Lesson Plans > Morbid Curiosity
Writing or Discussion Topics:
- What is the one thing in the world that you want most? Come up with a plan to get what you want (by honest means, of course) and describe in detail all the steps you’ll have to take to achieve your goal. Make sure to include any obstacles you may encounter along the way as well as a way around those obstacles.
- Why do you think some people turn to things like magic and voodoo to get what they want, instead of working hard for it and getting it honestly?
- If your friend were talking about playing around with dark magic and working spells, what are three things you could say to convince him or her to leave magic alone?
- What is the worst thing you or someone that you know has ever done to achieve popularity? Do you think it was worth it?
- Does popularity last forever? Why or why not?
- What would you do if you found out your child was involved in black magic? How would you handle the situation? What advice would you give?
- Do you think Heather should really forgive Haley for poisoning her and treating her so badly? Why or why not?
Short answer questions (Higher order thinking):
- Were there signs or indications that Heather and Hailey shouldn’t trust Karla? If so, what were they? Yes, there were signs. What the students describe as signs will vary.
- Why is the prologue important to the story?
It explains how Caster got his start in magic and why he behaves the way he does.
- Why does Caster’s tattoo from Madame Toussant fit his personality?
The snake is so curious it’s eating its own tail and harming itself. Caster did the same by using Chaos magic to ease his curiosity, and that magic eventually killed him.
- Do you think that Caster’s tattoo of a serpent eating its own tail made him the person he was? Or did he receive that particular tattoo because he was already like the serpent eating its own tail? Explain your answer. Several answers are acceptable as long as the explanation is sufficient to be convincing.
- Do you think that if Haley and Heather still lived with both of their parents they would have turned to magic? Why or why not?
Several answers are acceptable as long as the explanation is sufficient to be convincing.
- When Madame put the tattoo on Caster, she said,” Tu vouloir chercher mais jamais voir!” which means “You want to look but never see!” What do you think she meant? Support your answer.
Several answers are acceptable as long as the explanation or support is sufficient to be convincing.
- Caster and Madame Toussant had different ideas of what Caster’s tattoo meant. Describe what each thought the tattoo symbolized, and which one you agree with. Support your answer.
Madame Toussant gave the tattoo as a punishment for Caster disobeying her and witnessing something he shouldn’t. To her the tattoo was a curse to make Caster’s curiosity even worse and to be sure he would meet his end as a result of his curiosity. Caster thought the tattoo symbolized the ultimate symbol of control - life creating itself, devouring itself, and re-creating itself. The students can agree with either one as long as their explanation is sufficient to be convincing.
- What’s the first thing Haley used her sigil to get?
She wanted PawPaw to let her and Heather go to Craft Fest alone.
- What kind of magic do you think Madame Toussant was using in the prologue? Give at least three reasons to support your answer.
She was probably using Chaos magic because she drew symbols, the people involved were performing extreme acts, and she cut off Caster’s father’s finger to apparently charge the sigil. Also, Chaos magic is what Caster used when he got older, which is probably because of his experiences with Madame Toussant.
- How do you think Karla will react when she hears of Caster’s death? Be sure to support your answer with examples of things she’s said or done in the book.
Several answers are acceptable as long as the explanation or support is sufficient to be convincing.
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Other Fun Activities:
- Create a newsletter describing the events in the book. You can even make up some events that you think would happen after the end of the story, such as an investigation into Caster’s death.
- Sum up the plot by drawing a comic strip about the story.
- Create a graphic organizer of the plot elements.
- Write an epilogue to the story.
- Write a dialogue between PawPaw and the twins after everything has died down and returned to normal. What do you think he would say about their involvement in magic? Try to write PawPaw’s lines using the dialect you saw in the story.
- Write a dialogue between Haley and Karla after the events in the barn. Include where and when you think this dialogue would take place.
- Create three jokes about magic or Caster that Caster’s creature would find funny.
- Write your own book or story about a topic of your choice.
- Create a drawing, painting or collage that sums up everything that happened in the book.
- Watch the trailer for Morbid Curiosity on Deborah’s website. Pretend you’re a critic and write an opinion article describing what you think of it. Do you think it does a good job describing the book? What, if anything, from the trailer doesn’t fit your perception of the book? What kinds of things would you include if you were to make your own trailer for Morbid Curiosity?
- Write a letter to Ms. LeBlanc and tell her what you think of her book and/or her presentation at your school. (She loves to hear from students and teachers!!)
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Vocabulary and Context Clues:
Combining vocabulary and grammatical elements with a piece of literature that students are reading for pleasure really helps build connections for them between reading, writing, and grammar. Dissecting the text in novels and short stories is a great way to teach those “boring” grammar lessons and writing skills. Below are just some examples of ways you can use this novel to bring grammar and English rules to life.
Find the meanings of the following words using context clues. Then compare and check your meaning with the dictionary definition:
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Literary Devices:
Literary devices can be found throughout the book; some of these devices as well as specific page numbers are given below. Find an example of the literary devices on the pages given as well as on other pages that you find on your own.
- Alliteration: pgs. 42, 94, 137, 146, 162, 171
- Metaphor: pgs. 96, 130, 138
- Hyperbole: pg. 135, 142
- Personification: pgs. 75, 125, 156, 161, 171
- Assonance: pg. 94, 141, 169
- Onomatopoeia: pgs. 97, 103, 111, 133, 134
- Simile: pgs. 82, 88, 114, 124, 127, 131
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Sentence structure:
Find 5 examples each of:
- simple sentences
- compound sentences
- complex sentences
- compound-complex sentences
Next to each example, explain how you know what type of sentence it is. Then, write your own example of a simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence. Make sure your sentences describe something in the novel.
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Verbs/ Adverbs/ Synonyms:
Many of the action words used in the novel are extremely descriptive and help the reader to bring up a mental picture of what he or she is reading. Find 10 of these verbs or adverbs that really bring the story to life, then list five just as descriptive synonyms.
Next, find ten rather boring verbs or adverbs and rewrite the sentences in which they’re used with a more descriptive synonym.
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Write Deborah LeBlanc:
Deborah LeBlanc
P.O. Box 92180
Lafayette, LA 70509
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