Summer Reading 2015 for Incoming 7th-8th graders
Incoming 7th-8th graders will be reading Ch. 1-9 of The Witch of Blackbird Pond by
Elizabeth George Speare. You may check the book out from the public library or
purchase it if you like. Please note that his is not promoting “witchcraft”. This
book is about people prejudging someone because they are different. This will
correspond with our American History that we will be studying during the 20152016 school year. We will continue reading the remainder of the novel when
school begins.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond-complete the following chart:
Character
Something about the character
She moves to Connecticut from
Barbados to live with her aunt
and uncle
Nat Eaton
Matthew Wood
She is Kit’s aunt and Matthew’s
wife. She warmly welcomes Kit to
their home.
Judith
She is Matthew and Rachel’s
oldest daughter. She must use
crutches to get around.
He is going to Wethersfield to
study under Reverend Bulkeley.
Goodwife Cruff
A “scrawny little girl”, Kit rescues
her doll and gains her admiration.
Your first impression of
that character
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Ch. 1-3)
Vocabulary
1. disembark
2. dour
3. wistfully
4. nonchalance
5. punctilious
6. intangible
7. constraint
8. abstracted
9. conceded
10.nondescript
4. Why weren’t Kit’s aunt and uncle there to meet her when the ship comes in to
Wethersfield?
5. What chain of circumstances led Kit to come to America and find her Aunt
Rachel?
Thinking about the Story:
6. Read again the first paragraph of Chapter 3. Kit’s first impression of
Wethersfield is not a very favorable one. List some words and phrases from this
paragraph that the author uses to give a negative impression of the town.
7. Foreshadowing is a technique authors use to prepare us for changes coming in
the book or lives of the main characters. Study these two sentences from the book.
In spite of his mocking tone, Nat had unmistakably warned her, just as
she knew now that John Holbrook had been about to warn her. There
was something strange about this country of America, something that
they all seemed to share and understand and she did not. (ch. 1)
“Don’t forget, your aunt has been away from England for a long time.”
Kit was aware again of that intangible warning that she could not
interpret. Every day of this delay made it harder for her to shake off her
uneasiness. (Ch. 2)
What does the author seem to be foreshadowing? What words does she use to help
create this feeling?
8. Nat’s parting words to Kit were a reminder that “only the guilty ones stay
afloat.” Why do you think he said this to Kit just before he left?
9. Read Leviticus 19:33,34; Isaiah 58:6,7; Matthew 25:34-40; I Peter 4:9-10.
In these passages, what attitude should we take toward being hospitable?
10.Consider the effect Kit’s arrival has on the Wood family. Do they show her
the hospitality that is commanded? List each family member and indicate
whether you think that person is following the Biblical command to show
hospitality.
Ch. 4-6
Vocabulary: A word is in context if we read it in the sentence in which it was
written. It is out of context when it is by itself. The following underlined words
are shown in the context of the sentences in which they appear in the book. Read
the sentences and try to define the underlined words from context. Then look up
the dictionary definition and compare.
1. Rachel shied away from the mirror, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
2. No member of my household will appear in public in such unseemly
apparel.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
3. After one shocked stare, the family downed the mess in silence that made
Kit writhe.
Your definition:
Dictionary Definition:
4. Rachel laid a placating hand on her husband’s sleeve.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
5. This first venture outside her new home was not starting out auspiciously
for Kit, but as they set out along the road she could not repress her curiosity
and bouncing spirits.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
6. On the stairs leading to the gallery nearly twenty small boys were clustered,
shoulder to shoulder, and the solid ranks undulated with the constant jerking
of restless elbows straining under tight woolen jackets.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
7. In the shadow of his teacher an extra staidness had fallen over the young
divinity student, and his smile was lukewarm with dignity.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
8. “I was glad to see you in Meeting,” he said gravely, “you must have found
the sermon uplifting?” Kit was nonplussed.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
9. John’s voice was low-pitched but very clear, and the words fell with a
musical cadence that was a delight.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
10. How Mercy must be shriveling at the fulsome words.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
11. She coaxed her father out of his bitter moods, upheld her timorous and
anxious mother, gently restrained her rebellious sister and had reached to
draw an uncertain alien into the circle.
Your definition:
Dictionary definition:
Questions
12. When Matthew returns to the house, he is angry to find the two girls and their
mother trying on the clothes that Kit brought with her. What seem to be his main
objections?
13. What one concession does he make in regard to the clothes? What does this
reveal about Matthew Wood?
14. What was Kit’s main reason for leaving Barbados?
15. Judith gets upset when she learns that William Ashby has asked to call on Kit.
Suddenly Kit recalls something Judith had said on the first morning when she was
trying on the dress. What was it that Judith had said? What does this scene reveal
about Judith’s feelings toward William Ashby?
16. What surprising announcement does Judith make at the end of Chapter Six?
17. How does Judith’s attitude toward Kit change over the course of these three
chapters? What circumstances cause that change?
18. Describe the meeting. How does it compare or contrast with your experiences
at church services?
19. What change does Kit notice in John Holbrook when he and Reverend
Bulkeley come for dinner?
20. When John Holbrook reads from the Bible, Reverend Bulkeley suggest that he
begin at Proverbs 24:21. Read Proverbs 24:21-22. Why do you think Reverend
Bulkeley suggests this verse? How does Matthew Wood react?
21. When Gershom Bulkeley comes to visit the Wood household, he and
Matthew have a serious disagreement about the future of Connecticut.
Briefly explain the position of each man.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Ch. 7-9)
Vocabulary
Match the words with their definitions below.
implacable
incoherent
raiment
allotted
decorum
contagious
priggish
ingenious menial
dubiously obstreperous
1. __________________unintelligible, unable to speak clearly
2. __________________being narrow-minded and acting superior to others
3. __________________clothing of fine quality
4. __________________easily spread, catching, infectious
5. __________________with uncertainty, doubtfully
6. __________________noisily resisting control and defying commands
7. __________________lowly, like tasks performed by a servant
8. __________________to be assigned or divided in portions
9. __________________unable to be soothed
10.__________________clever at inventing
11.__________________behavior that complies with all conventional social
manners, such as dress, speech, behavior, etc…
Questions
1. Though William does not say much during his visits to Kit, he does mention
that he will soon begin building his house. How do Mercy and Judith
interpret this comment?
2. After a few weeks, why does Kit start to look forward to William’s Saturday
visits?
3. Out on the meadows, Kit spots Hannah Tupper’s house. What does Judith
tell Kit about Hannah Tupper?
4. What had happened to Matthew and Rachel’s two sons? What does Kit vow
to do after she learns this?
5. What opportunity is Kit given to earn “real wages”?
6. What happens during school that results in disaster? What does the
schoolmaster do as a result?
7. During one of his visits, Matthew and William discuss the Connecticut
charter and the newly appointed governor. Matthew feels strongly that
Connecticut must retain its charter to guarantee that they continue to enjoy
the rights and privileges it grants. Why does William’s response impress
Kit?
8. When Kit runs away to the meadow, she meets Hannah Tupper. Look again
at the scene of their first meeting. The author uses a number of descriptive
words and phrases to give us a picture of Widow Tupper. (For example, the
author says that Hannah “spoke in a rusty, murmuring voice.”) List five
other words or phrases used to describe Hannah.
9. What is your first impression of Hannah Tupper? Why do you have this
impression?
10. Kit asks Hannah how she can ever go back and face them. In response,
Hannah shows Kit a flower brought to her from Africa. What “answer” does
the flower hold for Kit?