section2

Section 2
(ch. 3-5)

Discussion Director
Your job is to ask five questions about the reading that you can discuss with your group. They should include: one compare/contrast, one mood, one fact/opinion, one prediction, and one on your own.

1. (compare/contrast) Did Aunt Rachel look different than Kit had expected? If so, how?

Answer: Kit was expecting her Aunt to be young and beautiful because that was how her mother had always described her. However, when Kit saw Rachel, she was much older than Kit had imagined. In fact, Kit thought she was a servant. p.32, par.2

2. (mood) What mood did Matthew Wood's presence in the house create for Kit?

Answer: Kit felt uneasy with herself and her decision to come to Wethersfield while Matthew was home, but after he left her spirits rose. p.39, par.1

3. (fact/opinion) When Mercy says " Of course you can't go back", tell whether that is a fact or an opinion and why.

Answer: It is an opinion. Kit could go back but she just doesn't want to have to marry the man that used to work for her grandfather. He wasn't mean, she just didn't love him. p.47, par. 2

4. (prediction) What do you think will happen with Kit and William Ashby? How might it affect other members of Kit's family?

Answer: I predict that William will want to court Kit and that they'll end up getting married and living in Wethersfield. I think that Judith will be jealous but she'll eventually end up with someone else, like Nat Eaton.
5. (on your own) How do you feel about the book at this point in the reading? Explain why you feel the way you do.

Answer: I like the book so far because it has been pretty exciting. Kit began a big adventure when she came to Wethersfield from Barbados. I like the way the author describes the characters, especially Kit and her two cousins. Uncle Matthew is pretty scary and I hope he's nicer to Kit because she doesn't know how to act yet. Some of the words are hard to read, but the story is interesting enough so that I don't mind.

Passage Picker
Your job is to pick four passages from the reading that you want to discuss with your group. There are various reasons for picking a passage. For this section, pick passages for these four reasons:

entertaining
figurative language
surprising
describing

Once you have selected your passages, follow these steps:

write down the page and paragraph number
write down the first two and last two words of the passage
write down your reason for choosing the passage and explain why
ask a question about your passage and give an answer

write down the author's purpose (to describe, entertain, inform, or persuade)

1. p.31, par.2
2. "A man.....looked astonished."
3. I chose this passage because it was entertaining. The fact that the cow looked astonished shows a sense of humor coming through in the author.
4. Why would the cow look astonished?
Answer: Because Kit is so out of place in her fancy dress with men following her, carrying her seven trunks of clothes.
5. The author's purpose with this passage is to entertain.

1. p.33, par.8
2. "Then, from...toward her."
3. I chose this passage because it described Matthew wood with vivid imagery.
4. Just from his physical description, what do you think Matthew's personality will be?
Answer: Angles are sort of sharp, so I think that he will be sharp, too. He'll be smart and he'll also be stern.
5. The author's purpose with this passage is to describe.

1. p.35, par.11
2. "Kit lifted...asked politely.
3. I chose this passage because it was surprising to me. I never would have thought that Kit would be so spoiled. I know she's from a different country, but this was an impolite question to ask.
4. Why wouldn't Kit be used to drinking water at meals?
Answer: Her family in Barbados was very wealthy and they probably had lots of fancy things to drink like exotic fruit juices. Water is a plainer beverage than she's used to.
5. The author's purpose with this passage is to describe.

1. p.40, par.6
2. "Mercy's laugh...of silver."
3. I chose this passage for its figurative language. The comparison between Mercy's laugh and a ripple of silver is a metaphor.
4. What does this metaphor make you think that Mercy's laugh sounds like?
Answer: To me, a ripple of silver would sound like wind chimes or bells tinkling. That's what her laugh must sound like.
5. The author's purpose with this passage is to describe.

Word Wizard
Your job is to pick out at least five special words from this section of the reading. They should be words that you find interesting or are not familiar with. For each word you will need to write the page and paragraph where the word occurrs, the definition of the word, the part of speech,the sentence from the reading containing that word, and one sentence of your own containing the word.

Royalist (p.39, par.1)
definition: " an adherent of a king or of monarchical government"
noun
"He was a Royalist, sir."
During the Revoluitonary War, the Royalists were against independence for America.

petticoats (p.40, par.5)
definition: " a skirt worn by women, girls, or young children: as a : an outer skirt formerly worn by women and small children b : a fancy skirt made to show below a draped-up overskirt c : an underskirt usually a little shorter than outer clothing and often made with a ruffled, pleated, or lace edge d archaic : the skirt of a woman's riding habit"
noun
"Well, dresses and petticoats, and slippers, and such."
I sometimes wear a slip, but people don't often call them petticoats anymore.

lye (p.47, par.4)
definition: "a strong alkaline liquor rich in potassium carbonate leached from wood ashes and used especially in the making of soap and washing;"
noun
"The strong fumes of lye stung her eyelids and stirring the heavy mass tired her arms and shoulders."
We learned how to make lye soap when we visited the rancho on our fieldtrip.

nonplussed (p.54, par.6)
definition: "at a loss as to what to say, think, or do"
adjective
"Kit was nonplussed."
I was nonplussed when my mom told us we were moving to North Carolina.

damask (p.55, par.8)
definition: "a firm lustrous fabric (as of linen, cotton, silk, or rayon) made with flat patterns in a satin weave on a plain-woven ground on jacquard looms."
noun
"Mistress Ashby's dove-colored damask with its gilt-edged lace must have come straight from England."
My best dress is made of green damask.

Character Sketcher
Your job is to choose an intersting character from this section of the reading. You will think
of three words that describe that character (character traits) and give the proof with the
page and paragraph number. You will then tell one of the character's goals for that section,
or something that the character wants to do. Next, you will find one of your character's
problems for the section and the solution or possible solution to that problem. Finally,
illustrate the character.

Matthew Wood
Character traits:

intimidating (p.34, par.1) Matthew is intimidating to Kit when he welcomes her without a smile on his stern face.
thorough (p.37, par. 8) He shows that he is thorough when he puts his work on hold in order to get Kit's story straight.
relenting (p.44, par. 7) Matthew is relenting when he lets Mercy keep the blue shawl that Kit gave her.

Character goal:

Matthew wants to know how Kit came to sail to New England by herself without writing first.

Character problem:

Kit is different from his own daughters and is turning their heads with her fancy ways which he does not approve of.

Possible solution:

Matthew makes Kit take back the dresses and things that she gave to Rachel and the girls, except for Mercy's blue shawl, which he allows her to keep.

Connector
Your job is to connect the book your group is reading to the outside world. This means asking yourself these questions and writing a paragraph about one or more of them:

Does this part of the story remind you of any other story or book you have read or heard? Explain.
Does this part of the story remind you of anything that has happened to you, a friend, or a family member? Explain.
Does this part of the story remind you of a movie or television show you have seen? Explain.

This part of the story is about Kit being the new girl and it reminds me of when I was the new girl at my school. My family had just moved to North Carolina from California and everything was different, just like Wethersfield is so different from Kit's home on Barbados. She doesn't fit in because she dresses differently and does things differently, too. For example, she swims and reads and isn't used to going to church. When I came to North Carolina I dressed differently also. My clothes were more flashy for my age and I wore my hair in a different way. I also spoke differently. I didn't have a southern accent and I wasn't used to saying "ma'am" and "sir" or calling adults "Mr." and "Mrs.". Because of this experience, I relate to Kit and how she must feel having to adjust to another culture's traditions. Has anyone else had a similar experience?