Teaching Walk Two Moons

Instructions for You

Objective: You know those gems of wisdom you drop on your students every so often? Those are called adages, sayings that impart wisdom. In this activity, your students will work in groups to analyze the five adages Sharon Creech gifted us in Walk Two Moons and determine how they propel the story forward. This activity should take a period or two to allow students sufficient time to work in groups and then regroup to discuss their findings as a class; however, this could definitely be expanded to involve a formal writing assignment as well. Doesn't sound very fun? Just keep reading, and don't judge a book by its cover.

Materials Needed:

• The text of Walk Two Moons for each student
• Computers with Internet access might also be helpful

Step 1: Explain that the word adage goes by different names, like proverb, maxim, or saying—and, as we see in Walk Two Moons, it's simply referred to as a message.

Ask students to think about and share adages they've heard before—perhaps from Grandma or maybe their mothers or fathers. If required, help them out a bit with some of these oldie-but-goodies:

• Birds of a feather flock together.
• Better safe than sorry.
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
• Talk is cheap.
• People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Briefly discuss what some of these adages mean, and come up with a few examples of how they may and/or may not be true in real life. For example, being away from someone might make you love or appreciate him or her more—but, alas, some long-distance relationships actually crumble when put to the test.

Step 2: Once students have gotten the gist of adages, review the five Creech uses in Walk Two Moons:

• Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins.
• Everyone has his own agenda.
• In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?
• You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.
• We never know the worth of water until the well is dry.

Then, break students into five groups (one per adage)—many hands make light work, as you may have heard—and assign them the following tasks:

A. Compose a "Shmoop version" of your adage. In other words, write out what your adage actually means in an easy-to-understand (and super-cool) way.
B. Then, here's the hard part: Come up with examples of how your adage helps develop Walk Two Moons. Consider the following questions:
a. Is this adage true or false in the novel? Be sure to provide specific examples that back up your ideas.
b. How does this adage help develop the plot or characters of the novel?
c. Why do you think Creech included this adage in the novel versus other adages? Why is this one so important to the story?

Does this task seem too overwhelming? Are your students saying, "What? I don't remember all those chapters!" If so, no problem: seek and ye shall find. Just point your students to our handy-dandy, always-available chapter summaries.

Encourage your students to take their time: this kind of research takes a good amount of work. In this case, the early bird doesn't always get the worm.

Step 3: Once students have had enough time to dig into their assigned adages through research, analysis, and discussion, provide students with the opportunity to present their findings to their classmates.

Then, chat about how the five adages work together in this one novel: What do they have in common? How are they different? Does one adage appear to be more prominent or important than another? Why or why not?

Feel free to expand on this and have students write a formal thematic essay after this class discussion. You might have them stick with their assigned adage or give them the freedom to choose whatever one their little hearts desire. Before you know it, they'll be little adage-analysis machines—and, if not, well, practice makes perfect!

Instructions for Your Students

You know those gems of wisdom your teacher drops on you every so often? Those are called adages, sayings that impart wisdom. In this activity, you will work in groups to analyze the five adages Sharon Creech gifted us in Walk Two Moons and determine how they propel the story forward. Doesn't sound very fun? Just keep reading, and don't judge a book by its cover.

Step 1: The word adage goes by different names, like proverb, maxim, or saying—and, as we see in Walk Two Moons, it's simply referred to as a message.

Think about and share adages you've heard before—perhaps from your Grandma or maybe your mom or dad.

Then, we'll briefly discuss what some of those adages mean and come up with a few examples of how they may and/or may not be true in real life. For example, does absence really make the heart grow fonder? Being away from someone might make you love or appreciate him or her more—but, alas, some long-distance relationships actually crumble when put to the test.

Step 2: Once you've gotten the gist of adages, let's review the five Creech uses in Walk Two Moons:

• Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins.
• Everyone has his own agenda.
• In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?
• You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.
• We never know the worth of water until the well is dry.

Then, you'll be broken up into five groups (one per adage)—many hands make light work, as you may have heard—and will be assigned the following tasks:

A. Compose a "Shmoop version" of your adage. In other words, write out what your adage actually means in an easy-to-understand (and super-cool) way.
B. Then, here's the hard part: Come up with examples of how your adage helps develop Walk Two Moons. Consider the following questions:
a. Is this adage true or false in the novel? Be sure to provide specific examples that back up your     ideas.
b. How does this adage help develop the plot or characters of the novel?
c. Why do you think Creech included this adage in the novel versus other adages? Why is this one so important to the story?

Does this task seem too overwhelming? Are you thinking, "What? I don't remember all those chapters!" If so, no problem: seek and ye shall find. Just check out our handy-dandy, always-available chapter summaries.

Take your time with this activity: this kind of research takes a good amount of work. In this case, the early bird doesn't always get the worm.

Step 3: Once you have had enough time to dig into your assigned adages through research, analysis, and discussion, you'll have the opportunity to present your findings to your classmates.

Then, we'll chat about how the five adages work together in this one novel: What do they have in common? How are they different? Does one adage appear to be more prominent or important than another? Why or why not?

Listen up (and maybe even take notes), because your teacher may choose to have you write a formal thematic essay after this class discussion. Before you know it, you'll be little adage-analysis machines—and, if not, well, practice makes perfect!