1. The Houdini Box Unit 4 , Week 1 KristiGoggans

2. Genre – Historical Fiction Historical Fiction has characters and events based on real people and events in history.

3. VocabularyStrategy – Synonyms and Antonyms • Synonyms are words that mean almost the same thing. Example: Mad and Angry • Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. Example: Happy and Sad

4. Comprehension Skill – Compare and Contrast When you compare and contrast, you tell how two or more things are alike and different.

5. Comprehension Strategy - Predict Active readers predict. They use what they know as well as what the author tells them to form ideas about what might happen next.

6. Vocabulary • Escape • Crumbled • Magician • Vanished • Bustling • Appeared • Monument

7. Escape • To break loose; to get out and away

8. Crumbled • Fell to pieces

9. Bustling • Being noisily busy and in a hurry; scurrying

10. Appeared • Came into view or sight; was seen

11. Magician • Person who performs tricks

12. Monument • Memorial; something to set up to honor a person or event

13. Vanished • Disappeared, especially suddenly

14. Victor was upset because he could not --- • Visit his Aunt Harriet • Do the things that Houdini did • Find the box with initials carved on it.

15. Whatdid Victor and Houdini have in common? They liked to perform magic tricks. They asked people a lot of questions. They had a box with their initials on it.

16. Right after Victor learned about Houdini’s tricks, he - • Told Aunt Harriet his secret • Got stuck in Aunt Harriet’s trunk • Tried to do what Houdini had done.

17. Houdini probably promised to write Victor’s letter because he was -- • Impressed with Victor’s determination • Angry that Victor could not do any tricks • Annoyed by all of Victor’s questions

18. What is the most likely reason the author wrote this story? • To explain why magicians have secrets • To entertain with a story about a boy who wants to be a magician • To persuade children to do magic tricks for their friends

19. What kind of person was Victor? • Fearful because he never wanted to try new things • Daring because he approached Houdini at the train station

20. Why did Mrs. Houdini cry when she read the letter that Victor showed her? • She was sad because her husband had just died • She was embarrassed because she did not know how to read

21. Victor was excited after reading Houdini’s monument because he -- • Had always wondered what Houdini’s real name was • Realized the box that he was given as a boy had belonged to Houdini

22. How was Victor the same at the beginning and the end of the story? • He was excited about magic • He took a train to visit someone • He followed his mom’s directions

23. What happened after Victor played ball with his son? • He went to visit Houdini • He found Houdini’s box in the attic • He wrote Houdini a letter

24. How could you tell that Houdini and Victor, as adults, were both kind people? • Houdini was willing to share his secrets with Victor, and Victor helped his son learn how to hit a ball with a bat.

25. At the end of the story, why didn’t Victor tell his wife and son about the box? • Houdini’s secrets were meant only for him.

26. What was in the box that Houdini’s wife gave Victor? • The secrets for how to do Houdini’s tricks were in the box.

27. The Author – Brian Selznick This author is worth checking out!! He is also the illustrator for Andrew Clements!!