Missing May

Cynthia Rylant CCT

I am not sure that anyone else has mentioned the Glencoe Literature Library as a web resource. Glencoe McGraw-Hill is a publisher of children's stories and they have a fabulous website with the most awesome study guide for our book. It includes author information and a nice article about introducing the novel that I am using for my reference article requirement for this project. This is how I accessed the site, www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/missingmay.html. I hope you have time to visit.

A Letter to the Author-MG

The author has a great webiste that has information that students would enjoy knowing about her. She has pictures of herself as a little girl, and she also has pictures of her pets. The website is user-friendly and attractive for students. They will truly enjoy getting to know the author better.  The website allows you to find out about her childhood. The website has so much to offer so please go look for yourself. After the students have looked at her website, they can write a letter to her. She has provided several addresses on the website.

www.cynthiarylant.com

 

Hearing from May-Ch.11-12-SBC

I've got a couple of "fat" questions for you all. Why do you suppose we haven't heard directly from May herself until the end of the book? How would the story have played out differently if we were to have heard from her in the beginning rather than the end? When we eventually did hear from her were we hearing her speak to Summer in her dreams or what? When May finally talked to Summer, what impact did this have on the book overall?  

dumbfounded-Ch.10-SBC

I love the word dumbfounded! I'm not really sure as to why though. I guess it is because it carries such a sarcastically blunt purpose and that is exactly why I chose it as my Word Wizard word. In Missing May this word is used in chapter 10 on page 73 in the sentence, "We three just stood there dumbfounded." The American Heritage dictionary defines the word as "to fill with astonishment and perplexity; confound." Another sentence using the word could be, "As I entered the room I was dumbfounded by what I saw."

The Owl - Chapter 11 - BW

I loved the part in Chapter 11 when Ob, Cletus, and Summer are leaving the capitol after realizing they were chasing a dream. As they arrived back home after a long drive (pg. 82-83), everyone gets out of the car and an owl swoops down over them. When this owl swooped down over Ob, Summer, and Cletus, they all felt May's presence. No one said a word, but her presence was felt and was real. Pg. 83, Summer said, "I remembered her then. I remembered May." I loved this part of the book, because it wasn't until this part in the book (the ending) that Summer could really feel May's absence. She knew at that point that she was never coming back. I think that throughout this book, Summer had taken over the mother role that May had. She was so consumed with taking care of Ob, and his feelings that she had not taken the time to grieve. Then she dreamed about May talking to her in her dream that night. May let her know that she always loved her and she would be ok.

The Journey of this book - BW

While reading this book I found it very difficult to limit my reading to one short chapter a week and find something interesting to write about on each chapter. I found myself wanting to read ahead or becoming bored with the book because it is such a short book and I could only read it once a week (the chapters are sometimes 3 or 4 pages). However, having just finished the book, I realized how much I wanted to continue reading about these characters. I loved the ending and wanted to know more. I realized that even though the book seemed to be more of a task than enjoyment at times because of weblogging, I learned much more about this book because I had to think about what I needed to write about. I had to analyze parts of the book in ways that I wouldn't have. I think that I would use weblogging with my students, but I wouldn't make the story last so long. That was the difficult part for me.

The Ending's Learning Reflections - Chap. 11 and 12 - AN

Well, I finally finished the book and I was surprisingly pleased with the ending.  I was so happy to find that the author ended the book on a positive note and revived Ob's love for life.  I felt so relieved to know that Ob had had a change of heart and realized that Summer desperately needed him.  I was also happy about how the story ended for Cletus as well.  Cletus' dream to see the state capital finally came true and you could tell that Summer had grown to appreciate and depend on him so much.

  I really liked this book much more than I thought and I found myself wanting to keep reading after it ended.  Its amazing how such a simple story can have such a powerful meaning.

Whirligigs - Weblog for book - AN

Throughout this book, Ob's whirligigs have been very significant.  I feel that it would be fun for students to participate in a project about whirligigs.  Here are some information ideas for students to learn about:

What is a whirligig?

Where did whirligigs originate from?

Who invented the first whirligig?

What is the main use/purpose of a whirligig?

Find an internet photo of a unique whirligig.

Explain how you would create your own whirligig and the materials you would use.

What would your whirligig represent?

Where would you place your whirligig?

Would you give your whirligig away as a gift and, if so, to who?  Why?

Dissapointment - Chapters 9 & 10 - AN

I myself was very dissapointed when I read the first words of chapter 10:

"The Reverend Miriam Young has passed on, I'm afraid."

I can only imagine the dissapointment that Summer, Cletus, and especially Ob felt when they heard these words.  Reading chapter 9 you are excited and anxious to find out how their trip goes.  Then, as soon as you start chapter 10, you are totally let down.  Summer expresses this dissapointment in chapter 10 and explains that she almost wished that she could pass away as well.  I feel that the author did a terrific job of making the reader feel the dissapointment just as the characters in the book.

 

Using Technology with Missing May.

I feel that our book, Missing May, would be a great way for a teacher to incorporate a research project into the classroom.  The studnets could strictly use the internet as a way to find out more information on the book - such as more about the town the book is based in, more about the place that May, Cletus and Ob go to, more about gardens and what type of garden May had had due to the general weather where they lived, etc.  In doing a project such as this, a teacher could integrate the subjects of Language Arts and Social studies.  Here are some Language Arts QCC's that could be met in doing a project such as this:

62	Topic: Reference/Study Standard: Locates information using the appropriate reference resources.

63	Topic: Reference/Study Standard: Lists sources from which information is gathered, including author, title, publisher/ producer, place of publication, and copyright date.

64	Topic: Reference/Study Standard: Uses research process by: -choosing topic -formulating questions -identifying key words -selecting sources -skimming -paraphrasing -note taking -organizing -presenting.