How to use this guide and guided questions for the Prologue, Chapter One, and Chapter Two

Before we begin by posting discussion questions, we thought it would be a good idea to suggest how to use this blog. We want to stress that this is a resource. As readers, you should be active and aware. This means that we want you take note of things as you are reading. What is it that strikes you? Are there lines that are interesting? Hard to decipher? Pretty to read? Please make sure that you consider these as you are reading and that you even make note of them- in your book, on a post-it, etc. As readers, we want you to consider the text in front of you and how it relates to our world. If you are having trouble doing it on your own, hopefully these questions will help you.

Prologue:

1. What similes does Skloot use to describe cells? What do these similes suggest about biology?
2. What is mitosis? What beneficial biological processes involve it? What simile does Defler use to describe it?
3. According to Defler, how important was the discovery of the HeLa cells?
4. What steps did Skloot take to begin her research?

Chapter One: The Exam

1. How long did Henrietta wait between telling her girlfriends that "something didn't feel right" and going to the doctor? What might have been the reason for her waiting so long?
2. How did the doctor's bias lead to Henrietta's initial mis-diagnosis?
3. What are Jim Crow laws?
4. What can we infer about Henrietta's medical history (hint...look at page 16)? What do we know about her life and her personality?
5. Based on Henrietta's medical chart, how would you describe Henrietta's feelings about doctors?

Chapter Two: Clover

1. Why did Henrietta end up being raised by her grandfather, Tommy Lacks?
2. What are the connotations of the term "home-house"? What does this suggest about the values of the Lacks family?
3. Skloot uses vivid imagery and details to describe Henrietta's childhood in Clover. Locate a passage that you found particularly effective or memorable, and explain why you selected it.
4. Who is Elsie? Compare the medical terms describing Elsie's condition with the terms used by Henrietta's friends and family. What are the connotations of the two sets of terms?

Welcome to Millburn's Big Read Blog! By now you have received your introduction sheet from your English teachers, so you know what the summer read is all about. We look forward to supporting you with these guided questions and topics for further discussion.

We hope that some of you will go out and purchase your books this weekend, so that you can start over Memorial Day (beautiful beach weather + book= paradise!) but we recognize that many of you will likely wait until the end of June. For that reason, we will only direct you slightly at this moment, and we will do that by providing a definition for the genre of the book: creative nonfiction.

Creative nonfiction is a genre in which all facts are accurate and verifiable, but are presented in a creative way. This choice emphasizes storytelling through the use of scenes, dialogue, and other techniques more frequently found in fiction. The narrative account of Henrietta's life is factual and accurate, but it should read more like a story than a newspaper article.

So now, get reading! Discussion questions for the Prologue and Chapter 1 and 2 will be up soon, so check back in later.