1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
By Robert O’Brien

2. Setting

3. The Characters

4. The Conflict

5. Chapter 1…Vocabulary Quest

6. Building Background Knowledge
Compare and Contrast a mouse and a rat…how are they alike and how are they different.
Should rats or mice be used to conduct research? Why or why not? Support your answer with sound reasons.

7. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
It was a winter house, such as some field mice move to when food becomes too scarce, and the living too hard in the woods and pastures.

8. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
It had somehow been abandoned in the garden during the summer and lay almost completely buried, with only a bit of one corner showing above ground.

9. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
She climbed up the tunnel, emerging whiskers first, and looked around warily.

10. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
Mrs. Frisby had no trouble at all going through the cattle wire fence, but she approached the hole cautiously.

11. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
In the stump there was a hole, and out of the hole protruded something that looked a little like a leaf, but was not.

12. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
The food had been carefully stored and then, for some reason, forgotten or abandoned.

13. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
With her forepaws and sharp teeth she pulled off a part f the husk from the top ear of corn and folded it to serve as a crude carrying bag.

14. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
Timothy was the frailest and when colds or flus or virus infections came around he was the first to catch them and the slowest to recover.

15. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
Timothy was always getting sick, but this time he really was sick. He was something of a hypochondriac.

16. Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
They would leave the hickory nuts as they were far too hard for mouse jaws to crack, too tedious to gnaw through.

17. He is terribly ill. His fever is so high he has become delirious.
Determine meaning of words using context clues.
Explain what how you figured it out.
He is terribly ill. His fever is so high he has become delirious.