Study Questions for Sherlock Holmes Stories

“A Scandal in Bohemia”

1.       What does Sherlock Holmes think of Irene Adler?

2.       Describe Holmes’ and Watson’s situation in the beginning of the story.

3.       How does Holmes prove his intelligence?

4.       Who is the client? How does Holmes know who he is and how does he treat the client?

5.       What was Watson’s job for when they get Irene Adler’s house?

6.       How did Irene Adler outsmart Holmes?

“The Red-Headed League”

1.       Holmes lists the “obvious facts” that he deduces from Mr. Wilson’s appearance. What are they and how did Homes know?

2.       What is the only requirement needed to apply for a vacancy in the Red-Headed League? What are the benefits?

3.       Describe the work Mr. Wilson must do for the League. What exactly is it? When must he do it? What is supposedly the purpose? What happens if he leaves the office during working hours?

4.       Holmes begins to question Mr. Wilson about his assistant. List here some of the things that he learns.

5.       What detail suggests that Holmes already knows who this man is? Why does Holmes pretend to be lost and ask the way of Mr. Wilson’s assistant? What other odd thing does he do in front of Mr. Wilson’s place of business?

6.       Who are Mr. Jones and Mr. Merryweather? Who is John Clay?

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band”

1.    Why has Helen Stoner decided to visit to Sherlock Holmes at that particular time?

2.    Why is Helen Stoner afraid when she comes to see Holmes in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”?

3.    Why does Holmes quickly suspect that Dr. Roylott is the criminal?

4.    What, if any, significance does Dr. Roylott’s interest in Indian animals have as evidence

5.    Explain which relevant clues you were able to identify in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” and which false clues may have led you astray.

6.    Which of the five senses are used by Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of the speckled band?

“The Engineer’s Thumb”

1.    What details make the mood of the story spooky?  Find five details that contribute to the mood.  

2.    Do you think that the engineer in this story should have known something illegal was going on at Colonel Stark’s home?  What clues might have led him to this conclusion?

3.    If you had been the engineer at the beginning of the story, needing a job desperately but offered such unusual conditions, what would you have done?

“The Final Problem”

1.       What is the significance of the title?

2.       Describe Prof. Moriarty’s criminal activity.  How is he the “Napoleon of crime?”

3.       How do Watson and Holmes outwit Moriarty on the train?

4.       Why does Watson refuse to let Holmes travel alone?

5.       Describe the scene between Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls.

“The Adventure of the Empty House”

1.       How does Sherlock Holmes reveal himself to Watson?

2.       How did Sherlock Holmes fill his time while he was “dead?”

3.       Describe the new mystery that Holmes and Watson are go solve?

4.       What previous knowledge of the situation does Holmes have?

5.       What clues are given?

6.       What unusual twist occurs and foils the murderer’s plot to kill Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes Quotes

“A Scandal in Bohemia”

·         You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.

·         It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

·         To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.

“The Red-Headed League”

·         I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life.

·         It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes.

 “The Five Orange Pips”

·         A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library...

·         As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before and after.

·         It is not so impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this, I have endeavoured in my case to do.

·         A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.

“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”

·         My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know.

·         On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences.

·         My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know.

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band”

·         "You are Holmes, the meddler."
My friend smiled.
"Holmes, the busybody!"
His smile broadened.
"Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!"
Holmes chuckled heartily.

·         "When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge."

·         Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.

“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches”

·         "Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."

·         The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.

·         "I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they seem to you to be relevant or not."

·         "Do you know, Watson," said he, "that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there."

Characteristics of a Detective Story

C. Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature defines a detective story as “a novel or

short story in which a crime, usually a murder – the identity of the perpetrator unknown –

is solved by a detective through a logical assembling and interpretation of palpable

evidence, known as clues.”

            The first detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe, and Conan Doyle acknowledged their influence on his writing.  A good detective story generally follows six “unwritten rules.”  

First, the crime must be significant, worthy of the attention it receives.  Most stories involve murder, though Conan Doyle tied the majority of his crimes to greed and theft. 

Second, the detective must be in some way a memorable character.  He or she must be very intelligent, of course, unusually clever and observant, but also quirky, possessing perhaps some odd idiosyncrasies that distinguish him or her.  Kojak’s lollipop, Columbo’s crumpled raincoat, James Bond’s unruffled cool and high-tech gadgets, all of these things make the hero somehow distinct.  

Third, along with an exceptional detective, there must be an outstanding opponent, a criminal clever enough to be a match for the hero.  Solving the crime can’t be too easy. 

Fourth, because a large part of the attraction of a detective story is the opportunity for the reader to try to figure out the solution along with the detective, all suspects of the crime must be introduced early in the story, and

Fifth, all clues the detective discovers must be made available to the reader also. 

Finally, at the end of the story, the solution must seem obvious, logical, possible.  The crime must not have resulted from accident or supernatural intervention, and the detective must be able to explain all aspects of the case in a reasonable way.  A fine detective story should meet each one of these standards. 

Commas at a Glance

Comma Usage At A Glance

Punctuation, one is taught, has a point: to keep up law and order. Punctuation marks are the road signs placed along the highway of our communication -- to control speeds, provide directions and prevent head-on collisions.

1.1 – Compound Sentences

Two or more sentences held together with coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) form a compound sentence.  A comma must be used before the conjunction.

1.2 – Complex Sentences

Complex sentences contain on complete sentence and at least one fragment of a sentence.  Do not separate these parts with a comma.

1.3 – Compound/Complex Sentences

A compound/complex sentence contains two or more complete thoughts joined with coordinating conjunctions along with at least one sentence fragment.  Compound sentences require commas before the conjunctions.

1.4 – Introductory Elements

Some sentences begin with phrases.  Separate these phrases from the main part of the sentence with a comma.

1.4a – Using Transitional words

            1.4b – Dependent Adverbial Phrases

1.5 – Restrictive Clauses

Some phrases or clauses limit the meaning of the words they are referring to.  Because they are necessary to the meaning of the sentence, they should not be set off with commas.  

When you use who, which, whom, when, or where, decide whether the sentence would be unclear if you omitted it.  If omitting the phrase makes the sentence unclear or changes the meaning, then that part is necessary to the sentence, and you should not use commas.

1.6 – Appositives

An appositive renames the noun or pronoun it follows.  If omitting the appositive would change the meaning of the sentence, then do not set it apart with commas.  If the “renaming” does not change the meaning, then use commas.

1.7 – Parenthetical Comments

Parenthetical comments are those which can be left out but are included to add color or personality to the sentence.

1.8 – Items in a Series

Use a comma to separate words and phrases in a series.  Present usage advocates the use of the comma before and connecting the last two words of a series; some writers, however, prefer to omit the comma before and.  This comma is called the “series comma” or the “Oxford comma.”  When etc. ends a series, it should be preceded and followed by a comma.  Use commas to separate pairs of words in a series.  Use a comma between adjectives preceding a noun when they are coordinate qualifying words.

1.9 – Names

Use a comma to set off inverted names in bibliographies, in indexes, in directories, or in other reference lists.  Use a comma to separate a name from a title or a degree that it follows.  Use a comma to separate a name from a title or degree that follows it.

Do not use a comma to separate compound personal pronouns from the words they emphasize.  Omit the comma when an appositive has become part of the proper name.

1.10 – For similar or identical words

Use a comma to separate similar of identical words standing next to each other, even when the sense or continuity does not seem to require it.

1.11 – In direct quotations

Use a comma to set off direct quotations.  Not that no comma is needed in an indirect quotation.

1.12 – Short Phrases

A comma should follow yes, no, why, well when one of these words is used at the beginning of a sentence.  Use a comma to set off light exclamations.

1.13 – In Addresses

Use a comma to set off a phrase denoting residence or positions but not before ZIP codes.  Omit the comma before the ZIP code number in an address on an envelope; place the number two spaces after the two-letter state abbreviation.

1.14 – In Dates

Use a comma in dates.  A comma may be used to separate the month from the year when the date is omitted; in some current usage, the comma between the month and year is omitted.

1.15 – In Digits

Use a comma to set off figures in groups of more than four digits.

Use a comma to separate two figures or words indicating figures in order to make their meaning clear.

FANBOYS Worksheet

      A Compound sentence is a sentence that has two simple sentences joined together. When a compound sentence is joined together with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet so), add a comma before a coordinating conjunction.

Hint:  not all conjunctions join two simple sentences (independent clauses). If they are not joining two simple sentences, do not use a comma.

Examples of Comma Rule:

Jordan broke his arm, so he had to go to the hospital.
My dog chased a rabbit around the yard, but he couldn’t catch it.

Amelia opened her locker and grabbed her books for class.

Directions: Underline the FANBOYS in the sentence. If it is joining 2 sentences, insert a comma BEFORE the coordinating conjunction. If it is not joining 2 sentences, do not insert a comma.  On the line after the sentence, write S if it is a simple sentence or C if it is a compound sentence.

Exercises

1.    Roberta likes going to school but she does not like math class.  _______

2.    Jed and Joey put hot fudge and whipped cream on their ice cream.  _______

3.    Betty likes to eat pizza but she likes spaghetti better.  _______

4.    Eli sat down to do his homework but his sister ate it.   _______

5.    Snoopy went to his dog house to eat and take a nap.  _______

6.    Linus lost his blanket and started to cry.  _______

7.    Charlie Brown wanted to ask Lucy a question but she was too busy.  _______

8.    Students are eating spaghetti or deli subs today.  _______

9.    Sponge Bob took his notebook to class but he forgot his pencil.   _______

10. Sally went fishing last Saturday but we didn't catch anything.  _______

Writing Compound Sentences

Write 3 separate, simple sentences.

1.    __________________________________________________________________________

2.    __________________________________________________________________________

3.    __________________________________________________________________________

Using the sentences above, make them into compound sentences.

4.    __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5.    __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6.    __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

In the following passage from The Giver by Lois Lowry, highlight every compound sentence.  Watch out, some sentences have a compound predicate (2 verbs for the same subject.)

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane.

At first, he had been only fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community. Occasionally, when supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community.

But the aircraft a year ago had been different. It was not a squat, fat-bellied cargo plane but a needle-nosed single-pilot jet. Jonas, looking around anxiously, had seen others--adults as well as children--stop what they were doing and wait, confused, for an explanation of the frightening event. 

Writing 2 - Categories & Scores

Another e-mail about grades

This year I am using a new online grade book, My Gradebook, and similar to Engrade, I can group homework by categories.  Below is an explanation of the categories.

Assignments:  This category is mostly Quick Writes, but it also includes the Word of the Day Test.  In part, you can view this as the classroom participation portion of the grade.  The intent of these low key assignments is to engage students with writing and with one another.  This category is also a catch-all for extra credit and miscellaneous assignments that don’t fit elsewhere.

Literature:  These are all of the assignments related to our literature selection.  They include study guide questions, vocabulary words, quizzes, tests, activities, etc.  For the most part, this is a quantity-related score.  If students did all of the assignments, their score is higher than if they had not done the homework. (Note:  I allowed students to do extra study guide questions and vocabulary; if they missed the work for one week, they could do extra the next to make that up.  That’s why you might see a high score in literature even though your students has “MIS” on some assignments.)

Grammar

This semester’s scores for the grammar portion of the class are mostly quality-related.  For work that I assigned, their scores reflect how much they got right and how much they got wrong.  Occasionally we do work in class, and that score is a participation score.

Writing:  The scores for this category reflect both quantity and quality.  Students are given a base score for the outlines and rough drafts.  Their final drafts are graded with a rubric; if they heed my comments and corrections, their papers are more likely to have higher scores.

As you can see, the different aspects of the class are weighed and scored differently.  In other words, a 100% score for Quick Writes does not carry the same importance as 100% in writing or grammar or literature. Because we do a variety of activities and homework options, grading for this class is not a strict numbers issue.  For that reason, I give the scores for the separate categories and then suggest a combined score.

Grades are coming soon,

Mrs. Prichard

Thoughts about Grades

Dear Parents & Students,

I've just finished calculating the grades for the first semester.  Please remember that I am a “tutor,” and these are suggested grades for you as homeschooling families to consider.

Before I send the grades, let me share my thoughts about them.  As I homeschooled, I didn't give my children grades because I felt that grades were far too subjective.  Learning to write well is a process, and I am more concerned that my students stay engaged in the process than I am in the final products.

                Letter grades are a funny thing.  For some students, it becomes the only motivation for doing well.  For some, it becomes a measure of their worth as a person or as an academic learner.  I personally don't like these "side effects" of the grading system.  On the other hand, grades can be a valid reward for working hard, being diligent, and understanding the materials.  Incentives and consequences are a part of life; God uses them, too.

                When teaching students to be good writers, I give a lot of consideration for growth and improvement. Each student has a starting place; over time I look for him or her to learn the mechanics of grammar, good writing techniques, and analytical thinking skills; they then move on from that original starting place.

                For this class, I gave points for attendance, participation, short assignments and longer papers.   I tend to be an "easy grader" and like to see my students encouraged to do their best.  Becoming a good writer is hard work, and too often students are discouraged before they’ve given themselves a chance to succeed.

                Each student (and their parents) will get an e-mail with percentages and suggested grades for this semester. I will explain more about the specific scores and categories in another e-mail.

Blessings,

Tammy Prichard