Student Binder

Student Binder · Source pages 26–48

4 · The Reading Pipeline

Book list, debate questions, ACTOR loop

The Forge · Student HandbookReading
Tab 05 / 12 · THE READING PIPELINE
READING

If you fall behind, tell a mentor privately. Your role stays yours; use the catch-up and equivalent-evidence route.

READING
12 tabs · you are here
STARTPROMISERHYTHMROLESREADINGDOC STUDYSTORYANVILCALENDARFAQGUIDEDICT
READING · 29
ReadingBook List
Eight units · one year · the reading spine

THE BOOKS

Your reading spine. One anchor text per unit, each paired with a trait you’ll argue about. Read every night; use the reading-guide blocks for exact chapter pacing.

Unit Trait Book Reading window ~Pages Pace
U1Discipline Project Hail Mary · Andy Weir
When your training fires before your memory does
 Sept 1 – Sept 22~480~23 pp/day
U2Perseverance Little Women · Louisa May Alcott
When ambition costs the people who love you
 Sept 29 – Oct 12~500~36 pp/day
U3Interdependence The Boys in the Boat · Daniel James Brown
When your real family is the one you choose in the boat
 Oct 20 – Nov 2~400~29 pp/day
U4Resilience Pride and Prejudice · Jane Austen
When integrity costs you security and status
 Nov 10 – Nov 30~270~13 pp/day
U5Acceptance A Man for All Seasons · Robert Bolt
When holding your ground means losing everything
 Dec 15 – Jan 4~150~7 pp/day
U6Courage All the Light We Cannot See · Anthony Doerr
When the system demands your complicity
 Jan 12 – Jan 25~530~38 pp/day
U7Hope The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde
When the beautiful surface hides the real story
 Feb 2 – Feb 22~250~12 pp/day
U8Moral Courage A Good Man Is Hard to Find · O’Connor  +  God Sees the Truth But Waits · Tolstoy
Two short stories, plus a Bonhoeffer document study read and discussed in class. When the test arrives in the last person you expected.
 Mar 2 – Mar 15~45light · re-read
Edition & pacing Page counts are approximate from standard editions. Assignments follow chapter blocks in each unit’s reading guide – not page numbers. U8 is a three-text trio, not a collection: O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Tolstoy’s God Sees the Truth But Waits (both short; both in the Document Study Reader), plus a short Bonhoeffer After Ten Years document study read and discussed in class.
DISCIPLINE → PERSEVERANCE → INTERDEPENDENCE
RESILIENCE → ACCEPTANCE → COURAGE
HOPE → MORAL COURAGE
READING · pin in binder or Forge Journal
READING · BOOKS
ReadingDebate Questions
Mark quotes while you read – blade, shield, or range

THE DEBATE QUESTIONS

Every unit has three questions to ponder while you read. They sit at the top of page 1 of that unit’s reading guide, above the five reading blocks. Read every block with them in mind. (Unit 8 shows one and holds the rest until the Arms Room, so the ending stays a surprise.)

Why three

One of the three becomes the formal debate at the Forge. Your mentors name it at the Arms Room, and sides are set by coin on debate day. Until then, flag quotes for every question, on both sides. The more you mark now, the less you hunt later.

How to mark a quote

Blade: a quote that opens a case. Shield: a quote that answers the other side’s best point. Range: something you can’t cover yet, so you know it’s coming. Write the chapter next to every quote.

Where each unit’s questions are
UnitTrait · bookReading guide, page 1, is on
U1Discipline · Project Hail MaryBinder page 31
U2Perseverance · Little WomenBinder page 33
U3Interdependence · The Boys in the BoatBinder page 35
U4Resilience · Pride and PrejudiceBinder page 37
U5Acceptance · A Man for All SeasonsBinder page 39
U6Courage · All the Light We Cannot SeeBinder page 41
U7Hope · The Picture of Dorian GrayBinder page 43
U8Moral Courage · A Good Man Is Hard to FindBinder page 45
READING · QUESTIONS
READING · Q
ReadingThe ACTOR Loop
Five minutes per reading block · every night

THE ACTOR READING LOOP

Five steps, about five minutes, every time you read. They help you remember what you read and come to class with something to say.

StepWhat you doWhy it helps
A – AimBefore you open the book, finish this sentence: “Tonight I’m reading to find out ______ about [this unit’s trait].”You notice more when you know what you’re looking for.
C – CompressWhen you finish, sum up what you read in one sentence: what mattered most? Mark the 3–5 moments that matter most in the whole book.One sentence you understand beats a page of notes you don’t.
T – TestFind one place where you disagree with a character or the author. Write why in the margin.That disagreement is often your best debate point.
O – OwnLook away from the book and explain what you read out loud, in your own words. Connect it to something real in your life.If you can explain it without looking, you really know it.
R – RunBefore you close the book, write one question or idea to bring next time. Small is fine.You start the next night (or class) with something ready.
Too many quotes Some students show up with 12 quotes and no point to make. For each quote, ask: what does this prove? If you can’t answer, cross it out. Keep the one or two that really prove something.
The 5-night reading block
NightWhat to focus onACTOR step that matters most
1First chunk: figure out what the book is aboutA – Aim + C – Compress
2Middle chunk: find where you disagreeT – Test
3Hardest chunk: explain it in your own wordsO – Own
4Close to the debate: pick your evidenceR – Run + mark evidence
5Before the Arms Room: look over your notes; don’t reread the bookC – Compress (which moments made the cut?)
READING · 30
Pacing · Catch-UpReading
Reading load by phase

We pace by chapter block, not page count, editions vary, chapters don’t (Dorian Gray has two versions, so its guide gives both). Unit One is the exception: complete all five blocks before the Sept. 22 Arms Room. Later units use the target printed for that unit.

PhasePrep windowForge ReflectionWhat changes
Unit 1All five blocks by Sept. 201 paragraphThe whole novel is complete before the Sept. 22 Arms Room.
Unit 25 days1 paragraphYou’re learning the rhythm.
Unit 34 days1–2 paragraphsThe books get heavier; the prep window stays honest.
Units 4–848 hours (hard)2 paragraphsThe deadline stops bending; the prep window is now 48 hours.

How much: ~4–6 hours per week, reading + prep + your Forge Reflection, spiking in heavy weeks. Unit One: prep is due Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10:00 AM through the local course channel or paper handoff named on page 7. If you miss it, still attend and privately make a completion plan; you receive an equivalent evidence route, not a public penalty. From Unit 4 on, use the printed 48-hour rule.

Catch-up protocol
SituationWhat to do
1–2 nights behindWeekend catch-up, not optional. Use the reading guide’s scouting report for the load-bearing chapters. Don’t re-read; compress, then move forward.
3+ nights / 50+ pages behindTell the Forge Coach privately before the Arms Room. Make a catch-up plan. Your public role is assigned independently of reading status.
Not ready by the checkpointYou still show up and complete an equivalent text-grounded contribution. No one must disclose why, and no role signals your reading status.
Critical pacing notes U4 is short (~270 pp) but lands in December: a holiday momentum risk, so catch up before break. U5 is a play (~150 pp) across the semester gap. Use it to get ahead. U6 is the longest (~530 pp) in 3 uninterrupted weeks. By then you’ve earned the pace.
READING · 31
Reading · Unit 1Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 1 · Discipline · read with these questions in mind

PROJECT HAIL MARY
READING GUIDE

Three questions to ponder while you read
The Final Choice

Without spoilers: when Grace’s first job and a new responsibility pull him in different directions, what does discipline ask him to do?

No One Is Watching

Grace works with no boss and nobody watching, while he’s trying to stay alive and the whole Earth is counting on him. What kept him going, and does it deserve to be called discipline?

Mission Design

As you learn what the mission was for, keep two things apart: its goal (what it had to do) and its plan (how it was supposed to do it).

Mark: Grace testing things before he remembers why · the mission’s goal vs. its plan · Rocky as partner · moments when new evidence changes Grace’s responsibility

Question 1 without spoilers: when Grace’s first job and a new responsibility pull him in different directions, what does discipline ask him to do? Your mentor gives you the full Final Choice question after Block 5. Warm-up, Question 3: what keeps Grace working with no boss while Earth counts on him? Mark evidence for more than one answer. Complete every dated block before the Sept. 22 Arms Room; write one focus sentence per block.

DayReadFocus questionDiscipline thread
1
Due Sept. 4
Ch 1–5What does Grace’s body know before his mind does? What training reveals itself before his conscious memory returns?He tests everything around him (counting, measuring, writing it down) before he knows why. Where does that habit come from?
2
Due Sept. 8
Ch 6–10When does Grace shift from reacting to his circumstances to acting on them? What triggers that shift?No boss and nobody watching, but his life and Earth are on the line. What keeps him working?
3
Due Sept. 12
Ch 11–16How do two beings with little shared context build enough trust to rely on each other?What keeps someone working when they can’t see any progress?
4
Due Sept. 16
Ch 17–23Grace notices things. Rocky figures things out and builds. How do they work together?Notice how much work is behind the answer: a theory that fails, two weeks of building, and dangerous sample collecting.
5
Due Sept. 20
Ch 24–endWatch how new information changes the options Grace believes he has. Which moment creates the final choice?Mark where mission goal, personal survival, loyalty, and responsibility pull in different directions.
READING · U1 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 1
Project Hail Mary · bring this filled in to Arms Room

DISCIPLINE
JOURNAL

Pick 3 moments where discipline (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what really caused it.

#ChapterWhat happenedDiscipline, conditioning, or something else?Why?
1
2
3
DefinitionsDiscipline — choosing to continue the hard thing when the easy thing is available and you know the difference.  Conditioning — a trained reaction that happens automatically, without deciding to.  Something else — curiosity, fear, love, hope, or habit. Discipline isn’t the only way to read this book.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “discipline,” ask: would Grace call it that? Would Rocky? Would NASA? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U1 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 2Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 2 · Perseverance · read with these questions in mind

LITTLE WOMEN
READING GUIDE

Spoiler warningThe debate questions mention big events late in the book, including a serious illness and a death. That’s on purpose, so you know what evidence to mark. Rather not know yet? Read each day’s chapters first, then come back to this page.
Three questions to ponder while you read
The Right Call

Jo refused Laurie and chose the life she wanted over a person who really loved her. Did she have the right to make a choice that affected everyone else?

The Ledger

Does the March family exist to support Jo’s ambition, or does each sister sacrifice for the others? Who actually gave up more?

Amy’s Shadow

Amy is the real protagonist of Little Women. She adjusted her ambition. She married strategically. She built a life. Jo’s perseverance was just stubbornness with a pen.

Mark: what Amy learns vs. what Jo learns · Amy in Rome · Jo’s writing vs. family duty · who risks more, and who adjusts

Flag quotes for both sides. Your role was assigned at the Oct. 13 Arms Room; sides are set on debate day. Finish all 47 chapters by Oct. 12, before the Oct. 13 Arms Room. You may begin Sept. 22 for more time, or start Sept. 29. For each block, answer its focus question in one journal sentence.

Reading dates if you start Sept. 29: I–X by Oct. 1; XI–XXI by Oct. 4; XXII–XXXI by Oct. 7; XXXII–XLI by Oct. 10; XLII–XLVII by Oct. 12. Start Sept. 22 if you want a slower pace. Role prep is due Sun Oct. 18, 10 AM.

DayReadFocus questionPerseverance thread
1
The Ambition
Ch I–XAmy destroys years of Jo’s work in an afternoon. What makes Jo write again: perseverance, or having nothing else to pour herself into?Her first real test isn’t a rejection; it’s her own sister. Track what actually sustains her.
2
The Cost
Ch XI–XXIJo sells her hair, Beth risks her life, Meg gives up her salary. Is this perseverance, or just what the women in this family do?Here perseverance becomes something the whole family does. Does the book rank these sacrifices, or treat them as equal?
3
New Territory
Ch XXII–XXXIJo finally earns money writing stories she’s ashamed of and hides. When does keeping at it mean betraying yourself?Each sister drifts from the work she set out to do. Is that adaptation, or failure?
4
The Breaking Point
Ch XXXII–XLIBeth asks Jo to take her place. Jo gives up her old dream while Beth is still alive. Is that growing up, or a crisis she has to get through?The block the unit is built around. Track not just what happens, but what disappears: which hope, which plan, which future.
5
What Remains
Ch XLII–XLVIIJo writes again and still hopes to write a good book. Has taking care of her family cost her too much of the life she wanted, or pointed her somewhere worth going?Her work changes, but she still wants to write a book. Weigh what she gains against what she puts off or gives up.
READING · U2 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 2
Little Women · bring this filled in to Arms Room

PERSEVERANCE
JOURNAL

Pick 3 moments where perseverance (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what really caused it.

#ChapterWhat happenedPerseverance, selfishness, adaptation, or something else?Why?
1
2
3
DefinitionsPerseverance — continuing toward a goal despite cost and setback, because stopping would be worse.  Selfishness — continuing while people you love pay for it — persistence without care for the cost to others.  Adaptation — changing the shape of your ambition when the world won’t cooperate.  Something else — fear, grief, duty, habit, or love. Perseverance isn’t the only way to read this book.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “perseverance,” ask: would Jo call it that? Would Beth? Would Amy? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U2 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 3Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 3 · Interdependence · read with these questions in mind

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT
READING GUIDE

Three questions to ponder while you read
The Boat

The crew tells Joe “Got your back,” but the coach can drop any rower who slows the boat. Is the crew Joe’s family, or a team that keeps him only while he’s useful?

The Years Alone

Brown says only “the most tenaciously self-reliant and self-motivated” succeed at rowing (Ch. 10). Joe’s years of fending for himself helped him more than they hurt him in the boat.

The Trust

Joe joined the crew after years of living on his own. Did he truly trust them, or did he have no other choice?

Mark: “got your back” vs. cuts from the boat · “surrender” and “no stars” (Ch. 10, 12) · Joe’s exile before the crew · where the crew lives

Flag quotes that could go either way on any of these questions. You won’t know which side you argue until the Arms Room. Pace by chapter block, not page count: finish the book before the Nov. 3 Arms Room. For each block, write one sentence in your journal answering the focus question.

Bring to the Arms RoomThree quotes, with chapters. One for the Affirmative, one for the Negative, and one wild card. The whole book is due Mon., Nov. 2.
DayReadFocus questionInterdependence thread
1
Abandonment
Ch 1–4Joe is left on his own at ten, and again at fifteen. What does he learn to do for himself, and what does he stop counting on other people to do?Joe’s own family pushed him out. Does he expect the crew to be different, or is it just a way to get by?
2
The Boat
Ch 5–8In an eight, every rower must match the others. Name one thing a rower can no longer decide for himself. Does Joe find that hard, or a relief?Rowing takes decisions away: when to pull, how hard, how fast. Joe has never let anyone else make those for him. Watch whether giving them up scares him or frees him.
3
The Swing
Ch 9–12Brown says swing feels as if the boat is “a part of each of them” (Ch. 9). What does a rower give up to reach it, and what does he get back?Brown says great crews have “no stars,” yet each rower keeps his own personality (Ch. 10). Pocock says building a boat, like rowing, means leaving “a piece of yourself behind in it forever” (Ch. 12). Look for what Joe gives and what he keeps.
4
The Trust
Ch 13–16After Joe moves to seat seven, the boat “began to fly” (Ch. 13). Does winning prove the crew is good for Joe, or only that Joe is good for the boat?Joe still lives apart, in the YMCA basement, while most of the crew shares a house (Ch. 14). Track what he hands over to the boat and what he keeps back.
5
The Furnace
Ch 17–19 +EpiIn Berlin, Hume goes white and stops responding, and the boat falls behind. Then he snaps back, and they win (Ch. 18). Does that show a crew that holds together, or how much every race hangs on each man?The hardest test of the swing. In the race that matters most, the stroke stops responding and the boat falls behind until he snaps back. Decide what that proves about the control each rower gave up.
READING · U3 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 3
The Boys in the Boat · bring this filled in to Arms Room

INTERDEPENDENCE
JOURNAL

Pick 3 moments where interdependence (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what really caused it.

#ChapterWhat happenedTrust, coercion, cost, or something else?Why?
1
2
3
DefinitionsTrust — choosing to let someone else matter as much as you do.  Coercion — going along because leaving would be worse, not because you choose it.  Cost — someone else paid the price for this group to exist.  Something else — hunger, loneliness, ambition, habit, or performance. Interdependence isn’t the only way to read this book.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “interdependence,” ask: would Joe call it trust at the time? Would Pocock? Would Ulbrickson? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U3 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 4Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 4 · Resilience · read with these questions in mind

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
READING GUIDE

Three questions to ponder while you read
The Safety Net

Mr. Bennet favors Elizabeth over her sisters, and her mother complains about it. When Elizabeth makes a hard choice, who or what is holding her up? Who or what would catch her if she turned out to be wrong?

The Price

When Mr. Bennet dies, Longbourn goes to Mr. Collins, and he can turn the Bennet women out of their home. With that coming, what does each hard choice put at risk, and who pays if it goes wrong?

The Two Friends

Within three days, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth and to her closest friend, Charlotte, who is twenty-seven. One says no and one says yes. What does each woman have going for her that the other doesn’t? Which answer was harder to give?

Mark: who has her back · what she could lose · what money, age and family make possible · what she chooses anyway

For each block, answer the focus question in one sentence and flag two quotes with chapters: one that shows what is holding someone up, and one that shows what they could lose. You won’t know which side you argue until debate day. Pace by chapter block, not page count: finish the book before the Dec. 1 Arms Room.

DayReadFocus questionResilience thread
1
The Assembly
Ch 1–12Darcy calls Elizabeth “tolerable,” and she tells the story “with great spirit among her friends” (Ch. 3). What does she have going for her that lets her laugh? What is she missing? Look at her father, her money, and the entail on Longbourn.At Netherfield, Miss Bingley mocks her muddy petticoat (Ch. 8) and Elizabeth tells Darcy his temper is a failing (Ch. 11). What makes speaking up safe for her? What could it cost her?
2
The Proposal
Ch 13–24Elizabeth answers Mr. Collins in Ch. 19, Charlotte in Ch. 22. Elizabeth’s mother is furious; Charlotte’s parents are delighted. What could each woman see coming? What could each one lose?Elizabeth says no in Ch. 19. Her father isn’t asked until Ch. 20. Who warns her what no could cost, and what do they say? When she said it, did she know what he would say?
3
The Letter
Ch 25–37At Hunsford, Charlotte has her own house and Mr. Collins to manage (Ch. 28). Then Darcy, with ten thousand a year, proposes and Elizabeth turns him down (Ch. 34). What has Charlotte’s yes bought her, and what has it cost? What is Elizabeth giving up this time?Darcy’s letter (Ch. 35) shows her she was wrong about Wickham, and in Ch. 36 she admits it. How much of what has gone right for her did she make happen, and how much just happened to her?
4
The Elopement
Ch 38–50Lydia runs off with Wickham (Ch. 46). Mr. Bennet goes to London to find them and comes home without them (Ch. 48). What does the family have to fall back on? How much of what happens next can anyone in it control?Ch. 38: look at Charlotte’s life once more as Elizabeth leaves Hunsford. Ch. 46: Elizabeth knew what Wickham was and kept it quiet, and now her sister pays. How safe has Elizabeth been all along?
5
The Confrontation
Ch 51–61Lady Catherine drives to Longbourn and demands a promise that Elizabeth will never marry Darcy (Ch. 56). Elizabeth won’t give it. What does she know now that she didn’t know when Mr. Collins proposed? What still isn’t settled?When you finish Ch. 61, go back to Ch. 1. Mark the choice of Elizabeth’s that could have gone worst. What would have had to go differently?
READING · U4 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 4
Pride and Prejudice · bring this filled in to Arms Room

RESILIENCE
JOURNAL

From the quotes you flagged, pick your best 3 moments where resilience (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what caused it.

#ChapterQuote (word for word)What’s holding them up?What could they lose?Resilience or something else, and why?
1
2
3
DefinitionsResilience — maintaining who you are under pressure, and recovering when you discover you’re wrong.  Privilege — what you already have (beauty, wit, money, family name) that makes standing firm easier.  Blindness — holding to your first impression long after evidence should have changed it.  Luck — what happens to fall your way without your earning or choosing it.  Cost — what a choice could take from you.  Something else — plot, spite, or duty. Resilience isn’t the only way to read this book.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “resilience,” ask: would Elizabeth call it that at the time? Would Charlotte? Would Lady Catherine? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U4 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 5Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 5 · Acceptance · read with these questions in mind

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
READING GUIDE

Three questions to ponder while you read
The King’s Visit

King Henry comes to Chelsea himself to ask for More’s support on his divorce. Why does one man’s yes matter so much to a king? What happens to the King when that man won’t give it?

The Closed Door

More resigns as Chancellor and won’t make a statement, even to Alice and Margaret. What is that keeping safe? Who is it keeping out?

The Courtroom

At More’s trial, he and Cromwell argue over what his silence means. When a man says nothing, who decides what he said?

Mark: what More won’t say, and to whom · who hears it anyway · what the law protects · who it pushes against

For each block, answer the focus question in one sentence and flag two quotes, with the act: one that shows what someone’s words or silence are protecting, and one that shows who they push against. You won’t know which side you argue until debate day. Pace by block, not page count: finish the play before the Jan. 5 Arms Room.

BlockRead · WindowFocus questionAcceptance thread
1
The Steward
Act One, opening – Wolsey’s death
Dec 15–18		Wolsey presses More on the divorce and gets a straight answer about conscience. Then Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador, comes fishing for where he stands and gets nothing. Why the difference? What is More protecting with Chapuys?Rich, Norfolk, Chapuys and Wolsey all talk to him in this block. Who gets a straight answer, and who gets a joke? What does More gain each time he holds back?
2
The Chancellorship
Act One, Hampton Court – up to the pub
Dec 19–22		More takes the Chancellorship. Then Henry comes in person, and More tells him he can’t support the divorce, then says no more. What does that protect More from? What does it cost the King?After the King leaves, More tells Roper he’d give even the Devil the law’s protection, “for my own safety’s sake.” Then Alice asks why Cromwell is collecting information on him. What is More counting on the law to hold back? What does Cromwell want with that information?
3
The Silence
The pub – Cromwell’s “finer mesh”
Dec 23–27		Two years on, More resigns. Norfolk, his friend, says it “looks like cowardice,” and More won’t make a statement, even to Alice and Margaret. What is the silence keeping safe now? Who is left standing outside it?Cromwell says More’s silence is “bellowing up and down Europe.” More insists his resignation is no gesture. Who do you believe, and what in these scenes makes you think so?
4
The Oath
Act Two, dismissal – imprisonment
Dec 28–31		In the Tower, the Commission demands the oath and his reasons. More refuses both and needles them for asking. Then Meg comes and begs him to “say the words of the oath and in your heart think otherwise.” What does each refusal protect? Who is each one pushing against?Watch how More talks to Norfolk and Cromwell in the Tower, then how he talks to Meg and Alice. Is he the same man in both rooms?
5
The Verdict
Act Two, trial – execution
Jan 1–4		At trial, Cromwell says More’s silence speaks, and More says the law must read it as consent. Rich lies on the stand and the jury convicts. Only then does More say what he thinks of the King’s title. Why wait? What did waiting protect, and what did it do to the men in that courtroom?When you finish the play, go back through it. Mark the silence that did the most to the King and the silence that did the most to protect More. Is it the same one?
READING · U5 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 5
A Man for All Seasons · bring this filled in to Arms Room

ACCEPTANCE
JOURNAL

From the quotes you flagged, pick your best 3 moments where acceptance (or refusing it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what caused it.

#ActQuote (word for word)What is it protecting?Who is it pushing against?Acceptance or something else, and why?
1
2
3
DefinitionsAcceptance — choosing to bear a cost rather than betray what you believe.  Selfishness — choosing your conscience when others pay the price for it.  Silence — refusing to say yes.  Something else — ego, fear, habit, vanity. Acceptance isn’t the only way to read this play.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “acceptance,” ask: would More call it that? Would Alice? Would Cromwell? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U5 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 6Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 6 · Courage · read with these questions in mind

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
READING GUIDE

Three questions to ponder while you read
The Attic

Werner and Jutta lie side by side in his attic room until two in the morning, listening on a repaired radio to a Frenchman talk to children about light. What does that voice give two orphans in a coal town? What could listening cost them?

The Bucket

On a freezing February night at Schulpforta, every cadet must throw a bucket of water on a prisoner tied to a stake. Werner throws his. Frederick pours his on the ground, three times. What is pulling each boy? What could it cost each one?

The Ladder

Etienne hasn’t left his house in twenty years. Madame Manec asks, “Don’t you want to be alive before you die?” and he goes back to his book. After she dies, he climbs to the attic and reads numbers into a microphone. What pulled him up that ladder? What could it cost him?

Mark: what pulls people toward a choice · what they know it could cost · what they do anyway · who else pays

For each block, answer the focus question in one sentence and flag two quotes, with the Part and chapter title: one that shows what is pulling someone toward a choice, and one that shows what it could cost them. You won’t know which side you argue until debate day. Start Jan. 12 (about 38 pages a day, 45 in the last two blocks) or as early as Dec. 22, and finish by Jan. 25, before the Jan. 26 Arms Room. Parts Zero to Ten take turns: even Parts are August 1944, odd Parts are the years before.

BlockRead · WindowFocus questionCourage thread
1
The Radio
Parts Zero–Two, ~100 pp
Jan 12–14		Werner and Jutta repair a radio and find the Frenchman’s broadcasts. Jutta writes to the radio Professor that tuning in to a foreign station can get you hard labor. She keeps listening. Werner tells her, “It’s dangerous.” What is pulling each of them? What could it cost them?Herr Siedler, a mining official, feeds Werner cake for fixing his radio and tells him, “The trick is figuring out where your interests are.” He names schools for boys like him. What is pulling Werner toward those schools? What could going cost him?
2
The School
Part Three, ~105 pp
Jan 15–17		In the snow, Rödel beats Frederick with a hose while the commandant says “Again.” Werner “forces his mind to keep sending up images of home.” What is he reaching for? What would speaking up have cost him?A telegram calls Marie-Laure’s father back to Paris. He wonders if the director even sent it, but he goes, leaves her in Saint-Malo, and is arrested on the way. What pulls him onto that train? What does it cost them both?
3
The Bucket
Parts Four–Five, ~100 pp
Jan 18–20		Frederick pours out his bucket and says, “I will not.” Werner has already thrown his. What is pulling each boy in that moment? What does each one know it could cost?Madame Manec tells Etienne, “Doing nothing is as good as collaborating.” When she presses him, he says Marie-Laure is almost fourteen: “I want fourteen to be young.” What is pulling each of them? What does each one know it could cost?
4
The Hunt
Parts Six–Eight, ~90 pp
Jan 21–22		Werner finds transmitter after transmitter for Volkheimer, and wonders if there isn’t “a kind of ravishing delight in the chase.” In Vienna, a search ends with a little girl dead and no radio. What keeps pulling him back to the headset? What does he now know it costs, and who pays?Hiding in the attic with a German officer in the house, Marie-Laure raises the antenna and reads Jules Verne into the microphone. What is pulling her to do that? What could it cost her?
5
The Fire
Parts Nine–Thirteen, ~135 pp
Jan 23–25		In Saint-Malo, Werner’s unit hunts an illegal broadcast. One rainy night he hears one. Volkheimer asks, “Nichts?” Werner says it back: nothing. What is pulling him in that moment? What does he know it could cost?Then he finds the house, then a blind girl walks past him, and at last he climbs the stairs with a rifle. When you finish the book, go back through Parts Nine and Ten and mark where you think he decides. What is pulling him there? What does he know it could cost?
READING · U6 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 6
All the Light We Cannot See · bring this filled in to Arms Room

COURAGE
JOURNAL

From the quotes you flagged, pick your best 3 moments where courage (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what caused it.

#Part, chapterQuote (word for word)What is pulling them toward it?What could it cost them?Courage or something else, and why?
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DefinitionsCourage — choosing what you believe is right when you know what it could cost.  Complicity — going along with something wrong because the cost of refusal feels too high.  Survival — choosing not to act when action seems impossible or the system punishes it.  Something else — love, fear, habit, authority, ignorance, training. Courage isn’t the only way to read this book.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “courage,” ask: would Werner call it that? Would Marie-Laure? Would Frederick? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U6 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 7Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 7 · Hope · read with these questions in mind

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
READING GUIDE

Three questions to ponder while you read
The Garden

In Basil’s garden, Lord Henry tells Dorian his youth will last only a few years, and his beauty will go with it. Back in the studio, Dorian looks at Basil’s finished portrait of himself and is suddenly afraid of growing old. What pushed him to that fear? What is he trying to keep?

The Screen

The morning after he walks out on Sibyl, Dorian sees a line of cruelty around the painted mouth. His face in the hand mirror Lord Henry gave him shows no line. He decides to go back to Sibyl, then pulls a screen in front of the portrait. What pushed him to go back? What is he trying to keep?

The Locked Room

Dorian has the portrait carried up to the old schoolroom and keeps the only key. That same day he opens a yellow book Lord Henry sent him and reads until he’s late for dinner. What pushed him to lock the room? What is he trying to keep?

Mark: what pushes Dorian to act · what he is trying to keep · what he does about it · who else pays

For each block, answer the focus question in one sentence and flag two quotes, with the chapter: one that shows what pushed someone to act, and one that shows what they are trying to keep. The book has two versions: the 1890 text has 13 chapters, the 1891 text has 20. Each block lists both (1890 / 1891); write which one you have. You won’t know which side you argue until debate day. Start Feb. 2, or earlier if you like, and finish by Feb. 22, before the Feb. 23 Arms Room.

BlockRead · WindowFocus questionHope thread
1
The Garden
1890  I–II
1891  1–3
Feb 2–5		Standing in front of the finished portrait, Dorian says he would give everything to stay young while the picture grows old. What pushed him to say it? What is he trying to keep?Basil picks up a palette-knife to cut up the canvas. Dorian tears it out of his hand: “It would be murder!” What pushed him to grab the knife? What is he trying to keep?
2
The Greenroom
1890  III–V
1891  4–7
Feb 6–10		At dinner, Dorian tells Lord Henry, “When I am with her, I regret all that you have taught me.” That night, after Sibyl acts badly, he tells her in the greenroom that she has killed his love. What pushed him from one to the other? What is he trying to keep?The morning after he walks out on Sibyl, Dorian sees a line of cruelty around the painted mouth, and none in his own face. He decides to go back to Sibyl, then pulls a screen in front of the portrait. What pushed him to cover the portrait and go back? What is he trying to keep?
3
The Schoolroom
1890  VI–VIII
1891  8–10
Feb 11–13		Lord Henry tells Dorian that Sibyl is dead and that he mustn’t get mixed up in it. Dorian looks at the portrait again, and an hour later he is at the Opera with Henry. What pushed him to go? What is he trying to keep?Next morning Basil asks to see the portrait, and Dorian refuses. That day it goes up to the locked schoolroom. What pushed him to hide it? What is he trying to keep?
4
The Mirror
1890  IX–XI
1891  11–13
Feb 14–16		For years Dorian rereads the yellow book. Coming home from long trips, he climbs to the locked room and holds a mirror beside the portrait, comparing the aging face to his young one. What pushes him up those stairs? What is he trying to keep?Basil, about to leave for Paris, sees the portrait and begs Dorian to pray with him. Dorian glances at the picture and kills him. What pushed him to it? What is he trying to keep?
5
The Lamp
1890  XII–XIII
1891  14–20
Feb 17–22		Dorian tells Lord Henry he left a village girl, Hetty, alone. Henry laughs at him. That night Dorian carries a lamp upstairs to see whether the portrait has changed. What pushed him up there? What is he trying to keep?The servants find the portrait young again and an old man on the floor. When you finish, reread the afternoon in Basil’s studio (Ch. II / 2). Which quote you flagged there reads differently now?
READING · U7 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 7
The Picture of Dorian Gray · bring this filled in to Arms Room

HOPE
JOURNAL

From the quotes you flagged, pick your best 3 moments where hope (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what caused it.

#Chapter (1890 / 1891)Quote (word for word)What pushed them to it?What are they trying to keep?Hope or something else, and why?
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DefinitionsHope — wanting something good to last or get better, and being willing to pay for it yourself.  False hope — wanting something to last while someone or something else pays for it.  Corruption — using what you want as a reason to take from other people.  Something else — fear, vanity, pride, habit, pleasure. Hope isn’t the only way to read this book.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “hope,” ask: would Basil call it that? Would Lord Henry? Would Dorian, after he sees the portrait? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U7 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 8Reading Guide · 1/2
Unit 8 · Moral Courage · read with these questions in mind

A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND
READING GUIDE

Questions to ponder while you read
No spoilersFinish all three Unit 8 readings by Mar. 15, before the Arms Room. You’ll get the debate question at the Arms Room; it isn’t printed here. While you read, think about the question below.
The Better Moralist

Can someone who does terrible things still be the most honest person in the story about right and wrong? Or is knowing what’s right different from doing it?

Mark: performed “goodness” vs. honest self-examination · family dynamics on the road · violence and philosophy · grace vs. strategy (without spoiling the ending)

Flag quotes that could go either way on any of these questions. You won’t know which side you argue until the Arms Room. Pace by block, not page count: finish the story before the Mar. 16 Arms Room. Read from the Document Study Reader. For each block, write one sentence in your journal answering the focus question.

BlockRead · WindowFocus questionMoral courage thread
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The Setup
The Setup (first pass)
Mar 2–5		The grandmother warns about The Misfit because she wants Tennessee. She holds the baby and describes the passing world. Which actions express care, control, or both? Is there genuine concern here, or is she performing family affection the same way she performs being a lady?This is where she starts. She hasn’t been tested yet. Note the one moment that doesn’t fit: she holds the baby and tells him about the passing world. The baby sometimes smiles back. Are these small moments evidence of who she really is, or just exceptions in a life of acting? Track them. They matter later.
2
The Road
The Road (second pass)
Mar 6–9		The grandmother lies about the secret panel. Bailey gives in because the children are unbearable. Red Sammy says “a good man is hard to find” after admitting he was cheated. Are all three compromising what they know is right because the alternative is harder?Moral courage should appear but doesn’t. Bailey could stand firm. The grandmother could tell the truth. Red Sammy could admit he was a fool. Only June Star speaks plainly, and she’s punished for it. Track who almost does the right thing and what stops them.
3
The Accident
The Accident (third pass)
Mar 9–11		When The Misfit arrives, Bailey tries to handle the situation and fails. The grandmother identifies him, which makes everything worse. What do Bailey’s try at taking charge and the grandmother’s pleading show about courage in danger? Or does moral courage depend on how things turn out?The story stops being funny and becomes an emergency. Bailey tries; his voice cracks. The grandmother pleads with The Misfit and calls after Bailey. Weigh her concern for her family against her pleading for her own life. Don’t decide yet what her last act means.
4
The Conversation
The Conversation (fourth pass)
Mar 12–13		The Misfit has killed at least two family members by now. Yet he is more polite than Bailey, more honest than the grandmother, more thoughtful about morality than anyone else. Does that make him morally complex, or just articulate about evil?The murderer talks about punishment and belief while the grandmother pleads. He admits what he is, and that honesty invites sympathy, but sympathy for a murderer isn’t moral courage. Does his honesty excuse him, make the grandmother look worse, or show that knowing right from wrong isn’t the same as doing right?
5
The Moment
The Moment (fifth pass)
Mar 14–15		Read the final pages slowly. This is the moment the whole unit builds toward: what the grandmother does in her last unguarded moment, and how The Misfit responds. Don’t skip ahead, and don’t spoil the ending for anyone.The unit’s through-line. What does the last exchange show about seeing someone clearly, meaning it, and taking a risk? Compare it with the earlier moments of care and manipulation. Keep the ending to yourself and bring evidence for both sides.
READING · U8 · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 8
A Good Man Is Hard to Find · bring this filled in to Arms Room

MORAL COURAGE
JOURNAL

Pick 3 moments where moral courage (or the lack of it) changes what happens. For each one, decide what really caused it.

#SectionWhat happenedMoral courage, false courage, cowardice, or something else?Why?
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DefinitionsMoral courage — doing what you believe is right, especially toward another person, even when it costs you something, and even when no one will see.  False courage — acting “brave” only when forced, when the cost is already paid, or when no one can leave.  Cowardice — choosing self-preservation over principle when the choice still matters.  Something else — strategy, performance, social habit, desperation. Moral courage isn’t the only way to read this story.
Check your labelsWhen you call a moment “moral courage,” ask: would The Misfit call it that? Would the grandmother five minutes earlier? Would Bobby Lee? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U8 · 2/2
Reading · Unit 8 · CompanionReading Guide · 1/2
Unit 8 · Moral Courage · companion text, read alongside A Good Man Is Hard to Find

GOD SEES THE TRUTH BUT WAITS
READING GUIDE

The live question: Does it take as much courage to put up with being wronged, without getting even, as it does to take action? This text isn’t debated on its own; you’ll compare it with A Good Man Is Hard to Find and the Bonhoeffer document study. Read with this in mind. Two easier read-throughs, not five days of digging. Read from the Document Study Reader. For each block, write one sentence in your journal answering the focus question.

BlockRead · WindowFocus questionMoral courage thread
1
The Accusation
First pass
Mar 6–9		Aksyónof is questioned about a murder he didn’t commit, and the evidence points straight at him. Even the people who should trust him start to doubt. Watch what he does with that doubt: does he keep fighting to be believed, or does something in him change?Nothing has been decided yet. This is the setup. Watch for the line where Aksyónof stops trying to prove himself and turns somewhere else instead; that turn is what the whole story depends on.
2
The Confession
Re-read + quote mine
Mar 13–15		Read to the end this time. A new prisoner arrives who changes what Aksyónof knows. What Aksyónof does with that knowledge, twice, is the real test of the whole story. Don’t skip ahead; the second choice matters as much as the first.The unit’s through-line: does it take as much courage to put up with being wronged, without getting even, as it does to take action? Hold your answer until you’ve watched what Aksyónof does with the chance to set the record straight, with no one forcing him.
READING · U8 · TOLSTOY · 1/2
Reading Guide · 2/2Reading · Unit 8 · Companion
God Sees the Truth but Waits · bring this filled in to Arms Room

MORAL COURAGE
JOURNAL

Pick 3 moments where moral courage (or the lack of it) changes what happens. Use the same format as the O’Connor guide so you can compare the two stories. For each one, decide what really caused it.

#SectionWhat happenedMoral courage, false courage, cowardice, or something else?Why?
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DefinitionsMoral courage — doing what you believe is right, especially toward another person, even when it costs you something, and even when no one will see.  False courage — acting “brave” only when forced, when the cost is already paid, or when no one can leave.  Cowardice — choosing self-preservation over principle when the choice still matters.  Something else — strategy, performance, social habit, desperation.
CompareBring one comparison to class: is Aksyónof bearing a wrong without getting even a stronger, weaker, or different kind of moral courage than what the grandmother does at the end, or Bonhoeffer’s stand? Then close the book. If you can’t explain your three moments without it, go back and look again.
READING · U8 · TOLSTOY · 2/2