Capo Creations, Box 1411, Haileybury, Ontario, CANADA. POJ 1KO Phone: 705 672-5737 Not to be used or copied in any manner without specific written consent of the publisher All Rights Reserved

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1. Describe the opening scene.
2. Why is Susan reluctant to intervene?
3. What was the final straw that caused Peter to retaliate against Duncan?
4. Who separated Duncan and Peter?
5. What news did the students receive about Ms. Schwartz, their grade six teacher?
6. Student Question

Describe some methods of getting along with people you don't really like.  Devise some strategies for dealing with bullies and share them with a friend.

1. How did Dr. Bleekman respond when Susan asked what had happened to Ms. Schwartz?
2. Explain the expression "by the book"?
3. Why did Susan enjoy Ms. Schwartz' class so much?
4. What were Mr. Smith's plans for drama that year?
5. According to Susan's father, why was Ms. Schwartz such a good teacher.
6. Describe your version of a good teacher.
7. Why did a wave of terror wash over Susan?
8. Student Question

Enrichment: Pretend that you are Susan Simmons.  Write a note to Ms. Schwartz trying to convince her to return to your classroom.

1. Compare Mr. Smith's marking style with that of Ms. Schwartz.
2. How did Mr. Smith foil Susan's plan to retrieve the note from the classroom?
3. What desperate measure did Susan decide to pursue in an attempt to get the note?
4. Who scared Susan?
5. What awful sound does Susan Simmons hear coming from Mr. Smith's house?
6. Predict at least three or four things that could be making the sound.
7. Student Question

Enrichment: Start a diary pretending that you are Susan Simmons.  Make one entry for every chapter you read.  Share the "daily" entries with a classmate.

1. Describe Mr. Smith's living room.
2. Explain why Susan proceeds up the stairs despite her fears.
3. What shock does Susan receive when she peers into the room upstairs?
4. What were the terrible noises that Susan had mistaken for a cat in a blender?
5. What does Susan learn that sends a chill down her spine?
6. Student Question

Enrichment: Record a variety of sounds and then play them back to your classmates one at a time and have them guess what the sounds actually are.

1. What did the alien speech sound like?
2. What would you do if you found out your teacher was an alien?
3. Who did Susan Simmons think was the only person that might believe her?
4. What information did the Simmons have about Ms. Schwartz?
5. What happens when Susan attempts to telephone Peter?
6. Student Question

Authors often select names for characters in their novels that are representative of their personal traits.  Examine this book and others stories to see if this is true.  (Hint: Dr. Bleekman).  Write your own short story employing this writing technique.

1. Why does Susan think that the whole alien thing might have been a dream?
2. What was Peter doing at recess?
3. Describe Peter's initial reaction when Susan tells him about Mr. Smith's true identity.
4. What course of action did Peter recommend when Susan had finished telling her story?
5. Student Question

Enrichment: Write a short biography on Bruce Coville.  Students may use the internet or any other materials they can find on the author.

1. According to Peter, why was it necessary to break into Broxholm's residence?
2. What did Peter suggest was the most likely place in Broxholm's house to locate proof that their teacher was an alien?
3. Why did Peter suggest that they break into Mr. Smith's house on Thursday night?
4. Why would it be easy for Susan to sneak out of the house on Thursday?
5. What admission does Susan make at the conclusion of this chapter that indicates she is very scared?
6. Student Question

Find a book in the library on making masks.  Create your very own alien mask and then model it for your classmates.

1. What thought did Susan have as she gazed at the stars?
2. How did the pair enter the house?
3. What surprise did they get when they opened the refrigerator door?
4. What is the last place in the house they search?
5. Student Question

Enrichment: Write a short scene about Susan and Peter searching the house.  Include lots of dialogue and then act it out in front of the class with a friend.  Be creative.

1. Describe what Peter and Susan discover in the attic?
2. What happened when Susan touched the blue light?
3. What were Broxholm's plans?
4. Student Question

1. Why did Susan take hold of Peter's hand?
2. How were Peter and Susan able to escape from the house?
3. What act did Peter perform that Susan considered very courageous?
4. What solo had Susan been asked to perform for the spring concert?
5. Student Question

Locate some of Sousa's music and play it for the class.

1. Why did Susan pretend to faint by Mr. Smith's desk?
2. What was Mr. Simmons' hobby?
3. What was the latest plan devised by Peter?
4. Student Question

Enrichment: Although there are no language translators for extraterrestrial beings, they do exist for foreign languages.  Find a site on the net that automatically translates your English message into a foreign language.  Experiment with it!

1. What unusual thing did Duncan do at school that morning?
2. Why was Susan shocked to see Stacy Benoit and Mike Foran arguing?
3. What clue does Susan provide that might make us suspicious of Mike's behaviour?
4. Student Question

Enrichment: Pretend that you are the editor for the Kennituck Falls Gazette, a weekly newspaper in Kennituck Falls.  Write up a piece describing what happened at school the day the alien was unmasked.  Make it dramatic as you want to sell plenty of newspapers.

1. How did Peter explain the weird behaviour of his classmates that morning?
2. How long did they have before Broxholm kidnapped the five students?
3. Who had told the students about Mr. Smith's true identity?
4. Why did Peter blush?
5. What conclusion does Peter draw at the end of the chapter that horrifies Susan?
6. Student Question

Enrichment: Do you believe that it's okay to tell "little white lies"?  Have you ever lied for reasons other than to protect yourself from punishment.  Elaborate.

1. Why did Susan feel she should go back to Broxholm's house without Peter?
2. How was Duncan able to skip school so frequently?
3. What role did Susan ask Duncan to play in the break-in at their teacher's home?
4. Student Question

What do you think is the most serious threat we face on Earth today? How would you attempt to solve the problem?

1. Why did the smile on Peter's face quickly turn into a frown?
2. Why was Ms. Schwartz very upset?
3. Who uttered the terrible scream from downstairs?
4. Student Question

Enrichment: Dress up as character in the story and have your classmates interview.  Prepare at home first and don't be shy about making things up, after all this is fiction.

1. What was upsetting Duncan?
2. Why had Duncan entered the house?
3. How did Mr. Bamwick react when Susan finally showed up for her class?
4. What terrifying words did Mr. Smith direct towards Susan at the end of the school day?
5. Student Question

Enrichment: Have you ever suspected that your teacher is an alien?  Write a short story pretending that your teacher is an alien.  Read it to your teacher and observe their reaction-- carefully!

1. Explain the possible double meaning of Mr. Smith's comment to Susan, "I know what you did today".
2. What caused Susan to shrink back in horror from her teacher?
3. What amazing feat does Mr. Smith perform with the book?
4. What is the horrible thumping sound that Susan hears?
5. What advice does Mr. Smith give to Susan?
6. Student Question

Enrichment: Design a comic strip depicting a scene from the novel.

1. Who jumped out of the bushes, frightening Susan?
2. Where was Duncan hiding?
3. Why was Mr. Bamwick so concerned about Susan's weak performance at her piccolo practice?
4. How does Peter feel about what is happening in their town?
5. Student Question

Enrichment: Pretend that you are Broxholm and write a letter home to your family describing what life is like on Planet Earth.

1. Why was Peter anxious to participate in class discussions and answer all the teacher's questions?
2. Describe Peter's response to Susan's accusation that the aliens are bad.
3. Why did Peter and Susan go to the drugstore?
4. Why was Susan disappointed with the pictures they had taken?
5. Why were on the students on the verge of a nervous breakdown on Thursday?
6. Student Question

Enrichment: Describe the types of vegetation and animal life that you might expect to find on another planet.

1. What did Susan discover that night at the dinner table?
2. What effect did Susan's piccolo playing have on Mr. Smith?
3. Why did Mr. Bamwick overrule Dr. Bleekman's directive to have the band stop playing?
4. What astonishing thing is Mr. Smith forced to do as a result of hearing the band's loud music?
5. Student Question

Enrichment: Design an alien spaceship.  Make a model of the spaceship by constructing it with the materials of your choice.

1. Who saved the alien from the students' musical barrage?
2. How did the alien prevent the students from following him?
3. What was Mrs. Simmons' major concern for Susan?
4. Describe Ms. Schwartz' condition.
5. Explain what happened to Peter?
6. Explain why Susan Simmons is studying so hard in her math classes.
7. Student Question

Created by:
Brian Thornton, Capo Creations, Box 1411, Haileybury, Ontario, CANADA POJ 1KO

Not to be used or copied in any manner without specific written consent of the publisher All Rights Reserved