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This nation-wide project is sponsored in Georgia by the National Science Center Fort Discovery collaborating with the Georgia Educational Technology Training Centers. The project is directed by the ETTC at the National Science Center. 

• page 21 - Jake discusses his stalking of animals. He says that in Kenya he stalked with no clothes on; naked.
• page 111 - Use of the shotgun as a security and safety method on the boat
• page 140 - Use of a certain 4 letter word on this page
• page 170 - Raul wears no clothes while in the rainforest
• page 223 - Talking about Tyler, "He got into drug running and gun smuggling."

Topics from the novel to use and possible extension activities . . .  

• Author website
• Student pack of Jaguar curriculum (pdf files)
• Interview with Roland Smith: topic: wolves
• Do you think it is strange that Jake calls his Dad Doc? Are there circumstances that make this somewhat understandable?
• Jake's grandfather Taw is a Hopi Indian. Research the Hopi.
• Jake mentions that he has made a trip to Kenya alone to look for Doc. What do you think about such an adventure for a 14 year-old? Do you think you would be able to track someone down in Kenya alone? Research Kenya to discover the dangers Jake was up against.
• When Doc leaves for Brazil to help Bill with the research in the Amazon, he leaves Jake to live at the retirement home with Taw. Write a journal entry about your expectations regarding living in a retirement home. One benefit to this is that Jake now has about 50 surrogate grandparents. What would that be like?
• One page 10, Taw seems not to know who Jake is? What medical condition causes Taw to forget things? Later in the books, characters are affected by another disease, malaria. Research these diseases and make an awareness poster or brochure to inform others about them.
• Jake holds Press Conferences after school each day so that it is a one stop informative session without lots of people asking about his day. What are your routines for sharing your day with friends and/or family?
• Research jaguars.
• Jake is very discouraged in the beginning that Doc has not contacted hi. He thinks Doc forgot him. Why do you think Doc did not write to or call Jake?
• Research stalking animals.
• Why do you think that Jake wore all white when he was stalking the deer outside the home?
• Taw suggests Jake stalk the deer to keep his mind off of not hearing from Doc. What do you do to keep yourself distracted from things that bother you?
• Jake finally gets the fax from Doc. How would you feel if you were Jake getting this fax after such a long time?
• Chapter 3 starts off with a simile - "The next five days moved like a glacier..." Discuss the use of similes to make writing come alive.
• Jake promises to keep the "inmates" informed of his adventures via dispatches. At times, he is too busy and not close enough to technology to transmit dispatches. Write a few dispatched Jake could have sent back to the home.
• Buzz is sent to pick Jake up from the airport. Jake is expecting Doc and has never seen nor heard of Buzz., Would you have gone with Buzz?
• Much of Jake's first impression of the Amazon trip are in Manaus. Locate Manaus on a map. How far is it from where you live?
• The warehouse was relatively cheap because of the presence of bats. How would you like living amidst a cloud of bats?
• Research fruit bats.
• Buzz is an ultralight inventor and master. Research the ultralight. Also, research the Blue Morpho Butterfly, Buzz's name sake for his ultralight.
• When flying the ultralight, the pilot must rely on the use of several navigational tools. Research each of these and create an informative brochure about these tools. Why are so many tools needed?
  • variometer
  • altimeter
  • airspeed indicator
  • compass tachometer temperature gauge
• Investigate GPS (Global Positioning System)
• On page 60, discuss Jake's reaction to Doc staying in Brazil and his decision to send Jake to a summer camp and boarding school.
• Flanna is a botanist. Research the field of botany and the equipment involved in this field. Research other jobs in the science field that relate to the study of and research of animals and plants in the rainforest.
• How does Jake feel when he meets Flanna and discovers that she's more than just a botanist for the project?
• Flanna is interested in studying the plants of the rainforest for their medicinal uses. What are some of the medicinal uses of plants in the rainforest? Discuss and debate the dilemma - using plants for medicinal purposes versus deforestation.
• Silver appears out of the blue after the fire. How would you have reacted to Silver's questions when he appeared? Would you have answered his questions?
• Do you believe Silver's statement that he just wants to see this area of the Amazon? Do you think he has a hidden agenda?
• What do you think is the purpose behind Buzz having Jake take the Morpho apart and reassemble it? Does this make sense to you?
• Do you think you could learn to fly and track animals in a week?
• Why do you think the Morpho needs a ballistic parachute? What is a ballistic parachute? Is it different from what we call simply "parachutes"?
• Investigate the method of tracking and telemetry in discovering information about a species.
• On page 100, Jake says that is it often difficult to tell people things they do not want to hear. Do you agree? Tell about a time where you were faced with giving someone information you did not think they wanted to hear. How did they react?
• On page 104, as Jake is landing the Morpho in front of Doc for the first time, Buzz tells him to do the best job of his life. Have you ever been faced with a nerve-racking experience where you knew you had to do they best job ever?
• How do you think Jake felt the night before leaving for the river trip. Rewrite his dispatch telling how you would feel is you were in Jake's shoes. What would you want Taw and the other "inmates" to know?
• On page 111, Doc is still suspicious of Silver, are you?
• Go on your own gold mine search!! Research to find out more about the rainforest searches for gold, especially the lost Muribeca mines.
• What is a Zodiac? Draw your own version of what one might look like.  Do you think that Silver's zodiac varied from the one used in Troubling a Star by Madeline L'Engle in JASON XIII?
• How do you think Raul knew the jaguar's weight? Why do you think Raul gave the jaguar money to the people of the Indian camp?
• In agreeing to catch and release the jaguar, Raul is very smart; he helps himself, the jaguar, and Doc's research all at the same time. Who do you think was the most impacted by Raul's help?
• Scavenge for food that please a jaguar's palate.
• Jake tells Silver about the man with the scar who hit him over the head on the boat and who also appeared to be viewing them from the binoculars near Raul's village. Do you think this is the same man? Are you suspicious of Silver?
• Draw a picture of or create a collage of all of the animals Jake sees on his Amazon River trip.
• On page 155, "Silver's shortcut" is described. Tell your thoughts, feelings and "hunches" about this shortcut. 
• Stop on page 157, at the end of the chapter, and predict what will happen.  
• What animals are in the rainforest? How do they use the rainforest and how do they interact with one another?
• On page 174, Jake mentions that there are dolphins in the lake. Is this lake freshwater or saltwater? Research the possibility of dolphins in freshwater.
• In Flanna's world, the main plants are lichens and bromeliads - "air plants" that need no soil. She even states that she once stayed on a platform so long she felt as if she was transformed into a bromeliad. Learn more about these air plants.
• What are the effects of deforestation on the precipitation cycle? On the animals? On the plants? On the native people?
• Why are the jaguars only a small part of the reason why rainforests need to be preserved?
• On page 187, there is a clear change in Jake's attitude toward Flanna. Why? Is he maturing? 
• Learn more about Colonel Fawcett's journey to find Muribeca.