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 | The Witch of Blackbird Pond Study Guide for the book by Elizabeth George Speare
Grade Level: 5-7
Setting: Connecticut, 1687
Historical Literature Christian Literature
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Study Guide . . . . Item #319 PDF Format . . . . Item #319CD Teacher's Set . . . . Item #319M PDF Format by Email . . . . #319PDF
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Book . . . . Item #319B Current Retail Value (See our Online Store) | | |||||||
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After the death of her grandfather, Kit Tyler is forced to leave her home in Barbados to live with an uncle and aunt she has never met. Arriving in Connecticut, Kit encounters a stern Puritan community and quickly raises the suspicions of the superstitious Goodwife Cruff.
Kit's Aunt Rachel and her two cousins Judith and Mercy warmly welcome her into their family. But Kit's Uncle Matthew is a strict man, and he expects her to work hard if she is to be part of his household. Kit is willing to work, though she is unused to manual labor and unskilled at the many tasks she is given to do. Nevertheless, Kit struggles to fit in and soon finds herself hired to help Mercy teach school. She also attracts the attention of William Ashby, a wealthy young man who begins courting Kit.
Then Kit discovers the Meadows, the great level sea of green grasses that remind her of her home in Barbados. The Meadows become Kit's peaceful refuge from the seemingly endless struggle to adapt to the Puritan way of life. Kit also finds refuge at the home of Hannah Tupper, a kindly old woman living near Blackbird Pond on the edge of the Meadows. Hannah is a Quaker, considered by many of the townspeople to be a heretic, and who some suspect of being a witch.
Though she is forbidden from visiting Hannah, Kit cannot stay away. She finds that she needs Hannah's comforting friendship just as much as Hannah, living alone in a tiny ramshackle house, needs her help. Hoping to keep her relationship with the old woman a secret, Kit continues to work at being a contributing part of the family and community.
When an illness sweeps through the community, the townspeople blame Hannah for bringing disease and death to their town. Risking everything to save Hannah from a violent mob, Kit's relationship with the old woman is revealed, and Kit finds herself standing trial before the community on the charge of witchcraft.
Other titles by Elizabeth George Speare:
The Bronze Bow (middle school)
The Sign of the Beaver (middle school)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (middle school)