Responses to all questions can be answered as a class, in small groups, or individually, perhaps in a notebook specifically for this purpose.
The responses to the questions in the Writing sections can follow the steps of the "writing process", based on the format as below.
Prewriting:
Drafting:
Sharing
Revising
Editing
Publishing pp. 1-6 Questions to Stimulate Critical Thinking: Journal Prompts Poetry Appreciation "The words will stay forever": Where do you think they will stay?
Writing pp. 7-21: Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Do you have a "mentor"? If you could pick any mentor in the world, who would that be? Why?
Poetry Appreciation What is the metaphor in this poem? Do you agree with it? Why or why not? Writing Lucy loves words. She thinks "gladiola" is beautiful because of the way it sounds. Choose some words from the dictionary that sound lovely to your ears. There are no right or wrong answers!
pp. 22-34 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Have you ever said something to someone you later regretted saying?
Poetry Appreciation Finish this sentence, using either nouns or adjectives: The Marmalade Man is.......(There are no right or wrong answers!)
Writing Write a funny poem in which the rhymes don't make sense.
pp. 35-42 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Have you ever had "mixed feelings" about an experience: eg. feeling "happy and scared" at the same time? Describe that experience.
Poetry Appreciation How does Williams make us really see this "picture" of a wheelbarrow in our minds?
What do you think the poet means when he says "so much depends upon"?
Writing pp. 43-50 Critical Thinking Mr. Moffat encouraged his students to use all their senses when they observe. Then Lucy carefully observed a fight between Andy and the others. Why is she confused about "the truth" now?
Journal Prompts Find a silly poem you like. Share it with a friend.
Writing pp. 51-59 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Draw something which describes your mood right now.
Poetry Appreciation Writing pp. 60-71 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Lucy feels jealous, watching Beatrice and Maria. Have you ever felt jealous for the same reason? When else have you felt jealous?
Do you ever feel as if you are "changing" and "growing wings", as in Lilian Moore's poem? Describe.
Poetry Appreciation Writing a poem in your own "voice" means that your words sound like you. Lucy thinks her poem "I Wish" is in her own voice. Do you agree? Why or why not? Poets write about things they perceive and feelings they have. Often different readers see and perceive different things in the same poem. What "blue" do you "know" in Myra Cohn Livingston's poem on p. 67? Again, there are no "right" answers!
Writing Write a poem in your own voice.
BORING IS: (describe 15 things which bore you)
pp. 72-82 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Do writers always feel like writing? When do you most feel like writing? When do you least feel like writing?
Poetry Appreciation Can you fall in love with a poem? Choose and share a poem that you love.
Writing Observe somebody nearby. Describe their actions, minute by minute.
Write a poem or a paragraph describing things using all your senses, "up close and far away".
pp. 83-90 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Poetry Appreciation If you can read another language other than English, translate a poem in that language. Share your translation with your teacher, a friend, or the class.
Writing pp. 91-107 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Poetry Appreciation Draw a picture of this poem.
Draw a picture of one of your daydreams.
Writing pp. 108-115 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Poetry Appreciation Creative Writing (1) Questions: pp. 116-125 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Describe something (or someone) in your life that is "beautiful in its own way."
Poetry Appreciation Writing pp. 126-135 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Poetry Appreciation Writing p. 136 Critical Thinking Journal Prompts Poetry Appreciation Writing
Read and discuss the assignment with the class.
Have students complete a rough draft of the assignment.
Students are paired in order to read their drafts to one another. Authors request feedback on clarity, amount of detail and interest generated. Encourage positive and supportive feedback.
Students revise their drafts based on their partner's suggestions.
The same partners (or new ones) read each other's drafts, examining spelling, punctuation, grammar and word usage.
Depending upon the assignment and the teacher's preference, the work may be published in booklets, newsletters, or for display.
MR. MOFFAT'S POEM:
Why do you think Lucy was so shocked at Mrs. Silverberg's accident?
Think of some adjectives which describe Andy so far. Give examples to support your description.
Is your journal for "someone's eyes only?" Why or why not?
At what spot in Mr. Moffat's poem do you expect to find the word "not"?
Why do you think Mr. Moffat did not use that word?
Write a welcome note to an imaginary substitute teacher for your class.
EVE MERRIAM'S POEM, "METAPHOR"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this particular poem?
What are some problems Lucy is experiencing?
Why does Lucy think Mr. Moffat will be a good mentor?
Lucy writes about the "banes" of her existence. Can you relate to any of them? What are a few of yours?
A metaphor compares two seemingly dissimilar things by telling us that one thing is another thing. A simile, on the other hand, uses the word "like" or "as". "The moon is a pie in the sky" is a metaphor. "The moon is like a pie in the sky" is a simile. Metaphors and similes help us see the world in new ways we often never forget.
Find some metaphors in other poems.
Lucy writes: "L.A. is an old bone in the sun."
Finish this phrase: (My city) is____________.
Think of some other metaphors.
Think of some similes.
NANCY WILLARD'S POEM: "THE MARMALADE MAN MAKES A DANCE TO MEND US"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose Willard's poem?
What problems is Lucy having with her writing?
Why do you think Lucy is angry at her mother?
Why does Lucy hate the poem on the chalkboard?
Do you have a "haven of privacy"? Describe it, or describe your ideal haven, if you could choose one.
Read this poem aloud. How does the poet make it sound like a dance?
What do you think the last line means?
Imagine you are having a conversation with a friend or a relative behind a closed door, as Lucy does in this section. Write down that dialogue.
WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS' POEM
"THE RED WHEELBARROW"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose Williams' poem?
What did Mr. Moffat mean when he said "Better to feel something than nothing at all."
Do you agree?
Why does Lucy want Dylan to be her stepfather?
Why does she think Mr. Moffat would laugh if he found out about her Secret Love?
Are you ever hard on yourself as a writer? When? What makes you feel better?
What makes a poem beautiful? Does it have to rhyme? Does a poem have to be about beautiful things? Find a poem you like which is not about something we usually think of as "beautiful". Why do you like it?
Write your own "so much depends upon" poem. It can be about something "ordinary", but something which is beautiful to you--a person, a place, a pet. Help the reader see it the way you see it.
X.J. KENNEDY'S POEM
"EXPLODING GRAVY"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose Kennedy's poem?
Write about a time you were confused about the truth.
Poetry Appreciation
The poet X.J. Kennedy likes "sound effects" in his poems. Read "Exploding Gravy" aloud. Find all the things in this poem that make it interesting to the ear.
Choose a partner. Take turns wearing a blindfold as you explore a particular place. Write down what you experience, then share your writing with your partner. How are your observations similar? Different?
RUSSELL HOBAN'S POEM
"OLD MAN OCEAN"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose Hoban's poem?
What personal problem does Lucy reveal to Mr. Moffat? Why do you think she is able to write about that problem to him?
Why does Lucy think Dylan will make "a great stepfather"?
What do you know about Andy, just by looking at his drawings?
Can you write when your surroundings are noisy? Describe your favorite place to write.
Sometimes poets write poems in which they are speaking to nonhumans and inanimate objects. Sometimes they even have a conversation with that thing, as in Russell Hoban's poem. Read the poem aloud. Which lines of the poem are the ocean's voice? How do you know?
Sometimes we learn about writing by imitating others.
Choose a short poem, story, or even a news article you enjoy. Try to imitate what you have read.
LILIAN MOORE'S POEM
"MESSAGE FROM A CATERPILLAR"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem?
Why do you think Lucy likes Myra Cohn Livingston's poem?
What else have we learned about Andy from his diary entries?
Do you think he enjoys doing them? Why or why not?
Write about a daydream you yourself have had.
Sometimes poets use the voice of things that are not human. When they do that, it is as if they are putting on a "mask", pretending to be that thing. Explain how Lilian Moore's poem speaks in the voice of a caterpillar.
Who is Lucy talking to, in her poem?
Write a "mask" poem, pretending to be something inanimate or nonhuman.
VALERIE WORTH'S POEM
"garbage"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem?
Why is Beatrice angry at Lucy?
Name all the things making Lucy feel "all alone".
Do you ever feel "all alone"? What do you do when you feel that way?
Valerie Worth's poem uses a surprising metaphor--comparing "garbage" to beautiful jewelry. Examine some ordinary objects from home and/or school. Can you see their likeness to jewels, in your imagination? How? Can you think of your own surprising metaphors for ordinary things?
Valerie Worth likes to write small poems with short lines so that each word is noticed. Write your own small poem.
OCTAVIO PAZ' POEM
"PEATÓN"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem?
What things "are the same, and not the same" at Lucy's father's house?
Does Andy like or not like keeping a journal? Support your opinion with examples from this section of the novel.
Have you ever changed your opinion about a person or a situation?
What really changed--the person, the situation, or the way you yourself look at things?
Find a poem about a country or area you have never visited. What words and images are used to help you "see" the place as the poet sees it?
Imagine you are twenty years older. You have not visited your neighborhood in a long, long time. What about your neighborhood is "the same, and not the same"?
OCTAVIO PAZ' POEM TRANSLATED BY ELIOT WEINBERGER
"PEDESTRIAN"
What have Lucy and Andy learned about wood ducks?
What "happily ever after" ending is Lucy wishing for?
Which do you prefer, writing by yourself, or writing in a group? Why?
How does Mr. Weinberger's translation differ from Group D's? Do you agree with Lucy's opinion on p. 100? Why or why not?
Imagine you are on a scientific expedition seeking new species. Now observe any animal or insect in its natural habitat. Choose a name for your "new" species. Record your observations clearly with words and drawings. Read your report to a partner, group, or the class without revealing what you have been observing.
LANGSTON HUGHES' POEM
"APRIL RAIN SONG"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem?
Lucy is observing people and places more closely. How have her views changed so far?
Have you ever "fallen out of hate" with a person or thing?
How do you think the rain is like "a lullaby"?
How does the poet use rhythm and rhyme to make the poem itself sound like "rain coming down", or a lullaby?
Revision Tools: ((See Harper and Lane in the reading lists following, for expanded descriptions of these great revision tools!)
-Choose a piece of prose-writing you wouldd like to revise, with a partner. Read your selections to one another.
Help one another using the following Revision Tools:
Each partner asks questions about the piece which were not answered by the author's piece. The author tries to answer those questions in the revision. (eg. "How did the girl in your story feel when her friends laughed at her?"
(2) Snapshots:
The author is asked to take a "snapshot" at certain places in the story, i.e. to give more detail to a scene, as if that person or place or thing was "zoomed in on" as if in a snapshot.
(3) Thoughtshots:
The author is asked to indicate what the characters are thinking and feeling.
(4) Exploding a Moment:
Each partner finds the "exciting moments" in the other's story. The author is asked to take the time to slow down and describe an exciting moment, including the time before, during and after that moment.
(5) Making a Scene:
The author is asked to add dialogue and description. to expand a scene, if it is felt necessary by the editor.
JOSO'S HAIKU
TRANSLATED BY HARRY BEHN
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem?
Why do you think Gabriela showed Mr. Moffat her poem?
Lucy says the haiku on the chalkboard "says more than I thought seventeen syllables could say." How does her own haiku to her mother say more than seventeen syllables? What do you think she has learned about her mother, and love?
Describe a disappointment you have experienced.
Traditionally, a Japanese haiku concentrates on one thing in nature, during a particular season of the year. It is written in the present time and represents one single moment. Although a haiku is short, it should make the reader see a bigger picture than those described by the mere seventeen syllables (for example, a scene before and after the moment described by the haiku).
What "more" do those seventeen syllables in Joso's haiku say to you?
Write your own haiku.
LANGSTON HUGHES' POEM
"POEM"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem?
Why was Andy angry at his father?
Why do you think Andy wanted to tell only Mr. Moffat what happened?
Why did Lucy tell Mr. Moffat even though she promised not to?
Have you ever broken a promise? If so, why?
When, if ever, do you think it is alright to break a promise?
Imagine you are Mr. Moffat. Choose poems you think he would give to Beatrice, Gabriela, Andy, and yourself. Why did you choose those particular poems?
Write a letter to Andy.
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS' POEM
"PIED BEAUTY"
Why do you think Mr. Moffat chose this poem to give to Lucy?
What did Lucy mean when she wrote, "Everything is a poem if you see its own freckled self!"
How do you think you yourself are unique?
In this poem, Gerard Manley Hopkins is celebrating "all things counter, original, spare, strange", i.e. everything which is unique and beautiful in its own way, even the poet's language used in this poem.
Find a poem you think is beautiful, mainly because it describes something so clearly. Perhaps the poem makes you see something in a new way. Share that poem.
Write a letter to Lucy.