Mary Amato

Please see my Invisible Lines Interdisciplinary Exploration Unit for a complete, printer-friendly teaching and learning guide.

Questions for Discussion

• Trevor’s mom is always saying, “Rise above it.” Describe several specific challenges that Trevor faces and how he uses his own resources to “rise above” each challenge.
• Describe some of the details that the author uses to show us rather than tell us that Xander is rich and that Trevor is poor.
• At first, why is Trevor eager to be friends with Xander and Langley and less eager to be friends with kids from his neighborhood?
• Trevor is a talented artist. How does he use his art? Try to think of more than one reason.
• Why do you think Trevor is so concerned about Charlie? What does Trevor’s concern tell you about his personality?
• In Chapter Three, Trevor says he “hates” mushrooms. What are the negative associations? By the end, he finds them fascinating. Explain how and why Trevor ends up becoming interested in mushrooms.
• What do you think Trevor wants in the beginning of the book? What do you think he wants at the end of the book? Explain how and why you think he changed.
• Why did the author choose the title Invisible Lines?

Further activities and curriculum connections

Writing and Revising

See my example of revising.

See my video showing my writing process for Invisible Lines.

Science

1. Research and choose two mushrooms that are not mentioned in the book and create your own Kingdom of Fungi Identification Notebook entries for them.
2. Examine a mushroom using appropriate safety precautions; draw and label the parts.
3. Create a microscope slide of spores and describe/draw what you see.
4. Design your own mycology experiment.
5. See my guide to making spore prints.
6. See my guide for going on a foray.
7. See my video trip to a mushroom fair.

Art

1. Create your own mushroom stamp using appropriate safety precautions.
2. Make clay mushrooms out of bakeable clay. Turn one into an ornament by inserting a loop of string or wire; turn another into a mushroom card holder by cutting a slot in the dome.In the book, Trevor often recalls the wise sayings of his mom. Write each saying on a separate card and place these in your mushroom card holder.
3. Study the mushroom-related artwork of Emile Boudier and Ernst Haeckel.
4. See one guy’s idea to make cool mushroom sculpture.

Geography and history

Research where mushrooms grow and how different cultures use or have used mushrooms.

Cooking

1. Buy some mushrooms at your favorite grocery store and try this recipe below or find one that you might like. Don’t forget to cook your mushrooms thoroughly. When you’re trying a new food, it’s best to test for allergies by just having a small taste the first time.
2. Try this recipe for mushroom burgers.