Use this activity to engage all types of learners while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“A Ghost Pleads With Ellie”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of Ellie’s character and voice by writing a dialogue between Ellie and a human ghost.

Ellie has been taught that waking the ghosts of humans is a dangerous practice—but that doesn’t stop ghosts from trying to contact Ellie to ask her to raise them from the underworld. In this activity, you will write a dialogue between Ellie and a ghost. You will make up the ghost character yourself, so the ghost’s voice is entirely up to you—but Ellie is an established character, and you should use this activity to demonstrate that you understand her personality and her voice.

Gather Ideas

• Decide who your ghost character will be and how you will use diction, syntax, and other elements to create their voice.
• Review enough of Elatsoe’s text to decide how you can use these same elements to recreate Ellie’s voice.

Write Your Dialogue

• Write a 1-2 page dialogue in which the ghost tries to persuade Ellie to use her powers to raise it from the underworld and Ellie refuses.