natchez Trace? ________________________
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pp. 82-92
38. How did Old Man McCalister Simms know that Joe wasn't lying about Charlie and
Ed-Rose hunting expedition the night before? __________________________________
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39. Why was Old Man McCalister so angry with his boys for poisoning the well?
________________________________________________________________________
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40. Did you like this story? _________________________________________________
41. Why or why not? ______________________________________________________
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42. If you could change anything about this story, what would you change? If not, why?
________________________________________________________________________
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