JOURNAL PROMPTS for CRACKED

 

– If you were Bull, how would you have handled your abusive grandfather? Why would you do it like that?

 

– If you were Victor, how would you have handled your clueless parents? Why would you do it like that?

 

– Pretend you are Bull’s best friend and write him a letter of advice.

 

– Pretend you are Victor’s best friend and write him a letter of advice.

 

– Write a free verse poem about the book…one of or both of the characters…feelings you felt while reading the book…reactions you had basically, anything goes in free verse.

 

– If you could change anything from the book what would you change? Why would you change it? How would you change it?

 

– Write a news article that might have appeared in Bull and Victor’s hometown newspaper about the effects of bullying and cruelty. Be sure to include as much information from the book as you can.

 

– Do you think of yourself as weak? Why or why not?

 

– Draw and label a group portrait of your favorite characters from the book. Make sure the labels reflect facts or parts found in the book.

 

– Write about a time when you bullied someone. How did it make you feel? How do you think you made the other person feel? How do you know this?

 

– Write about a time when you stood up for something or someone you believed in. How did it make you feel? Would you do it again? Why or why not?

 

– Make a compare/contrast chart or Venn diagram comparing/contrasting the characters of Bull and Victor.

 

– Write about your favorite part of the book. Explain the part in detail and then explain why it’s your favorite part.

 

– Using sketches, drawings or words, create a collage of images and words to represent the main idea of your book OR one of the characters.

 

– Choose a scene from the book and rewrite it as a play. Use the book to get the dialogue right.

 

– Bull and Victor’s feelings changed throughout a book, especially when they faced challenges. Make a chart to show how either Bull OR Victor changed their feelings from the beginning, to the middle, and then finally in the end of the book. Be sure to explain why the change happened each time.

 

– Write a letter from either Bull or Victor to yourself as if you are friends. The letter can ask for advice or tell about a problem or experience.

 

– Authors often use vivid (colorful; brilliant; distinct; heard, seen or felt as real) words to turn an ordinary description into a more interesting one. For example, a writer might say a character was “choking back tears” instead of just saying they were “sad.” Return to a part in your book where the author uses a lot of details to describe a person, place, or event. Make a list of the words/phrases the author uses to make the story more interesting (vivid language).

 

– A story’s plot is the central problem or idea that the story is based on. The subplot is made up of smaller events within the story that help move the plot forward and may help solve the problem. Write several sentences describing the plot and subplot of your book.