Holy
Smokes!
Name:
English Period:
Fahrenheit 451: During Reading Activities
1. Vocabulary
While reading the novel, you are going to keep track of your favorite words. We will come together to create a list
of our 451 favorite words, so keep track! Each student will need twenty words on their list. Remember, you are
searching for words that have power. Look for unique words or words with a strong meaning.
Word
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Page
What does it mean?
Why do you like it?
Reading Comprehension
During our reading of Fahrenheit 451, you are going to complete reading comprehension questions. These
questions will be checked periodically for completion as well as correctness. Keep track of your questions! They
are the foundation of your understanding. We will build from there to explore this society as well as create new
ideas of our own. All responses will be on notebook paper and must be one to two sentences each.
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Describe Guy Montag and describe his job.
Describe Clarisse McClellan.
What smelled like perfume to Montag?
Clarisse asked Montag if he was happy. Was he?
Who is Mildred, what happened to her?
Why did Emergency Hospital sent technicians instead of doctors to treat Mildred?
What are parlor-walls?
Describe the mechanical hound.
What did Montag believe had been done to the hound?
Why was Clarisse considered anti-social?
Who gave Clarisse most of her information about the way life used to be?
Who is Captain Beatty?
How did the firemen know which houses had books?
What lie did Captain Beatty tell Montag?
What did Montag do in the old lady’s attic?
Why were the alarms to burn always at night?
Why did the old woman light the match and commit suicide?
What happened to Clarisse? Was it an accident?
What was Montag afraid Captain Beatty would discover when he came for a visit?
Why did Captain Beatty believe books should be destroyed?
What did Montag show Mildred after the captain had left the house?
Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand
You will be completing a different, independent activity for part two.
Part Three: Burning Bright and Afterword
You have fewer questions for this section. You will also take reading check quizzes along with completion of these
questions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Who was the informant at Montag’s home?
Why did Montag kill Captain Beatty?
Why didn’t Montag run away before he killed Captain Beatty?
Where did Montag go after he killed Beatty?
When Montag left Faber’s house, which direction did he go?
Why did Montag take whiskey, a suitcase and some of Faber’s dirty clothes with him?
What did the railroad tracks mean to Montag?
What was different about the fire Montag saw after leaving the river?
During the manhunt for Montag by the hound, why did the camera identify an innocent man as Montag?
What was different about the hobos Montag met? Why did each man identify himself as a famous author or
piece of literature?
11. What had Montag been able to memorize?
12. What happened to the city during the war?
13. What did Montag and the intellectuals believe their mission to be once the war ended?