The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green - Kids Can Press

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The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green

Anne Louise MacDonald

The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green ? 2005. Written by Anne Louise MacDonald.

About The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green

Kim sees a beautiful black horse from her school bus window on the very day Gramma-Lou is coming to live with Kim's family. Gramma-Lou is Kim's best friend, sharing her passion for horses and loving her just as she is. Everything is going to be perfect when Gramma-Lou comes to stay.

But when Kim looks for the horse, it seems to have vanished. Was it a ghost? There's talk of ghosts around Meadow Green -- kids at school claim Kim's house is haunted by someone named Crackers and that something awful happened there. Kim's parents say it's nonsense, but when Gramma-Lou finally arrives, Kim's perfect plans are shattered and dark secrets come to light in Meadow Green.

About the Author

Anne Louise MacDonald lives in rural Nova Scotia and has worked as a veterinary assistant and as a commercial artist. The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green is her first novel.

Discussion Questions and Activities

The following discussion questions and activities are suitable for classes in language and literature, social studies, history, media and visual arts and science and technology.

Please note that some of the activities in this learning resource require students to visit their local library or use the Internet for research.

Before Reading Questions and Activities

1. Using features of the book such as the title, the cover and the description on the flap, ask students to predict what they think will happen in the story and write down three to five predictions in point form. Then, either while they are reading or after they have finished reading the novel, they should refer back to their predictions to see how accurate they were.

2. The main setting of the novel is Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where Colm has moved his family. The O'Connor family had previously lived in Toronto and Vancouver, and each summer Kim O'Connor would visit her grandmother, Gramma-Lou, who lived in Prince Edward Island.

Ask students to make a list of three to five things they know about Toronto, Vancouver, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island, but would like to learn more about. For example, they can list culture and heritage, geographical facts, historical facts and historical figures.

Once they have created a list, ask students to choose one item that interests them the most and research it, either at their local library or using the Internet, and write a detailed paragraph about that item.

During Reading Questions and Activities

1. While students are reading the novel, ask them to refer back to question 2 in the Before Reading section and review their list of things they wanted to learn more about, which they created before they started reading the book. When they find something that teaches them more about what they wanted to know, ask them to mark the page with a sticky note or write it down in their notebook and include a note that says "I wanted to know this!"

2. Explain to students that rereading is an important tool to help them understand what they are reading. Whenever they come across a passage that they don't understand or have a question about the story, ask them to stop and place a sticky note on the page or pages that seem unclear and mark the note(s) with a question mark. Next, ask students to reread the passage. If the passage still seems unclear, encourage them to introduce it or their question about the story in class. Explain that other students may have the same question or may be able to provide an answer to their question. Once the passage or question seems clear, ask students to place the letter A on the sticky note to show that it has been answered.

The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green ? 2005. Written by Anne Louise MacDonald.



3. Developing Vocabulary

While reading the novel, ask students to write down a minimum of two to three unfamiliar words per chapter on the vocabulary chart located at the end of this guide.

After Reading Questions and Activities

Thematic Connections in The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green

Students will be responsible for filling in the following 1. Friendship

information on the vocabulary chart: the word, the page number, the student's own definition and a definition from a dictionary. Remind students to first create their own definition of the word using only the context of the novel, then look up the word in the dictionary and write down the meaning. For each word, students should compare their meaning to the meaning found in the dictionary to see how accurate their definition was.

For example:

Kim shares a close friendship with her mother and grandmother. As part of a class discussion, ask students to compare and contrast Kim's relationship with both women and describe the importance of each relationship in Kim's life by using examples from the novel.

As an extension to this exercise, ask students to write a one-page essay describing their own relationships with various people in their lives and how these people have affected them (e.g., friends, family,

Word

Page Chapter Student's Dictionary neighbors, teachers, etc.). Have students present their

#

Definition Definition essays to the class once they are completed.

Turquoise 6

1

Geneticist 12 2

Pursed 24 3

Liniment 37 4

4. While reading the novel, ask students to analyze Kim's character traits chapter by chapter. Photocopy the chart titled "Analyze the Positive and Negative Influences in Kim's Life," found at the back of this guide and hand out one copy to each student in the class. Ask students to analyze and record, in point-form notes in the chart, any changes Kim experiences based on her relationships with the following characters: Tim, Margaret, Gramma-Lou, Janis, Colm and Slug.

Once students have completed their charts ask them to use the information to provide paragraph responses to the following questions: What type of relationship does Kim share with each character? What type of influence (positive or negative) does each character have on Kim? Explain your answer. What types of changes does Kim go through based on her relationship with each character? (i.e., Does she experience a growth in her character? Does she become a stronger individual? Does she learn anything from her relationships with each character?) Ask students to present their answers to the class.

2. Bullying

Throughout the novel, Kim is ridiculed and teased by her classmates and bullied by Slug, the school bully, because of her family's past in Meadow Green.

As part of a class discussion, ask students to define what bullying is and use examples from the novel to help emphasize their definition. Divide your class into groups of four or five and ask each group to create a positive advertisement about bullying. Students can either perform their advertisement as a skit or a commercial, or they can present and display their advertisement as part of a newspaper or magazine spread. Students should explore the following in their presentations: the effect bullying has on people, different types of bullying and how to cope with it. Explain to each group that their presentation should be between 10 to 15 minutes in length.

The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green ? 2005. Written by Anne Louise MacDonald.



Curricular Connections in The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green

1. Language and Literature (What Are You Passionate About?)

Kim, Tim, Gramma-Lou and the girls that attend Hug a Horse Farm are all passionate about horses to the point where they describe their passion as a "disease."

Ask students to write an essay describing something that they are passionate about or want to learn more about. In their essays, have students explain one of the following: what they are passionate about and why they are passionate about it, or what they want to learn more about and why they want to learn more about it. Once they have completed their essays, have each student partner up with a classmate and share their essay.

2. Language and Literature and History (Create Your Own Ghost Story or Urban Legend)

After Kim and her family move to Meadow Green, she learns that her house may be haunted.

"News of where she lived spread faster than the measles in a daycare. Every kid, from the curious to the plain nasty, asked her stupid questions like, `What's the ghost look like?' `How do you sleep in a haunted house?' `Does blood really drip from the ceiling?' `Does the river turn red when it rains?' And they all called her Cracker Kid. It was beyond horrible."

Ask students to partner up and research and present at least one famous ghost story or urban legend about their neighborhood, city or country. As part of their presentation, students should provide background information, if possible, explaining the following: who created the ghost story or urban legend and why?

As an extension to this activity, ask each pair to create their own ghost story or urban legend that combines fact and fiction by incorporating actual characters, events and places. Ask students to exchange their ghost story or urban legend with

other students in the class. As part of their exchange, students should highlight any historical facts that they included in their story.

3. History and Social Studies (Research the Relationship between Horses and Humans)

Divide students into groups of three or four and ask each group to research the role that horses have played in shaping human culture throughout history. As part of their research assignment, ask students to describe the type of relationship that developed between horses and humans in the past and compare it with the relationship that exists between horses and humans in the present. For example, students can research how and when horses were first domesticated by humans; why horses were domesticated; how and why humans trained horses and for what purpose (e.g., leisure, communication, travel, military, etc.). Ask students to explain each answer providing examples from their research, which should be conducted at the local library or by using the Internet. Upon completion, have each group share their research with the class.

4. History and Media (Farm Life versus City Life)

Kim was exposed to both city life and farm life while growing up and visiting various Canadian provinces, such as Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. As part of an individual research assignment, ask students to compare and contrast farm life to city life by choosing a specific Canadian or American farming area and city to research. After students have chosen one of each, ask them to research the following: jobs, people, lifestyle, culture, scenery, environment, location and clothing. Have students collect pictures and images to help illustrate the differences and similarities between both types of lifestyles.

Ask students to write an article based on their research for a mock newspaper or magazine comparing city life to farm life. In their article ask students to answer the following question: Which type of lifestyle would you prefer and why?

The activity pages in this learning resource have been designed as originals that can be reproduced for home or classroom use only. For more learning resource materials, please visit .

The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green ? 2005. Written by Anne Louise MacDonald.



Vocabulary Chart

While reading the novel, write down a minimum of two to three unfamiliar words per chapter on the vocabulary chart below. Fill in each column with the appropriate information. If you find that you are running out of space before you reach the end of the book, extend the vocabulary list onto another page using the same headings.

Here are a few examples already listed for you:

Word

Page #

Chapter

Student's Definition

Dictionary Definition

Turquoise

6

1

Geneticist

12

2

Pursed

24

3

Liniment

37

4

The activity pages in this learning resource have been designed as originals that can be reproduced for home or classroom use only. For more learning resource materials, please visit .

The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green ? 2005. Written by Anne Louise MacDonald.



Analyze the Positive and Negative Influences in Kim's Life

Using the chart below, analyze and record, in point-form notes, chapter by chapter, any changes Kim experiences based on her relationships with the following characters from the novel: Tim, Margaret, Gramma-Lou, Janis, Colm and Slug.

Kim's

Type of Relationship

Relationships Shared

Influence

Effect on Kim

Kim and Tim

Kim and Margaret

Kim and Gramma-Lou

Kim and Janis

Kim and Colm

Kim and Slug

The activity pages in this learning resource have been designed as originals that can be reproduced for home or classroom use only. For more learning resource materials, please visit .

The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green ? 2005. Written by Anne Louise MacDonald.



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