Whale Talk

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Anti-Entitlement Poster”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the novel’s characters and its motif of entitlement by creating a poster for T.J.’s school expressing the novel’s ideas about entitlement.

One of the main problems in Whale Talk is that some characters have an unearned sense of entitlement. Imagine that you have been given the job of creating a poster that will educate students in T.J.’s school about what “entitlement” means and how people can overcome it.

Choose a set of students that shows a sense of entitlement. These characters will be the intended audience for your poster. Create a poster that uses both text and images to appeal to this audience and communicate the following ideas:

• Why a specific type of entitlement (athletic, racial, gender, etc.) is a problem
• How to build a legitimate sense of accomplishment and confidence.

When you have finished, look at two of your peers’ posters. For each poster, answer the following questions:

• What kind of entitlement does the poster focus on?
• How does the poster use both text and visual elements to appeal to its audience?
• What plot and characterization evidence from the story supports the choices this group made as they created their poster?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity encourages students to both identify the problems of entitlement in the novel and think about potential solutions. As they consider how to advise their audience about entitlement, they may wish to refer again to the outside resources they looked at in the beginning of the unit. They may need to be reminded, however, that while these resources will be helpful, their thinking about this project needs to be solidly grounded in Crutcher’s novel. They are not creating generic posters about entitlement—they are targeting a specific group of characters in Whale Talk, for reasons that come from the text itself. You may wish to direct students’ attention to the questions at the end of the activity and stress that when their peers review their work, they will be looking for evidence that it is inspired by the characters and plot of Crutcher’s novel. This activity is particularly well-suited to small groups, because the decision-making process is likely to generate educational conversations about understanding audience.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with less-developed theory of mind may struggle to understand how to shape a message to a particular audience from Whale Talk. These students may benefit from working with a partner or in a small group. If they will be working individually, you may wish to set aside time during the introduction of this activity to talk through an example or two of how to choose images, colors, layout, language, and so on that appeal to a specific group. If students are working on this activity individually, students with limited vision may need to be excused from the requirement to include images on their poster.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Power is a significant motif (pattern) in Whale Talk.

• What message does the book send about how power is distributed and used? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three examples that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this message about power supports one or more of the novel’s thematic interests: Violence and Bullying; Loneliness, Individuality, and Belonging; Race and Racial Identity; Adoption, Blended Families, and Traditional Families; and Athletes and the Issue of Entitlement.

2. Whale Talk is a novel that tries to portray its characters realistically.

• How does the novel’s characterization of T.J. show that, like real people, he has both good and bad qualities? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the characterization of T.J. supports one or more of the novel’s thematic interests: Violence and Bullying; Loneliness, Individuality, and Belonging; Race and Racial Identity; Adoption, Blended Families, and Traditional Families; and Athletes and the Issue of Entitlement.

3. Early in the novel, the reader learns that the conflict between T.J. and Rich began over the death of a fawn.

• How does the story of the fawn foreshadow their later conflict over Heidi? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the conflict over the fawn and the conflict over Heidi help support the novel’s thematic interest in Violence and Bullying.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. This novel is narrated by T.J. How would you describe his narrative voice? What patterns do you see in the way he uses language and in the details that he includes? How does he use humor? What tone does he take toward the events in his story? Write an essay analyzing T.J.’s narrative voice. Comment on how this narrative voice influences the reader’s feelings about the serious themes in the novel: Violence and Bullying; Loneliness, Individuality, and Belonging; Race and Racial Identity; Adoption, Blended Families, and Traditional Families; and Athletes and the Issue of Entitlement. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. Whale Talk is set in America’s Pacific Northwest. How does Crutcher portray the culture and population of Spokane, Washington? Which elements of this setting are important to understanding the novel’s characterizations? How does this setting help shape the novel’s plot? Write an essay analyzing the significance of the novel’s setting. Comment on how the setting supports one or more of the novel’s thematic interests: Violence and Bullying; Loneliness, Individuality, and Belonging; Race and Racial Identity; Adoption, Blended Families, and Traditional Families; and Athletes and the Issue of Entitlement. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. On page 178, John Paul tells T.J. that “Whale talk is the truth, and in a very short period of time, if you’re a whale, you know exactly what it is to be you.” What does he mean by this? Why is this novel called Whale Talk? Where are whales and whale talk mentioned in the text, and what patterns of ideas, feelings, and events are associated with these mentions? Write an essay analyzing the symbolic significance of the idea of “whale talk” in this novel. Comment on how this symbolism supports one or more of the novel’s thematic interests: Violence and Bullying; Loneliness, Individuality, and Belonging; Race and Racial Identity; Adoption, Blended Families, and Traditional Families; and Athletes and the Issue of Entitlement. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is this book’s narrative point of view?

A) First person

B) Second person

C) Third person limited

D) Third person omniscient

2. Which adults seem most responsible for allowing people like Mike Barbour to get away with bullying?

A) Mr. Simet and Mr. Van Zandt

B) Mr. Van Zandt and Coach Benson

C) Coach Benson and Principal Morgan

D) Principal Morgan and Mr. Simet

3. Which adults make the most effort to help T.J.?

A) The Joneses and Stacy Couples

B) Stacy Couples and the Marshalls

C) The Marshalls and Georgia Brown

D) Georgia Brown and the Joneses

4. During the time period the story covers, where are all the places that T.J. encounters threats and violence?

A) At school

B) At school and in the community

C) At school and at home

D) At school, in the community, and at home

5. Which is the best description of the way T.J. responds to injustices like the way athletes are treated at his school, the Neo-Nazi parade, Mike’s physical attack on him after killing the fawn, and Mark Furman’s being hired at the radio station?

A) Direct confrontation and physical intervention

B) Indirect humor, sarcasm, and criticism

C) Creative protest, witnessing, and speaking up

D) Seizing power and changing the rules

6. At the end of the incident, when Rich shows up at T.J.’s house, what is foreshadowed by Rich telling T.J. that their conflict is not over?

A) John Paul’s death

B) The revelation that Kyle is John Paul’s son

C) The Mermen taking on the Bushwhackers at Hoopfest

D) Georgia’s warning that Rich is unstable

7. What characteristic of Heidi’s does Rich repeatedly make cruel and derogatory remarks about?

A) Her intelligence

B) Her race

C) Her body size

D) Her physical disability

8. Which location do the Mermen feel safe to express their feelings and tell their stories?

A) The team bus

B) The locker room

C) The pool

D) The school assembly

9. Which characteristic of T.J.’s do other characters warn him is a problem?

A) He is sometimes a little cold or unfeeling.

B) He is sometimes a little cocky or arrogant.

C) He is sometimes a little shallow or judgmental.

D) He is sometimes a little selfish or greedy.

10. Besides John Paul, what do Kyle and T.J. have in common?

A) Both are avid swimmers and athletes.

B) Both are isolated because of their race.

C) Both were raised by someone other than their birth parents.

D) Both are obsessed with whales and motorcycles.

11. Which of the Mermen do athletes like Mike most seriously underestimate?

A) Jackie

B) Tay-Roy

C) Andy

D) Chris

12. What event does John Paul’s final message to Abby refer back to?

A) Tyler’s death

B) Their adoption of T.J.

C) The death of the fawn

D) Their wedding

13. What is the implied reason for Chris suffering more bullying at school than T.J. does?

A) T.J. has the support of the most popular students.

B) T.J. is less worried about getting in trouble.

C) Chris does not try as hard to get along with others.

D) Chris has fewer resources to fight back with.

14. What message does the novel send about those who bully and abuse others?

A) The perpetrators are simply the unwitting tools of larger cultural power structures.

B) The perpetrators are weak, insecure people who blame others for their own problems.

C) The perpetrators are sick, evil people who take pleasure in others’ suffering.

D) The perpetrators are unthinking animals who are unaware of the pain they cause others.

15. What is symbolically connected by the weapon Rich brings into Hoopfest?

A) T.J. and the letter jackets

B) T.J. and the Mermen

C) Heidi and the fawn

D) Heidi and John Paul

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What do the differences between Carly’s and Alicia’s situations demonstrate about the importance of resources for escaping abuse?

2. What different things do letter jackets mean to people like Mike and people like T.J.?