Ideas for using

SKY MEMORIES

in the classroom

When ten-year-old Emily learns that her mother has cancer, the two of them begin a ritual of collecting sky memories that will help Emily remember her mother after she is dead.

"This accessible narrative handles its emotional subject with restraint, communicating the difficulties of this tragic situation from the point of view of the girl who has to deal with the disruption of the rich family life she shares with her single mother." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

One editor suggested that the reader learn of Emily's mother's death towards the end of the story rather than in the very first sentence. How would this have changed the experience of the story for the reader? Would your students have preferred that? Why or why not?

Tumors in the body are diagnosed as malignant (from the Latin word malus, meaning bad) or benign (from the Latin word bene, meaning well). Explain these word bases to your students. Have them guess what the following words mean: malice, malign, maltreat, malodorous, benefactor, beneficial, benefit and benevolence. Allow them to check their answers in the dictionary.

The Latin word for hand is manus. Help your students to find the root in the following words and let them figure out why the words were formed from that root: manual, manual alphabet, manufacture and manuscript.

The Latin word for foot is ped. What words can your students think of with "ped" as its base?

The skies in the story are more than just skies - they are metaphors for what's happening with Emily and her mother. Ask your students for examples of these. How does the "regular-wonderful" sky at the very beginning reflect Emily's life before her mother's diagnosis? In what way was Emily's life "regular-wonderful" too?

How does the "red sky at morning" reflect what's happening in the story?

Don't force your students to be too literal, just help them to see that these metaphors enrich the meaning of the story.

Death is a difficult topic for many people to discuss. Emily says that after her mother died, her friends "seemed embarrassed to be around me, as if they didn't know what to say or how to treat me." Ask your students if someone they loved died, would they prefer to talk about the person, or not talk? Have your students lost someone they loved? Invite them to tell their classmates a happy memory they have of that person. Are you willing to share a memory of someone you loved who has died?

When someone dies, people generally send a condolence or sympathy note to the survivors. The most comforting notes are those that mention good things or happy memories about the person who died. Have your students write a condolence letter to Emily. Discuss beforehand what kinds of things they might include. A condolence note that brings a smile to the face of the one who receives it is a great gift at a difficult time. Encourage your students to find something happy, even funny, to include in their notes.

People often take pictures of important or special occasions, but neglect to record the everyday events that fill their lives. Ask your students to list twelve scenes from their everyday life that they would like to record to see in the years to come. Maybe they'll want to take a picture of their mother at the stove making dinner, their brother watching television, their father reading the newspaper or drinking a cup of coffee, their grandmother playing cards, their friend riding his bike. Tell them to be specific about who the person is and what they are doing.

Take a real photo with a camera or take a mental snapshot as Emily and her mother do.

The skies described in SKY MEMORIES are from real memories of skies that author has gathered over thirty years.

Are there things from nature that you and your students pay particular attention to? Maybe you notice flowers, weeds, trees, or shrubs in your neighborhood. Do you notice the silhouette of trees against the sky, the variety of leaf shapes and sizes, the way rain gushes in the gutter or glides down a window? What scents do you encounter in your neighborhood? What birds do you hear or see?

For one week keep a nature journal and record the things you discovered or observed. Describe things carefully so you'll be able to accurately recall them when you read the description in months to come.