Reading to Kids Books: The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Grade Level: 5th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.) Synopsis: Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1867.
What age is the Witch of Blackbird Pond for?
Book Review The Witch of Blackbird Pond is written for ages 9 to 12.
Is The Witch of Blackbird Pond a banned book?
This book is a young adult historical fiction about a girl named Katherine, i.e. Kit, who is forced to leave her home in Barbados and move to Connecticut to live with her Aunt and Uncle. … However this book has been banned because of promoting witchcraft and violence.
Is The Witch of Blackbird Pond a classic?
Elizabeth George Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1958) is a classic work of young adult historical fiction. The novel tells the story of Katherine “Kit” Tyler, a young orphan who, in 1687, travels from the tropical island of Barbados to the stark Puritan colony of Connecticut.What is the Dame School in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
What is the dame school? Well, a little classroom that Mercy runs out of the Wood’s house. She teaches letters, reading, and a little writing. The children pay with money or barter items such as eggs or wool.
What is kits full name in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Katherine Tyler: Better known as “Kit,” she is the protagonist, an independent, rebellious, and kind girl from rich family in Barbados who lived with her grandfather before he died and struggles to find a new identity in Wethersfield as she lives with her Puritan aunt, Rachel, in the colony she is also thought of to be …
Who does Kit Tyler marry?
Kerry has been a teacher and an administrator for more than twenty years. She has a Master of Education degree. In this lesson, we will examine the character of William Ashby, who is Kit Tyler’s wealthy suitor in ”The Witch of Blackbird Pond” by Elizabeth George Speare.
What happens in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
In this gripping historical page-turner, sixteen-year-old Kit must defend her life when she is accused of witchcraft in Puritan New England. After she is forced to leave her luxurious home in Barbados to live with her stern and dour Puritan Connecticut relatives, she finds herself facing execution.Does The Witch of Blackbird Pond have romance?
What is your favorite love story? Although The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare is not a conventional love story, the plot is driven by the decisions characters make for love.
How old is William Ashby?Ashby, a fighter for civil rights for more than nine decades and New Jersey’s first black social worker, died on Friday at the Brookhaven Nursing Home in East Orange, N.J. He was 101 years old.
Article first time published onWho does Judith marry in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Judith is ill matched with the bookish John Holbrook. Eventually she is married to William Ashby, a far more appropriate match.
Who is John Holbrook in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
John Holbrook is the son of a tanner who taught himself Latin by candlelight. Unable to afford tuition at college, he has traveled to Wethersfield to study with the Dr. Reverend Bulkeley. He arrives in Wethersfield at the same time as Kit.
Why did Kit and Judith go to the Great Meadow?
Journey to the Great Meadow Kit’s uncle, Matthew Wood, assigns Kit and his daughter Judith to weed an onion field. Judith leads her across town to The Great Meadow, where landowners have been given plots of land on which to plant crops.
How did Kit feel in Hannah's House?
Kit does not feel comfortable in her new home. When she meets Hannah Tupper, Kit does not care that the townspeople think Hannah is a witch because she is a Quaker instead of a Puritan. Even after her Uncle Matthew forbids Kit from going to Hannah’s house, Kit continues to visit.
What did Kit realize as she looked at the flooded meadow?
Kit realizes now the true meaning of her dream: it doesn’t matter if she goes to Barbados or not, it’s who she’s with that matters. Kit knows she can be happy wherever she is – as long as Nat is with her.
Who is the antagonist in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Uncle Matthew He is a stern man who forbids Kit to see the widow Hannah Tupper – orders which Kit disobeys. Eventually, though, the two learn to understand each other. Kit’s uncle vigorously defends her against charges of witchcraft, blaming her disobedient behavior on an improper education.
What is the main conflict in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Conflict. Right away, Kit finds that she does not fit in well with the Puritan society of Wethersfield. Her wealthy upbringing and free-spirited ways make it hard for her to adjust to the hard work and strict religious practices of her family and neighbors.
Why does Kit feel uneasy at the end of chapter1?
Kit is surprised when the other women stare at her, and feels embarrassed about the way she looks. … Towards the end of the chapter, Nat points out that a woman on board named Goodwife Cruff thinks Kit is a witch because she can float in the water – something that supposedly can only be done by witches.
Who is Nathaniel Eaton?
Nathaniel “Nat” Eaton is the son of the captain of the sailing ship the Dolphin. Always a mocking grin on his face, he is one of Kit’s potential suitors. The two have a playful, though at times antagonistic, relationship. Nat is friends with both Hannah and Prudence.
Why is Kit embarrassed when she returns from Hannah's House?
Why is Kit embarrassed when she returns to Hannah’s house? She is embarrassed because she sees Nat in a new light.
Who is Kit most loyal to in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Kit is strong-willed, loyal to England, and does not initially understand the lifestyle of the colonists. She bonds with a fellow outcast, Hannah Tupper, a Quaker who other townspeople think is a witch. Kit falls in love with Nat Eaton, who is also friends with Hannah Tupper.
What happens to Hannah in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Though Kit is able to save Hannah just in time, her house is still burnt to the ground by the angry mob. The violence of the townspeople suggests the dangers of intolerance.
How does the author describe Kit Tyler?
Some of her most outstanding traits are her aristocratic (meaning she comes from a noble or high-born family, coming from the English-loyal Barbados), impulsive (meaning she speaks and acts without thinking, such as when she jumps into the ocean from the Dolphin to get Prudence’s doll), naïve (meaning she’s not fully …
What happens to prudence in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
Prudence Cruff is an abused little girl who first meets Kit Tyler on the boat to Wethersfield, CT. Prudence is slapped after dropping the doll her grandfather made her in the ocean. Kit jump in after it. While the action makes Prudence admire Kit, it makes an enemy of Prudence’s mother, Goodwife Cruff.
How does Kit put her teaching career in danger?
Kit also runs into trouble when she is asked to help Mercy with the dame school. Not understanding the sobriety and seriousness of Puritan education, she is temporarily booted from her teaching position for having the children playact a scene from the Bible.
What surprise does John share in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?
John is surprised to learn that Kit was visiting the widow Hannah and says that she is bad news. When he tries to quote Dr. Bulkeley, Kit exclaims ”Oh, Dr. Bulkeley says!
How did Nat meet Hannah?
Nat first met Hannah when he was 8 years old. He tried to run away from home after being told that he had to spend the winter with his grandmother, rather than on the Dolphin with his father. Hannah comforted him with a piece of blueberry cake and a little gray kitten.
How was Kit going to afford passage back to Barbados?
As for how to afford the trip back down to Barbados, she’s got that figured out, too: she will just have to sell her beautiful dresses, with the exception of the two she plans to give Judith and Mercy as gifts.
What had Kit decided about William Ashby?
Kit seriously considers marrying William in order to escape the hard labor of her uncle’s household, but inevitably decides she could not be happy with someone who does not share her core values. William does not come to Kit’s aid during her trial, nor does he approve of her friendship with Hannah Tupper.
How does Judith feel about kit?
Appreciative of the Finer Things. Like Kit, Judith appreciates well-made and beautiful things, but rarely gets to see or enjoy them in her rough, remote New England community. When Kit begins unpacking some of her trunks, Judith admires the embroidery on her gloves.
What was Judith's grievance?
Judith is disgusted that her mother must again go help the widow, saying that no one else helps as much as her mother does. We begin to see that Judith is the rebellious one. When Mercy proclaims that she believes that many others would step up to help, we begin to see that she is the gentle soul.
