Walk Two Moons

 Unpredictable, Intriguing, Interlaced, Compelling, Equivocal

 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Published by Harper Collins Copyright 1994

1995  Newbery Medal Award Winner

While traveling in the car with her grandparents on a road trip to Idaho to visit her mother, the main character Salamanca Tree Hiddle tells stories about her best friend Phoebe. Intertwined in Phoebe's story is another story about Sal and her life with her parents, particularly her mother. Sal and Phoebe share some of the same feelings of sadness, confusion and despair when their mothers leave the family. Along the way we encountered multiple stories meshed together, as Sharon Creech addresses many issues one might face in their lifetime. 

Reading Level: Grade 5/6 Lexile 770L

Suggested Delivery: Small group or independent read 

Teachers, here are some resources that may help with Walk Two Moons...

Key Vocabulary: Here are some key vocabulary words that may need to be taught before reading for stronger comprehension: chickabiddy, ornery, crotchety, sullen, lunatic, omnipotent, cavorted, pandemonium, prissy, shrapnel, quarry, cantankerous, ruination, dissuade, diabolic, malevolent, muesli, miscellaneous

Electronic Resources: 

• About Sharon Creech: This website gives you background information about Sharon Creech, and all the books she has written. Here you can find summaries of her books, read about her inspiration to write the books, and about the Newbery Medal she received for this book. 
• Teacher Cyber Guide: This website includes an introduction along with materials, activities, additional websites, as well as additional links to other websites about sitting bull, Sequoya, native American leaders, and much more. After reading, this would be a great website to visit to extend students knowledge about the topic.
• StudyGuide: Here you can find a study guide filled with resources for teachers including  information about the work, media links, teaching options, assessment options, options for using related readings, and an answer key and assessment rubrics. For students, there is a section they can read about the author and her life, introduce the book, before and post reading activity questions, graphic organizers to complete as they read and a test at the end. 
• Vocabulary Game: Here you can find flashcards that can be printed and used for a vocabulary matching game for the students after they have read Walk Two Moons.
• HuzzaHuzza: Listen to Sharon Creech say "huzza huzza" and explain its meaning and where it came from. It may be helpful to introduce this prior to reading so when students come across the phrase they understand its meaning.

Activities for Students:

• Before Reading: Ask students questions about traveling and trips. Has anyone ever traveled? Have you been on a road trip? If so, where did you go? If you haven't traveled, where would you like to go? What do you think it would be like to travel? Write a paragraph explaining these questions. 

• During Reading: Create a flow chart of events as a group. Distinguish the differences and similarities of the events between the two stories (Phoebe and Sal's). It may also be beneficial to create a Venn Diagram of Phoebe and Sal's stories.

• Post Reading: Throughout the story, there are messages found on the Winterbottom's doorstep. Later we discover it was Mrs. Partridge. She leaves four notes, which say:

"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" 

Pick one of these quotes and write about what you think it means. Use key details from the story to support your answers. 

Creech, S. (1994). Walk two moons . New York: HarperCollins.