Hot Sites
Visit the hyperlinked sites to help
further your understanding of many of the themes of the novel by conducting
outside research.
- Child Abuse: There are different forms of
child abuse: two forms are emotional abuse, including verbal,
psychological, identity, spiritual, and isolation, and physical abuse,
including neglect, sexual, and battery. You can look up definitions and
categories of abuse at:
http://atoz.iqhealth.com/atoz/readingroom/child.html
- Play Therapy: Georgia Brown, T.J.’s counselor and
friend, tries to help Heidi by using a method called “Play Therapy.”
For a definition on Play Therapy as a special kind of Child Psychology, visit:
www.playtherapy.org.uk/AboutPlayTherapy/PlayTherapyDefinition1.htm
- Bullies Big & Small: Author Chris Crutcher shows
that bullies can be found not only in some kids, but in a few adults also.
T.J. has his own unique ways of dealing with the two bullies, Mike Barbour and
Rich Marshall, in his life. Here are some tips on how to handle the bullies
that might be in your school, as well as an insight on what makes bullies
bully:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullies
- The Misfit Team: One could call them “misfits,”
but, relatively speaking, the misfits somehow fit with one another. To visit
the homepage of a member of
another popular misfit team check out:
http://www.devonharrislive.com/
- Basking in the Reflected Glory of the Letter Jacket:
The Letter Jacket stands for different symbols according to different
characters in Crutcher’s Cutter High: pride, victory, goals, association,
identity…To find out what the Letter Jacket traditionally stands for, you can
check out:
http://members.cox.net/phxjer/sleeves/history.htm
- Special Olympics: Chris had an intellectual
disability but was still able to participate in group sports. The Special
Olympics Organization is committed to reaching the intellectually disabled to
improve their physical and mental health. To find out what other benefits
these activities provide explore:
http://www.specialolympics.org
- Adoption: Although T.J. only briefly mentions the
adoption process, adoption is not easy it has both financial and legal
obligations. To find out what his adoptive parents had to go thought in the
adoptive process explore:
http://adopting.adoption.com
- Irony: Chris Crutcher uses
irony throughout his novel Whale Talk as a literary device.
To find out more about irony and to help further your understanding of
the irony within the book visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
- Whale Song: Whale
songs travel hundreds of miles in the ocean. To learn more about these
amazing songs visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_song
- Guardian ad Litem: T.J.'s
father is a Guardian ad Litem for the state. His job is to represent
the best interests of wards of the state who may not be able to represent
themselves. To learn more about what a Guardian ad Litem does visit:
http://www.clerk.co.brevard.fl.us/ctadmin/guardian_ad_litem/gal_program.htm
- Lemmings: Small, furry
rodents that are slightly larger than rats. They become a metaphor for
many of the jocks at Cutter High. To learn more about these mammals
and how they relate to the book visit:
http://www.4to40.com/QA/index.asp?counter=43&category=animal
- Prosthetic Leg: Many of the
characters compete in swimming despite physical or mental handicaps.
To learn more about athletes who compete with prosthetics visit:
http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/dec_96/slopes.html
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