Angela's Ashes - Literature Kit Gr. 9-12

Book excerpt: Follow the true experiences of Frank McCourt as he struggles to support his family during his youth. Help students enjoy the novel with different activities to help comprehend the difficult vocabulary words. Students are asked to predict what will happen in the novel prior to reading it, by exploring the literary device: foreshadowing. Answer true or false questions about the family's move to Ireland. Describe the valuable lesson Mr. Halloran teaches Frank and the boys. Recall the moment Frank experienced pure joy. Describe Frank's relationship with his father and religion, and explain how this changes throughout the novel. Deconstruct a character by identifying whether Frank is a good or bad person and providing proof from the text to support this claim. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Angela's Ashes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir about the author's own childhood and young adulthood. Frank— the eldest son of Malachy and Angela McCourt—vividly describes the hardships endured by his family. First living in Brooklyn, the family moves back to Ireland after the death of Frank's sister, Margaret. There, the family lives in poverty, as Frank's father spends all the welfare money, leaving little for food and clothes. Frank's father finally gets work in England, but neglects to send money home to his struggling family, leaving Frank to support them. The story continues with Frank searching tirelessly for a job, settling in at the post office. Eventually, Frank is able to earn enough money to return to America, hoping to start a new life.