Mr. Moshé’s Critically Thinking . . . Are You?

Hello and welcome back for week 2 of The Year of the Hangman Book Discussion. The plot is thickening, and this week you learn more about Ben Franklin’s print shop, Creighton’s uncle, and the secret code used by the Liberty Tree newspaper. During the week of January 29^th through February 2^nd we will be reading and commenting on the second five chapters of the novel (pages 65 – 130).

Below you will find several (4) discussion questions relating to Section 2. You only have to answer one of the questions, however you may choose to answer more than one if you see fit to.

You are encouraged to respond to others’ posts.

If you have an idea for an additional question, please e-mail me at moshej@browardschools.com, and I will post it for everyone.

Last week was an active week on this blog. Since so many people are reading the blog please try to use correct grammar in your posts.

Also please note the author, Gary Backwood, may join the discussion at any point. Read through the comments to see if our author has any thoughts about your comments. If you have any specific questions for Mr. Blackwood please post them as a comment or e-mail me at moshej@browardschools.com, and I will direct him all other questions.

Thanks for taking part in this eye opening project. It has been great to see so many people reading, posting and sharing their experiences. Keep it UP!!

The setting for this portion of the novel is the city of New Orleans. Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina last fall there has been much discussion on the future of this important American city.

How do you feel about rebuilding the city of New Orleans? Do you think that the government should spend billions of dollars to rebuild the city of New Orleans and protect it from a future hurricane or should the citizens of New Orleans be asked to pick up and move somewhere else and the city not be rebuilt?

Sophie and Creighton are given a great deal of responsibility in Ben Franklin’s print shop as teenagers. In colonial America many teenagers around the age of 14 or 15 are doing work and taking responsibility for things today often associated with adults.

Do you think that in American society today we wait too long to treat teenagers as adults? What would be some pros and cons of allowing teenagers in America to have the full rights and responsibilities of adults at the age of 15?

The code used by Ben Franklin was possible because it used a book that almost everyone in the colonies was able to access. If you were to write a similar code today, which book would you choose (remember that it should be a book almost everyone has access to or could access).

In your comment please list the book you would use and why you choose that book. Would you use a certain book if you were only trying to include a certain group of people?

In this portion of the book you have been introduced to Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin was truly one of the most important men in colonial America. The amount of inventions and ideas directly associated with this man is incredible.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Check out more about Ben Franklin using these links.
2. Then post a comment describing at least one way that your life today is directly impacted by one of his ideas.

Here are the links:

• Ben Franklin – Inventor from the The Franklin Institute
• Franklin Firsts from ThinkQuest
• The Inventions and Scientific Achievements of Benjamin Franklin from About.com
• Ben Franklin – Inventor from the United States Government Printing Office

During the week of January 22^nd through the 26^th we will be reading and commenting on the first five chapters of the novel (pages 1 – 65).

Below you will find several (4) discussion questions relating to Section 1. You only have to answer one of the questions, however you may choose to answer more than one if you see fit to.

You are encouraged to respond to others’ posts.

Check out the instructions for commenting listed below. Here is a reminder about the NAME field:

Special note on what to type for your name – DO NOT USE YOUR FULL NAME.

• Any entries with a full name will not be published on the blog, or will be deleted by Mr. Moshé.
• For Mr. Moshé’s students, please use
  • First Name, Last Initial and Period Number
  • For Example: Henry Q 2
• For out of town participants, please use
  • First Name, Last Initial – Location
  • For example: Suzie Q – Missouri

Please e-mail the moderator of the blog with any questions at moshej@browardschools.com.

This novel deals with alternate history. Think about other major events in history and what might have happened if they turned out differently.

Give an example of one historical event and then explain how the world would have been different if the event had ended differently.

Creighton had been kicked out of a couple schools for his behavior and was often having to start over at new schools. Think about a time when you had to start at a new school – maybe because you moved or maybe because you are starting at the next level of school (from grade school to middle school for example). What was the thing that scared you the most about having to start at a new school?

When it is clear that he will be captured aboard his ship, Creighton’s uncle quickly tries to burn all the important papers so they don’t fall in the hands of the Americans. He burns almost all of the documents but not all of them. If you were in this situation on the ship what would you have done to destroy the evidence?

Creighton often describes America in a negative way – as a wilderness, a land without formal traditions and customs. Why do you think someone from England might think this about America at this time period?