Novel Responses

This is my response for the first week. First let me say how much I enjoy the book. I'm sorry about the last e-mail, Ron and I were testing and we didn't notice that we sent it to you. Anyway, I'm kind of confused about how to go about writing this e-mail. Well, the book starts out where Matt's father is walking away from their cabin to fetch his mother, sister and unborn sibling. He left some necessary items with Matt. He left an heirloom which he had gotten from his father, and he also gave Matt his rifle and some gun powder. Matt felt very uneasy about his father leaving him there all alone for many weeks, but by morning, that feeling of tension was gone. Time passed and a man came by the house. Matt let the man stay and eat. The man, Ben, fell asleep and so did Matt. By the morning, Matt got up and found that Ben had left. Not only was Ben gone but so was the his fathers gun!! He had no way to get food, except for fish that he could fish for weeks he had fish and got tired of it. He remembered of a tree in which bees lived and yearned for something else other than the fish which he had had for a long time. The next day he tried to get the fish and failed. The bees got furious and started running after him. He was completely stung and ran into the river and the next thing that he knew he was being drug from the river and he found himself in his bed in the cabin and two Indians were standing over him. The Indians started talking to him(in English) and he conversed politely back to them, which his father had told him to do whenever he got a close encounter to Indians. The Indians were kind to him.

- include an extended response to 1 item from each chapter set
- a chapter set is (1-2)(3-5) etc. as indicated by packet
- this could be a 2 or more sentence answer to a question provided
- this could be your thinking or research on an idea discussed such as "heirloom"

All this simply means that you respond to your own reading by sending in any of your favorite answers to questions or other thoughts that have come into your mind as you have been reading. In reading your response you have written a summary of the first 5 chapters. You have been thorough in your recounting of the story and I appreciate your careful vocabulary like "yearned" and "conversed". Which part or parts of these chapters impressed you the most and why? Next time you write, I encourage you to express opinions and viewpoints of what you have read and explain why you feel that way. I have enjoyed reading your writing,Mr. Hayes

The part of the story that I liked the best was when Matt got stung by the bees. It must had hurt a lot because it really hurt when I got stung once by a bee. That was a miracle that a pond happened to be near by. I also think It was very nice of the Indians to help Matt out of the water. I probably would have been scared if some Indians I didn't even know came and picked me up. I cant wait to read the rest of the book. THANKS!

Lorna,I like how you related an experience of Matt's to one of your own. You said it was a miracle that a pond was nearby. Could the author have designed the story to have a pond nearby so that Saknis and Attean could care for Matt? I'm glad you're enjoying the novel. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I would like to talk about heirlooms discussed in chapter 1. When Matt's Father gave him his watch, Matt got a lump in his throat, I know how he felt!. The watch was valuable to Matt because it had been passed down and his Father had treasured it so much, and knew that Matt was alone he needed a physical reminder of his Father. My Grandma gave me her porcelain dolls she made and I got a big lump in my throat too. It's a big responsibility to take care of heirlooms. It showed how much confidence his Father had in Matt to give him such a prized possession. And my grandma showed me how much she loved me before she died by giving me those heirlooms because they took her so much time and money and her love and talent to make, so they are valuable to me. I really enjoyed reading this book. Its really hard not to read ahead, so I started another book that I can read instead. THANK YOU!p.s. My Father just gave me a special watch too!

Josie,I really appreciated how you used the idea of heirlooms to compare yourself to Matt. Using a "lump in the throat" was an excellent way to make the comparison. Your honesty about not reading ahead, and starting another book instead, shows great self control. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Mr. Hayes

Chapter Set 1-2Q. I'm doing what skills would Matt need to know in questions for discussion on page 6 in the workbook. A Some of the skills Matt would need to know would be: How to shoot a rifle accurately; How to skin and clean his catch; and How to cook Chapter set 3-5Q. I'm doing the writing activity on page 8 of the workbook, which is about Matt's journal. A I went fishing this morning after Ben stole my gun. I discovered some blueberries and after a while I wasn't so upset. After I had been fishing all morning and had caught 4 trout, I might add, I headed back to the cabin. There to my horror I saw the open door, spilled flour, and the empty molasses jar. The first thought that entered my mind was that Ben had returned. But that couldn't be because Ben wouldn't waste food. Perhaps it was Indians, but I didn't think they would waste food anymore than Ben would. No it had been a bear. I had forgotten to bar the door! To replace the molasses I decided to climb up the bee tree. Everything was fine until I got stung by the bees, which really hurt. But some Indian had been watching and he rescued me.

Jessii,You have done some excellent thinking about survival skills. Are these survival actions in the book realistic and believable for someone Matt's age? I also appreciate the care you took to summarize Matt's bad day. It is thorough and filled with detail. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Mr. Hayes

Hello Mr. Hayes,I thought the most interesting part was when he fell in the water and the Indians picked Matt out of the water and set him on dry land. They took him to his house and he fell a sleep. When he woke up they were gone.

Thanks for sharing the part you felt was most interesting. Why was this so interesting to you? Can you give several reasons to help explain your interest? Remember to include your name when you send mail.

Hello Mr. Hayes,I don't know yet what interests me. I think that I like the part where he gets the watch. I think that that's the nicest thing his father had given to him.

I'm glad you shared that you liked it when Matt received a watch. Besides his father being nice, why else do you like this? Let me know when you figure out what really interests you in the book. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Mr. Hayes

Hello again It's Brianna, I'm just about to write you the other e-mail and then I will be all caught up. I'm really excited about being caught up cause then I can get all of my things straightened out. What happens after chap. 5 is that Matt becomes healed and wants to give the Indians,Attean-13 and his grandfather Saknis a gift in return for helping him, so he takes down his book of Robinson Curso and they don't know how to read but Atteans grandfather wants Attean to learn how to read and so he makes Attean go to reading lessons which Matt and Saknis have set up for him to learn how to read. Attean obeys and he goes to Matt's house, and each time he comes,he brings an animal of some sort and gives it to Matt. Matt wonders how they catch the animals without a gun and Attean shows him how. They do it in a trap that they make. Matt learns how to make the traps and he no longer has to eat fish. After each of their lessons, Attean and Matt both go on little hunts or adventures and one day they go to a beavers damn and they see a strange marking on a tree nearby and Attean tells Matt that those markings are the sign of the beaver(Beaver is the name of their tribe). That sign tells all of the other Indian tribes that those are their hunting grounds and that only the Beaver can hunt there. Attean also shows Matt how the Indians can find their way around the forest which is to make little markings to show that you are on the path, such as breaking a branch or moving a rock. Something insignificant that shows you that you have been there and nobody else can pick up your trail.

Again, I think that your summary or recount shows an understanding of key events in chapters in 6-11. As you wrote your summary I kept looking for places that affected you more than other parts. Were you excited to discover that the title of the book came from the rather secret set of marks that early Indians used to stake out territory in the early days? The next time you respond, try writing something other than a summary. I'm sure that your insight will be appreciated by all of us in the class. I look forward to your next response, Mr. Hayes

Mr. Hayes, I'm sending the E-mail for Chap. Sets [12-14]&[15-17]. [12-14]- I'm doing the Prediction. I think that yes, his parents will return, and it won't really matter to them that their son is friends with an Indian, because Attean did help him, and besides, it's not like there are any other boys for him to be friends with. [15-17]- I'm doing one of the Ques. for Discussion. I think that the white settlers had rights to live in the land. After all they came from fairly crowded countries, and the Indian tribes did not take up all of the continent. From Jessii Gauthier

Dear Jessii,Thank you for your communication. I like how you make it clear what you are responding to--Chap. Set and section. Why do you think his parents will return? Is it just to make a happy ending or??? I agree that Matt had no one else to be friends with, but friends with an Indian was a very big deal then, because of the dangers it made for families. Was it dangerous for Matt to befriend Attean? I agree, that it seems like white settlers had a right to settle land in America. I also agree that many people came from crowded conditions. But what would you do if you (as an Indian) had lived on the land for as long as anyone remembers and someone else decides it's time to move in?I look forward to talking to you soon, Mr. Hayes

Mr. Hayes, I'm sorry that I didn't write my last two summaries the way that you wanted me to, I'll try do a better job this time. Well, what I particularly liked in these past chapters is that when Attean and Matt killed that bear, he admitted that Matt had helped him kill it. What I have noticed in Attean is that he's not to quick to praising someone or admitting that he needed a white mans help. I also liked the fact that Atteans grandfather invited Matt to join them in their celebration of the bear in which Attean and Matt defeated. I liked it because I had been wanting Matt to see the village for a really long time to see how he would be accepted. One thing that I liked writing about was about the time when somebody had taught me a useful skill and that was to tie my shoe. If my mum hadn't taught me to tie my shoe, I should either be having her tie it for me still or wear Velcro shoes. Another thing that I liked about that time spent learning to tie my shoe is that I was able to take time with my mum and have her to help me and I think that she enjoyed.

Dear Brianna,I enjoyed reading your response to Chapters 12-17. I noticed that you paid attention to the relationship between Attean and Matt. You said that Attean is not "quick to praising" or that he "needed a white man's help." Why do you think this is so? Is it because this is more common in Athena's culture? I like how you wrote about the invitation to join the celebration. You said that you "had been wanting Matt to see the village". I like this way of thinking because you are expressing the interests of a writer. For Speare, the author, to have Matt come to the Athena's village, there had to have been an appropriate event to have him believably come to the village. Does it seem to you that the author has made the invitation believable? Lastly, I appreciated your recount of being taught a useful skill. It seems that both you and your mom got a lot out of an early experience in your life. I look forward to hearing from you soon, Mr. Hayes

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