Vocabulary & Questions 

Chapters - Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue

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Prologue and Chapter 1
parlor p. 1
muslin p. 6
flax p. 7
harrowing p. 7
sowing p. 7
tallow p. 9

• Ellen has many worries.  What types of things do you worry about?  How are they different from the things that Ellen worries about?
• Why does Ellen feel she shouldn't cry?

• Julia said that she would only marry under certain conditions.  What were the conditions?  Are they reasonable conditions?  Do you think Julia should have married Ellen's father so quickly?

Chapters 4 and 5
grove p. 25
mare p. 25
replica p. 31
dignity p. 32
trundle p. 35

• "A mother?  She asked for calico and he brought her a mother?"  How does Ellen feel?  How do you think that Ellen will act toward Julia?
• Ellen likes to play-act.  What types of things do you pretend?
• Ellen wonders if grown-ups ever play-act.  What do you think?  Are Julia and Ellen's father play-acting?

Chapters 6 and 7
ruddy p. 48
disdaining p. 51
calamity p. 58
solemn p. 58
 

• The boys want to lie about Milkweed the cow eating wild onion.  Ellen is not happy about it.  What would you do in the same situation?
• The kids lose Father's ax.  Silas is punished differently than Ellen and Willie.  Is the punishment fair?   Do you think something should have been done differently?  If so, what?

• When Ellen is playing with Louisa, she thinks about her family and decides that it is not whole.  Do you think her family is whole?  Can it ever be?  What can be done to help make Ellen's family whole?
• Julia makes a promise that Ellen will see Louisa again soon.  Ellen is so happy she wants to hug Julia but she feels that it would be "Robbing Mama to Pay Julia."  Do you think that it would have been okay for Ellen to hug Julia?  Why or Why not?

• When Ellen knew the fire was coming, why did the kids let the animals loose?  What other smart plans did Ellen make to prepare for the fire?
• Julia came on horseback to help the kids.  The fire scared the horse and caused Julia to fall.  She broke her precious teapot.  Why do you think she didn't act upset about it?
• It snowed a lot that winter.  Ellen wrote letters to Louisa in the snow.  Why didn't she write them on paper?  Correct the mistakes in Ellen's letters. (see page 87)

Chapters 12 and 13
patience p. 96
chortle p. 97
shocking (as in "shocking corn") p. 98
coddling p. 99

• The kids were playing with Silas and his whip.  Ellen was hit in the face, which left a scar that would be mentioned again in Hattie's Story.  Often kids play dangerous games because they are fun.  They don't believe that someone can get hurt.  What are some present day examples of things that kids really shouldn't do.
• Ellen was hurt.  Whose fault was it?  Why?
• How should Silas have been punished?
• Do you think that it was a good idea for Julia and Silas to move to Springfield?  Why or why not?

• Ellen finally verbalizes her true feelings for Julia.  What are they?  Does Ellen feel differently about her real mother?
• Mr. Lincoln walks three miles one way to refund Aunt Clarissa six and a quarter (6.25) cents.  Do you think Mr. Lincoln did the right thing?  Why or why not?

Chapters 16 and 17
blustery p. 128
frontier p. 129
enlistment p. 133
provisions p. 134
distaff p. 140

• Ellen thinks about play-acting again.  She decides that her father and Julia didn't act married.  Do you think they did?
• When Jack leaves to fight Black Hawk, how does the family act and feel?
• Ellen became suspicious when Mr. Robb used the word "distaff."  Why?

Chapters 18 and 19
plowshares p. 145
reputation p. 150
pungent p. 151
caterwauling p. 152

• At the end of chapter 18, predict what will happen.  What will happen to Ellen and Willie?  Will Mr. Robb find them?  What really happened to Jack?
• Can Silas be considered a hero?  Why?  Do you think that Ellen's father will think of him differently now?

Chapter 20 and Epilogue
prosperous p. 155
entreated p. 155
burden p. 157
courier p. 160
scheming p. 160
misbegotten p. 160
ambitious p. 167

• Julia referred to her reasons for marrying Ellen's father.  Think about them again.  Were they good reasons at the time?  Should she have married him then?  Does she have different reasons now to stay married?
• How do you think Ellen's story has effected the way Lacey gets along with her stepsisters?

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