This is the lesson to accompany the story "Powder" by Tobias Wolf and may include extra excerpts from songs and poems as comprehension questions and language development. The actual story in not included here; this lesson is for after reading the story. Created by Coleman’s Classroom.

1. Powder

2. “The reader really has to step up to
the plate and read a short story.”

3. New Vocabulary (Idiomatic)
Phrase
• Made it
• Waved us down
• On our tail
• Wheedle
• Coercion
Means
• Arrived or succeeded
• Signaled for attention
or to stop
• Following closely
• Use flattery to ask for
something
• Persuasion through
threats

4. The Plot
Who? What? When?
Where? Why? How?
Main Idea?
Father and son’s reckless race to
get home on Christmas Eve
changes their lives forever.

5. Plot Comprehension Questions
Why was the boy’s mother reluctant
to let him go with his father?
How old was the boy?
Why did the boy refuse the soup?
What was the boy fretting about?
Why doesn’t the father answer the
boy’s question about why the
trooper left?

6. Plot Comprehension Questions
How are the father and son
different?
What happened when they met more
troopers?
Did the boy enjoy the experience?
What was the ultimate result of the
day?

7. THEMES to Consider
Father / Son Bond
Irresponsibility vs. Responsibility
Parent / Child relationship
Husband / Wife relationship
Seasons
Police vs Criminal

8. Literary Terms (1)
Repetition – repeating ideas or
words to emphasis a point or idea
Example
Snow (lns 66-68)

9. Literary Terms (2)
Alliteration – The repetition of
consonant sounds usually in the
beginning of words
Example
A few… feathery flakes (ln 92)

10. Literary Terms (3)
Rhyme – The repetition of vowel
ending sounds, used often in
poetry
Example
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep

11. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

12. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

13. Your Thoughts
Does the boy’s father fit your idea of a
good father? Explain
Consider the actions of the police in the
story. Did they do the right thing?
Should parents stay married for the sake
of the children?
Do you think males are more reckless
and irresponsible than females?

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