© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
Pre-Reading
1. Do you agree with the saying, “Practice makes perfect?” Or do you
believe some people do not need much practice because they are
naturally talented? Explain.
2. What do you think is more important when it comes to success:
having talent or having a strong work ethic? Explain.
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
Part 1
1. What “state of the art” feature did the University of Michigan
have in 1971?
2. What major, long-lasting accomplishment did Bill Joy achieve?
3. What does Bill Joy have in common with hockey players?
Part 2
4. Gladwell defines achievement as:
5. What did psychologist K. Anders Ericsson discover about the most
successful violinists?
6. What was surprising about Ericsson’s study?
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
7. According to the findings of Ericsson’s study, after a student is
enrolled in a prestigious music school, what is the greatest factor
contributing to his or her success?
8. About how many years does it take to become a world-class
pianist, chess player, or any other prodigy? Why does it take this
amount of time?
9. Why is it so difficult to achieve a sufficient amount of practice to
become an expert in something? What does someone need in order
to obtain all these hours?
Part 3
10. Why was it so difficult for individuals in the 1960s and 1970s to
become computer programming experts?
11. How was Bill Joy able to get so many hours of practice with
computer programming?
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
13. What made playing in Hamburg a great opportunity for The
Beatles?
a. It was the hometown of the hamburger.
b. The band was forced to play for an immense amount of time.
c. The gigs paid well, the acoustics were amazing, and the
audiences were appreciative.
d. They were able to play in a foreign country where no one knew
who they were.
14. How many times did The Beatles perform in Hamburg?
a. 90 times
b. 270 times
c. 525 times
d. 1,200 times
Part 5
15. What “amazing thing” happened at Bill Gates’s school, Lakeside?
a. Bill Joy visited as a guest speaker.
b. The mothers group started a computer club.
c. Bill Gates created Microsoft.
d. The students learned computer programming with the
computer-card system.
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
16. What did all of the opportunities that Bill Gates came across have
in common?
a. They were all earned based on merit.
b. They were all purchased with his parents wealth.
c. They afforded him extra time to practice programming.
d. They helped him to earn a hefty college scholarship.
17. To what does Bill Gates attribute his success?
a. His parents
b. His teachers
c. His own intellect
d. A lucky series of events
Part 6
18. What does Gladwell find interesting about his list of the seventy-
five richest people in human history?
a. Most of them made money by starting their own businesses.
b. Fourteen of them were Americans born within nine years of one
another.
c. Many of them were related to famous presidents, kings, or
world leaders.
d. Some of them were college, or even high school, drop-outs.
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
19. How did being born between 1831 and 1840 contribute to the
wealth and success of 14 of the top wealthiest Americans?
a. These individuals came of age during a huge transformation in the
American economy.
b. They were too young to go to war, so they survived the Civil War.
c. They lived during a time when a college education wasn’t a
necessity in the workplace.
d. They lived before a time when e-commerce and the global economy
presented extensive competition from foreign competitors.
20. What makes computer moguls Bill Gates’s, Paul Allen’s, Steve
Ballmer’s, Steve Jobs’s, Eric Schmidt’s, and Bill Joy’s birth years
ideal in terms of their future success?
a. They were born during the “good old days.”
b. They were the oldest students in their class.
c. They were the perfect age during the dawn of the personal
computer age.
d. They were born after World War II and before the Korean and
Vietnam wars.
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
POST- Reading
1. Do you think Bill Gates deserves credit for all of his success? Why
or why not?
2. If it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert, do you
think anyone with this knowledge can make and carry about a
plan to achieve this level of success? Why or why not?
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
Outliers: The Story of Success
Chapter Two: “The 10,000 Hour rule”
Malcolm Gladwell argues that it takes successful people at least 10,000
of practice to become experts in their field.
Think about an accomplishment you would like to achieve and develop
a plan for success.
My goal is to _____________________________ by the age of ____________.
My goal age:_____ - My current age _____= __________(A) years to achieve goal.
10,000 hours ÷ __________ (A) = ___________ (B) hours of practice per year.
___________ (B) ÷ 12 months = __________ (C) hours of practice per month.
___________ (C) ÷ 4 weeks= ____________ (D) hours of practice per week.
__________ (D) ÷ 7 days= _____________ (E) hours of practice per day.
In order to become an expert, I would need to practice for:
______ hours a days,
______ days a week,
for ______ years to achieve 10,000 hours by the time I am ______
years old.
© 2014 Mary Kate Mikulskis, Fun ACT Prep www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-ACT-Prep
Typical Daily Schedule
Outline your typical day, currently, hour-by-hour. You may group extended
activities, like school or sleep, together.
TIME ACTIVITY