Aunt Dorothy's Family

After reading Ch. 17, answer this:  Why is Aunt Dorothy's family important in the story?  As a part of your answer, discuss each family member's significance (importance).  Here are the family members:  Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Wilson, Cousin Jeff, the younger girls.  This will be a minimum of 10 sentences long.  Use examples from the book.

Favorite Character

Who is your favorite character in The Contender?  You must include evidence from the book in your essay.  Use this format:  TS, SD, Elab, SD, Elab, SD, Elab, Closer.

James's Future

What do you think James will do after the novel ends?  Discuss his future.  Responses must be at least 4-5 sentences long. Your response must be based on what has happened so far in the book and should include details to support your thinking.

Chapter 15 & 16 Summary - Contender

Write a 3 sentence summary for Chapter 15 and a 3 sentence summary for Chapter 16.  Post both together, but make sure they are labeled.

Alfred's Decision - Conversation with Donatelli

What is Alfred going to do?  Approaching the end of chapter 12, he's made some bad decisions and now he is going up to the gym to clean out his locker.  When he enters, he finds Mr. Donatelli sitting in his familiar spot, sitting in the same chair he always does.

Write a half-page conversation between Alfred and Mr. Donatelli that shows what Alfred is going to do next...Is he going to quit? Is he going to stick it out?  Make sure you use correct format and quotes.

Chapter 11 Summary

Write a Six-Sentence summary for chapter 11.

Chapter 9 Summary

Write a 4 sentence summary for Chapter Nine.

Chapter 7 summary

Write a seven sentence summary about chapter 7. Be sure to look at your past summaries to make sure you are including the most important information from the chapter!

The Contender - Ch. 6 Summary

Write a Six Sentence summary for Chapter 6.  Include the most important events in the chapter and write them in chronological order.  Here is an example from Chapter 5:

Chapter 5 begins with Alfred at the park running in the morning, training for boxing, when he’s stopped by police officers.  After they realize he’s not a criminal, they tease him and it takes his motivation away.  When he gets home, Aunt Pearl knows something is wrong and while asking Alfred questions, Alfred says “I’m gonna be somebody” but he’s clearly frustrated with his life.  When he gets to work, the Epstein’s call him into the office and question him about the burglary, but Alfred doesn’t say much, and the day goes on with Alfred’s trust lost.  James, now out of jail on probation, comes by the store, but ignores Alfred when he tries to talk to him.  Finally, Henry comes by the store and mentions how Mr. Donatelli was asking about Alfred, and this inspires Alfred to go to the gym that night.

Donatelli's Quotes

"I'm always here Alfred. I live here now."
"What makes you think you won't quit here too?"
"The climbing makes the man. Getting to the top is just the extra prize."
"Everybody wants to be a champion, that's not enough. You have to start by being a contender."
"It's not easy trying to be a contender. It's never fun in the beginning."
"Thousands of kids can do it, doesn't mean anything. The bag doesn't have any arms to hit you back."
"People will try to drag you down, laugh at you for wanting to be a fighter."
"If you quit before you really try, that's worse than never starting at all."

Alfred has many things that are "against" him in the book.  What are 3 things that are "against" Alfred in life?  Answer in this format:  TS, SD, Elab, SD, Elab, SD, Elab, Closer.

Trick or Treat!!

Should there be an age limit for trick or treating?  Answer in the following format:  TS, SD, Elab, SD, Elab, Closer