Summary and Commentary Plot Summary : Dairy Queen: A Novel is written from the perspective of fifteen year old D.J. Schwenk. She lives in the small town of Red Bend Wisconsin on her family's dairy farm. After her father has surgery he is no longer capable of doing farm work, leaving D.J. with most of the responsibility. She wakes up each day to milk the cows and tend to other farm responsibilities. Because of this she has to give up some of the sports she loves, as well as time spent on school work, leaving her with an F in English. In addition to these issues, the Schwenk family has a hard time communicating about anything at all. Two of D.J.'s brothers are not on speaking terms with the family and any other problems that arise are swept under the rug. At the beginning of the summer Brian Nelson, the quarterback of the Hawley football team—the fierce rival of Red Bend High School— is sent to work on the farm. With anger and bitterness they work together, until the Hawley Football coach who is a good friend of D.J.'s dad, asks her to train Brian for the upcoming season. She hesitantly agrees and they begin to work together. Over the course of the summer they become good friends and for the first time in D.J.'s life she feels like she has someone to talk to. This relationship, along with several others, is put in jeopardy when D.J. decides to try out for the Red Bend High School Football team. As a result of this huge decision Brian will not talk to her, her dad is angry, and on top of it all her best friend Amber gives her the shock of her life. D.J. finds herself in a mess that she knows she needs to clean up. Learning how to communicate, forgive, and accept are three things she must to do to solve her problems. The story ends with some resolution, but loose ends are left for the reader to tie up for themselves. Recommendation: This is a great book to get students thinking about what makes relationships of any kind successful. It teaches about the need for communication, understanding, humility, forgiveness, and acceptance. Students will enjoy and be able to relate to the always growing relationship of D.J. and Brian. This book is a great prompt to talk about important subjects, some that in other situations may be difficult to discuss. It is a great story carefully written from D.J.'s unique perspective making it interesting and easier to connect with. Cautions: My only cautions involve some mild scenes that involve teenage drinking and additionally the topic of homosexuality. This is clear in the story but is never directly stated. It does play a definite role as it is something D.J. directly faces because of Amber's confession. Mature students could handle the situation, which could make an easy lead in to a discussion about communication, assumption, and tolerance. Because it does play this role in the story, younger students may not be able to see beyond it, ruining the overall effectiveness of the novel.   Reading Activities (compiled by Emily Turner) |During Reading|After Reading| Dairy Queen: A Novel, “Before” Connections   1-Murdock, Catherine Gillbert. “About the Author.” Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Ed. Elizabeth Iannarino . 2006-2007. 25 Jan. 2008 <http://www.catherinemurdock.com/author/author.html>. This information will give students background information about the author Catherine Murdock as an individual and as a writer. They will be able to recognize influences from her life as they begin to read the book.   2- Turner Emily. “Journal Entries.” BYU. 2008 Assign students to keep a journal for a week, including their feelings and other occurrences around them. At the end of the week have them look over what they wrote and discuss how writing their feelings affected them, what observations they made about themselves, and why self expression is important. This activity will help them understand the importance of validating personal feelings. They will also be able to relate to D.J., the main character and narrator of the story, as she learns to express herself throughout the course of the novel.   3- Col, Jeananda. “Facts, Maps, and State Symbols.” EnchantedLearning.com. Ed. Jeananda Col. 2001-2007. 25 Jan. 2008 <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/wisconsin/>. Using general facts and maps of Wisconsin will help students to understand the setting of the story. They will see how farming is a big part of Wisconsin's history and culture.   4- Encyclopedia Britannica. “Hay.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Ed. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008 25 Jan.  2008  < http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9039633 >. This article about hay will give students an idea about what hay is and why it is important on a farm. It also discusses how heavy each hay bale can be. After reading the article and discussing facts about hay the teacher can provide something the same weight as a hay bale and give students the opportunity to experience for themselves how difficult hay baling can be. This will then help students to relate to the characters in the book as they work on the farm.   5- “Remember the Titans.” Jonathan J. Short, Jerry Bruckheimer, Gregory Allen Howard. DVD. Disney. 2000. Watching clips from this film will help students understand the intensity of competition in the game of football. More importantly, it will help them see the need for communication and teamwork not only within an actual sports team but also within the family. This will prepare them to see the contrast in the book between how the Red Bend football team works together vs. the lack of teamwork and communication in the Schwenk family.   6- Dairy Management Inc. “Life on the Farm.” Dairy Management Inc. 2008. 25 Jan. 2008 <http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/DairyFarmingToday/Life-On-The-Farm>. This webpage is an awesome resource about dairy cows. Students will watch a video excerpt, learn farm word definitions, and discover information about how to care for cows. Doing these activities will help students to understand what it takes to raise dairy cattle so they will be able to relate to the characters and setting of the story.   7- Peterson, Rick. “Families First-Keys to Successful Family Functioning.” Virginia State University. June 1999. 25 Jan. 2008 < http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/family/350-092/350-092.html>. This article about communication in families will help students to identify different forms of communication and the importance of openly communicating in families. Before reading, the teacher will exemplify the four forms of communication while talking with students. After reading the article the teacher then points out the affect that the previous activity had on the students for good or bad. This awareness of communication skills will prepare students to point out issues within the Schwenk family in the book.   8- Turner, Emily. “The Roles of Men and Women.” BYU. 2008. Ask students to list jobs or activities that are stereotyped as either “men's” or “women's.” Discuss why they placed men or women in these certain roles. Define what a stereotype is and discuss the consequences of stereotyping. This will help students understand that things do not always have to be the way society exhibits them. It will open their minds and prepare them to accept the idea of a D.J. playing on her high school football team.   9- About Inc. “The About Football Glossary.” Ed. About Inc. 2008. 25 Jan. 2008 <http://football.about.com/od/football101/l/bl_glossary.htm>. Using definitions from this page, students will become familiar with football terminology which is used frequently in the book.   10- Turner, Emily. “Preparation.” BYU. 2008 Have students write three paragraphs. The first about a time in their life when they were unprepared for some sort of event i.e. test, school assignment, presentation, sporting event etc., the second about a time when they were prepared, and finally, have them write a third paragraph comparing and contrasting the two experiences. Have them share responses and discuss the importance of preparation. This will help students realize why training for football season is so important to the characters in the book.    Dairy Queen: A Novel , During Connections   1-Maddox, Sarah. “Chapter Rewrite.” January 2008. In this activity students will rewrite parts of a particular chapter through the perspective of one of the other prominent characters. This will help students to recognize the effect that point of view has on the story. It will also give them an opportunity to practice creative writing.   2- Turner, Emily. “Hidden Talent/Dream Activity.” BYU. January 2008. Worksheet questions to answer and discuss: In Dairy Queen: A Novel many characters have hidden talents or secret dreams they want to achieve. Dad loves to cook, Curtis wants to be a dentist, and D.J. loves football. Write about some of your hidden talents or dreams. What happens when the characters display their talent/dreams? What happens when they don't? In your opinion which is better?   3- Schmandt, Phillip. “Go, Girl! Go!” The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp. 19 Nov. 1999. 31 Jan. 2008 <http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A74719>. Have students read this real life story about a female football player and discuss the pros and cons to this reality. Have them compare and contrast the real story to D.J. and her experience in the novel.   4 - Seuss, Dr . The Sneetches and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1989.   This Dr. Seuss book is about making judgments based on the appearance of things. It can be used to show how silly and untrue snap judgments are and can be compared to the unfair judgments characters make against one another in the novel. This can be the basis for a discussion about the dangers of stereotyping and prejudice, helping students recognize these things in their own lives.   5- Turner, Emily. “Hard Work.” BYU. 2008.   Have students write about a time when they worked really hard. What was it for? How did it make them feel? Is hard work important and/or necessary? Discuss how hard work affects the characters and their motives in the novel.     6- Mulkey, Hedwig. Blended Notations . “During Connections from Freak the Mighty.” Taylor Wantanabe. 2007. 31 Jan. 2008. <http://english.byu.edu/novelinks/Novel%20Pages/Freak%20the%20Mighty.htm>. Students work on this project throughout the reading of the novel. They should have one “blended notation” for each chapter read. This form of note taking uses both left and right brain skills. Students should divide their paper into two columns. On the left side of the paper students will take bulleted notes on important thematic developments, recurring motifs, important quotes or key events that happened in the chapter. On the right side of the page students will draw/illustrate something to represent either a specific note on the right side (or several) or the entire chapter as a whole. This helps students visualize the important events of the book and also provides a great reference for post-reading work and discussion.   7- Turner, Emily. “Communication Theme Activity.” BYU. 2008. In chapter 26 Brian and D.J. argue and Brian says “When you don't talk…there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.” Have students write about what they think this means. Discuss what evidence is given in the novel to support the idea that this message is one of the main themes.   8- “While you were Sleeping.” John Turtletab, Daniel G. Sullivan, Fredric LeBow. DVD. Hollywood Pictures. 1995. This film is all about lack of communication. Viewing a few clips shows how even small amounts of miscommunication can greatly effect and even change someone's life. Discuss the importance of communication. Then as students read have them identify, in writing, events in the story where lack of communication leads to conflict, confusion, or hurt.   9- Turner, Emily. “Character Songs.” BYU. 2008. Form several groups of students. Assign each group a character from the book and write down characteristics about them. Then have the groups find a song that represents their character. Take a few minutes the next day for each group to present their song and explain how it represents the characteristics of that particular character.   10- Robinson, Diana. “10 Steps to Forgiveness.” Coachville Resource Center. Coachville LLC. 2001. 31 Jan. 2008. <http://topten.org/content/tt.BE1.htm>.   This website goes through ten steps to real forgiveness. Forgiveness is big issue in the novel and using this information will help students see why it is so important and how to do it.       Dairy Queen: A Novel , After Connections   1-Turner, Emily. “Finding Themes.” BYU. 2008. After reviewing the concept of “theme” have students find two themes and two examples of those themes in the book. Then have them write about how this can apply in their own lives.   2- Henry, Tenai. “Characterization.” 2008. After teaching students about characterization in literature, give them a chart with each main character's name written next to a row. Categorize the columns with the following headings: self, narrator, and other characters. Then have students find examples in the book where each individual is described or characterized by themselves, the narrator, or other characters. This will help students recognize how authors characterize characters and how they could do it in their own writing.   3- Ostenson, Jon. “Character Letters.” 2007. In order to have students show further that they understand characterization, have them write a letter using the perspective of one character to another character in the story. This shows that they recognize how the author has characterized each one individually.   4- Turner, Emily. “Competition.” BYU. 2008. There is a lot of competition on many different levels throughout Dairy Queen: A Novel. Have students find examples of these competitions and the sportsmanship related, whether bad or good. Discuss what makes competition a positive vs. a negative experience.     5- Henry, Tenai. “Great Achievements.” 2008. This novel is about a girl who has a dream and works to achieve it, despite the odds. It is about overcoming fear and becoming what you want to become. With this in mind give students a project assignment to find someone who they think has achieved something great despite opposition or fear. Give them an option to interview, scrapbook, or make a movie/slideshow about this person's life and accomplishments.   6- Turner, Emily. “What's the Rest of the Story?” BYU. 2008. The book ends without details about what will happen to any of the characters. Have students use creative thinking skills and information from the story to infer what might happen to D.J., Brian, Curtis, Amber, Mom and Dad, or D.J.'s brothers. This will help them learn to make inferences during and after they read a piece of literature.   7- Youth Learn Initiative. "An Introduction to Inquiry-based Learning." Education Development Center. 2001-2003. 8 February 2008 <http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/approach/inquiry.asp>. Using this information about what an inquiry project is, have students create one based on the topic "Communication." They will take this topic and ask questions about communication relating to something they are interested in. For example cell phones, the internet, romantic relationships etc. They then research the topic, provide answers for their questions, and sources where they found that information. When this is complete each student takes time to present their communication question and answers to the class. This will help make the book more real to them and applicable to their lives as they take a theme from it and apply it to something they have interest in.   8- Turner, Emily. “Book Review.” BYU. 2008. As an alternative to writing a book report have students write a book review. Require them to include a short summary of the plot, commentary about one of the themes, reasons they did or not like the book, and reasons why someone might have an opposite opinion. This gives them an opportunity to express their feelings and also look at the book from an opposing viewpoint.   9- Terrie Lynn Bittner. Homeschool Teachers Lounge. Terrie Lynn Bittner. 2001. 8 Feb. 2008 <http://geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4336/bookreports.html>. Have students work in groups to write a script from one key scene in the book. Have them choose parts and act it out for the class. This will help them to identify key events in the story connect more with the emotions and motivations of the characters.   10- Robb, Kim. “More Ideas than you'll ever use for Book Reports.” Teachnet.com. 8 Feb. 2008 <http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/reading/bookrepts1.html>. Have students choose a quote from a character and write why it would or would not be a good motto by which to live their lives. This can help them see what the characters in the story could or should do differently in order to be happier and what they might need to do in their own lives to also find more happiness.