Bonus Materials in Time Meddlers

Questions for Discussion

Warning: This is primarily for educators. These questions give away some key elements of the book and should only be read after reading Time Meddlers Undercover.

  1. In Chapter One, Matt and Sarah are searching for the key to rescuing Matt’s father from the time machine. Instead they find something else. What is it, and what significance does it have to the story?
  2. Matt is desperate to find his father because he has no other family to speak of. Why do you suppose “family” is so important to him? If you were left bereft of family, who else would you turn to for support? Who does Matt rely on?
  3. In Chapter Three, Matt and Sarah visit the library. Matt has never been interested in books or the library before, but suddenly he is forced to read something, and he finds it interesting. Have you ever had this experience? List the books, or material, that you thought would be boring that suddenly caught your attention and held it. Did this material have some personal connection to you that you only realized later?
  4. Through Matt’s reading, he discovers information about a spy organization called the Special Operations Executive. Had you heard about this organization before reading this book? If so, what do you know about it? Look up the author Ian Fleming and see if you can discover another interesting connection.
  5. In Chapter Six, through an unfortunate accident, Nadine winds up in Amsterdam, in the middle of German occupied territory. Why does this seem appropriate at this point in the story? Do you think Nadine will learn anything from her experiences in this city? What would you like her to learn?
  6. In Chapter Eight, Matt wants to follow Nadine into the time machine, and into Amsterdam. Why does Sarah talk him out of it? Instead they go to England, to a secret airbase. Based on the story so far, what do you think Sarah’s plan is?
  7. In Chapter Eleven, Matt and Sarah try to convince the airmen that the SOE agents are heading into a trap. Why don’t the men believe them? Why would it be dangerous to tell them the complete truth as Matt did in the first Time Meddlers book? Have you been taught to always tell the truth? Are there occasions when the consequences for others would be terrible if you did, and you just couldn’t? Sometimes you have to judge the situation. In most cases, the truth is the best way to go, even if you get into trouble, but sometimes you have to trust your own moral compass. What does that mean?
  8. Matt and Sarah come face to face with their ancestors, and they aren’t exactly as they pictured them. Yet they recognize certain similarities to themselves. Can you list these similarities? Have you met a relative before who isn’t what you imagined? What was different about him or her? Did you identify some traits—physical such as eye colour, mannerisms such as twirling hair when nervous, or personality such a great sense of humour—that you also possessed? What were they?
  9. In Chapter Fifteen and Chapter Seventeen, both Nadine and Matt do something in a desperate situation which they might never have done otherwise. What do they do? What consequences might come about because of these actions? Whose situation is more serious?
  10. In Chapter Eighteen, a Dutch woman helps Nadine. Why does Nadine find this so surprising? Do you know what happened to citizens who hid fugitives from Nazis if they were caught?
  11. In Chapter Twenty-one, Nadine meets Anne Frank. What do you know of Anne Frank? Why was her story so important? What impact do you think this will have on Nadine?
  12. In Chapter Twenty-two, Matt enlists the help of Celery, aka Johanna, to keep them safe while they search for his father. What does Johanna have to do first? Why might the Nazis be looking for them? Do you think real SOE agents might have made the same mistakes as Matt and Sarah? You might be surprised. As human beings, we all make mistakes, sometimes even though we’re trained not to. Many mistakes were made during wartime, particularly in the SOE. What was one of their greatest blunders? Hint: It’s mentioned in the book. Why was it so costly?
  13. In Chapter Twenty-six, Matt suddenly feels remorse. Why? Why does Sarah feel differently? Sometimes we don’t realize what we’re capable of until we try. Being a hero can mean little things. You don’t have to jump out of an airplane or save an agent from diving into a trap. Standing up for what you believe in, disagreeing with a friend, or not going along with a joke at someone else’s expense can take incredible courage. Think of other ways you can be a hero within your own community.
  14. Throughout the story the author has employed humour to diffuse some tense situations. Where was it used? Did you find it helped or hindered the story? As you might have experienced, too much tension can reduce one’s enjoyment of life. The same is true of stories. We like them to be exciting, but we also need to laugh once in a while. Think of a real life situation that was really tense until something funny happened.
  15. Nadine admires Anne for her courage, but also because her diary inspired Nadine when she was a child. Can you think a book or person who left an impression on you, one that you think you’ll remember for the rest of your life? Discuss it with the group. It may inspire others.
  16. At the end of the book, Matt has to make a choice. What is it? Why do you think it was so hard? Books often present a hard choice for the main character in the end. It is what leaves us torn, breathless, and ultimately satisfied with the choice that was made, or we would hate the book. Discuss Matt’s choice and why it worked (or didn’t work) for you.

Activities

  1. When Matt and Sarah visit the library, Matt is forced to read something that he never would have read before, and he finds it interesting. List some books, or material, that you thought would be boring which suddenly caught your attention and held it. Often we find out things about ourselves accidentally. Sometimes they lead to a choice or a career later in life. Next to your list of books/material, suggest possible career paths that you could take with these particular interests.
  2. Matt and Sarah look into the role of the SOE in World War II. Describe what you know of this organization from what you learned in the book, and then go further. Look for sources in other books and on the Internet and write down a report on this spy organization. Did it make a difference in World War II? What role did the SOE play in D-Day? You might be surprised by what you learn.
  3. Through Matt and Sarah’s explorations they discover a relationship exists between Matt and a spy in World War II. The author also discusses her discovery of the role her grandparents played in the Resistance in Holland. Do you know of any stories of your ancestors’ bravery in difficult situations, or a role played in the distant past that may have made even a small difference in someone else’s life? Your ancestors affected history, whether you know it or not. Try to dig up stories from your parents, grandparents, or diaries of even more distant relatives, and write them down. Share them with the class if you like.
  4. The author employs humour on a few occasions to diffuse tension. List these occasions, and come up with other humourous situations that could be used in the book. Or write an action sequence or a short adventure story and try to insert some funny lines or hilarious events to interrupt, but not totally disrupt, the tension.
  5. At the end of the book, Matt has to make a hard choice. Hopefully, the choice was satisfying to you as a reader. Write an alternate ending. Assume they are in another universe and Matt makes the other choice. What happens next?

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