House Arrest
by: K.A. Holt
Grades 3-5
Timothy is on probation. It’s a strange word—something that happens to other kids, to delinquents, not to kids like him. And yet, he is under house arrest for the next year. He must check in weekly with a probation officer and a therapist, and keep a journal for an entire year. And mostly, he has to stay out of trouble. But when he must take drastic measures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be. By turns touching and funny, and always original, House Arrest is a middlegrade novel in verse about one boy’s path to redemption as he navigates life with a sick brother, a grieving mother, and one tough probation officer.
by: K.A. Holt
Grades 3-5
Timothy is on probation. It’s a strange word—something that happens to other kids, to delinquents, not to kids like him. And yet, he is under house arrest for the next year. He must check in weekly with a probation officer and a therapist, and keep a journal for an entire year. And mostly, he has to stay out of trouble. But when he must take drastic measures to help his struggling family, staying out of trouble proves more difficult than Timothy ever thought it would be. By turns touching and funny, and always original, House Arrest is a middlegrade novel in verse about one boy’s path to redemption as he navigates life with a sick brother, a grieving mother, and one tough probation officer.
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Activity 1
Use appropriate research methods to learn more about Levi's medical condition: history, causes, symptoms, and available treatments. Create a brief presentation or report on your findings. |
Activity 2
Compare José’s family and house to Timothy’s. What do you think Timothy feels about José’s family? How does he feel when he’s at José’s house? What role does José and his family play in Timothy’s life? |
Activity 3
In the book House Arrest, there are instances of repurposing items. Heavy pillows and a bowling ball are used to help Timothy express his feeling during counseling. Timothy wears a pair of jeans that are way too hot for a steamy summer day, so his social worker takes the jeans and cuts them off at the knee, repurposing them into a pair of weather appropriate shorts. At another point in the story, the day nurse introduces chains to be used in place of the cloth strips that hold Levi’s trachea in place. These are examples of repurposing, or upcycling-a quite popular activity of late. Create an “Upcycled Article”. You can take things a step further and donate items created to a local charity. You can use old t-shirts, plastic shopping bags, plastic ware, wood pallets…there are many ideas to be found. Use the internet to help you find ideas to upcycle. You can either bring the object with you/send it to Mrs. Jack…or you can take a picture of the object and send that to her.
In the book House Arrest, there are instances of repurposing items. Heavy pillows and a bowling ball are used to help Timothy express his feeling during counseling. Timothy wears a pair of jeans that are way too hot for a steamy summer day, so his social worker takes the jeans and cuts them off at the knee, repurposing them into a pair of weather appropriate shorts. At another point in the story, the day nurse introduces chains to be used in place of the cloth strips that hold Levi’s trachea in place. These are examples of repurposing, or upcycling-a quite popular activity of late. Create an “Upcycled Article”. You can take things a step further and donate items created to a local charity. You can use old t-shirts, plastic shopping bags, plastic ware, wood pallets…there are many ideas to be found. Use the internet to help you find ideas to upcycle. You can either bring the object with you/send it to Mrs. Jack…or you can take a picture of the object and send that to her.