1a. What sound did the narrator hear at night? What made this sound?
2a. When was the garbage can most disgusting? What did the narrator do when he had to take out the garbage?
3a. What game did the narrator play in the evenings?
1b. How did this sound make the narrator feel? Why did he have such a reaction?
2b. Why did the narrator have such a strong reaction on the night he had a problem with the garbage?
3b. How did the narrator feel when he was out after dark to play this game?
4a. Analyze the different ways night and darkness are portrayed in this selection.
4b. Overall, how does the narrator feel about night and darkness?
5a. Evaluate the speaker's attitude about his childhood.
5b. Compare and contrast the attitude the narrator has toward his childhood with the attitude Geronimo revealed about his in the selection from Geronimo's Story of His Life (on page 759).
Aim. What is Spinelli's aim in this selection? How do you know?
Alliteration. Find three examples of alliteration. Why does Spinelli use this technique—usually reserved for poetry—in this selection?
Repetition. What elements are repeated in the first segment of this selection? How are these elements connected to the rest of the selection? What purpose does this repetition serve?
1. Write a letter to a friend reminding him or her of a game you played when you were younger or sharing some other memory you have in common.
2. Write a description of your room, your home, or your street at night. How does it differ from daytime? How do you feel about this place at night?
3. Write a horror story about either the train or the garbage can that Spinelli describes.
Writing Definitions. Write a definition, using your own words, for each of the following Words for Everyday Use found in "Night."
1. conspire:
2. grope:
3. ironic:
4. persuade:
5. teeming:
6. trough:
Getting Subjects and Verbs to Agree. Review the Language Arts Survey 3.38, "Getting Subject and Verb to Agree." Rewrite each sentence correcting errors in subject-verb agreement.
1. Trains and garbage scares Spinelli at night.
2. When he plays outs with his friends, he are not afraid.
3. One night he goes so far to hide, his parents is looking for him when he gets back.
4. Two nighttime activities he enjoys is playing outs and watching movies.
5. In the end, the train come back to haunt him.
6. Spinelli write nonfiction about his childhood.
7. Many people enjoys his writing.
8. Everyone are afraid of something.
9. What is you afraid of?
10. How does you deal with your fear?
Giving Directions. Write a set of directions for a simple game you like to play. Arrange the rules and directions in a logical order and use clear, simple language.
Conducting an Interview. Use the space provided below to record the questions and answers for your interview with a parent or older person about what it was like growing up as a child.
Question 1:
Answer 1:
Question 2:
Answer 2:
Question 3:
Answer 3:
Question 4:
Answer 4:
Question 5:
Answer 5:
Question 6:
Answer 6:
