Life Lessons from the Video

• Integrity--You can have a discussion with your students about Angie's truthfulness. Discussion questions are included here [Answers are in brackets]. These can also be used for essay topics.

  How was Angie handling her class report? Why? [She was having someone else do it for her.]

  What were the consequences if Angie did not turn in a report on time? [She would receive a failing grade.]

  How did the librarian help her learn a valuable lesson? [He helped direct her to an imaginary land where literature came alive and she learned the value of the truth.]

  What did she decide to do at the end? [She decided to be honest and write her own paper. She decided that accepting the consequences of her mistake--receiving the failing grade--was better than living a lie.]

  Why did she make this decision? [Through Mark Twain's literature she learned the value of writing and the value of being honest. Other more specific answers will vary.]

  How do you feel about Angie's actions? [Have students write their answers in a personal journal or diary.]

• Plagiarism--Plagiarism is a major problem confronting librarians and teachers. Discuss plagiarism with your students. As a part of this section, have a lesson about the proper use of library resources.

  What is plagiarism? [Plagiarism is copying another person's work without their permission.]

  How does plagiarism hurt us in the long run. [We do not learn to think for ourselves.]

  Was Angie hurting herself when she had someone else do her paper? Explain. [Yes, she was not learning.]

  How can you use the resources of the library to do your work? [This is an opportunity for teachers to discuss library research skills.]

  Many students plagiarize because they do not know how to properly paraphrase and quote. Teach students these writing skills. Emphacize that paraphrasing and quoting are appropriate uses of library resources.

• Peer pressure--There was another young lady in the play--Maria--who was subjected to peer pressure from Angie.

  How did Maria feel about writing the term paper for Angie? [She had written it, but had second thoughts when it came time to deliver.]

  How did Angie trick Maria? [She spilled some papers on the floor to distract her and grabbed the paper.]

  Have you ever been in a similar situation? [Have students write their answers in a personal journal or diary.]

• One small deception leads to another--The librarian confronted Angie and asked about her paper. He knew what she had done so he asked leading questions. Angie had to tell one lie after another to cover herself.

  What things did Angie tell the Librarian about the term paper she held in her hands? [She said that the information was from her father's library, etc.]

  Why did she have to keep making up lies? [She had to cover her previous lies.]

  What would she have had to do to keep from telling lies? [She would have had to do her own term paper.]

• My teacher doesn't like me--Angie uses the excuse that her teacher doesn't like her when it comes to explaining why she needs to have someone else do her term paper.

  Why do you think that Angie perceives that the teacher does not like her? [The teacher is concerned about Angie's actions. This can easily be misinterpreted by students.]

  Who has the problem here, the teacher or Angie? [Angie has the problem. Angie needs to be truthful.]

  How does it feel when someone doesn't like you? [Answers will be personal comments.]

• The value of reading and writing--When Angie traveled to Mark Twain's world, literature came alive. What value does this have? Use the following questions to discuss this with students.

  Why do we have libraries?

  Why do people read books? Why do people write books?

  Rank the following in importance: books, radio, television or movies? Explain your choice.

  What problems would we have if we had to rely totally on radio and television for our information?