Chapter 2 — Teaching Companion

What it asks It asks the student whose judgment Lily is hearing. She has put the report card in Gram’s hand and run upstairs to pack. When Gram’s footsteps start up the stairs, Lily keeps her back stiff: “She knew what was coming.” She hears it word for word in her head: the D in music, “How could you possibly . . .”, the B– effort mark, and “the whole thing was a disgrace.” But Gram never says any of it in the chapter; someone bangs on the front door. The student decides whether Lily is hearing Gram, whom she knows well, or her own feeling about the card. It points toward the last written question: whether the trouble Lily hides belongs to Gram, or is something Lily carries herself.

One reading

Those are Gram’s words. Lily knows her grandmother. Gram frowns at the movers and makes an angry sound when the wood splits, so a scolding is easy to picture.

• She knew what was coming.
• Gram made an angry sound

Another reading

Those are Lily’s own words. Gram never says them. She forgets the card, smiles in the truck, and hums along with the song. “Disgrace” may be what Lily thinks of the card herself, since she hides it far from her mother’s star.

• In fact, she’d say the whole thing was a disgrace.
• Gram humming along

Listen for

• Uses what Lily hears in her head: the D in music, the B– effort mark, “a disgrace”.
• Uses what Gram really does in the chapter: frowning at the piano, the angry sound, smiling, humming along.
• Notices that Gram never says those words: someone bangs on the front door.
• Does not say Gram reads the card or punishes Lily; the chapter ends before that.

If stuck

• What does Lily think Gram will say?
• Does Gram ever say it in the chapter?
• Have you ever been sure what someone would say, and been wrong?

A strong answer A strong response might say those are Gram’s words: Lily knows her, and Gram does make “an angry sound” when the wood splits. Another might say they are Lily’s own: Gram never says them, and “disgrace” sounds like how Lily feels about the card she puts “as far away from the star as possible.” A careful answer may notice that in the sentence after Gram begins about the report card, she is humming along, and that we never hear what she says.

What it asks It asks the student how the movers carry a trouble of their own. Two white-haired men come with the rusty truck. They joke a little with Gram, and one sings “They’re either too young or too old.” The other tells Gram that “both their sons were in the service” and that they are keeping the business going “for the duration of the war.” They laugh off the split molding, and the one who rides in back winks at Lily, “thinking it was a great joke.” The student decides what the joking does for them: keeps the worry small so the work gets done, or lets them say their trouble out loud, since the song’s words fit two old men doing the work while the young men are away. It ties to the last written question from another side: the movers have a trouble too, and they sing while Lily hides hers.

One reading

It keeps the worry small. A joke and a song make the work go easier, and the men do not have to stop and think about their sons. Lily keeps her worry small too, in her own way: by not looking.

• joking a little, one of them singing
• molding was nothing, they could fix it up in a jiffy.

Another reading

It lets them say it out loud. The song fits them: too old to go, doing the work while their sons are in the service. They do not hide their trouble; they sing about it, and the song comes back at the end of the ride.

• both their sons were in the service
• hear the man in front singing

Listen for

• Uses what the second mover tells Gram: both sons are “in the service”.
• Uses the jokes: the song, the molding that “was nothing”, the wink.
• Notices that the song comes back at the end, sung in the front of the truck.
• Does not bring in anything the chapter does not show about who else goes to war.

If stuck

• Where are the movers’ sons?
• What do the movers do while they work?
• When you are worried, can a joke help? How?

A strong answer A strong response might say the joking keeps the worry small: the men work, sing and say the molding “was nothing,” so there is no room to think about their sons. Another might say the joking lets them say it out loud: “both their sons were in the service,” and a song about men “too young or too old” fits two old men doing the work. A careful answer may set the movers beside Lily: they sing about their trouble, while she hides hers and shuts her eyes.

What it asks It asks the student to find what Lily’s plan rests on. While Gram worries about the wall, Lily sees the report card “on the bottom step of the stairs.” She reaches down for it and backs up the stairs. Then she plays a scene in her head: in the truck Gram says, “I never did look at your report card, Lily. Do you know where . . .” and Lily answers nothing. “Perfect.” She adds, “Gram had lost the thing herself. Not Lily’s fault, certainly not.” The student names what has to stay true for the plan to work: that Gram blames herself, that Gram stays too busy to ask, or that saying nothing is not the same as lying. It takes up one part of the last written question: what Lily is counting on once the card is out of sight.

One reading

That Gram will blame herself. Lily did put the card in Gram’s hand, and Gram set it down and forgot it. If Gram asks, she will think she lost it.

• Lily had put the report card in Gram’s hand at the front door
• Gram had lost the thing herself.

Another reading

That saying nothing is not lying. Lily never plans to tell a lie. She only plans not to speak, and she tells herself that keeps her in the clear.

• Perfect. Lily wouldn’t say a word.
• Not Lily’s fault, certainly not.

Listen for

• Uses Lily’s pretend scene in the truck: Gram asking, “Do you know where . . .” and Lily not saying a word.
• Uses where the card was: in Gram’s hand, then forgotten on the bottom step.
• Notices that Lily is the one who picks the card up.
• Talks about what the plan needs, not a lesson about owning up to grades, and does not say Gram finds out or punishes Lily.

If stuck

• In Lily’s pretend scene, what does Gram ask?
• What does Lily plan to say back?
• For the plan to work, what does Gram have to believe?

A strong answer A strong response names what the plan needs. A student might say Lily is counting on Gram to blame herself, since Lily “put the report card in Gram’s hand” and “Gram had lost the thing herself.” Another might say she is counting on Gram staying busy, the way she forgot the card over the piano. Another might say Lily is counting on silence not being a lie: she “wouldn’t say a word.” A careful answer may notice that Lily is the one who “reached down for the report card,” and that the plan leaves this out.

What it asks It asks the student to judge Lily’s guess about the neighbors, made with her eyes shut. As the truck starts off, Lily closes her eyes. She does not want to look at the neighbors, “who were waving at them and the piano and the rusty truck, probably thinking they were crazy.” Earlier, at her window, she pictured all of Rockaway watching the Mollahans arrive “in a truck that was falling apart.” The student weighs how fair the guess is: what the neighbors would really see, and what else a wave could mean. It ties to the last written question: how much of what Lily wants to get away from is real, and how much is her own guess.

One reading

Lily may be right. Anyone would stare at a rusty truck with a piano tied on by rope and a man riding in the back. A wave can be friendly and still be laughing a little.

• an upright piano lashed to the back with rope
• I’ll stay back here, just to make sure the thing doesn’t roll out.

Another reading

They are only saying goodbye. Neighbors wave when a family leaves for the summer. They wave at the piano too, which might be for fun, not to make fun. And Lily will not look at them, so she cannot know.

• Lily closed her eyes as the truck started off.
• who were waving at them and the piano and the rusty truck

Listen for

• Treats “probably thinking they were crazy” as Lily’s guess, not as what the neighbors think.
• Uses what the neighbors would see: the rusty truck, the piano lashed on with rope, the man riding in back.
• Notices that Lily will not look at them.
• Treats Lily’s shut eyes as not wanting to be stared at, not only as being vain.

If stuck

• What are the neighbors doing as the truck starts off?
• What is Lily doing with her eyes?
• When have you waved at someone? What did you mean by it?

A strong answer A strong response might say Lily’s guess is fair: the neighbors see a truck with “an upright piano lashed to the back with rope” and a man riding in back, and anyone would stare. Another might say the waves are only goodbye, and that Lily cannot know what the neighbors think, since she “closed her eyes as the truck started off.” A careful answer may notice the word “probably”: even Lily is only guessing.

What it asks It asks the student to notice that what Lily does and what she thinks pull against each other. Up in her bedroom with the card, Lily moves the star to the front page of Evangeline and puts “the blue report card in the back as far away from the star as possible.” The very next sentence is her thought: “Her mother would never have cared for report cards.” If her mother would not have cared, why must the card be kept so far from her star? The student explains the pull: Lily may be less sure than she sounds, or the distance and the thought may be two parts of one wish. It takes up one part of the last written question: where Lily puts the card, and what she keeps it away from.

One reading

She is not as sure as she sounds. If her mother really would not care, the card could go anywhere. Putting it as far away as possible looks like keeping something shameful away from her mother. The thought may be what Lily needs to believe.

• Lily moved the star to the front page
• in the back as far away from the star as possible.

Another reading

There is no puzzle. The star is a treasure and the card is ugly to her, so they go at opposite ends. The thought comes after, and it makes the star’s end of the book a place where grades do not count. Lily puts herself on her mother’s side.

• Her mother would never have cared for report cards.

Listen for

• Uses both ends of the book: the star moved to “the front page”, the card “in the back”.
• Notices the pull: if her mother would not have cared, why hide the card from her star?
• Treats the thought about her mother as Lily’s belief, not as a fact the chapter proves.
• Writes in complete sentences, with a reason and a line from the chapter.

If stuck

• Where in the book does the star go? Where does the card go?
• What does Lily think about her mother right after?
• If someone truly would not mind, would you hide a thing from them?

A strong answer A strong response gives a reason and a line. A student might argue that Lily is less sure than she sounds: if her mother would not have cared, there would be no need to put the card “as far away from the star as possible.” Another might argue there is no puzzle: the star is precious, the card is ugly to her, and the thought “Her mother would never have cared for report cards” makes the star’s end of the book the place where grades do not count. A careful answer treats that thought as Lily’s belief, not a fact.

What it asks It asks the student to explain the turn in Lily’s ride. From her window she dreaded arriving “in a truck that was falling apart,” and pictured everyone in Rockaway watching. She closes her eyes as it starts off so she will not see the neighbors waving. “But then they turned the corner,” heading for the bridge, and she can feel “the excitement of it, the ocean waiting,” and the summer is hers. Nothing about the truck is different. The student decides what has changed: who is watching, what lies ahead, or only what Lily lets herself think about, with her eyes still shut. It sets up the last written question: whether the joy of the ride carries Lily clear of her trouble.

One reading

The watchers are behind her. Once the truck turns the corner, the neighbors who were waving are out of sight. No one she knows is looking now.

• She didn’t want to look at the neighbors
• But then they turned the corner

Another reading

What is ahead is bigger than the shame. Lily can feel the ocean coming, and the whole summer is hers. Next to that, a rusty truck does not matter much.

• the ocean waiting, the sound of it, the roll of it
• and it was hers for the whole summer.

Listen for

• Uses what Lily feared at the window: everyone in Rockaway seeing a truck “that was falling apart”.
• Uses what she feels after the corner: the ocean waiting, the summer “hers”.
• Notices that Lily is heading for the very place whose eyes she feared.
• Keeps the bridge a happy arrival, and writes in complete sentences with a reason and a line.

If stuck

• Who is Lily afraid will see the truck?
• What can Lily feel once the truck turns the corner?
• Can a happy thing ahead make a bad thing feel smaller?

A strong answer A strong response takes a side and gives a reason. A student might argue that the watchers are behind her: she shut her eyes against the neighbors, and “then they turned the corner.” Another may answer that with Lily’s own fear: she dreaded what “everyone in Rockaway” would think, and Rockaway is where she is going. Another might argue that what is ahead is bigger: “the ocean waiting,” and “it was hers for the whole summer.” Some may say nothing has changed but what Lily looks at, since her eyes are still shut.

What it asks It asks the whole question of the chapter. Lily hands Gram the card, hears the scolding before it comes, then takes the card off the bottom step and tells herself it is “Not Lily’s fault, certainly not.” She does not throw it away. She puts it in the back of Evangeline, “as far away from the star as possible”, and carries the book down the stairs “tucked carefully under her arm.” In the truck she shuts her eyes, first against the neighbors, then when Gram begins about the report card. Around the corner the ocean is “hers for the whole summer”, and the tires hit the bridge. The student decides whether hiding the card lets Lily leave her trouble behind, or only brings it along to Rockaway. The earlier written questions asked why Lily keeps the card so far from the star when she thinks her mother would not have cared, and what changes for her when the truck turns the corner; this one asks what the hiding does.

One reading

She is escaping it, at least for now. Gram forgets the card, Lily keeps her eyes shut, and the ride turns to joy. By the bridge the trouble feels far away, and the summer is hers.

• At least Gram had forgotten about the report card.
• and it was hers for the whole summer.

Another reading

She is carrying it along. She does not throw the card away; she packs it in the book she holds under her arm. And Gram starts on it in the truck anyway.

• She started down the stairs with the carton, and Evangeline tucked carefully under her arm.
• She didn’t open her eyes when Gram began about the report card.

Listen for

• Follows the card from Gram’s hand to the bottom step to the back of Evangeline.
• Notices that Lily keeps the card, and carries the book under her arm.
• Weighs the joy of the ride and the bridge against Gram beginning about the card.
• Writes in complete sentences, gives a reason and a line, answers the other side, and does not say Gram reads the card or punishes Lily.

If stuck

• Where is the report card when the truck reaches the bridge?
• What does Gram start to talk about on the ride?
• Can you get away from a problem you take with you?

A strong answer A strong response takes a side, gives a reason and answers the other side. A student who says she is escaping might point out that “Gram had forgotten about the report card” and that by the bridge the ocean is “hers for the whole summer.” A student who says she is carrying it along might answer that the card rides in Evangeline, “tucked carefully under her arm”, and that Gram “began about the report card” in the truck. A careful answer may say the chapter leaves it open, because it stops at the bridge before anything is settled.