sarah, plain and tall - literary discussion guide

sarah, plain and tall

by patricia maclachlan
literary discussion guide
1. characters

anna
sarah
caleb
papamaggie
william
william's wife

2. conflict

person vs. self (inner conflicts of feelings & thoughts)

person vs. person (protagonist vs. antagonist)

person vs. society (larger organizations/belief systems of society)

person vs. nature (battling the elements of nature)

3. themes/symbols

analyze themes such as: death, single parenting, friendship, honesty,

love and family, women's roles/rights, abandonment, guilt/blame, etc.

define any symbols (the ocean and its colors, seashells, hay/sand dune,
cow pond, the storm, singing, wildflowers, garden, the wagon, seal, etc.
4. pre-reading/post-reading activities

social science: pioneer/prairie life, mail-order brides.

geography: prairie states, maine.

science: weather, ocean, nature (animals, plants of each region).

math: placing an advertisement in the newspaper.

classroom projects: art, letter writing, map making/reading,

fieldtrip to ocean, etc.