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Maine Sampler Part IV When the Road Ends by Jean Thesman
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Houghton Mifflin, 1992 Summary: Twelve year-old Mary Jack was worried when the State sent a belligerent new boy to the Percy's household. Things were already tough. Jane, the youngest foster child, was smart enough but she was very reclusive. The foster mother really didn't like any of them. Sent to spend the summer in the country, the three children and an older woman recovering from a serious accident are abandoned by their slovenly caretaker and must try to survive on their own. Level: RL: 5 IL: 5-8 Themes:
Activities:
1. Each of these children have some part of their background told in When the Road Ends. Write a story that fleshes out their early childhood; it should be based on Thesman's hints but you may have as much artistic license as you want. And/or write a final chapter in which draw your own conclusions as to what happens to the four oddly matched people at the summer house. (Would you have the mean neighbor, Don Snyder, interfere any more? Why didn't Al ever get married?) Ask a friend you has also read When the Road Ends to read and react to your story. Request that he or she write you a note that addresses whether or not your piece fits into the main story. 2. Mary Jack dreams about being able to stay with one family. Research the adoption process. If you know of anyone who has been adopted, ask if they would mind being interviewed. If you can locate at least two or three people, collect a series of mini-autobiographies similar to Jill Krementz's book. Many years ago, children weren't told they were adopted until they were adults. Why do you think this was so? What might have been some repercussions from that omission?
4. Cecile Bradshaw, the sister of the foster father, was in a terrible car accident. It killed her husband and left her with the effects of a lingering concussion. Look up concussions, head injuries and aphasia. What are the symptoms? Why was Cecile even alive after the accident? Mary Jack believed the symptoms were similar to those caused by a stroke. Is she right? What can be done to aid healing? 5. Adam easily tells lies so that the "family" can remain at the summer house. A. Debate the pros and cons of the topic: "Lies are justified if the ends are what you want." Before the debate the class should discuss what elements comprise a good argument. (This could be part of a larger discussion of "Ends justifying the means.") ASSESSMENT: Poll the audience to see which way they were persuaded. Ask for a written critique of the debate, the arguments and the topic. Include a group sharing time. B. Look up the definition of ethics. If you have trouble understanding this, talk about it with your teacher during conference time. In your reading journal explain: "You are a judge and the court is your conscience." Would you have tried to solve the summer house problem the way Adam did? List other possible avenues to their solution. Why do you think Adam chose that way? What other examples of lying in society can you list? (Has someone ever said to you as you are answering the phone, "If that's So-and-So, tell him I'm not home!" What about the denial of many politicians when they are confronted with wrong doing, even when there is irrefutable proof?) Mary Jack didn't like the lies but she went along with them. Was she right? What else could she have done? Are there times that telling a "white lie" is OK?
For example, this one could be portrayed by a flow chart set of
consequences or a cartoon strip. Resources: Black, Algernon D. The First Book of Ethics. Drawings by Rick Schreiter. Watts, 1965. Prepared by Abigail Garthwait, Asa Adams School, Orono |
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