Chapters 13-18

Choose one of these ideas to discuss:
Prejudice is a theme in The Miner's Daughter. How is this theme explored?
What have you learned about Eleanor Roosevelt?
Describe the Lowell's life in Arthurdale.

Chapters 9-12

Talk about Willa's decision to become a field worker. How does this change her life?
What do you think about the developing relationship between Willa and Johnny? How does literature play a part in their relationship?

Chapters 5-8

Talk about Willa's father and Ves. What do you think about their decision to go to Hawk's Nest? Talk about Miss Grace and Willa and their relationship to books and reading.

Chapters 1-4

After "meeting" Willa Lowell in chapters 1-4, describe her. What are her concerns in life? What brings her happiness?

The Miner's Daughter by Gretchen Moran Laskas

Gretchen Laskas, the author of The Miner's Daughter, will be coming to Wirt County High School on April 17, 2008. The book club will be reading The Miner's Daughter along with Mrs. Bumgarner's Junior English classes and Miss Collins' Appalachian Literature Class. If you are not in one of those groups and would like to join us as we read and blog, see me for a copy of the book. If you are in one of the classes, HERE is a rubric to let you know how you will be graded on your responses to the blog.

“Life in a Coal Camp” The Miner’s Daughter by Gretchen Moran Laskas

Information: Author Gretchen Laskas says that her family has actual ties to the town of Arthurdale. She relates that “Many West Virginia families can tie some part of their family history to the 1920’s coal boom and then bust, which created the situation I wrote about in the town of Riley Mines, a place I made up from coal camp stories taken from my own family and others.”

Action: Click HERE to read one of two oral histories of people who have lived in coal camps. What can you find out about life in the coal camp? Do you see any comparisons to Willa and her family’s experiences? Are there any of you who can share experiences from living in a coal camp or have family members who have? Ask your grandparents if they know of any family members involved with mining. Click HERE to read another oral history of coal mining, the Great Depression, and the construction of Hawk’s Nest. What did you think of Mr. Lowell’s and Ves’s going to work at Hawk’s Nest?

“Eleanor Roosevelt” The Miner’s Daughter by Gretchen Moran Laskas

Information: Although First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt doesn’t appear in every chapter of The Miner’s Daughter, without her, there would be no story. What is the story of Eleanor Roosevelt?

Action: Click HERE for a site about Mrs. Roosevelt. Also, navigate to the post on Arthurdale. Check out the last site mentioned there for more good information about Eleanor Roosevelt. What do you find out about Eleanor as a person from this site? Is she anything like Willa? What was Eleanor’s life like in comparison to Willa’s? What was Eleanor like as a First Lady?