Zebra

1. Zebra By ChaimPotok

2. Pages 40-41 • Zebra • Adam Martin Zebrin is his real name • He loves running and he loves his name • Zebra gets hurt while running down Franklin Avenue • He was hit by a car when he did not stop at the corner and ran into the street • He injured his hand and leg

3. Page 42 • What do the following words and phrases mean? • Stiff-mannered • Smart suits and dapper bow ties • In vain • “In this class, young man, you will concentrate your attention upon the earth, not upon the sky.”

4. Pages 42-44 • During recess, Zebra notices a man walking down Franklin street. • The man looks in public trash cans, finds something in one of the trash cans, removes it, and places it in his bag. • Zebra notices the man has only one arm.

5. Pages 44-46 • The man asks Zebra whether his school would be interested in a summer art class. • Zebra directs him to the main office and suggests that he talk to Mrs. English rather than Dr. Winter. • Dr. Winter was a disciplinarian but Mrs. English was generous and kind • The man tells Zebra his name – John Wilson

6. Pages 47-48 • Zebra is in Mrs. English’s class • Mrs. English calls it a class in the imagination • Students tell each other stories • Zebra shares a sad story. • His classmate Andrea comments that he always shares sad stories

7. Pages 49-52 • During afternoon recess, Zebra sees John Wilson again • Wilson explains that he will be giving a summer art class. • Zebra said he wasn’t interested. • Wilson asks Zebra to hold his pad while he drew a picture • When he was finished he gave the picture to Zebra. • It was a picture of Zebra, signed “To Adam with thanks. John Wilson” • When Zebra told Wilson his nickname. Wilson took back the picture, crossed out Adam and over it drew a picture of a zebra in full gallop • Later, when Zebra looks at the picture, it appears that the zebra has moved. He thinks he must be running another fever.

8. Pages 52-55 • Zebra notices the sign for the summer art class • He speaks to Mrs. English about it – he wants to know if he can ask Mr. Wilson questions • Where he is from • How he got hurt • She gives Zebra the answers – he is from Virginia and was hurt in the Vietnam war.

9. Pages 55-58 • Zebra signs up for Mr. Wilson’ art class • He finds out that Mr. Wilson was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam war • He goes to the first art class where Mr. Wilson asked them to draw the face of somewhere near them. • Zebra draws Andrea’s face. She tells Zebra it is awful. • Mr. Wilson tells them to look at the space outside of what they are drawing, not at the edges • Mr. Wilson tells the class they are going to “learn how to see in a new way.”

10. Pages 58-61 • Zebra makes a zebra of glued together scraps of cardboard. • Later, he draws his hand again and is surprised that it actually looks like a hand • Mr. Wilson gives them the assignment to draw or make something at home that each person feels deeply about. • Zebra makes a helicopter out of bits of garbage. • Mr. Wilson places the helicopter on the windowsill

11. Pages 61-62 • Mr. Wilson asks the students that are leaving class at the end of July to make a drawing for him – something to remember them by. • Zebra makes a drawing of a helicopter and a Zebra racing over a landscape • Zebra signs it To John Wilson with thanks. Zebra • Mr. Wilson asks Zebra to add the name Leon over top of John Wilson • He explains that Leon was an old buddy and artist who was in Vietnam with Mr. Wilson. Leon is no longer alive.

12. Pages 63-65 • Zebra goes to camp in the Adirondacks. • His hand begins to feel better • When he returns to school, Mrs. English has a note for him from Mr. Wilson • Mr. Wilson sent a letter and color photograph • The picture is of Mr. Wilson in front of the Vietnam Memorial. Against the wall is Zebras drawing. • The note explains that Leon Kellner, Wilson’s friend, was an artist. • Each year Wilson visits him at the memorial and leaves him a gift. • This year it was Zebra’s picture • Wilson thanked Zebra for the gift.

13. Page 65 - Ending • While standing in the schoolyard, Zebra remembers the first day that Mr. Wilson walked along Franklin Avenue. • He thinks back to that day when he felt like all of the houses were saluting Mr. Wilson • Zebra feels that he can now walk along Franklin Avenue • He hadn’t walked along it since his accident • The story ends with Zebra agreeing to walk home with Andrea • Andrea comments that Zebra is becoming pleasant

14. Inference • Logical guesses (educated guesses) based on clues in the text • To make inferences, look for details the writer provides about: • Character • Setting • Events • Think about what you already know about the topic • Connect the story to your own experience

15. Inferences in Zebra “Then, a year ago, racing down Franklin Avenue, he had given himself a push and had begun to turn into an eagle, when a huge rushing shadow crashed into him and plunged him into a darkness from which he emerged very, very slowly...” ‘“Never, never, never run down that hill so fast that you can’t stop at the corner,” his mother had warned him again and again.’ (page 41) • We can infer that: • Zebra was running so fast that he was unable to stop at the corner. • The rushing shadow is a car • He was knocked unconscious (plunged into darkness)

16. Inferences in Zebra “When the man was about ten feet away, Zebra noticed that the left sleeve of his jacket was empty.” • We can infer that the man is missing an arm (the empty sleeve) “When it was Zebra’s turn, he told a story about a bird that one day crashed against a closed windowpane and broke a wing. A boy tried to heal the wing but couldn’t. The bird died, and the boy buried it under a tree on his lawn.” • We can infer that: • Zebra’s story shows how he is feeling about his own situation. • He feels his hand won’t get better. • He may feel that a part of him has died.

17. Inferences in Zebra “Zebra drew his hand again. Strange and ugly, the two fingers lay rigid and curled. But astonishingly, it looked like a hand this time.” • We can infer that: • Zebra has learned to see in a new way. He looks at the space outside of his hand where he wants to draw, rather than looking at his hand. His new drawing looks like his hand, even though his hand has not changed. Zebra makes a helicopter for his art project. • We can infer that: • Zebra wants to connect with Mr. Wilson. He wants to find out what happened to Mr. Wilson’s arm.

18. Inferences in Zebra “Mrs. English stood staring awhile at the letter. She turned away and touched her eyes.” • We can infer that Mrs. Wilson was so moved by the letter that it brought tears to her eyes. “He thought how strange it was that all the houses on this street had seemed to turn toward John Wilson that day, the windows and porches and columns and doors, as if saluting him.” • We can infer that Zebra respects Mr. Wilson and that Mr. Wilson commands respect of others.