Miracles on Maple Hill

Literature Packet

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Chapter 1 There’s All Outdoors

1. From which city are Marly and her family coming? ______

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2. Describe the place Marly and her family going? ______

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3. Describe how Marly feels when her brother Joe gets to go for help when their car gets stuck on the hill.

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4. Who actually “saved the day” in this chapter? Describe how. ______

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5. Why was Marly’s family going to Maple Hill? ______

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Chapter 2 Meet Mr. Chris

1. Who is Mr. Chris? Describe this character using at least 3 details. ______

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2. What is Marly hoping will happen at Maple Hill? ______

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3. Listen carefully to the end of the chapter as the Maple Hill house is described. Write down some descriptive words of what Marly sees.

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Now, draw a picture of what you think the Maple Hill house looked like according to Marly. Be sure to look back at your descriptions and be neat. Use colored pencils or crayons to color your picture. Use at least 4 different colors. Remember to use scenery, too.

Chapter 3 Maple Hill

1. Joe and Dad went to look at the old barn while Marly and Mother looked at things in the house. Describe at least three of the things Marly and her mom looked at or did.

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2. What did Marly find in the dresser drawer? What did she think of her find? ______

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3. Describe at least three things Joe and Dad discovered in the barn. ______

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4. What happened to the mice? Describe how Marly felt about it. ______

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5. Where do Marly and Joe find themselves at the end of this chapter? ______

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Chapter 4 The First Miracle

1. “You can pump oil out of the ground, and water, too. But, sap- you can’t pump sap. It either decides to come up or it doesn’t.” What kind of nights and days does it take to bring the sap up?

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2. How many gallons of sap does one maple tree typically give in a season? ______

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3. How much syrup does twenty gallons of sap make? ______

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4. What are three things you can make from maple sap, according to Mr. Chris in this chapter?

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5. What is the first miracle every spring? Tell why it’s miraculous. ______

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6. How does Mrs. Chris feel about the sugar season? Why? ______

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7. Who started singing that first night in the sugar house? ______

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8. At the end of this chapter, what does Marly feel the first miracle is? ______

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Chapter 5 Pancakes

1. What happened when Marly decided she would “surprise” everyone in the morning?

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Chapter 6 Journey For Meadow Boots

1. Describe how Marly felt about exploring by herself. ______

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2. Describe what scared Marly during Easter vacation. ______

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Chapter 7 Foxes

1. Describe some of the things Marly and Joe saw on their adventure. ______

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2. Why did Mr. Chris want Fritz to get rid of the foxes? ______

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3. How did Marly and Joe save the foxes? ______

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4. Do you think Marly and Joe’s Dad figured out what they had done? Why or why not?

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Chapter 8 Harry the Hermit

1. Who is Harry the Hermit? Describe him using at least 3 details. ______

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2. What made the Hermit decide to stay near Maple Hill? ______

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3. What did Marly and Joe find in the springhouse? ______

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4. What did the Hermit give Marly and Joe after he frightened them? ______

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Chapter 9 A Big Decision

1. Name at least 4 things Marly ate that grew in the wild. ______

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2. What are some things that you like to eat in the summertime? Tell why you like them.

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3. Why is this chapter called the Big Decision? ______

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4. How did Marly’s family decide whether they would stay or go? ______

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5. What was the main reason why Joe wanted to return to Pittsburgh? ______

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6. What was going to be Joe’s responsibility for the winter? ______

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7. Harry the Hermit had actually lived in the city for fifty years. Why did he leave?

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Chapter 10 Joe Does A Christmas Thing

1. Describe Marly’s school using at least 3 details. ______

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2. Describe at least 4 things that Marly saw or did at the fair. ______

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3. Use at least 3 character traits to describe Margie. ______

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4. How could the school windows tell you what time of the year it was? ______

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5. Joe seemed to have disappeared in this chapter. Where had he gone? What did he find? What did he do?

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6. What was ”the Christmas thing” that Joe did? ______

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7. Why didn’t Mother want Harry to stay with them for Christmas? ______

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Chapter 11 – The Beginning Again

1. What was the miracle that happened in the beginning of this chapter? ______

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2. What does maple sap look and taste like when it first comes out of the tree? ______

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3. What happened to Mr. Chris at the end of this chapter? ______

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Chapter 12 – No More Drumsticks

1. Why didn’t Mr. Chris make maple syrup that spring? ______

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2. How many buckets of sap had to be collected? ______

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3. Why didn’t Marly and Joe go to school? ______

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4. At the end of the chapter, Marly said another miracle was added to the list. Explain the meaning of, “It was how light a heavy bucket could suddenly be. That night she slept.”

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Chapter 13 – Annie Get Your Gun

1. Why did Miss Annie pay Marly and her family a visit? ______

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2. How did Miss Annie feel about the reason Marly and Joe were at the sugar bush?

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3. What changed Miss Annie’s mind about the kids missing school? ______

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4. Who helped Marly and her family with the sugar crop? ______

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5. Annie said, “Tell that girl of yours I learned about those Indians today.” Explain what she learned.

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6. At the end of this chapter, Mr. Chris wrote to Marly that another miracle had happened on Maple Hill. What was the miracle?

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Chapter 14 – Mr. Chris Gets a Taste

1. Why didn’t Marly and her family want Mr. Chris to taste their syrup? ______

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2. What did Mr. Chris say about the syrup Marly’s family made? ______

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Look at this website. Find 5 interesting facts about the author of Miracles on Maple Hill.

http://www.ldsfilm.com/writers/Virginia_Sorensen.html

All About Virginia Sorensen

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Miracles on Maple Hill is a Newberry Award winning book. Look on this site to answer the following questions.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkBrown/newbery.html

1. In what year was the Newberry Award first given? ______

2. Who wrote the book that won the first Newberry Award? What was the title of the book?

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3. To whom is the Newberry Award given? ______

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4. In what year did Miracles on Maple Hill win the Newberry Award? ______

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Draw a picture of your favorite part of the book. Describe your picture using at least three quality, descriptive, and complete sentences. Be sure to color your picture using at least 4 colors.

My favorite part of Miracles on Maple Hill was ______

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It was my favorite part because ______

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Use these websites to answer the following questions about the maple sugar process.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20070314/Feature1.asp

http://www.yankeegrocery.com/maple_kids.html

Before reading:

How do people make maple syrup?

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What's the difference between syrup and sap that comes from maple trees?

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In which parts of the United States do people produce maple syrup?

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During reading:

Brian Chabot says, "Essentially, there is nothing about the way we produce syrup now that is anything like it was 100 years ago." What has changed in the way people produce syrup?

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Why do trees in the north produce the best sap for syrup making?

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At what time of year do people make syrup?

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Scientists are working to improve the trees from which maple syrup is produced. What specific improvements are they trying to make?

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Describe how a vacuum changes the process of making syrup.

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Why is global warming a problem for maple syrup producers?

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After reading:

Is improving the maple syrup process science? Why or why not?

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Why is it important to make maple syrup production more scientific?

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Why would heated gutters be more efficient than kettles to boil down sap?

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How would you design an experiment to learn more about which maple syrups taste best?

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Compare the production of granulated sugar to that of maple syrup. Does knowing about the process of making these sweet treats change which one you prefer? Why or why not?

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Why do you think many restaurants use artificial maple syrup? What is in artificial syrups?

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If 40 gallons of sap are needed to make 1 gallon of maple syrup, and 1.5 million gallons of syrup are produced every year in the United States, then how many gallons of sap are converted into syrup? ______

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If a gallon of syrup costs $30, then how much is each gallon of sap worth at the end of the process?

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