Macmillan III, 1992
Summary: Polly rebels against her unconventional mother when they are forced to move out of their apartment. The thirteen-year-old chooses to live with an aunt and her apparently perfect family. However, once Polly becomes part of the household, she understands that the lack of real caring for each other has turned the "ideal" family into isolated, depressing components.
Level: RL: 4 IL: 4-8
Themes:
- Growing up
Problem solving
Single parent family (mother-daughter conflict and caring for others)
Breaking the law
Activities:1. Before they read the book, ask students to write in their journals predictions concerning the mood of the book by examining the cover. Also, ask them to speculate on the title's meaning. Have students play several games of pick-up sticks and write in their journals a description of the game, especially noticing how the movement of one stick effects the others. Upon completion, ask students to re-read their journal entries and readdress the same questions.
2A. Polly and her mother spend quite a bit of time looking for an apartment. Send a letter to the Chamber of Commerce of the city in which you would like to live. Ask for a map and other important information. Choose a neighborhood that looks good to you. Make a chart using the map showing the distances between the following: schools, stores, churches, hospitals, doctors' offices and public transportation stops.
2B. List the features of an apartment that would be most important to you. Using your library check out "for rent" ads in the local newspapers. What is the average monthly rental of places that meet your specifications? What is the recommended proportion of one's income that "should" be spent on housing? What would the household income need to be to afford what you want?
3A. Pick-Up Sticks opens with Polly volunteering in her public library. Discuss librarian stereotypes (for example, use the would-have-been Mary in It's A Wonderful Life). What type of person is Mavis the librarian? What jobs is she shown performing? Interview your public and school librarians about their work. Write an article for the school newspaper about the training needed to become a library media specialist and the types of things they do. Conduct a poll to find the most common title in your area. (Do they like to be called librarians or media specialists or..?)
3B. Ask to see the reference book which teaches how to assign Dewey Decimal numbers. Familiarize yourself with the System. Then explain it to someone who doesn't understand it. Using the general to specific charts, assign Dewey Numbers to the book that Polly finds out of order: Boys and Sex. Also assign a Dewey number to the hypothetical book that a patron wanted: how to teach a dog to read. What book was Polly referring to when she mentioned a mouse finding a house in a pumpkin?
4. Divide students into groups of four. Ask each group to discuss the meaning of the library janitor's signs and sayings. "I am on the quest for the nothing that is beyond all something. Please respect my space" (page 2). "Does it ever feel to you like things are more like they are now than they've ever been before?" (page 3). Why does Ellis use these expressions? Why doesn't the author show Polly working in the library after the initial part of the book?
5A. Ask the students to write about their impressions of the way Mother handled the behavior of Polly's cousin, Stephanie. Would they have done otherwise? Have students explain this part of the book to their parents and query them as to what they might do. Have students make an appointment to speak with a police officer or a judge about this book project. They should practice explaining exactly what Stephanie and her friends did. What are the legal ramifications? What rights would Stephanie have if she were caught red-handed?
5B. Stephanie justifies the actions of the "Gross-busters" by saying that these people have such bad taste, the neighborhood is a better place without their doodads. Ask students to list the objects of her vandalism. Discuss "good taste" and "bad taste." Should a purveyor of "good taste" be appointed for each community. Ask students to write about the real reasons that Stephanie might be doing these things.
6. Polly's neighbor, Ernie, provides an interesting foil for Polly's growing up phase. Why do the students think she treats him as she does? What kind of home environment does he have? What kind could he have had? Ask students to comment in their journals about the effect Ernie's new "job" has on him. What implications does it have for society in general?
7. Preteens and teens may be anxious to explore one of the themes of this book - resolving conflict between parent and child. Read other books about this issue (a few are listed in the resource section below). Depending on the atmosphere of compassion and openness in the class, keep a running list posted on a wall chart of specific concerns that students have with a parent. If this seems too personal, make it a list of problems encountered by fictional characters. Include on the chart strategies or solutions that didn't work and ones that did. Discuss how the book ends. Is it on an upbeat note? Will all problems be solved now? Is it an open-ended finale, with characters learning that life consists of working through problems?
8A. As students are just beginning to read Pick-Up Sticks, ask them to figure out what Polly's mother does for a living, list clues and their guesses in their journals. (Did they pick up on the income tax hint?) Most people think of making stained glass for a hobby. Have students scour trendy house design magazines to find photographs which show work Polly's mother could have done. Price out large stain glass works. Using the rental ads found above, and other clues from the book, make up a proposed budget for Polly and her mother. How many windows or cupboards would she have to make every week to break even? What material is used to bind the pieces of stained glass together? Is Polly's mother in any medical danger from using this substance? If so, what can she do to protect herself?
8B. Check out a number of books on how to make stained glass and its history. The Tiffany lamps may make an interesting starting point. Make a "stained glass" window ornament using tissue paper. Use traditional or original designs. Or use the recipe below for:
Crushed Candy Cookies .
¶ Use the following recipe or any plain cookie directions
1/3 cup shortening3 cups flour (sifted)
1/3 cup sugar1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg2/3 cup honey
¶ Mix the dough and roll into snake like sections about 1/4" thick. Chill
¶ Make open designs on aluminum foil over a cookie pan. Be sure the
pieces are carefully connected to make stronger patterns.
¶ Crush lollipops, sprinkle in openings.
¶ Bake at 375 about 8 to 10 minutes. Peel off the aluminum foil.
Adapted from Making Things by Ann Wiseman
8C. Use
graph paper to get your pieces exact. Calculate the angles and the length of each side on each of the "glass" pieces as math for the day.
ASK STUDENTS TO MAKE UP THEIR OWN MATH PROBLEMS ... HAVE CLASSMATES SOLVE THEM.
(Assume all the colored final copies of students designs are done on graph paper.)
EXAMPLES:
1. How many inches of lead strips will I need?
2. (Students will need to phone hobby shops or a professional stained glass artist to find out the real prices; these are just made up.)
A square inch of green glass costs 5¢, dark blue glass is 10¢, yellow glass is 6¢ red glass is 8¢ and white glass is free at the hardware store. How much will be spent on making this window?
Resources
Brisac, Catherine. Glass Painting and Staining History. Doubleday, 1986.
Handbook To Arts and Crafts. W.C. Brown, 1980.
Isenberg, Anita. Glass Painting and Staining. Chilton Book Co., 1981.
Sibbett, Ed. Stained Glass Pattern Book. Dover, 1976.
Wettlaufer, George and Nancy. The Craftsman's Survival Manual. Prentice Hall, 1974.
Wilt, Joy. A Kid's Guide to Understanding Parents. Word Inc., 1980.
Wiseman, Ann. Making Things: The Hand Book of Creative Discovery. Little, Brown, 1973.
Parent and Child Conflict in Fiction
Bunting, Eve. The Hideout. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991.
Danzinger, Paula. Can You sue Your Parents for Malpractice? Dell, 1979.
Fine, Anne. The Book of the Banshee. Little Brown, 1992.
First, Julia. Move Over Beethoven. Watts, 1978.
Hermes, Patricia. Kevin Corbett Eats Flies. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986.
Holl, Krisit D. Perfect or Not, Here I Come. Atheneum, 1986.
Nelson, Theresa. The 25¢ Miracle. Bradbury Press, 1986.
Sachs, Marilyn. Just Like a Friend. Dutton, 1989.
Voigt, Cynthia. Building Blocks. Atheneum, 1984.
Prepared by Pam Geagan, UM student of Children's Literature, Fall 1993 (with Abigail Garthwait, Asa Adams School, Orono)
