Contents Under Pressure

Teacher Guide for Lara M. Zeises’s

Contents Under Pressure

Prepared by Francesca LaPenta

edited by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

About the book:

Lucy Doyle is about to explode. She's sure her name might as well be Loser because she's never, ever been kissed. To make matters worse, nearly all of her friends have left her behind for boys. Even Lucy's favorite brother doesn't seem to have time for her anymore. He's just moved home from college with a distant new attitude and a big-haired girlfriend Lucy can't stand. Freshman year is definitely not off to a good start.

So when Lucy attracts the attention of Tobin Scacheri, the junior everyone wants to date, she can barely believe her luck. Tobin's cute and funny, and he might like Lucy as much as she likes him. But Lucy's brother has a secret that will turn her already mixed-up world completely upside down. Now, Lucy must figure out how far she's willing to take her relationship with Tobin—and how to deal with a brother who's not as perfect as she thought.

About this guide:

This guide includes discussion questions and projects intended to extend the use of the novel into classrooms, book clubs, and literature circles. It should promote discussion on the themes of the novel including family, friendship, teen relationships, secrets and fitting in.

Author Interview:

1. Friendship plays a key roll in all of your novels. Do you do this intentionally?
2. Can you share a bit about your writing process for Contents Under Pressure?
3. How did your life change when you transitioned from middle school to high school?
4. Which of these characters- Lucy, Jack, Hannah, Allison, or Tobin would you like to have crash on your couch for a semester? Why?
5. What’s the best part about being a writer? What’s the worst?

Pre-Reading Discussion:

What preconceptions did you have before coming to high school? What were your fears, hopes, etc? How, exactly, was it different from what you expected? What were the biggest changes that you encountered?  Did your friendships from middle school survive the transitions? Why or why not?

Comprehension Check:

1. Using three adjectives, describe Lucy and Allison’s friendship.
2. Describe Lucy’s high school experience. How is it similar to your own? How is it different?
3. Describe Lucy’s encounter(s) with Tobin. 
4. Explain why Lucy doesn’t go to her homecoming dance.
5. Compare and contrast Lucy’s relationships with Ally, Tabitha, and the Kims before and after high school.
6. Explain Lucy’s extreme makeover. Why does she do it?
7. How does Lucy’s relationship with Jack change over the course of the novel?
8. What changes have happened over the course of this year for Lucy?
9. What happens to Hannah? How does this change Lucy’s relationships as well?
10. Predict what the future will bring for each of these characters, and defend your choices from their previous actions in the story.

Discussion Guide:

1. Discuss Lucy’s relationship with her brother Jack. How does it change over the course of the novel? Do you think this close of a sibling relationship is a good thing or can it interfere with other friendships? How does birth order effect sibling relationships? How does Jack get knocked down off of the pedestal that Lucy put him on?
2. “When you have a semipermanent social circle, it pretty much becomes your identity. Like you’re one-fifth of a whole, and not five individual people who simply hang out together.” (p.4) Do you agree with Lucy’s assessment of this social rule? How can having a group of friends actually limit your social calendar? How else can people miss out on knowing the real you?
3. How did Lucy’s friendship change over her freshman year? Why do some friendships fail while others get stronger when faced with change? Can you insure a friendship will survive? How?
4.  Lucy’s friends reserve cocoa conversations for those really important moments when they have to discuss something critical. These rituals help them deal with whatever stress they are having. Describe their whole ritual. What rituals do you have with your own friends? And family?
5. Lucy is conflicted because she would like to catch up to her friend’s interest in boys yet she sees the consequences of those actions with Hannah and Jack. How does this resolve itself by the end of the book? How can Lucy be more comfortable with the pace of her own life? Is this peer pressure or self-induced pressure? How can it be relieved?
6. Describe Lucy’s family. Would you consider them a close family? Why or why not? Do you think family game night is a good idea? Does Lucy? How can families stay close? Do you consider your own family close? Compare Lucy’s relationship with Brody to Jack.
7. Lucy’s mother says, “There’s a big difference between being in love and building a life together.  You can be ready for one without being ready for the other.” (p.182)  What does she mean by this? Whose life will be more changed – Jack or Hannah? Should it be this way?
8. Re-read pages 195-200.  Hannah gives Lucy some good advice about sex and the emotional turmoil that inevitably coincides with it.  In your opinion, what is the best piece of advice Hannah tells Lucy? If you had a younger sister ask you similar questions, would you have any alternate advice? What’s the best advice you ever got about sex?
9. Allison confronts Lucy saying, “ …we always said we’d never be the kind of girls who ditched their friends for some guy.” (p.202) Do you think this is a reasonable expectation for girls to have of each other? Do you think guys would ever make the same kind of pact? Why or why not?
10.  Discuss the consequences and changes that everyone will face at the close of the novel. Are they the same decisions you would make? Why or why not? Who is sacrificing the most in your opinion? Who should?

Projects Across the Curriculum

Language Arts/Vocabulary

Have students create a chart with the following words and fill out a chart with the following columns. The sentence in which it appears, I’ve never seen this word before, I recognize this word, I know this word, I think this word means by the way it is used.

tentative (p. 2)

futile (p. 9)

dormant (p. 14)

pillaging (p. 17)

daintily (p. 53)

plausible (p. 61)

skulk (p. 72)

unison (p. 73)

equidistant (p. 77)

gape (p. 82)

albeit (p. 86)

braying (p. 88)

imminent (p. 94)

deftly (p. 104)

intricacies (p. 113)

inherently (p. 114)

catatonic (p. 122)

contorting (p. 132)

enviable (p. 144)

infiltrate (p. 157)

monstrosity (p. 165)

bellows (p. 168)

hypocrisy (p. 202)

affirmation (p. 207)

traipsing (p. 218)

quizzical (p. 222)

gleaned (p. 234)

retorts (p. 240)

 

 

“And this is how both of us avoid dealing with the Big Things hanging over our space, like heavy clouds about to burst into rain” (p. 167).

Write down the “Big Things” that you have experienced in your life.  Then, like this example from Chapter 21, think of your own simile that relates to it.  Try to write three similes for three different “Big Things.” Ex. Sex, college, relationships, marriage

Math

In Contents Under Pressure, Hannah becomes pregnant even though she and Jack used protection.  Research the effectiveness of condoms, the birth control pill, and other forms of contraception.  Make a pie graph to show which are the most effective.  

Art:

On the cover of the book, there are four pictures of Lucy, each with different colors and shades.  Which picture do you think best represents the real Lucy?  Draw your own picture of her with different colors. 

Drama:

Predict what changes will happen in the following year of Lucy’s life.  Then, in small groups, write a scene using your prediction and act it out.

Music:

In Chapter 16, Lucy listens to her Miles Davis CD, Kind of Blue, after having a bad day at school.  She says to herself, “It feels like the soundtrack of my life” (p. 109).  If you could pick a CD that relates to your life, what would it be? Why?  Choose three specific songs from the CD, and explain how you identify with the lyrics and/or the music.

Health:

In small groups, have students look through magazines and find articles or advertisements that promote sex.  What kind of magazines/newspapers did they find the most articles or advertisements?  Are they targeted towards teenagers?  Young adults?  Parents? Then have students discuss issues of teenage pregnancy, and how having a baby affects your lives. 

Journal:

Lucy goes through a lot of changes during her first year of high school.  On page 158, she says, “Everything has changed.”  Think back on a time in your life when something suddenly happened that changed your life completely.  Write a journal entry about this time, and how you’ve grown as a result of that experience.

Bringing Up the Bones

Teacher Guide for Lara M. Zeises’s

Bringing Up the Bones

About the book:

Bridget Edelstein is taking a year off before she goes to college, to try to recover from the the recent death of Benji, her longtime best friend-turned-reluctant boyfriend. Rather than accept support from her friends or family, Bridget turns to Jasper, a wonderful guy willing to nurse her broken soul–when she lets him. As she comes to terms with life without Benji, and the truth about their relationship, Bridget learns that being able to love deeply and truly is essential, even if the one you love doesn't feel the same. More importantly, she discovers that happiness pinned to another person is only an illusion–now it's time to find happiness on her own.

About this guide:

This guide includes discussion questions and projects intended to extend the use of the novel into classrooms, book clubs, and literature circles. It should promote discussion on the themes of the novel including friendship, loss, depression, grief and hope.

Pre-Reading Activity

As a class, brainstorm the qualities that make a person best friend material. How are these qualities different than a typical acquaintance?

How would you feel if your best friend had to move away? What would you do the night before your best friend left? How could the friendship be maintained?

What do you think the title means?

Comprehension Check:

1. What steps does Bridget take in order to move on after Benji’s death?
2. In what ways do Bridget and her mother lack the qualities of a typical mother-daughter relationship?
3. What is the significance of the book’s title, Bringing Up the Bones? 

4.      Describe “the hole” and “the cave.”

5.      What object did Benji give to Bridget before he left for college? What is the significance of this gift?

6.      Compare and contrast Mrs. Gilbert to Katharine.  In what ways does Mrs. Gilbert treat Bridget as a daughter?

7.      Summarize the scene in Battery Park.

8. In your own words, explain why Bridget breaks up with Jasper.  Why does this break- up seem necessary?
9. Describe Bridget’s shrine to Benji. Explain the significance of each item.

10.  Name the Gilbert family members.  How does Bridget describe each person?

Discussion Guide:

 

1. How do people express their grief? How does Bridget express her own grief?  Do you think it is normal? How has Benji’s family dealt with their loss?
2. Discuss Bridget’s relationship with her mother. How is it atypical? Who acts as her primary caregiver? How does he keep the two connected? What do you think their relationship would be like without him? What incidences reveal the true feelings between Bridget and her mother?

3.         On page 120, Jasper says to Bridget, “You’re so strong. Your bones are so small, so fragile, but you’re so damn strong.  What’s your secret?” What do you think he meant by this statement? Does it allude to the title? How?

4.        Bridget clearly suffers from depression throughout the course of the book.  In the beginning of Chapter 2, she provides a list of how her life has changed as a result of Benji’s death.  Which of these are clues to her mental state?  Can you list major symptoms of depression in teens? How can you help someone (or yourself) if you suspect they might be depressed?

5.        “The girl in the mirror is a stranger to me” (p.22) Why does Bridget feel this way about herself? Have you ever had a similar experience? When? How does this disconnection happen? How can it be prevented?

6.        How does the sexual choices of Bridget offer a window into her state of mind and recovery? How do her actions and choices change over the course of the novel? What does Bridget mean when she tells Jasper, “If it was about sex, it wouldn’t have to be you” (p. 96)

7.        In order to explain why he likes the blues, Jasper says, “Something about the way it creeps inside you, makes your bones itch” (p. 51) What does he mean by this? Does music play a significant role in your own life? Does it make your “bones itch?” Do you think that music means more to teen than it does adults? Why?

8.        What present does Fitzi deliver to Bridget from Katharine?  What does Bridget mean when she says, “Sometimes Katharine means well, but she never quite hits the mark”?”(p. 70) How can well intentioned friends still disappoint each other? Is it more important to consider the intention of the friend than the act or gift? Or, do both matter? Why?

9.        What is your opinion on Benji’s break-up letter to Bridget? How would you answer Bridget’s questions, “Which was more real? The tender postcoital declaration or the carefully scripted dispatch, the one he professed to have written and rewritten on three separate occasions? …And then there’s this: Does it even matter now?”

10.     Compare and contrast Bridget’s relationship with Fitzi to her relationship with Katharine, using examples from the text.  Do these relationships surprise you? How? Are they typical? Which relationship would you prefer to be in? Why?

11. Describe the relationship that Bridget has with Benji’s parents. Do you think it is healthy for her? For them? Was there anything that surprised you? What?
12. Analyze Bridget’s transformation in the last chapter.  How does she change both externally and internally? What affects does it have?

Projects across the curriculum:

Language Arts:

Vocabulary

Use each of the following words in a sentence that shows you understand the meaning. Do not just copy the one from the book!

veneer (p.6)

plausible (p. 15)

frenetic (p. 22)

petulantly (p.32)

masochistic (p.34)

perverse (p. 38)

extricate (p. 57)

reproached (p. 65)

agnostic (p.81)

obtrusive (p. 84)

undulating (p. 85)

galvanized (p. 92)

proclivity (p. 106)

surreptitious (p. 122)

sequestered (p. 147)

innocuous (p. 159)

imminent (p. 161)

paucity (p. 173)

sordid (p. 179)

fervently (p. 193)

sequestered (p. 196)

 

Bridget explains her need of writing occasional letters to Benji.  On page 31, she states “If I can’t tell him what I’m feeling, then I’m not feeling anything at all.”  Write your own letter to anyone, living or deceased, and tell them how you are feeling today. 

Math:

Research the statistics regarding the number of car accidents per year in the United States.  Find the top five causes of car accidents (i.e., weather conditions, heart attack while driving, etc.), and make a pie chart or bar graph to display the results.

                       

Art:

Draw a picture of how you think Bridget looks in the beginning of the novel, and then draw a picture of how you think she looks at the end of the novel.  Consider her clothing, hair color, facial expressions, and posture.  You may even provide the background of her room for greater effect. 

Drama:

In groups of four to five people, have each person choose a different character from Bringing Up the Bones to portray.  Ask them to consider how their character sits, stands, talks, etc.  Then, acting as their characters, have the students complete the following sentences:

“I love _______.”

“I hate _______.”

“I am proud of _______.”

“I fear ________.”

Afterwards, ask each student to explain why they chose their answers.  You may also ask them to support their action choices for their character.

Music:

In small groups, discuss the different emotional stages that Bridget experiences during the course of the book.  Choose a different song for each stage, and explain why you chose them.  Consider the genre of music, the rhythm and mood of the song, and the lyrics. 

Debate:

Divide the class into two large groups.  Have each half take opposite standpoints in debate of the following question: “Do today’s teens act more or less maturely than the generation of their parents with the issue of sex?” Challenge each side to support their arguments with direct citations from the book.

Prepared by Francesca LaPenta

edited by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Copyright © 2004 Francesca LaPenta

For Classroom Use Only

Anyone But You

Anyone But You

by Laura M. Zeises

About the book:

Critter and Jesse have been close to Seattle since her dad moved in with their mother. Closer still since he took off six years ago and Layla decided to raise Sea as one of her own. It’s a decision none of them regrets, especially not Critter. He’s more than a brother–he’s Seattle’s best friend.
Now it’s vacation, and Seattle and Critter are stoop sitters, at least until summer school starts in July. It beats working like Jesse, or worse, studying like Layla wants them to. It’s too hot for Seattle to be on her skateboard–too hot, even, for Critter to be scamming on girls. But Sea comes up with a plan for them to bluff their way into the ritzy swimming pool the next town over. Big mistake.
Soon Critter’s got his heart set on a Penn Acres princess, while Seattle’s trying hard not to fall for a skater boy on the rebound. For the first time in a long while, they can talk to anyone but each other. Then Seattle’s dad shows up unexpectedly, and the way of life Critter and Seattle have always known begins to change even more. . . .

About this guide:

This guide includes discussion questions and projects intended to extend the use of the novel into classrooms, book clubs, and literature circles. It should promote discussion on the themes of the novel including family, friendship, abandonment, sex, and hope.

Pre-reading:

What do you think the title means? Who do you think it will refer to? Do you think the ending will be happy or not? What makes you think this?

The cover tells us the novel is written in two voices. What can be the challenges in reading a book with two viewpoints? How can you improve your comprehension with this type of format?

Comprehension check:

1. Whose idea is it to sneak into the pool at Penn Acres? What’s the plan?
2. Explain why Critter and Seattle aren’t working.
3. What does Layla expect them to be doing? Would you?
4. Describe Seattle and Critter. How are they connected?
5. What happens between Critter and Sarah?
6. In the end, what will become of Scott and Seattle’s romance?
7. How does Jess play the father figure roll in the family?
8. Who drops in unexpectedly on Seattle’s life? What happens?
9. Do you think Layla was right to expect Seattle to see him? Why or why not?
10.   Predict what happens after the close of the novel.

Discussion Questions:

1. Describe Critter and Seattle’s relationship. How does it change of the course of the novel? Do you think they’ll be able to remain close with other relationships in their horizons? How?
2. Predict what Critter and Seattle’s relationship will be like when school starts again. What about next summer? Three years from the close of the book?
3. How does skateboarding become an important part of the events in the story? What do you learn about Seattle through her love of the sport?
4. Do you think Layla is an ideal mom for a teenager? Why? Describe her relationship with her kids. What does she expect of them? Do they disappoint her? How?
5. Seattle and Critter both need summer school but for opposite reasons. Seattle is often bored with school while Critter has difficulty understanding the material. How can schools be more successful with students who fall outside the average?
6. Why does Critter treat Sarah so differently than Shelli? How can you tell if a guy really has feelings for you or is just using you? Who, of the three (Critter, Sarah or Shelli) behaves the worst in your opinion? Why?
7. Do you think Layla was right to make Seattle go listen to Frank? Why or why not? How does Frank finally learn Seattle’s feelings toward him?  Do you think Seattle could’ve said those things to his face? Why or why not?
8. Describe Jess. What is his role in the family? Do you think Critter and Seattle take advantage of him? Why or why not?
9. Why does Seattle hate Sarah? Why does Critter get so upset about Scott and Seattle’s interlude in the bedroom? How will this summer change everything between them?
10. Seattle and Critter cut and style each other’s hair. How is this act more intimate than a lot of the sex described in other scenes? What is real intimacy? How does it develop?
11. Frank feels compelled to tell Seattle the reasons why he left. Does it matter? Would  it matter to you? Is there ever an excuse for abandoning your children?
12. Why do you think the author chose to write the book in alternating voices? What does it add to the story? Which character did you most enjoy reading? Why?
13. When Layla talks to Sea about her dad she quotes an Oprah show that says: “Kids have a hold in their soul that’s shaped like their dads.” What does this mean to you? Do you agree with it? Why or why not? Do you think Seattle is a good example of it or not?
14. In the end, Sea assures Critter that it is only because of Sarah that things have happened between them. Do you agree? What if Sarah and Scott had never shown up that summer?
15. Have you read the other novels of Lara Zeises? How does this one compare to the others? Which one is your favorite? If not, will you read Contents Under Pressure or Bringing Up the Bones?

Projects:

Art:

 Using only newspapers, teen magazines, and advertisements create a collage that could be used for the end papers of the novel. You can use words or pictures in the design.

Music:

Critter has odd taste in music- Rod Stewart. Listen to some vintage Rod Stewart and see if you recognize what Critter sees in his music.

or

Create a mix of music that you would want to give to a new friend (like Critter does for Sarah). Explain in a short journal why you picked those songs.

Language:

Research the skateboarder terms from the novel:

ollie

platform

deck

lipslides

highrail

trucks

Drama:

Write a new scene for the book that ended up on the cutting room floor. Be sure the dialogue and events stay true to the characters and would slip seamlessly into the plot of the novel. As you write think about the ways a character is revealed to a reader (dialogue, actions, other character’s response, and non-verbal details). Act the scene out.

Language Arts:

Write an apology letter from Frank to Seattle. Include a response from Seattle.

Math:

Create a budget for a single-parent family trying to stay solvent while raising three teenagers. How much is rent or a mortgage in your area for a three bedroom house or apartment? Ask your parents what a typical grocery bill is for your family. What is the bare minimum allowance per month for necessities like clothing, healthcare, and shoes?