Papa’s Parrot

By : Cynthia Rylant

By Cynthia Rylant

Prepared by :Mr.Ehab Abed

Papa’s Parrot

READING SKILL

Context

Use context clues to find possible meanings for unfamiliar words.

e.g. New shipments of candy and nuts would be arriving . Therefore, shipments are deliveries of goods.

Literary analysis :

Narrative writing: is any type of writing that tells a story.

A narrative is usually told in chronological order: the order of events.

 

Vocabulary Builder:

Ignored : paid no attention . e.g I ignored his rude

comment, and went away. Resumed: began again , continued e.g The hikers resumed

hiking after stopping lunch.

Background :

Parrots: can learn to say words that are repeated over and over to them. In “Papa’s Parrot” the bird’s words play a key part in the story. 

CONNECTING TO THE LITERATURE

1.React: to act as a result of something else. e.g As people grow and change ,they react

differently to situations. 2.appreciate: to understand that something is

valuable. e.g Many people do not appreciate the same

things they did when they were young . 3. communicate: to share information with

others. e.g It can be difficult for parents and children

to communicate their thoughts and feelings. 4. mature: to be grown physically. e.g As we age, we grow and mature.

Meet the Author:

Cynthia Rylant

She has written picture books ,novels ,short stories ,and biographies, She is an animal lover with many dogs in her home, Rylant often includes animals and birds in her stories.

Warm-up:

1.Who are the characters of the story? Harry Tillian, and his father. 2.What does Harry’s father own ? A candy and nut shop. 3.How old was Harry when he stopped

liking candy ? Around seven. 4.How do Harry and his father like ? They were friends and remained

friends the year Harry turned twelve.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS YOU READ:

Critical Viewing : 1.Why might people find parrots

appealing as pets? P:26 Parrots’colorful feathers and

intelligent gazes (look) make them appealing pets.

2.What did Harry and his friends like to do after school ? p:26

They always stopped in to buy candy from Harry’s father’s shop.

3. What did Mr. Tillian like in the visits of Harry and his friends to his shop ? p:27

He looked forward to seeing his son and his friends . He liked the company.

4.What is a major change in the lives of Harry and his friends when they enter Junior high school? P:27

They have more spending money.

Literary Analysis: 5. What details make this fictional

narrative seem realistic ? p:27 After Harry and his friends enter

Junior high school, their habits change and they come to see Mr. Tillian less often.

6.What does Mr. Tillian do when Harry stops coming to the shop ? P:27

Mr. Tillian got a parrot.

Reading Check: 7.WHY IS HARRY EMBARRASSED BY

HIS FATHER ? HARRY IS EMBARRASSED BECAUSE

HIS FATHER TALKS TO THE PARROT. Literary Analysis: 8. WHAT DOES HARRY DO AFTER

SCHOOL TO HELP HIS FATHER ? P: 28

HARRY ORGANIZES THE CANDY AND NUTS AND CARES FOR ROCKY.

Context Clues. 9.What clues point to the meaning of

the word bin ? The mention of different kinds of

candies , and the fact that Harry travels from one to the next, suggests the meaning of the word bin, meaning “container”.

10. When does Harry realize how much his father has missed him? P:29

When Rocky says “Where’s Harry ?”

CONNECT TO LITERATURE:

Which side of the debate do you think the story supports ? Explain.

In the story, Rocky says things, such as “ Hello, Rocky!” that sound as if he is talking to himself.

Also, Harry understands that his father has been saying certain things in front of the bird for a long time. Both examples suggest that parrots do not understand what they say.

 

APPLY SKILLS

1. DO YOU THINK HARRY SHOULD TELL HIS FATHER WHAT HE LEARNED FROM ROCKY? WHY OR WHY NOT ?

Harry should tell his father and then apologize for his behavior.

2. (A)IN THE PAST, WHY DID HARRY AND HIS FRIENDS VISIT MR. TILLIAN AFTER SCHOOL?(B) WHY HAVE HARRY AND HIS FRIENDS STOPPED VISITING HARRY’S FATHER?

(a)They visited Mr. Tillian after school to buy candy.

(b) They stopped visiting him because they became older, had more money and wanted to do other things.

3. WHO IS ROCKY? WHY DOES MR. TILLIAN BUY ROCKY?

Rocky is Mr. Tillian’s parrot. He buys the parrot for company after

Harry and his friends stopped coming by the store.

4. EXPLAIN HOW HARRY REACTS WHEN ROCKY SAYS “ WHERE’S HARRY?” AND “ MISS HIM!”.WHY DOES HARRY REACT AS HE DOES?

He throws peppermints at the bird and shouts at him.

He did that because he is angry with himself for not visiting his father.

5. WHAT DOES EACH MAIN CHARACTER NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE OTHER? WHICH CHARACTER HAS A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY TO BE UNDERSTANDING?

Harry needs to realize that Mr. Tillian still needs his company.

Mr. Tillian needs to understand that Harry is growing up and changing.

6. (A) HARRY WOULD STROLL PAST THE SHOP …..HARRY KEPT ON WALKING.(B) HE CHECKED THE FURNACE SO THE BIRD WOULDN’T GET COLD.

(a)the word ( walk ) is a context clue___ stroll means : to walk slowly

(b) (wouldn’t get cold) is a context clue __ furnace means : heater

7. IDENTIFY A REASON THAT THE STORY IS CALLED A NARRATIVE.

Because it tells a story with events happening in chronological order.

8. THE ORDER OF EVENTS IS IMPORTANT IN NARRATION. DID MR. TILLIAN BUY HIS PARROT BEFORE OR AFTER HARRY STOPPED COMING TO THE STORE?WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO THE STORY?

He bought his parrot after Harry stopped coming to the store.

This is important to the story because Mr. Tillian needed good company after Harry no longer visited him.

9. BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE THE MAJOR EVENTS IN “ PAPA’S PARROT” IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

Harry stopped visiting his father’s store. Mr. Tillian buys a parrot. Mr. Tillian has to stay in the hospital. Harry takes care of the store alone and learns from the parrot that Mr. Tillian misses his company.