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Crossing Niagara Teachers' Guide
Crossing Niagara Teachers' Guide
Crossing Niagara
The Death-Defying Tightrope Adventures
of the Great Blondin
by Matt Tavares
HC: 978-0-7636-6823-5
Discussion Questions
Curriculum Connections
These discussion questions
correlate to Common Core
ELA Reading Standards for
Informational Text: Key Ideas
and Details RI.15.1, 15.2,
15.3; Craft and Structure
RI.15.4, RI.1.6; Integration
of Knowledge and Ideas
RI.14.7. ELA Speaking
& Listening Standards:
Comprehension and
Collaboration SL.15.1.
1.
Before reading the book, discuss its title and subtitle and try to predict the books content.
After reading the book aloud, discuss whether the title and subtitle fit the story.
2. The books third paragraph says that Blondin wanted to do something amazing, something
impossible, something that had never been done before. Find where these words are used
again later in the story. Discuss whether you think he succeeded, and why or why not.
3. What role do newspapers play in the story? Talk about where they appear both in the text
and the pictures. Why did newspapers publicize the tightrope walks?
4. Discuss how the author makes the story exciting through word choice and punctuation.
How does he build suspense? How do the pictures add to the drama?
5. What kind of person was the Great Blondin? What are some adjectives you would use to
describe him? Tie your answers to specific examples in the book.
6. Why do you think Blondin wasnt afraid? Or do you think he was? Describe in detail how he
prepared for the tightrope walks.
7. Why did so many people come to see Blondin cross Niagara Falls? Give examples of different
reactions people had to him. How did his supporters show their enthusiasm?
8. Look carefully at the three panels showing the tricks Blondin did the first time he walked
across Niagara. Describe the tricks. Why do you think the illustration has three panels?
Discuss why the typeface changes sizes on that page.
9. Partway through the book, pages fold out to create a four-page spread. Describe in detail
what that spread shows. Why do you think the book was made to open so wide? How does
the unusually long illustration reflect the story?
10. Choose any two-page spread in the book and analyze how the words and pictures work
together. Do the words tell anything not shown in the pictures? What do the pictures add
that isnt in the text? Talk about how both elements convey emotion and information.
11. Talk about the scene in which Blondin first carries his manager, Harry, across on the
tightrope. What is the managers reaction to the idea? What instructions does Blondin give
Harry? Describe the difficulties they encounter. Would you have agreed to this idea if you
were Harry?
12. Which of the tricks that Blondin performed during his tightrope walks do you consider most
amazing, and why?
13. Why does Blondin decide to stop walking across Niagara? Describe his final tightrope walk
across the falls. Discuss how he feels at the end and why he feels that way.
14. On the last page, read the authors note and talk about why he visited Niagara Falls as part of
working on the book. What does the authors note add to the story?
15. In the Acknowledgments, the author thanks the helpful staff of the Niagara Falls Public
Library. What are acknowledgments? How did the staff help him? Talk about the role of
research in writing about historic events like the tightrope walks.
Curriculum Connections
These activities correlate to
Common Core ELA Reading
Standards for Informational
Text: Key Ideas and Details
RI.15.1, RI.15.2, RI.15.3;
Craft and Structure RI.15.4;
Integration of Knowledge
and Ideas RI.15.7. ELA
Speaking & Listening
Standards: Comprehension
and Collaboration SL.15.1,
SL.15.2. Presentation
of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.15.4, SL.15.5. ELA
Writing Standards: Text
Types and Purposes W.15.2.
Production and Distribution
of Writing W.35.4. Research
to Build and Present
Knowledge W.15.7,
W.15.8.
Persuasive Posters
Have students create a colorful poster to advertise one of the Great Blondins tightrope walks
above Niagara. Talk as a class about what makes a poster effective, such as large print and
eye-catching colors. Have students work alone or in small groups. Once the posters are ready,
students can share them and discuss their choices. (Online poster tool at readwritethink.org/
classroom-resources/student-interactives/printing-press-30036.html)
Play-by-Play
Today many people watch athletic events on television and listen to sports announcers describing
the action. Have students work in small groups to create a play-by-play type description of Blondin
walking on a tightrope across Niagara Falls, including some of his tricks. When the description is
ready, one student can read it in front of the class while another acts out Blondins part, with the rest
of the group as the excited crowd.
For or Against?
A tightrope walker today would need permission from government agencies to perform walks like
Blondins. Have students take the role of government officials who are deciding whether to allow a
tightrope walk in their town. Two students should compile reasons to allow the walk, and the other
two should compile reasons not to allow it. Have the teams debate each other about the topic.
Niagara Daredevils
Niagara Falls has a history of attracting risk-takers. Share with your class these events from A
Daredevil History of Niagara Falls (history.com/news/a-daredevil-history-of-niagara-falls).
Then show this video of Nick Wallendas tightrope walk above Niagara Falls in 2012 (nytimes.
com/2012/06/16/nyregion/wallendas-niagara-falls-tightrope-walk-stirs-excitement.html). Hold a
discussion about daredevils and what motivates them.
This guide was prepared by Kathleen Odean, a school librarian for more than fifteen years who presents
workshops on new books for young people, including one that focuses on nonfiction titles and their connections
to the Common Core. She served as chairperson of the 2002 Newbery Award Committee and is the author of
several guides to childrens books, including Great Books for Girls, Great Books for Boys, and Great Books About
Things Kids Love.