by Robin Moore
Maggie was going into a new life. She was scared and wondering what lay ahead for her. Have you ever gone to a new situation and experienced similar feelings? For example, did you ever go to a new school or move to a new neighborhood or go to a new swim club in the summer? Describe your feelings in a brief paragraph so that you are able to relate to Maggie's feelings.
Mr. Herbert Johnson was a tinker by trade. That was his job. What would you expect to find in his packs if he was a tinker? Make up a list of these items and find pictures of these same items as they look today. Develop a collage of the items a tinker might carry with him.
Draw a picture of Maggie's face when she opened the door to what she thought was Aunt Franny's cabin and found no one there. Tell some one you like very much how much you would miss them if you suddenly could not find them.
Maggie was afraid of being found by a hunting party of Iroquois Indians. The Iroquois were a confederation of five tribes (and one smaller, southern tribe that joined later). Do research on the Iroquois Confederation. What was it like to live in an Iroquois village? Describe Iroquois society: what role did women play? What did the men do? Who owned the land? What games did they play? Who were the Iroquois allied to in the War?
Chapter Two:
1. Now Maggie learns that her aunt and uncle have moved out to the Ohio Valley. In order to understand this move, go back to your map of modern Pennsylvania and see where the Ohio Valley is in the west. Trace out a trail that one might follow from Maggie's Great Valley to Aunt Franny's new cabin in the Ohio Valley.
2. What are the items a person needed to make a fire in 1776? Make a list on poster paper and illustrate your list by drawing the items or finding them and attaching them to your poster. On your poster, place the steps necessary to make a fire in their proper order.
3. People usually enjoy getting letters from others that they love or like. Write a letter to someone you like or love telling them about Maggie and her story in Pennsylvania's wilderness, or about some other event in your own life. .Ask them to write to you.
4. Maggie had a choice of staying in the wilderness or going back to Philadelphia. Develop a decision chart that compares a list of why she should stay and why she should go back. Look over your list of reasons for and against staying. What should Maggie do? Write her a letter telling her what you think Maggie should do and why. Use your chart to support what you tell Maggie.
5. Draw a picture of Jake Logan from the description that you received from the author in Chapter Two.
Chapter Three:
Maggie's ancestors came from Ireland. Ask your parents where your family comes from. On a map of the world trace the route your ancestors took to where you live now. Ask your parents to help you make a family tree. Trace your lineage back as far as you can.
The Callahan Spook Yeast was something special that belonged in the Callahan family and was passed from one member to the next. What do you have in your family that is special? Describe it and tell why it is important or special to your family.
Aunt Franny always said "Follow your nose... and don't be afraid of nothin’.” This was one of her rules that she tried to live by throughout her life. Do you have any sayings or rules that you live by? Make a poster with what you feel is the most important rule you know and post it in your room to read each day before you go out into the world. Make up a saying or rule if you don't have one already. Feel free to make or use more than one rule.Maggie could only carry a sack with her on her trip westward across Pennsylvania. There was not much room in that sack. If you had to leave home quickly, what belongings and items would you put into a sack? Make a list of the most important things you eel you would need to take with you on a trip, knowing you probably could never come back. What was in Maggie’s sack? Compare her list to yours. Explain why you took what you did and why Maggie took what she did.
Take a poster and draw out the different steps Maggie had to take to bake her bread. Using the recipe in the back of the book, try to bake some bread of your own with the help of an adult. When you continue to read about Maggie s adventures, have some of the bread with something to drink. In that way, Maggie will be with you as her Aunt Franny was with Maggie.
5. What did Aunt Franny mean when she told Maggie that if ever something was troubling her, Maggie should take her troubles to the bread? Describe some activity that you do when you are upset. How does doing this help you when you are upset?
Aunt Franny was called "The Bread Sister" by her neighbors. Why was she called this? Do you have a nickname or a name other than your given and family name? What does this nickname mean? Make up a nickname you would like to be called in addition to your own name and explain its meaning.
Chapter Four:
1.Why are Jake and the McGrew at odds with each other? Look at it from each person’s viewpoint. List Jake's arguments. List McGrew's. Which side do you feel closest to? Why?
2. Maggie had to find a way to stay alive on the frontier. She decided to bake her special bread and sell it to earn money. What special ability or skill do you have that you could use to make money and support yourself if you had to do so? What skill or talent do you wish you had? After talking with your parents, friends or someone in the field, develop a plan that would help you reach that goal.
3. Mr. McGrew is a deputy constable. What does a deputy constable do? List the responsibilities and duties. This will require some research in your local or school library. Who is responsible for these duties in your community?
4.Mr. McGrew is also a miller. Draw a diagram of a mill and explain how the mill operates by listing the steps of changing wheat or corn into flour or meal. How do modern companies accomplish this same process today?
5.How did Jake Logan and Mr. McGrew differ in their methods of traveling through the forest? Why did they differ?
Chapter Five:
Annie McGrew is handicapped. She can't speak or hear. But she can communicate with sign language. Show some signs you would use to talk with her.
Mr. McGrew is in the milling business. Find a book on mills at home or in the library. Read the book to find out how mills operated and draw a diagram of a mill to show how it works. Use the description in Maggie's book to help you picture a mill. One excellent book on this topic is David Macaulay's Mill which combines interesting text with detailed drawings on the operations of mills.
Very often some people make fun of those who suffer from a handicap or are different. What would you tell someone who is younger than you to help them deal respectfully with a handicapped person or someone who is different? Are you different in some way from others? How do you feel when others make fun of you or treat you without respect? Explain how all people should be treated.
Describe Mrs. McGrew, either in words, song, picture or in some other way of your choosing. Why was Mrs. McGrew like this? What could have made her this way? Was she this way her whole life or did something make her change?
Many of our ancestors came to this country as either indentured servants or slaves. Do research into the daily life of an indentured servant or a slave during the Colonial Period. Describe what you learned to your friends, a teacher or a relative.
Chapter Six:
Mrs. McWilliams brings up the name of Sarah to explain why Mrs. McGrew was not always so solemn and rude. Who do you think Sarah was? What do you think happened to her?
General Potter is mentioned as being an important man in the Valley. His house was fortified and the center of the community for meetings and defense against raiding parties. Research General Potter and tell about his life. He was a real person during the Revolutionary War and served in the Pennsylvania militia. What do you think a fortified house looks like? Draw a picture of General Potter's house.
The McGrew's are caught by a fierce storm on the way home in their wagon. From listening to the story, what hints has the author given you by the end of page 63 as to what may have happened to Sarah McGrew? After finishing the chapter, compare what you first thought may have happ
ened to Sarah with what you believe now. To find out how close you are to the truth, read the first pages of the next chapter.
Describe one life-saving method we use today to help people who have stopped breathing. Make a chart describing the technique and post it in a handy place at home.
Chapter Seven:
In 1776 Christmas was not celebrated the way it is today. Do some research on the holidays of the Revolutionary War Period and describe them on a poster, with a chart or by telling someone. What were the major holidays of that time? What holiday is your favorite today? Explain why.
How did Maggie get free of the McGrew family and go out on her own? What skill or trade did she use to help keep herself alive in the community?
Lightning can be very dangerous. List the precautions you should take if a lightning storm strikes your neighborhood.
Chapter Eight:
1. Maggie's real secret was that of giving. It made her feel good and made those who came in contact with her feel good too. Make a gift for someone you like and give it to them as a gesture of friendship. Experience the joy of giving. After Maggie told Jake Logan about her dream, Jake mentioned the Lenape Indians and one of their holy men. Find out about the Lenape. Who were they? What did their villages look like? Where did they live? Are the Lenape still around the United States today?
Chapter Nine:
Maggie's dream would come true. Do you remember any of your dreams? Describe one. Do you believe dreams can tell us about the future? Explain why you feel as you do.
Why did the deer lead Jake Logan to Maggie? Why did Jake follow the deer instead of waiting for Maggie at her cabin?
Jake Logan used a flintlock rifle for his hunting. Research flintlock weapons. Draw a picture of such a rifle and label all the major parts. Develop a chart that traces the steps to the loading of a flintlock weapon.
Mr. McGrew told a "tall tale" as a part of his speech. Jake Logan followed that with a tall tale of his own. What is a tall tale? Recount the one that Mr. McGrew told. Retell Jake's in your own words Make up one of your own and tell it to a friend.
Jake Logan had been a hated and feared man in the valley but people saw him in a different light after he saved Maggie and Annie. Which image of Jake do you think is the true one? Describe Jake in a way of your choosing: bv a picture, in writing, or by telling a friend.
In this chapter, Mrs. McGrew discovered something very important. What was it? It is never to late to tell someone you love or care for them. Do that now. Tell someone you love how much you care for them If you cannot tell them in person, write them a letter and mail it today.
Chapter Ten:
Maggie used a spider's web to help stop the bleeding from the axe cut on John's leg. Do some research into other medical practices that people used to use in colonial times to heal wounds and cure sickness. Talk to your doctor about some of the practices we use today. Compare the old with the new. Which would you prefer to have used on you if you were hurt or sick? Why?
Should Maggie marry John? Make up a decision chart with reasons "for" on one side and reasons "against" on the other. What does your chart say?
With the last sentence of Chapter Ten, the author warns us something serious is going to happen in the story Write your own ending to the story. What will happen to Maggie and what will she do?
Chapter Eleven:
1. In fighting the fire about her cabin, Maggie did several foolish things. What are the rules in case of a fire? Contact your local fire company and get any literature they might have on fires and how to react if you are caught in one at home. What should one do if they are ever caught in a fire at home? At school? Away from home in a motel?
Chapter Twelve:
1. Did the ending of the story surprise you? What lesson(s) did you learn from it? Do you agree with Maggie's choice? What do you think will happen to her in the future? Read Maggie Among the Seneca to find out.
Suggested Activities for
MAGGIE AMONG THE SENECA
Chapter One:
Jake Logan and Maggie are sitting by the fire, bone-weary from walking in the woods all day. Recount trhe events that lead them to the fire in the woods. What were the most important events that brought them together in the woods?
This story takes place in 1778-79. During that time the Revolutionary War was being fought. The things which happen to Maggie in this book are influenced by the war. Make a timeline that marks the most important events of the war from January 1778 through December 1779.
Jake Logan felt they would have no trouble finding Aunt Franny and Aunt Thomas. Because of AQunt Franny’s skill at baking bread. Do you have a special skill or trait that would make you stand out if you left your family and went to live somewhere else? What do you do that makes you special? What do members of your family do to make them stand out? Make a chart with everyone’s skills and abilities spelled out clearly.
Gimpy Weaver drew Jake Logan a map for making it to the main trail westward into the Ohio Country. He used local landmarks to illustrate his map. Draw a map for a friend taking them to some place you know about, using drawings, lines, names and so forth to illustrate your map. Base it on landmarks they would see along the way. Do not use just street names.
Maggie and Jake took special steps to remain safe while they slept. List some of the things you might do tonight to make sure you remain safe while you sleep.
Chapter Two:
1. This chapter begins with a start. A Seneca war party came into the area where Jake and Maggie were sleeping. Do some research on the Seneca and make up a chart that explains the Seneca religion, customs, language, marriage and death ceremonies and so forth.
2. Why did the Seneca paint their faces and bodfies? Refer to your research chart or do more research. Using the proper type of paint, paint your face in a design that reflects you and what you want people to know about you. Does painting your face make you scarier?
3. Scalping was a practice the Seneca used against their enemies and captives. Do some research to learn how the practice of scalping originated. How was this practice used during the Revolutionary War? Briefly describe what the practice of scalping was. What should Maggie and Jake have done when they first spotted the Seneca? What would you have done?
Chapter Three:
.1.How did Jake manage to escape? Now that Maggie was alone with the Seneca, what should she do? Write her a letter of encouragement so that she does not lose hope. Be sure to tell her what she should do to survive with such a different group of people.
Chapter Four:
The warriors were taking Maggie somewhere. It would help if you could follow the route Maggie traveled. Find a modern day Pennsylvania/New York map and see if you can trace Maggie’s route from The Great Valley westward to the camp where she was captured. Then keep track on the modern map of Maggie’s journey as described in the story.
What were some of the main ways that people traveled in 1778? Draw pictures or find pictures and construct a montage of the different ways people could travel before the invention of the car, airplane and train.
Draw a picture of the Seneca village where the warriots had taken Maggie.
The Seneca lived in longhouses. Do some research on what these longhouses looked like and describe Seneca family life inside the longhouse. Make a model of a longhouse and explain to your family and friends what it was like to live in one.
Chapter Five:
List all the things about Little Beard’s village that surprised Maggie. Which of them surprised you? Why?
What do you suppose was happening from the time the women seized Maggie and led her down to the water until the end of the chapter? Hopw do we take care of such matters in our present society?
Chapter Six:
See if you can locate the stories of others captured by Indians and adopted into the tribe. Your library will have boos that contain these real-life stories. Read at least one or two accounts. In what ways are these stories similar to Maggie’s experi
ence?
If you had been with Maggie during her escape into the swamp, what would you have done differently? What tricks would you have used to tell directions in the swamp at night?
Chapter Seven:
In all the time she lived with the Seneca, Maggie never learned the language. Go to your library and get out a book on another language. Try to say some of the words. Look for hello, goodbye and how are you? Use some of these words with your friends and parents. Senecaq is still spoken today but not easy to find. Why do you think this might be?