Just Once
Short Story by Thomas J. Dygard
Before Reading
1. Write a paragraph about what you do or would like to do in order to be publicly
ecognized in your community.
During Reading
2. Predict what will happen in the story, noting the clues that you used to generate
your predictions.
After Reading
3. Chart the Play - Working in a small group, reread the play-by-play description of
Moose’s touchdown manoeuvres. Chart the action using circles, a
ows, and X’s to
show the movements. When you have finished, discuss whether the reader needs to
know about football in order to fully appreciate the humour and outcome of this
story. (TIP * Search for a sentence in the story that could serve as a thesis
statement about team sports.)
4. Consider Na
ative Voice – The na
ator of this story has a definite personality
that comes through strongly in the opening pages. Reread the first dozen
paragraphs carefully. With a partner, discuss the tone of the na
ation.
What is the speaker’s attitude….
a) to the Moose?
b) To the situation?
c) To football in general?
Compare your reactions to those of other students.
5. Interpret Theme – This selection is as much about team sports as it is about a
particular incident in one young player’s life. Write a paragraph explaining the
message of this story, and how this message can be applied to life in general. Be
sure to use specific details and examples in developing your paragraph.
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6. Consider What’s in a Name Thomas Dygard introduces his hero with the words,
“To his father and mother he was Bryan – as in Bryan Jefferson Crawford – but to
everyone at Bedford City High he was the Moose.” Are you, your siblings, or friends
known differently to people at home and at school? Write a response commenting
on how the use of different names (and nicknames) reflects different aspects of an
individual’s personality.
Extending
7. Compose a News Story Write a report of the Moose’s feat that could have
appeared in either Bedford City’s local newspaper or the Bedford City High
newsletter. Exchange drafts with a partner for proofreading and feedback before
you write your final version.
TIPS : Follow these guidelines for writing a news story:
* Give the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the game in the first
paragraphs.
* Write in short, one-or two-sentence paragraphs.
* Use direct quotations from witnesses and participants.
PEER ASSESSMENT
What is your overall impression of the article?
How well does it follow the guidelines for news-story writing?
What are its strongest points (e.g., good description, concise writing)?
Do you have any suggestions for the final version?
8. Read a Book Find and read a sports novel written by Thomas Dygard or another
author of your choice. Prepare an oral book report, pointing out similarities and
differences you may have noted between the novel and this short story. Would you
ecommend that others read the novel you selected?
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Fox Hunt
Short Story by Lensey Namioka
Before Reading
Ask yourself if you believe in anything that you cannot explain scientifically.
During Reading
Keep the title of the story in mind, and note any details that relate to it.
After Reading
1. Relate Details to Title – As a class, discuss how details relating to the title are
woven through the story. How do they hold the key to the story?
2. Look at Foreshadowing Working with a partner, find several examples of
foreshadowing (clues to what will come later). For each one, identify the
question(s) it raises, and explain how it connects with later events in the story.
Present your ideas in a chart.
XXXXXXXXXXEx. of foreshadowing
But this time it was different. A girl got off
the bus…He wondered why he hadn’t seen
her before.
XXXXXXXXXXExplanation
Question: What is the significance of the
girl’s sudden a
ival?
Connection: It ties in with the story his
mother tells and his own future.
XXXXXXXXXXEx. of foreshadowing XXXXXXXXXXExplanation
But this time it was different. A girl got off
the bus…He wondered why he hadn’t seen
her before.
Question: What is the significance of the
girl’s sudden a
ival?
Connection: It ties in with the story his
mother tells and his own future.
3. Identify Parallels With a partner, look at the parallels between the story-within-
a-story and the main story, considering the situation, the characters, and what
happens to them. If the parallel continues, what will happen to Andy?
4. Examine Character In a written response, examine Andy’s values, noting what
has influenced these values, and what decisions and choices they lead him to make.
Extending
5. Write a Myth or Fairy Tale Write a myth or fairy tale linking an event in or
aspect of your own life with an imagined ancestral past. Remember that such
stories have a sense of long ago, and they deal with improbable or fantastic events.
SELF – ASSESSMENT
What techniques did you use to give the story a mythical, long-ago feel? Did
you succeed?
Evaluate the experience of imagining an unknown “ancestral past.” Was it
challenging? Interesting?
6. Design a Visual Design a visual to accompany the story you wrote in Activity 5.
Try to capture the key images and themes of your story as well as its mythical or
fairy-tale quality. Share your visual with the class or a small group, explaining how
it relates to your story. TIP * You can create an original drawing or use existing
images (e.g., from old magazines, computer illustration programs, or Internet
sources)- or use a combination or original and found images.
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ln lines 1-15, underline the
words that tell about the
Moose's special talents in
football" Circle the position
he plays.
Pause at line 21. Based on
what you've read so far,
what inferences, guesses
ased on clues in the text,
can you make about the
Moose's character?
devastating (dev'e'stãt'in) u
used as ad.¡,: causing great
damage.
nurturing (nur'úrar'i¡) v,:
promoting the growth of;
n u rsing.
10
20
Thomas J. Dygard
Everybody liked the Moose. To his father and mothe
he was Bryan-as in Bryan fefferson Crawford-but to
everyone at Bedford City High he was the Moose. He was
large and strong, as you rnight imagine from his nickname,
and he was pretty fast on his feet-sort of nimble, you
might say-considering his size. He didn't have a pretty
face but he had a quick and easy 5¡¡ils-"s\^¡set," some of
the teachers called it; "nice," others said.
But on the football field, the Moose was neithe
sweet nor nice. He was just strong and fast and a little bit
devastating as the left tackle of the Bedford City Bears.
\A/hen the Moose blocked somebod¡ he stayed blocked.
lVhen the Moose was called on to open a hole in the line
for one of the Bears' runners, the hole more often than not
esembled an open garuge door.
Now in his senior season, the Moose had twice been
named to the all-conference team and was considered a
cinch for all-state. He spent a lot of his spare time, when .
he wasn't in a classroom or on the football field, reading
letters from colleges eager to have the Moose pursue highe
education-and footb all-at their institution.
But the Moose had a hang-up.
He didn't go public with his hang-up until the sixth
game of the season. But, looking back, most of his team-
mates agreed that probably the Moose had been nurturing
the hang-up secretly for two years or more.
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"Just Once" by Thomas Dygard from Ult¡mate Sporls, ed¡ted by Donald R Gallo. Copyr¡ght O 1995 by Thomas
Dygard Reproduced by permission of Random House Ch¡ldren's Books, a division of Random House, lnc.
6 Collection I / Plot: Moments of Truth
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Pause at line 33. What does
the Moose want to do?
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Underline, and then number,
three reasons linemen
usually don't ca
y the ball
(lines 34-44).
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30
40
The Moose wanted to ca
y the ball.
For sure, the Moose was not the first interior lineman
in the history of football, or even the history of Bedford
City High, who banged heads up front and wore
uises
like badges of honor-and dreamed of racing down the
field with the ball to the end zoner while everybody in the
leachers screamed his name.
But most linemen, it seems, are able to stifle the urge.
The idea may pop into their minds from time to time, but
in their hearts they know they can't run fast enough, they
know they can't do that fancy dancing to elude tacklers,
they know