Dorian Cirrone: Author of Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You, Prom Kings and Drama Queens, and the Lindy Blues mysteries

Teacher’s Guide to The Big Scoop
Created by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Pre-reading:

Have you ever lost something or had it disappear? What did you do?

Can you tell time? How do you know what time of day it is without a clock? Can animals do this too? What about plants?

Discussion Questions:

Chapter One
  1. Who is one of Lindy’s best news sources? What does this mean? What qualities do you think would make a great new source?
  2. Why must Lindy go to school on a teacher work day? What types of clothes does she like to wear when she works on LBN? Why?
Chapter Two
  1. What does she mean when she says, “If sentences were ice-cream cones, that one would be a triple dipper…” (p. 12) What is Joshua talking about?
  2. What’s missing? What do you think happened to it? Will magic be involved? What makes you think so or not?
Chapter Three
  1. Recount Amy’s version of the events.
  2. How does Lindy rule out Joshua? Do you think she’s correct to do this? Why?
Chapter Four
  1. Why doesn’t Lindy suspect Mr. Hoop? Would you?
  2. What does Amy think was in place of the shop? Why do you think, this might be important?
Chapter Five
  1. What kind of garden is Ms. Blanco creating? Did you learn anything new in this chapter? What was it? Do we often learn as much from fiction as non-fiction?
  2. How do people act differently on camera? Do you?
Chapter Six
  1. Is Amy lying about the disappearance? How does Lindy know she’s not?
  2. Why do they think Mr. Hoop is now involved in the mystery? Do you agree?
Chapter Seven
  1. What does she mean by “sleight-of-hand?” What kind of people use this technique?
  2. How does Lindy know Mr. Hoop isn’t a magician?
Chapter Eight
  1. Where does Lindy visit? Why ? What does she learn?
  2. Where else does Lindy look for clues? Where would you look?
Chapter Nine
  1. How does Lindy review the facts? Do you see any more clues she might be missing?
  2. How do you think the two stories are related?
Chapter Ten
  1. How did Lindy solve the case?
  2. What is a landmark that you use in your own neighborhood?

 

Projects:

Language Arts:

“If sentences were ice-cream cones, that one would be a triple dipper…” (p. 12)

Create your own comparisons about the following things:

  • a thunderstorm
  • a tiny puppy
  • something furry
  • a loud outfit
  • a long song, etc.

Lindy has to make sure that she can distinguish between a fact and opinion. What’s the difference between these two things? Write ten statements. Five of them should be facts, five of them opinions (mix them up) and then trade with a partner. Can you recognize which is which? Discuss your results.

Art:

Design your own garden using graph paper and pictures of flowers from magazines or nursery catalogs (you can sketch the plants if you prefer and color them). What theme will you decide on? Will it have a particular color story? Will the plants be perennials (which come back year after year) or annuals?

Math/Logic:

Create a map of your neighborhood from a bird’s eye view. What landmarks did you include? Be sure to label neighbor’s houses, stores, street names, and anything that is important to you and your friends.

Science/ Art:

Create a sun and moon from construction paper (or paint your own). Then, find pictures of animals that are nocturnal and diurnal (during the day). To further the project, choose an animal and create a piece of art that incorporates what you learned with a portrait of the animal.

 

This guide was created by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer,
a reading specialist and children’s author.
Visit her website to find dozens of other guides.