"Chasing Vermeer is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art."
About the Book
The mystery begins when three people who live in Chicago receive the same, strange letter. They are invited to help solve a century-old crime. The author of the letter threatens each reader if he or she shows it to the authorities. A short time later, a very famous painting, A Lady Writing, vanishes while being transported from a museum in Washington, D.C., to Chicago. There are questions to be answered, who took the Vermeer painting and where did they hide it? Working against time are two young sleuths, Calder and Petra, who find out their very different strengths complement each other to help solve this mystery. The clues woven throughout the book come together to make exciting reading with a surprise ending!
Genre: Mystery
A mystery is a story in which the characters and the reader must use clues to find the explanation for a troubling event.
In the beginning of a mystery story, the author describes a puzzling situation. The characters in the story try to find out who did something or how it happened.
To solve a problem, a character often compares new information with facts that were gathered earlier.
In a mystery, a clue might be in plain sight all along. The author tells the story in such a way that neither the characters nor the reader becomes aware of the clue right away.
Mystery Vocabulary:
mystery, crime, detectives, suspects, motives, clues, evidence, red herrings, foreshadowing, suspense, problem solving, analyzing, cause & effect, logical deduction
Mystery Vocabulary - Save to your H DRIVE
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/vermeer_painting_part_one.html - VerMeer Catalogue
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/flashlightreaders/main.asp?bookpass=4 - Chasing Vermeer - Flashlight Reader
http://www.usd376.com/hs/staff/brownleea/vermeer/index.htm - Chasing Vermeer My Personal Art Gallery Project
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/ - The Essential Vermeer - Info on Johannes Vermeer, Paintings
http://www.gbt.org/gallery.html - Vermeer Paintings
http://suzyred.com/2005vermeer.html - Chasing Vermeer
http://www.bakerandhill.com/work/billy/ - Billy the Kid
http://scholastic.com/titles/chasingvermeer/pentominoes.pdf - Printable Pentominoes
http://www.scholastic.com/blueballiett/games/index.htm - Pentominoes Activity & Other Activities
http://www.scholastic.com/blueballiett/games/art_games.htm - Masterpiece Match
http://www.scholastic.com/blueballiett/games/art_games.htm - Art Reporter Activities
http://www.ashlandschools.org/morgan_cottle/vermeer/ - Chasing Vermeer - Mystery in a Mystery
http://www.adifferentplace.org/vermeer.htm - Chasing Vermeer Activities
http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm - National Gallery of Art for Kids
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/storymaps.html - Mystery Story Maps
http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-city-maps/ - World Maps
http://www.scholastic.com/blueballiett/games/pentominoes_game.htm - Pentaomino
http://www.enchantedmind.com/puzzles/pentamino/pentamino.html - Pentaomino - Enchanted Mind Puzzles
http://www.coolmagnetman.com/pent.htm - Pentaomino - Cool Magnet Man
http://www.interpol.int/Public/WorkOfArt/Default.asp - Interpol - ART THEFT
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/ - The Essential Vermeer
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/youth/style/index_e.jsp - Cyber Muse - Discover Your Art Style
http://www.fbi.gov/fun-games/kids/kids - FBI for Kids
http://www.resologist.net/lo101.htm - The Lo Book by Charles Hoy Fort
Flying Objects...for Real? Use the internet to research the weird phenomena of random objects falling from the sky. Recently, dead birds were falling from the sky all over the world.
http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/unexplained-fall.html - Mysterious Objects falling from the sky
VOCABULARY
Chasing Vermeer - Vocabulary Words Ch. 1 - 24.pdf
Homophones in Chasing Vermeer
Mourning (13)/morning (13), canvasses/canvases (104), sell/cell (158), great/grate (156), pray/prey (170), peak/peek (211), complement/compliment (244)
Chasing Vermeer Study Guide
Name______________________________
Chapters 1-4
Chapters 5-8
Chapters 9-12
Chapters 13-16
Chapters 17-20
Chapters 21-24
After reading Chasing Vermeer, use these questions to start a discussion with your students about the book. After your in-class conversation, students can access similar questions and share their thoughts with other kids around the country on the Book Bulletin Board.
Also consider using any of these questions as a writing prompt.
http://www.studyguide.org/ChasingVermeer.htm - Study Guide
Synopsis:
When a priceless Vermeer painting is stolen on its way to Chicago for a special exhibition, sixth graders Petra and Calder team up and follow a wild assortment of clues in an attempt to solve the mystery and rescue the painting from destruction.
General Review:
Sixth graders Petra and Calder become friends when they are drawn into a suspenseful mystery revolving around a stolen Vermeer painting. This story combines mystery, art, puzzles and codes, patterns, and coincidences to produce a fascinating tale that invites the reader to play “armchair detective” to discover how all the pieces of the story fit together. Illustrator Brett Helquist adds to the fun by hiding clues and a secret code in the pictures. Mystery fans will love this intriguing book that breaks the mold of the traditional mystery story.
Themes: Mysteries; Art; Coincidence; Secret Codes; Johannes Vermeer (artist).
Author Information:
BookPage Interview with Blue Balliett: Mystery at the Museum
http://www.bookpage.com/0406bp/blue_balliett.html
Scholastic.com Author & Illustrator Index. Scroll down and click on Blue Balliett. http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/ab/biolist.htm
Scholastic.com Moderated Author Chat
http://teacher.scholastic.com/authorsandbooks/events/balliett/transcript.htm
Blue Balliett. Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2005. (available online through free Kan-Ed access to Literature Resource Center)
“Story behind the story: Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer.” (Interview) Ilene Cooper. Booklist, May 1, 2004 v100 i17 p1496(1) (available online through free Kan-Ed access to InfoTrac)
Scholastic Book Fair video Fall 2005 includes a feature on Chasing Vermeer and interview with the author.
Discussion Questions: (Standard 3, Benchmark 3
Activity Suggestions:
1. Go to Scholastic’s Chasing Vermeer site http://scholastic.com/titles/chasingvermeer/index.htm to play an online pentominoes game, get the Reader’s Challenge hints and solution (no peeking until you’ve tried it on your own!), and to print your own set of pentominoes. (Standard 3, Benchmark 3)
2. Library Sparks magazine online has a wonderful FREE web resource file of word puzzles and codes in their January 2005 edition at http://www.highsmith.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Production/LSP/pages/2005_pdfs/lsp_jan05_vermeer.pdf. Students don’t have to have read Chasing Vermeer to enjoy these activities, and it could be a great way to introduce the book to students. (Standard 3, Benchmark 3)
3. Study the work of Vermeer or other famous artists. Study different types and styles of art. Compare and contrast the work of different artists. Visit an art museum, either in person, through a book, or virtually through the web. Students could create their own “art museum” by choosing their favorite pieces of art and explaining why they would have them in their personal collection. (Standard 1, Benchmark 1; Standard 3, Benchmark 2; Standard 5, Benchmark 2)
National Gallery of Art: links to Vermeer works
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=S&Name=Vermeer&Title=
Other good art resources online:
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
2. ArtCyclopedia (a guide to great art on the Internet)
Search for works by Vermeer or another artist of your choice.
3. The Louvre in Paris, France
4. Author Blue Balliett was awarded the 2004 Chicago Tribune Prize for Young Adult Fiction (see article online at http://www.writenews.com/2004/072304_tribune_balliett.htm). Do you think her book deserves this award? Why or why not? Imagine you have been chosen to introduce her. Write a speech that explains why Chasing Vermeer won this award and why the author deserves to be honored. (Standard 3, Benchmark 3; Standard 3, Benchmark 4)
ART
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/for-kids.htm - Art for Kids
http://www.rcs.k12.va.us/art/links2.htm - Art Education Sites
http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/smartkids/home.html - University of Chicago - Museum of Art - Kids
http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/zone.htm - Art for Kids - GOV
Assessments
Chasing_Vermeer_1-3_assessment - Van Gogh.doc
Chasing_Vermeer_ch_1-3_alternative_assessment- Picasso.doc
Character Graphic Organizer.pdf
Activity #1--What is art? How do people interpret it differently? Is there a right and wrong way at looking at a piece of art? We are going to look at some very famous pieces of art. As you study each piece, record your response on your "How Art Makes Me Feel" record sheet. Think about the colors the artist used, the theme of the paintings, the style in which they were painted, etc.
Now that you have had the opportunity to experience some exquisite pieces of art, write a personal reflection. Compare and contrast the paintings you saw, which is your favorite and why, would you enjoy studying art from around the world and why? **you may go back to the slide show to help you write your reflection**
Activity #2--Setting up your Chasing Vermeer Journal
You will create an electronic journal to use while reading our novel. It will include a cover, Journal pages for individual chapters, a vocabulary page, and reading responses.
*The cover will be a collage of famous artwork, mystery pictures, and mystery and geometry words.
*You will need a page for each chapter (unless your teachers tell you otherwise, some chapters might be combined into one page). Each page will contain the following items:
a. chapter summary
b. track characters' actions and feelings
c. list clues
d. record predictions
Activity #3
Ms. Hussey is not your ordinary kind of teacher. She has many qualitites that make her a bit "unique!" One of her class assignments was to write a very unusual letter to her. We are going to practice writing friendly letters, but instead of writing a letter to Ms. Hussey, you are going to write a letter to a friend describing your unconventional and bit wacky teacher, Ms. Hussey. To make this task more efficient, we are going to use the Letter Generator. Click here to open it up and begin.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/letter_generator/
Activity #4
The genre mystery has some story elements that are only found in mysteries. In groups of 4, we are going to analyze mysteries in which we are familiar. Your group will talk about the setting, characters, plot, suspense, clues, distractions, and structure of the mystery. One person will be responsible for recording your answers. In a few minutes we will share our mysteries with each other.
Activity #5--Chapters 1-3 Vocab
You will be put into small groups to work on making a "vocab" poster. The poster must include the word, the part of speech, the definition, the sentence from the book, and a picture. Your poster must be done in color. You will have 15 minutes to work on this activity. Once we are finished, your group will share your poster with the rest of the class. As each group presents, we will be adding the vocab onto the vocab page of our E-Journals.
Using the key at the back of your book, you will be writing a letter in secret code to a classmate. Address your letter simply "Dear Classmate," You will write a letter that tells your opinion of our book so far. It must be between 3 and 5 sentences. Once we are all finished, we will exchange secret code letters and decipher them. Don't forget to sign your own name.
Chapter 4 - 6 Assessment
Directions: Answer the following questions in COMPLETE sentences or a short paragraph. Remember we need to see QUALITY 6th grade work. You may go back to the text to find examples to support your answers.
*Please use a different color font to answer the questions.*
1. What did Picasso say about art? How does Calder rephrase the statement? (pages 36-38)
2. What is the next assignment Ms. Hussey gives the class? What question should the assignment answer? (page 36)
3. What gets stranger the more Petra thinks about it? What conclusion does she reach? (page 40)
4. What book does Petra find? What is it about? (pages 41-42)
5. How does Petra put Charles Fort’s ideas into her own words? (page 45)
6. What does Petra wish she studied in school? Do you agree with her? (page 46)
7. Who appears to Petra? How does Petra describe this person’s world? How does this person make Petra feel? (pages 47-49)
8. How does Calder describe the expression of the man in his box’s painting? Why does Calder relate to this man? (page 52)
9. What does Tommy’s letter say? (pages 56-57)
10. What kind of person is “Old Fred?” (pages 58-59)
Chapters 7 - 9
Using only your laptop ONLY--create a picture dictionary for
Chapters 7-9 vocab. You can find the list of vocab words in the link
below. Each word must include an illustration/photo/graphic of the
word's meaning. Each word is equal to 10 points, so the more you
get completed the better your grade. You may use any electronic
format to create your dictionary. Once you save it, you will upload
it directly on this page.
Speculative Writing Assignment
Charles Fort wrote about the mysterious disappearance of a young man in Michigan and the mysterious appearances of six people in England. Imagine that you are one of the people mentioned. Write a story telling what happened to you.
Be sure to write NEATLY so we can read it. Remember how important it is to hook your reader at the beginning of your story. Check your story for correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Make an effort to use some of the WOW/Vocabulary words you have learned so far this year. We know we are going to be reading some fabulous tales!
Art Appreciation Activity
http://moodle.wdeptford.k12.nj.us/mod/resource/view.php?id=274
Art Criticism Activities
http://web.archive.org/web/20070128195449/www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/crit/crit1.html
Starry Night - Vincent Van Gogh - Student Sample Critiques
http://oak.kcsd.k12.pa.us/~projects/critic/student.html
WDMS Art Gallery - Critique
Name: _______________________________________
Group Critique
Directions:
As you go around the room and see all the displayed paintings, answer the following questions. After you write your comments on each handout, initial next to your comments. You may critique 10 different projects throughout the room. This will give you approximately 2 minutes per critique. Be prepared to write complete coherent sentences. QUALITY of answer is just as important as quantity. Giving good, meaningful critiques is the goal.
Important tip to remember:
Constructive criticism does not ‘hurt’. The purpose of constructive criticism is to pick out what you like about the project and add helpful commentary or suggestions on how to make it even better. Keep this in mind when you write your critique. This is a positive experience.
***Why did you pick this project to critique? What is it about this painting that caught your attention? What suggestions do you have to make it better? Does something need to be ‘fixed”? Do you like it? Why or why not?
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Art Critique Form
http://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/critiqueform.html
Art Galleries
http://oak.kcsd.k12.pa.us/~projects/critic/resource.html
Bloom's Taxonomy for Art
BLOOM'S TAXONOMY FOR ART |
|
What ways would you render the subject differently?
|
Explain what you think the artist is trying to
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If you could interview the artist, what
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What is the subject or theme?
|
Describe the painting.
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Descriptive Words to Use in a Formal Analysis of Art
ELEMENTS OF ART
Line Texture Value |
ART ELEMENTS
Shape/Form Colors Space |
ART PRINCIPLES
balance THEMES IN ART adoration |
MEDIA (MATERIALS)
Two-Dimensional Three-Dimensional |
TECHNIQUE/ FORM architecture abstract
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Tic-Tac-Toe Choice Board
Chasing Vermeer Chapters 10-12
You must answer any 3 questions, but they must go straight across, up and down, or diagonally.
Why isn’t A Lady Writing at the NationalWhy do you think this was her first Gallery of Art? What do Calder and Petra think about this? (pp. 92-94)
|
Which pentomino does Calder grab when asking for information about Frog? What does Calder think the letter stand for? (pp. 94-95) |
How is Petra’s dad acting differently? What do his actions tell you about him? (pp. 95-96) |
What does Petra hear her dad mutter? What is her first thought? Why do you think this was her first thought?
|
What about the theft of A Lady Writing concerns the museum curator? Why does the curator say the theft is targeted for an individual collection? (p. 100) |
Why does Ms. Hussey’s injury seem sinister to Calder and Petra? (p. 104) |
What does Ms. hussy say about the thief that worries Petra? Why does this worry Petra? (pp. 105-106)
|
How does the thief justify stealing A Lady Writing? What is the reason for the theft? (p. 108) |
Why does Ms. Hussey’s classroom become a combination of museum and laboratory? (pp. 112-113) |
Everyone MUST answer these questions.
1. How would you summarize Calder and Petra’s experience at Mrs. Sharpe’s house? (pp. 116-122)
2. How does Petra discover a clue? How does Calder react? (p. 125)