1a. What is Toby's response when Sarah says, "I must go soon"?
2a. What does Toby say to the master and driver?
3a. After Toby and the people fly away, what does the driver say about it? What does the master say about it?
1b. Why isn't this the right time?
2b. Why is this significant?
3b. What does this tell you about the driver? the master?
4a. In what ways does Toby bring hope to the slaves?
4b. What does this folk tale offer to the slaves who could not fly and to their children?
5a. Evaluate the author's use of magic in this folk tale and the mood it creates. Would the folk tale be as effective without the use of magic? Would the mood be different if the slaves had escaped without the use of magic?
5b. Compare the story "The People Could Fly" to the song "I'll Fly Away." What might the speaker in the song be flying away from? Where is he or she going? Is this the same place the slaves led by Toby are going? Explain.
Folk Tale. How would you react to hearing a story like this told to you by your grandmother or grandfather? What would it tell you about who you are and where you came from?
Mood. What are some of the words and phrases you found that helped create mood in "The People Could Fly"? What mood or moods do these words and phrases evoke? What emotion do you think best describes the mood of the story?
1. Pretend you are the master. Write a short journal entry explaining your reaction to seeing Toby and the other slaves fly away.
2. Imagine you are a slave who could fly. Write a poem in honor of Toby as a gesture of appreciation for his help.
3. Create a magic spell that will make a person disappear. Think of at least three steps the person needs to go through in order to have the spell work. For example, maybe it has to be a certain time of day, the person has to say some specific words, and the person needs to be wearing certain clothing. Write up directions for your magic spell.
croon:
scorn:
Perfect Tenses. In each of the sentences below, a verb is underlined. Decide whether this verb is in the present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect tense.
1. Africans have always been flying.
2. After living so long in the new world, they had forgotten how to fly.
3. Toby thinks that soon, they will have learned to fly again.
4. She has been whipped before.
5. Toby is happy because he has taught the slaves to fly again.
6. The overseer had told Sarah to quiet the child.
7. Sarah has been drained of her strength.
8. After Toby had said the magic words, Sarah flew away.
9. Toby has relinquished his fear of the overseer.
10. Toby has not taught the others to fly.
