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Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements

Summary

Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town's one-room schoolhouse, has two mysteries to solve. How can his little school stay open next year with only five students? And who’s face did he see in the window of the abandoned farm next door?

Booktalk

Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? Out here on the Great Plains in western Nebraska, everyone understands that if you lose the school, you lose the town. But the mystery that has Ted's full attention at the moment is about that face, the face he sees in the upper window of the Andersons' house as he rides past on his paper route. The Andersons moved away two years ago, and their old farmhouse is empty, boarded up tight. At least it's supposed to be.

168 pages, 3rd grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. What did you enjoy most in this book?
  2. Ted likes to read detective stories. What did learn about solving problems from these kinds of books?
  3. Ted is also a Boy Scout even though his troop has gone away. How does this efffect his actions?
  4. Ted is caught in a dilemma about promises he’s made to his teacher and his friend. Do you think he made the right choice? What would you have done?
  5. April is also caught in a dilemma. What is her delimma? How would you solve this problem?
  6. Once Ted told a few people what was happening, they spread the word to the whole town and then everyone wanted to help. How did this help to solve Ted’s other problem about his school closing?
  7. Did you think the book was realistic? Have you ever known anyone with a problem similar to April’s? Were you able to help?
  8. How did you feel at the end of the book? Was there hope for April and/or the town?

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Parts of this discussion guide are from www.andrewclements.com

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