No Such Thing as Dragons Novel Study

Group Novel Study March/ April 2014

No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve

A. Read the following pages each week.  Please resist the temptation to read ahead. We will be doing some predicting and inferring during our class discussions.  Questions should be answered based only on what has been read up to that point in time.

Novel	Week One Mar 17 –21		Week Two Mar 24 –28	Week Three Mar 31 – Apr 4	Week Four Apr 7 - 11
The Jacket		Pg 1-25	Pg 25 - 43-	Pg 44 - 70	Pg 71-89
Tiger Rising		Pg 1-25	Pg 26 – 55	Pg 56 – 86	Pg 87 - 116
The White Giraffe		Pg 1 - 45	Pg 46 – 86	Pg 87 – 134	Pg 135 -181
The Witches		Pg 1 – 49	Pg 50 – 102	Pg 103– 153	Pg 154 - 208
No Such Thing as Dragons		Pg 1 – 49	Pg 50 – 93	Pg 94 – 146	Pg 147 - 186

Spelling list words

Week One – List 20 nouns	Week Two –  List 21 verbs	Week Three – List 22 adjectives	Week Four- List 23 adverbs
1.       summit	1.       urging	1.  bony	1.  slowly
2.       apprentices	2.  clutched	2.  brownish	2.  groggily
3.       flagon	3.  scarred	3.  icy	3.  cautiously
4.       tunic	4.  crouched	4.  terrible	4.  exultantly
5.       souvenir	5.  flinched	5.  hazy	5.  immediately
6.       halberds	6.  scared	6.  merciless	6.  seemingly
7.       glaciers	7.  clattering	7.  narrow	7.  carefully
8.       chisels	8.  bury	8.  weary	8.  angrily
9.       emblems	9.  jostling	9.  spiny	9.  suddenly
10.   cathedral	10.  veered	10.  delicate	10.  easily
11.   dusk	11.  seized	11.  shrill	11.  nervously
12.   wagers	12.  panicked	12. fiery	12.  terrifyingly

B. Spelling Counts – earn forty points per week by doing the spelling activities

C. Summarize each week’s reading in your own words.  Include all important events. Leave out minor details.

D. In your language notebook answer the questions.  Include the page number when giving evidence from the text.  

Week One Mar 17 –21

Week Two Mar 24 –28

Week Three Mar 31 – Apr 4

Week Four Apr 7 - 11

Questions

1,2,3,4

5,6,7

8,9, 10

11, 12,13

1. Ansel has seen evidence that dragons exist. How does Brock explain the “evidence” away?

2. Create a “Wanted Poster” for a dragon hunter.

3. How does the fact that Ansel is mute make him an ideal travelling companion for Brock?

4. Philip Reeve writes, “There is the dragon and there is the fear of the dragon” on page 27. At this point in the novel, do you think that Brock and Ansel will encounter a real dragon?

5. How is Else’s experience like that of a fairytale character? How is it different?

6. Make a plan for capturing or defeating the dragon based on what the characters have with them and know about the situation.

7. Compare this “dragon” to others that you have read about or seen in movies.  At the beginning of page 103 Brock says, “I’m not sure any more that it is a dragon”. Do you agree or disagree?

8. How does the author use repetition and italics for emphasis?  Give examples.

9. What made Ansel feel empathy for the dragon?

10. What is the setting of this novel? Think about both the time and the place. Use evidence from the text and do some research to support your ideas.

11. Draw and colour a picture of the dragon and label it using evidence from the text.

12. How does Brock’s pride lead to his downfall?

13. Were you satisfied with the ending of the story? What do you think will happen to the dragon, Brock, Ansel and Else after the last chapter?